Only Bella Hadid could make me rationalize budgeting for a $10,000 Chanel messenger bag covered in faux graffiti. I realize that this is ridiculous, yet every time I see a photo of her wearing it — most recently in New York for fashion week — I find myself in an eBay blackhole for hours, trying to see if someone is selling it for a price I can "afford." Like that's ever going to happen: The covetable bag is a limited edition from Karl Lagerfeld's 2015 runway collection, after all. But leave it to Hadid to make me pine for my middle school-era messenger bags in 2022.

Messenger bags are peak early 2000s fashion to me. I'll never forget begging my mom for a Juicy Couture one in seventh grade, and when she caved, I proceeded to wear it to death. And then suddenly, out of nowhere, this bag that I made my entire personality seemed completely undesirable — that's trends for you. I've never even looked the same way at messenger bags since, until now. The frayed tweed trim, funky logo pin adornments, and colorful graffiti prints make me want to do unspeakable things to afford them. This bag is everything middle school me would have wanted.

If there were a time for messenger bags to make a full-blown resurgence, it would be now, when big bags are seriously trending again and Y2K-era fashion is everywhere you look. (Just look at how the bucket bag is back with a vengeance.) Thankfully, most messenger bags, even ones by brands like Tory Burch, Coach, and Kate Spade, cost thousands of dollars less than Hadid's. There's even a classic Timbuk2 style at Nordstrom for just $39, so I can stop doing mental gymnastics trying to justify $10,000 for a piece of canvas.

I'm still holding out hope that I'll one day be able to own that bag with the big graffitied interlocking C logo front and center, but in the meantime, I'm not missing out on a supermodel-approved bag trend that reminds me of a simpler time.

Shop messenger bags at Nordstrom, Coach, and Tory Burch below.

Get the Look:

Timbuk2 Micro Classic Messenger Bag
Shop now: $39; nordstrom.com

Kate Spade The Little Better Sam Nylon Messenger Bag
Shop now: $228; nordstrom.com

Tory Burch Small Nylon Messenger Bag
Shop now: $278; nordstrom.com

Kate Spade Roulette Library Plaid Messenger Bag
Shop now: $137 (Originally $228); nordstrom.com

Tory Burch Nylon Small Messenger
Shop now: $278; toryburch.com

Acne Studios Akila Face Plaque Ripstop Crossbody Bag
Shop now: $160; nordstrom.com

Clare V. Moyen Woven Leather Convertible Messenger Bag
Shop now: $475; nordstrom.com

Coach Restored Metropolitan Soft Messenger In Signature Canvas
Shop now: $325; coach.com

Tory Burch Virginia Printed Recycled Nylon Small Messenger Bag
Shop now: $278; nordstrom.com

Bottega Veneta Intrecciato Leather Messenger Bag
Shop now: $1,890; nordstrom.com

Rag & Bone Small Field Messenger Bag
Shop now: $495; nordstrom.com

Pleats Please Issey Miyake Bag
Shop now: $745; nordstrom.com

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