I Heard You Want an East West Bag?

so I found you 33 vintage, trendy and timeless, options under $150!

The East-West handbag is the must-have accessory right now — it's chic, rich with vintage history, and super affordable secondhand. I’m Emily Stochl and this is Pre-Loved 🎤 an indie media platform finding you fab vintage that’s trendy and timeless!

The hottest handbag style of Fashion Months this year: the East-West bag. You know her, you love her — she’s the baguette’s vintage-y shoulder bag cousin. If you’re drooling over the Khaite Simona, the Freja Chrystie, the Alaïa Le Teckel, the Miu Miu Arcadie — even their Joie — those are East West that bags you love!

Funny enough, this week’s Pre-Loved Podcast guest,

Emily Blumenthal

of Handbag Designer 101, recently did a post all about the history of the East-West handbag: a staple of post- World War II fashion, these elongated bags were sleek and ladylike, and a perfect compliment to the silhouettes of the time.

They were also, ahem, a “recession indicator,” as Blumenthal writes:

“During World War II, materials like leather and metal were rationed. East-West bags required less material than larger, taller bags, making them cost-effective and easier to produce… in old-school terms, this was a trend for limited resources, functionality, and femininity.”

But the East-West style carried on through the 1960s Mod era, pairing nicely with the clean lines of A-line dresses and car coats. Now we see them remixed in more casual ways, with Harper’s Bazaar calling the look, “the ideal playground for accessorizing with trendy bag charms and keychains.”

And this handbag-darling even had a resurgence in the 2000s when shoulder bags (and cell phones) were tiny — think Fendi baguette, think Juicy Couture, and even the Louis Vuitton x Murakami pochettes we keep talking about… albeit, those Y2K selects are more typical “baguette” styles with the handles on the rectangular corners of the bag, whereas East-West bags tend to have center-justified, often lengthier, shoulder straps. Regardless, cute!

All this to say, this sculptural classic style is a vibe, and certainly a vibe you can find on the vintage market! (So, I did!)

Pre-Loved readers, I’ve found you 33 vintage East-West style handbags all under $150, — subscribe for your curated collection that’s both trendy and timeless, and some pieces that I seriously contemplated keeping in my saves.

Below the paywall: 1970s Bottega Veneta (!!), oodles of vintage Coach in that yummy soft leather, Gucci for just $130 — I die, Tod’s in rich camel leather and pony hair, and Juicy Couture that would look sooo cute dolled up with little bag charms… Enjoy!