The XXL handbags from the 2000s are back - that's why we love the "Big Brat Bag" trend

The XXL handbags of the 2000s are back - that's why we love the "Big Brat Bag" trend

Last week my eyes caught on a stranger on the train. Or rather, what she had slung over her shoulder: a cream-colored one-Cambon bag from 2006. The-savvy millennials among us know exactly which oneI'm talking: the boxy shape, the iconic double C logo, the padded, quilted exterior. The Cs are huge. They are so in your face and eye-catching that Juicy Couture tracksuits seem subtle in comparison.

This is how the XXL statement bags became THE it-piece of the 2000s

The Cambon Bag was one of the it bags of the decadent and brand-obsessed 2000s. What a time – if you had the necessary income. Paris Hilton defined celebrity, Fergie's "Glamorous" dominated the charts, and the economy was still somewhat intact. “More is more” was the motto, and that helped the Chanel Cambon Bag take off.

The handbags' less than subtle design - almost a parody of themselves - made them a hit with everyoneTMZafter paparazzi snapshots from hungover-Frappés sipping celebrities, their bloodshot eyes of huge-were shielded. This was the era of vodka-Red Bull buckets at VIP tables in clubs and Britney, of “The Devil Wears” and Van Dutch. In other words, if you wore a Chanel bag, you wanted thatgoes: rknew about it within a kilometer radius.

The Cambon's cultural dominance was crystallized in a 2006 episode of MTV's The Hills, one, which probably represents this time more than any other. Our blonde, fashion-loving heroine– Intern at theTeenVogue, queen of the L.A. clubs, advocate of the blank stare—desperately wished for a Cambon bag. “I’ve always wanted a Chanel bag,” she tells her then roommate Heidi Montag (another figurehead of the superficial noughties). “Then it would be a Merry Christmas.”

They were when Lauren Conrad's sleazy boyfriend at the time gave her the all-black version of the bag in the next scene. Conrad squealed with joy, her happiness felt more clearly here than anywhere else in the six seasons of the series - including herfinallytraveled to Paris, supposedly her biggest dream.

Of course, the party girls of the 2000s didn't just carry this bag. There was the sloppy one-Motorcycle bag - probably the most photographed bag of this time - the Yves Saint Laurent muse-Spy and so on and so forth. Like Chanel's Cambon Bag, each of these large handbags has an instantly recognizable design, but their key similarity is: size.

All of these bags were or are huge – some of themabsurdlarge. Evil tongues would say, downrightridiculouslarge. So big that photos of Nicole Richie andwith their Balenciagahow optical illusions work.Shouldthese handbags be as big as the people who carry them? Yes, exactly!

After all, Nicole Richie, Mischa Barton and Lindsay Lohan always had to go somewhere: the “Ivy” for lunch. The “Chateau Marmont” for drinks. “Kitson” for jogging suits. The It girls of the era simply didn't have time to go home, which meant they had to have everything they needed with them. Much like today's "Football Mums" who don't leave home without a bag full of energy drinks, protein bars and band-aids, the female celeb of the 2000s needed a huge bag to be prepared for any eventuality. Sweaty after a night in “Bungalow 8”? The Chanel Cambon bag had room for several water bottles, not to mention a digital camera, Blackberry, iPod, new clothes and a box of cigarettes.

Back then, large handbags were for celebritiesmore than just useful. They were armor, a means of blocking “haters” before the term was even coined.

How the “Brat Girl Summer” helped XXL bags make a trend comeback in 2024

So now the iconic Y2K bags are back. And not just the one stranger I saw on the subway. They were also omnipresent on the catwalks from New York to Paris in 2024. Fromto Fendi towore themlarge pockets, some of which had clothing spilling out of them to create a dramatic effect. This chaotic style is reminiscent of the Paris-Nicole Lindsay glory days of the 2000s, somewhat resurrected thanks to the Charli XCX-led Brat Summer.

With her album, Charli XCX has the 365 day-Girl mentality brought back into the zeitgeist by making lots of references to the height of that era - and dressing accordingly. During her appearance on “Saturday Night Live” inShe even performed an entire song with an oversized one-Pocket over the shoulder. And since the release of her album in June, it seems like the “brat” culture hasn’t stopped raging.

So it makes perfect sense that we're trading in our Barbiecore micro-bags for comfy bags that we can literally live out of—and that we use as pillows in the Uber home from the club. And with "loud luxury" taking hold in fashion in 2024, it's only a matter of time before one of these new big "Brat" bags becomes as infamous as Mary-Kate Olsen's wine-stained bag.

A fashion editor friend of mine WhatsApped me after I told her about the Chanel Cambon bag I discovered in the wild: “I just got this HUGE bag that I have with onewant to run over to create the Olsen look. I want it to look dirty and expensive.”

This article was prepared with text passages from our GLAMOR colleagues from the USA.