Fashion

7 Backpack Handbags, Because Adults Need Them Too!

by Jodie Layne

Dec. 28, 2014

When I was about nine years old, I received a backpack purse from my coolest cousin as a gift. It was black nylon, had long straps, and featured a non-functional Lucite lock on the front flap. I was in love. I wore it everywhere and stashed within its compartments my Bonne Bell Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker, stickers from Spice Girls bubble gum, J-14 Magazines, and Hubba Bubba Gum. That backpack was my first "older girl" accessory and because my teen cousin had given it to me, I knew it was special. These days, I'm inclined to go back in time and tell my adolescent self that she might have actually been cool, and that she was on to something great with the whole backpack as a handbag thing.Backpack handbags are big enough to fit in all the essentials. They are way more practical (not to mention painless) for your poor, exhausted arms and shoulders than a regular handbag. And they are easily just as chic — as proven by the seven examples below. You can pair this "purse" with an oversized wool coat, eye-catching structured boots, and great sunglasses for a chic but effortless look. Designers like Rebecca Minkoff and Marc Jacobs are even doing up the backpack handbag trend, so we know it's not just for junior high girls anymore. This is not to dissuade you from going "full nostalgia" if you want, though. Who wouldn't want a whimsically translucent, colorful bag from Nasty Gal? For this kind of bag, I'm thinking a neon coat and designer sneakers are totally a must — and Hubba Bubba and Lip Smackers are definitive accessory requirements.So go ahead: Indulge your adolescent self by treating your present self to a new backpack handbag for 2015.