Tiny handbags are out. Over. Finito. Well, maybe the odd wedding can save them from complete extinction, but if you need to carry more than a lipstick and a credit card in normal life, then a backpack is where it’s at. The ergonomic choice, no ‘handbag syndrome’ here, your spine will thank you later. Let’s face it, we’re all schelpping something around – laptop, gym kit, nappies – and backpacks are having a moment.
I wasn’t sure that I was a backpack kinda girl, but motherhood has weakened my handbag game (prams and tote bags, non), and there is no bag uglier than the nappy bag, so I found myself in a backpack frame of mind.
Having had a bit of a makeover in the last few years, there are lots of superb options around. I want leather (hard-wearing, waterproof), I want black (doesn’t mark, matches my jeans).
Jigsaw started it. I saw the Blake Leather Backpack, £179, at the feet of a mannequin wearing fashion-editor-white-trainers and a cocoon coat, and thought, hmm. The next one to tickle my sartorial taste buds was the Whistles Verity Backpack, £280, but I couldn’t commit to such a pricey pack, in case I decided it was less fashion editor, more foreign exchange student after all.
So the search continued, until the day I saw this one in John Lewis, waiting for me to take her home. The Fiorelli Florence Backpack, £59, is the one for me – soft, slim, multiple zipped pockets, padded tablet section, gold hardware, adjustable straps.
Til next time,
Hayley
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