Not even the best work bags could accompany Rihanna on a November 13 errand to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Vital Records office. When the singer needed to make a Thursday morning visit, she checked it off her To-Do List with a major Gucci bag as her commute companion.
Instead of a laptop-friendly Coach bag or a capacious leather tote, Rihanna styled her oversize suit with Gucci's Maxi Horsebit bag: an east-west, hybrid clutch style re-released during Sabato de Sarno's tenure at the house. The extra-oversize horsebit hardware and baguette shape are nods to an early aughts design by Tom Ford—which itself was an homage to a 1970s Gucci style. Long story short, it's not the sort of work bag a local government office's dress code typically accounts for.
Instead, Rihanna's Gucci bag is more often found on the A-list late-night circuit. She carried the same style to dinner with A$AP Rocky just days before, styling it with an oversize fringe blanket scarf and shield glasses by The Attico. Dakota Johnson, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Dua Lipa have also styled their Gucci horsebit bags with the opposite of a work outfits: itty-bitty crop tops, naked dresses, and leather jackets.
But this is Rihanna we're talking about: She only carries larger bag styles when she's in transit, or when she's flexing a rare find like a new Dior book tote. For her purposes, a Gucci clutch-purse is all she needed to complement her oversize boxy blazer, black slacks, and pointed-toe pumps. Those pieces leaned more office-adjacent than her recent CFDAs Alaïa set or her jeans and Puma sneakers anyway—while keeping that quintessential flare that makes a Rihanna look, Rihanna.
If she has a "real" work bag—with roomy proportions and adjustable straps—she probably has someone to carry it for her.
