As we jump on a rush hour tube laden with a cross body strapped to our chest, jam-packed gym bag hanging off our shoulder and hand cramping under the weight of a cotton tote full of food shopping, "stylish" is definitely not a word that would spring to mind.
Yet, that is all about to change, as being a bag lady (or man, for that matter) has been a key trend on the catwalks lately.
First debuted at the spring/summer 2018 shows and set to continue well into 2019, carrying multiple bags at once is a new way to look sartorially superior, and here's why:
It started off with two...
We'd seen it at Fendi and Balenciaga, but it was Chanel's spring/summer 2018 show that really started the two-bag trend.
Karl Lagerfeld sent his models down the Parisian catwalk carrying deux handbags, which were stylishly colour co-ordinated and varying in size. And although the look gave us all an excuse to purchase two Chanel bags instead of one, all in the name of fashion, the overall trend lead to an increased chance of accidentally leaving personal belongings in an Uber.
So, for spring/summer 2019 Chanel took the bag style one step further, creating 'side pack' bags, two identical handbags secured by chains crossing over each hip.
Available in a handful of colours including yellow, black, beige and red, as well as several finishes and sizes, the dinky bag duo will set you back between £5,350 and £6,800.
Bags as a substitute for clothes...
Then, multi-bagging also came into its own during Fashion Week Men's spring/summer 2019.
Dolce & Gabbana hosted a secret 'Naked King Men's Fashion Show', where abs and accessories were the order of the day.
The Italian fashion house showcased bags as a fitting substitute for clothes, with male models taking to the catwalk in nothing but boxers and, yep, you guessed it, multiple bags.
In fact, the show was a rather fun game of 'how many bags can one man carry', as models juggled bum bags, rucksacks, shoulder bags, cross body bags and holdalls.
The showcase also upped the running sartorial score from two, to four bags per person.
Then came Louis Vuitton...
Virgil Abloh took things one step further during his Louis Vuitton debut creating “accessormorphosis." A term coined by the designer to describe the merging of accessories and garments. "It's where ready-to-wear morphs into accessories," he said. The opening look of this show was a white double-breasted suit complete with harness and zip-up bag.
Next up was a masterclass of bag layering; we saw cross body bags with holdalls and rucksacks with bumbags.
It quickly became celebrity-approved...
Taking her seat front row at Louis Vuitton, Rihanna was juggling not one, not two, but seven bags.
She accessorised her all-white look with a bum bag, three shoulder bags and a see-through plastic duffel bag, which had an extra two bags inside.
Any fashion editor would tell you that this is normally against fashion show etiquette, however, as always, RiRi managed to werk the rule breaking look.
While Rihanna chose to go all out with the trend, other A-listers have opted for subtler options.
Rosie Huntington Whitley has been seen accessorising with a Balenciaga bum bag and contrasting shopper bag.
Meanwhile, Tracee Ellis Ross also proved that double the bags is double the fun, also using Balenciaga designs to carry off the trend.
It was also championed by the fashion set during fashion week AW19 with street style stars wearing Chanel's side pack bags to pay tribute to the late Karl Lagerfeld.
So, bag lady no more. It's now stylish to carry an inconvenient amount of stuff all at once.
