Small is the new big as micro bags takes over the high street

For the past decade, oversize day bags, worn specifically in the crook of your arm, have been the industry standard – not any more. Thanks to a new wave of “micro bags” – also known as mini, baby or even bonsai – designed by major labels such as Gucci, Fendi and Chloé, as well as lesser-known brands such as Mansur Gavriel and Simon Miller, have made their way on to the high street.

And bags are not the only accessory being minimised, with smaller sunglasses and heels also outnumbering the oversized on the spring/summer 2018 catwalks.

Skinny cat-eye sunglasses, a favourite of model Kendall Jenner, are all over Instagram; while smaller-framed sunnies are sixth on men’s fashion magazine Fantastic Man’s “official garment ranking” for spring. Women, meanwhile, are swapping their stilettos for one-inch heels, also known as “nanos”, particularly Balenciaga’s coveted Knife slingbacks.

As ever, social media is partly to blame – smaller accessories tend to photograph better and stylists prefer to shoot women’s shoes in size 4 or 5.

It is in the world of bags that the new minimalism is making its most visible mark on the high street. Both Zara and Topshop have seen a spike in sales of bags smaller than a cantaloupe. The highly prized £462 Le Sac Chiquito by French designer Jacquemus, one of the biggest new names in fashion, already has a waiting list after being carried by singer Rihanna. The Fendi mini purse, meanwhile, was carried in February by model Gigi Hadid and has since sold out.

Sara McAlpine, the fashion features editor of Elle, describes wearers as “the cab-to-kerb woman”: “She only moves between the office and appointments. She doesn’t carry make-up. But secretly, she is keen to keep up appearances – to look like she’s in control when perhaps she’s not.”

The micro bags have spawned a spike in what McAlpine calls “the secret second bag” – usually a tote, often filled with books, diaries and cosmetics, and always stuffed neatly under the desk.