I Get Compliments Every Time I Wear This 20-Year-Old It Bag

At fashion events recently, the one item I have received compliments on more than anything else is an 18-year-old former It bag that has, quite frankly, seen better days. In April, Balenciaga relaunched its City bag with a campaign fronted by Kate Moss, which led me to dig out my own well-worn original. It was a genius casting choice, as the model played an integral role in the story of this It bag—it was never intended to go into production, but Moss twisted the arm of Nicolas Ghesquière, and 25 models were created.

The new bag, which launched in April, has had some subtle tweaks, including hardware that isn’t as oversize as some of the later models. However, it is true to the original, as the Balenciaga team studied archive bags from the noughties. The best thing about this bag is that it ages like a fine wine, as the patina leather only looks better with a distressed, worn-in look. I wouldn’t be surprised if I unearthed an old Topshop receipt in the bottom of my City or another relic from 2006, but the frayed leather straps and scuffed-up studs only add to its charm. Customers on resale sites are deliberately searching for bags in good or fair condition so that it clearly looks pre-loved rather than brand-new.

Kate Moss in 2003 with her Balenciaga bag.

This isn’t a designer bag to be fussed over. It doesn’t need to be placed on a stool while you dine or be stored away carefully in a dust bag. The City bag was always designed to be thrown around and used—just like an old leather biker jacket. It girls could splash it with their Venti Starbucks and leave it in a corner of Chateau Marmont. The City featured on Perez Hilton in the ’00s just as regularly as Lindsay Lohan, as it was constantly hooked in the elbow of the Olsens, Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, and many other TMZ darlings. Mary-Kate Olsen took the messy-bag movement to the extreme with her mint-green City, and it was covered in pen marks and had a large red wine stain on the base. The 19-year-old said to W magazine at the time that the state of this derelict bag “explains [her] life.”

Mary-Kate Olsen with her wine-stained City bag.

A City-bag revival makes sense. Not only are skinny jeans and indie sleaze styling making a comeback, but it is also the year of the disheveled handbag. The spring/summer 2024 runways embraced chaotic styling. Miu Miu bags were left unzipped and stuffed with wire cables and a change of shoes, while Balenciaga’s bags were adorned with dozens of charms. This has unsurprisingly filtered onto the street style scene, where pre-loved City bags are weighed down with a random assortment of trinkets. The late Jane Birkin has inspired this look, as her namesake Hermès bags were always overflowing with stuff. “There’s no fun in a bag if it’s not kicked around so that it looks as if the cat’s been sitting on it, and it usually has,” she once told Vogue. “The cat may even be in it!”