Cross body bags (or sling and messenger bags as I know them) used to be my favourite type of bag five to eight years ago. I loved this look because it was hip and hands free. But out of the blue, carrying a bag across my body started causing neck, chest and shoulder pain. I stopped cold turkey, passed on most of my sling bags and have hardly sported the look since. But I got all soft at the Macy’s sale last week when I saw something that had my name written all over it. I was prepared to give the look another chance. Enter my next Spring update: a cream cross body bag. Along with my other new off-white bag, this is my favorite of all the Spring updates thus far. I’m a bag lady at heart.
My previous cross body bags were quite large, and even though I keep the contents of my bag to a minimum, a big cross body bag does not work for me anymore. To my surprise, the smaller style works really well. I’ve worn the new micro version several times and no pain. I can hardly feel it’s on my body. I’m thoroughly enjoying the return of this handbag style to my ensembles. Along with wristlets, it’s made a nice change to the large flat totes that I sport daily.
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| Click here or on the pictures for a larger view of the outfits. | |
There are many variations on the cross body bag: large and small, plain and printed, casual and dressy or boho and classic – take your pick. This one errs on the dressy side, but even so, the integrity of the look is relaxed and modern. I can match up this particular style with both pants, leggings and frocks because it’s small, whereas large cross body bags seem to lend themselves better to pants, slacks and jeans.
A cross body bag of any size is an especially good idea for commuters on foot, and mums-on-the-go with kids in tow. It’s also a handy option for city travel, day trips and long shopping days. Zappos, Fossil, Nordstrom and Macy’s have great selections of cross body bags at the moment, which you’ll probably nab for a song. Mine was marked down from $129 to $42. Brilliant.
Other Spring 2009 accessory updates:
