The Olsens' Favorite 2000s Bag Silhouette Is Making a Big Comeback in 2025

Mary Kate Olsen wearing a hobo bag in 2007.

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If Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were handbags, they'd easily be a wine-drenched Balenciaga City Bag or a slouchy fringed hobo bag. The bohemian, nonchalant slouchy look is very much theirs. It's often impersonated but never quite replicated with their exact brand of coolness. When Mary-Kate Olsen spilled red wine on her pastel-green Balenciaga City Bag, she carried it around with pride from 2004 to 2016, as though nothing had happened. When Gen Z discovered the paparazzi photos, it led to a full City Bag resurgence complete with a laissez-faire attitude about destroying your bags. And now it feels more desirable to want a little stain or imperfection on your bag than to not. It shows you've lived a little (or a lot).

And so naturally, slouchy bohemian hobo bags feel like the next return. Thanks to Chemena Kamali at Chloé, long pleated layers, flowing fringe, ruffled chiffon, and sheer lace capes are all anyone wants to wear right now. But what is a boho look without the hobo bag?

Bella Hadid wearing a hobo bag in NYC

Bella Hadid wearing Coach's Brooklyn Shoulder Bag 39

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The hobo bag is a cornerstone of the beatnik look. When you're wearing layers of fringe and ruffles and chiffon and lace, you look like you've really lived a life. You have hobbies, you've pored over books, you've had multiple partners at once, you've gone to every music festival twice. A slouchy bag that fits everything for that kind of existence is crucial. You need something that looks like you don't really care that much but can also hold everything you really care about.

And thankfully, hobo bags are the most practical out there. Despite them having a moment right now due to the boho of it all, they're the kind of bag you invest in and always pull out of your closet when you need something that works.

Shop our favorite hobo bags below, from Balenciaga and Bottega to Mango and J.Crew.

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Senior Fashion & Social Editor