The internet collectively lost it when Lizzo strutted down the red carpet at the 47th American Music Awards wearing a ruffled candy orange Valentino dress with THE bag of the season (also Valentino) dangling from her bejewelled nails. The Grammy-nominated star’s Instagram caption said it all: “@maisonvalentino bag big enough for my f—s to give”. Following this, an avalanche of memes poured down from all social media platforms. In fact, the bag now has its own Twitter account – @lizzostinybag – in case you want to know more about this fashion prodigy.
This wee white stunner might just be the smallest piece of accessory that not only became the showstopper of the outfit and the AMAs but also of the whole year as far as fashion goes. It stormed every Insta feed and provoked a spectrum of reactions ranging from “WTF!” to feminist-centric speculations regarding the utility of the micro bag. The internet has also made a list of all the things this bag can hold which includes a single Airpod and drugs. But, the ‘how’ of this 2-inch bag is just as interesting as the ‘why’ of it.
From Phoebe pulling out a fish bag from her tote when asked for a pack of gum to bags the size of a piece of gum, how did this transition come to be? Neither did the microscopic bag shrink in Alice’s Wonderland nor is it borrowed from the island of Lilliput in Gulliver’s Travels; it saw a steady shrinking through the years, right from the iconic Birkin in 1984 which was created keeping utility in mind down to JacqueMus’ Le Chiquito in 2019 on the other end of the utility spectrum. These mini bags had quite the moment in fashion weeks even back in 2015 at Fendi, although it wasn’t as small as two inches yet. They were also worn as a necklace and strung on belts in 2019 at Givenchy and Jil Sander respectively.
If you are thinking that you can’t fit your coins and cards in one, just sling two!
Photographs: Getty Images
