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It’s nothing new on the runways, especially for maisons renowned for their It bags season after season. But every so often, a styling choice makes me pause—not because of an audacious new silhouette or a to-die-for colorway—because it feels unrealistic beyond the catwalk.
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Take, for instance, strap snubbing—the art of clutching a handbag that was clearly designed with straps or handles. For Fall/Winter 2025, Hermès and Prada sent models gripping strapped bags as if their lives depended on it—chic, no doubt. Gucci, despite its creative director vacancy at the time, still greenlit a parade of women clutching what seemed like supersized Marmonts and at least four men holding their briefcases in ways that deliberately snubbed the handles.
As a visual statement, it works. It’s fire. Gigi Hadid snubbing the straps of the Miu Miu handbags she modeled for the brand’s 2025 leathergoods campaign actually looks cute. Even Instagram thrifters have caught on, with models clutching preloved strapped bags like they were, well, Miu Mius. And just when I think I’ve never seen anyone do this in real life, I recall women like Kelsey Merritt who has been known to do some serious strap snubbing and to effortlessly chic results. It’s a moment—the kind that makes perfect sense when you’re gliding through a Parisian arrondissement or posting a luxe photodump.
But as a pragmatic fashion child who values both style and function, I can’t help but shake my head a little. If you’ve ever had to cross an intersection, make a mad dash for a train, or chase your ride in Manila, you’d want to do it hands-free.
There are other Pinoy fashionista realities. Picture a blazer-and-palazzo-pants-clad account executive making her weekly pilgrimage across Legazpi and Salcedo in Makati on foot, pitching ad placements to media buyers. Or a preppy mom juggling ballet recitals, piano lessons, and soccer Saturdays—would clutching her own Birkin serve her well while wrangling her kids at the mall? And then there’s the impeccably coiffed, chauffeur-driven madame, who hasn’t had to cross a busy intersection in years, her only exposure to the elements being the brief walk from curbside to entrance. Perhaps she has a yaya in tow to worry about her bag.
Some styling decisions are undeniably fabulous, but real life has a way of interfering. How I wish I could clutch a Soft Trunk, a Motorcycle, or a PS1 (admittedly, my bag TOTGA after all these years) like that whenever I wanted! It’s practically a call sign for a worry-free life. Or at the very least, a worry-free day. (Then again, maybe the aforementioned coiffed madame has it all figured out—after all, when you carry nothing but a phone or a poodle, your hands are free in more ways than one.)
Fashion has taught us that there’s always a time and place for a styling fantasy. Maybe I’ll clutch my bag for Instagram, too—though I doubt I’ll fully commit. For now, I’ll keep my hands free, just in case real life calls. And more often than not, it does. Whether it’s carrying a laptop or grabbing an iced Americano, practicality tends to win out. And as for my soft life, it will have to wait a little longer.
PHOTOS: PRADA, GUCCI, HERMÈS, MIU MIU (via Website), KELSEY MERITT (via Instagram) and MEGA ARCHIVES
