Everybody is fake as hell so who cares if your bag charms aren’t prayer beads from a monastery in Bali.

A national survey of the bag charm bubble

Hi Style Stars,

What do you think about bag charms? They’re little trinkets that people attach to their bags — small plush toys, beads, anything that can be clipped or looped onto a strap or zipper. Bag charms became wildly popular in the past year (I first wrote about them here), with the blueprint being Jane Birkin’s OD Birkin, which is about to go on auction at Sotheby’s (without the stickers…).

Pimping out your bag has become a talking point in the individuality crisis, which has been brewing for ages and became a thinkpiece topic last summer (I write about it all the time). After bag charms became a trend, people started buying cheap plasticky charms en masse on Amazon and God knows where else, attaching them to their bags in one go. Is this wrong? You tell me…

And then came the Labubus. Chinese Goblin bunnies that are currently having their own Beanie Babies moment. Apparently they cost a billon dollars to buy in the US, so there’s loads of fakes circulating, sold at local hair stores and various back alley channels. Actual eccentric Stacey Bendet allegedly gave Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos a pair as a wedding gift…

Obviously, bag charms contain the joy of a life well-lived. But right now they also contain… the tensions of our time.

So, I decided to speak to 10 people across America about their bag charms, including a hostess in Chicago, artists in New York AND LA, an original Labubu owner and an actual kid.

Here they are,

Margad + little brother

Age: 24
Occupation: Planning & Analytics at fashion brand

Where you live: Los Angeles

Number of bag charms: 7 (brother)

How long you’ve been collecting: since he started wearing a backpack to school! Mine are on and off but whenever a good charm finds its way to me.

1. What was your first bag charm? What got you into them?

Brother: rainbow shark, it’s colorful and glows in the dark and also one of my best friend’s gave it to me.

Margad: He really likes collecting shiny little things like a bird - I think it’s only natural he loves a good bag charm.

2. What’s your favorite bag charm? Your least favorite?

Brother: my labubu, it’s my biggest keychain and only fluffy keychain.

Margad: He doesn’t have a least favorite.

3. Do you care about “authenticity” when it comes to bag charms? For example, someone buying their charms all at once vs. collecting them over time, or buying them off Amazon

Margad: yes I think authenticity is what makes the bag charm - even with the labubu it’s the Authentic Act of Receiving One From Your Older Sister Making Your Internet Dreams Come True that makes it special even though it can be bulk bought via platforms like Amazon etc. All my bag charms come from a friend/people in my life and I wear them on my bag until they fall! For some reason I’m unable to hold onto a bag charm longer than a year but some memorable mentions from mine are Pink Plush from my old coworker/friend brand @themangocastle, Keychain from visiting my friend’s hometown in Louisville, KY. Also I guess my current purse is a walking bag charm….it’s from a cute boy I’m seeing - he brought it back from Tanzania.

Sister and brother bags

4. What would your dream bag charm be?

Brother: LABUBU is my favorite, the macaron LABUBU the one that stands up. It’s just a standing up version. That’s my dream bag charm.

4. Do you have strong feelings about Labubus or anything else related to bag charms?

   Margad: When he first got into labubus, he was really adamant about NOT receiving a “lafufu” which are supposedly knockoff labubus. He explained that there’s various checks you can do to assure authenticity: count the teeth (should be 9), something about the color opacity of the labubu’s face,etc.)

Please list all your charms and where they’re from (store, person, place, etc).

Brother’s backpack:

• 5 dollar bill keychain: my friend

• Apple AirTag if I get my key lost: my dad

• LABUBU called ququ: my sister

• Lego tag: from Lego set he thinks

• Wolf knuckle - grandpa <3 (he used to be a wolf hunter in mongolia!!) (it fell from the bag and was lost in the grass after the photos….coming to terms with the loss..)

Ellison Baus

Age: 22
Occupation: glass blower

Where you live: Brooklyn NY

Number of bag charms: 5

How long you’ve been collecting: since I was a child

1. What was your first bag charm? What got you into them?

My first bag charm came more in the form of little key chains I would hang from my belt loop. I had a small pink Buddha, a small abominable yeti snowman figurine from Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer, and the kidrobot smoking bunny. I always was a trinket person, my mothers both say that from the day I was born I was holding something in my hand and taking it with me wherever I went.

2. What’s your favorite bag charm? Your least favorite?

My current favorite is one I made with a single strand braid and a 19th century chain link repair link my mothers partner found on our property upstate and cleaned it for me. My least favorite, only given this designation because of its impracticality, are my glass blown bag charms. I’ve straight up shattered all of them in bars.

3. Do you care about “authenticity” when it comes to bag charms? For example, someone buying their charms all at once vs. collecting them over time, or buying them off Amazon

I personally only make my bag charms and I just don’t find it to be in the same vein of creating and honoring your individual self.

4. What would your dream bag charm be?

I have a few: a giant Christian lacroix bejeweled cross from 1988 couture collection, a giant fucking diamond, and the shroud of Christ,

5. Do you have strong feelings about Labubus or anything else related to bag charms?

I just don’t understand the contradictions in wanting to individualize yourself with bag charms and then see 20 other people out there with the same thing. I always get afraid that they have bed bugs or lice from being on the ground everywhere you place your bag down

Maddie

Age: 25
Occupation: hostess/artist

Where you live: Chicago IL

Number of bag charms: 24 (spread across multiple bags)

How long you’ve been collecting: 5 plus years

1. What was your first bag charm? What got you into them?

Honestly I don’t specifically remember my first bag charm but it was probably some sort of a gas station/souvenir keychain from a friend or maybe something I made. I always decorated my backpacks when I was in school and I used to make a lot of polymer clay keychains with text on them during the pandemic. I do specifically remember that I became really obsessed with decorating every bag I owned with some sort of charm around 2020.

2. What’s your favorite bag charm? Your least favorite?

My current favorite bag charms are probably my two ugly doll keychains, my happy99 angel99 charm that I put on my other GG&L bag, or my Lucky Jewel giant metal key charm.

Honestly…. Really dislike those baggu keychains that are just… small bags. Also those starbucks tumbler keychains. I see no point in either of those and I think they exist to be an advertisement for a product and lack whimsy outside of the fact that they’re miniatures.

3. Do you care about “authenticity” when it comes to bag charms? For example, someone buying their charms all at once vs. collecting them over time, or buying them off Amazon

For me personally, I think there's something really special about obtaining charms from friends or making them yourself and it being a slower process. I think it’s super easy to tell who got their bag charms all at once last year when the trend was becoming more popular. I just really love that collecting is (or used to be) something that happens over time and not overnight.

4. What would your dream bag charm be?

I’ve been lusting after this sterling silver apple shaped keychain from Tiffany & Co that I found on ebay last year. It’s $200 and totally impractical but I swear I’ve been thinking about it at least once a week since I found it.

5. Do you have strong feelings about Labubus or anything else related to bag charms?

I actually find Labubus quite charming but am trying to wait until the hype dies down so I can easily obtain one for a relatively decent price. I love to hunt for a bag charm but don’t want to fight for one if that makes sense. I wouldn’t put clothes on mine though.

My least favourite bag charm is my Chateau Marmont room key because it possesses demonic energy.

Ch’lita

Occupation: Stylist

Where you live: London

Number of bag charms: on this particular bag: 5

How long you’ve been collecting: my whole life

1. What was your first bag charm? What got you into them?

It was probably some sort of plushie rabbit, my parents used to bring me lots of trinkets back from their trips to Asia.

But what changed the game was when I went through a breakup and just hit the road one summer, I went to 5 countries in a month and just picked up things here and there and started tying things to the handles so if i was out all day and needed an accessory for the night I could just take it off my bag.

2. What’s your favorite bag charm? Your least favorite?

My favourite thing to dangle off my bags is my prayer beads with a red tassel, adds boho charm to any dinky old bag, reminds me of our first trip to Ischia together, Biz. My least favourite is my Chateau Marmont room key because it possesses demonic energy.

3. Do you care about “authenticity” when it comes to bag charms? For example, someone buying their charms all at once vs. collecting them over time, or buying them off Amazon

Not really, but I can tell who the real travellers and bohemians are vs the Jane Birkin wannabes. Everybody is allowed to try and express themselves; it’s not a competition.

4. What would your dream bag charm be?

I would love to dangle a Rolex off of my bag.

5. Do you have strong feelings about Labubus or anything else related to bag charms?

I’m more of a Monchichi girl, I like that Monchichi is old and storied. Labubu is ugly to me, I make a stank face when I see one.

Please list all your charms and where they’re from (store, person, place, etc).

• Brian Jonestown Massacre keyring, bought from the merch stand when they played in London. I went with my ex, and he bought it for me.

• Hotel Chelsea Room Key, Biz forced me to make a vision board for 2025, and one of the things I wrote was to stay at the Hotel Chelsea. I found myself in NYC earlier this year, and I stayed in room 4F. It was kinda fucking major, my dad used to buy me all these books relating to the hotel and it made me crazy obsessed. It costs $150 to buy the key, btw.

• I love my Johnny Thunders badge, I got in this shop in Tokyo called Council Flat, which is modelled after the owner's council flat from the 80s in London. It’s a big badge and the most direct way to communicate what I am interested in to others. I went to a Primal Scream + Pulp gig afterwards, and it was the best live music experience I’ve ever had.

• Dice: purchased from a strange rockabilly store in Tokyo, I really like how dice look. I wear an antique pocket watch key that has a dice on it around my neck. I like the polka dot/gambling vibe.

• My OG monchichi, given to me by an older Japanese fella who owns this crazy vintage store in Shibuya. I spent like a million yen at his shop, and he gave me this monkey chinchilla friend. I had never seen one before. Then he took me to his bar and we drank so much liquor together while he played music from various posts he had saved on Instagram. My monchichi is cute and makes me happy when i look at him and remember the night I had. I like to fiddle with the milk bottle in his hand and shove it in his mouth.

Do you have strong feelings about Labubus or anything else related to bag charms?

I always get afraid that they have bed bugs or lice from being on the ground everywhere you place your bag down

Meiting Song

Occupation: Artist and Designer

Where you live: New York Chinatown

Number of bag charms: I probably have over 100, mostly because I’ve made a lot of them myself. I create plushie bag charms, so my collection has grown pretty big over time.

How long you’ve been collecting: since high school but i lost most of them.

1. What was your first bag charm? What got you into them?

I can't remember exactly what my very first bag charm was, but the one that stands out most in my memory is a Rilakkuma plushie keychain. I got really into Rilakkuma memes online back then, especially the ones with that funny shibari Rilakkuma.

2. What’s your favorite bag charm? Your least favorite?

My favorite is this tiny piano keychain I found at a 99 cent store on Allen Street in Chinatown. It actually plays little sound effects and works like a mini piano. It’s super cute and weirdly functional.

My least favorite is a Tamagotchi I got from Urban Outfitters about five years ago. I never liked the look of it that much, and it constantly reminds me I’m not a good digital parent.

3. Do you care about “authenticity” when it comes to bag charms? For example, someone buying their charms all at once vs. collecting them over time, or buying them off Amazon

I do care about authenticity a lot, at least for myself. I like collecting charms over time or making them on my own. I don’t judge people who buy all their charms at once or get them off Amazon. I actually love observing people’s bags on the street. It tells you a lot about them. Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves.

4. What would your dream bag charm be?

Something soft and plush, but also interactive like with little buttons that make sounds. Even better if it could record sounds from the street (I know that sounds a little illegal, but it would be so cool). I love the idea of a charm that’s both cute and functional, maybe even one that can play music or glitchy noises.

5. Do you have strong feelings about Labubus or anything else related to bag charms?

I’m a strong Labubu hater, but I’ve done my research. There are Labubus, Lafufus (fake Labubus), Latutus (the bold-headed knockoffs), and even La BBLs (Labubus with big booties). Personally, I’m not into the “ugly-cute” character aesthetic, but I find the whole culture around them really fascinating. It says a lot about the current economy and what people are drawn to emotionally and visually right now. I do feel a little bad for being such a hater, especially because I was recently working on an IP development project where the client expected me to create something like Labubu, and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. but if you love Labubu, I promise I’m not judging.

Tallulah Dirnfeld

Occupation: Artist

Where you live: LA and NY :(

Number of bag charms: I collect dolls (hundreds), so it’s really more of a spillover issue

How long you’ve been collecting: I’ve collected dolls since forever but one escaped and ended up on my bag for the first time in 2019

1. What was your first bag charm? What got you into them?

A small, strange, confident, accidentally perfect Monchichi. Life Changing.

2. What’s your favorite bag charm? Your least favorite?

My punk Vaquera bear and my Daisy Duck Dimoo (I’m a Disney adult). No least favorites! I only adopt with love.

3. Do you care about “authenticity” when it comes to bag charms? For example, someone buying their charms all at once vs. collecting them over time, or buying them off Amazon

No, I don’t care about authenticity. I’ve always been into dolls and charms. In high school, my senior superlative was “Most Likely to Play With Dolls Alone in a Dark Room,” which was accurate. And in college, my mom (respectfully) warned me that I’d never get a boyfriend if I didn’t grow out of it. But now that everyone’s suddenly into them, I’m just kind of like :-) but also ;-).

4. What would your dream bag charm be?

A Tallulah doll. Doesn’t exist. Should.

5. Do you have strong feelings about Labubus or anything else related to bag charms?

I went up to a stranger in the supplement aisle at Erewhon and asked what her bag charm was. She said “Labubu,” and I was like… can you spell that? I found one on eBay that night. A year and a half later, they’re ran through. Sad face. I still love them though. Ugh.

Jaime Gerin

Occupation: Interior Design / Creative Consultant

Where you live: Los Angeles

Number of bag charms: 5? Always in flux

How long you’ve been collecting: Forever

1. What was your first bag charm? What got you into them?

It was probably my own bead lizard. I made them and gave them to people to make friends when I moved to Los Angeles which accidentally turned into a side business selling glass bead lizard charms. People mostly wear them as bag charms now- it’s funny to see it evolve from keychain to true accessory. Every good thing about my adult life has come from giving people bead lizards.

2. What’s your favorite bag charm? Your least favorite?

My favorite is my industrial switch. It’s a functional switch that I use a fidget toy. Very satisfying button pressing and it plays the songs that come out of the speakers at Japanese train stations. My least favorite is actually the bead lizard. It’s the wrong color but I threw it on my bag and haven’t been home in 2 months.

3. Do you care about “authenticity” when it comes to bag charms? For example, someone buying their charms all at once vs. collecting them over time, or buying them off Amazon

I think everyone should do what they want forever and ever. BUT I do think the best way is to collect them over time. My vintage rabbits foot charm came to me as a free gift with my ebay purchase. Now I can’t go anywhere without it what if it’s the only thing keeping me safe? Ideally the bag charm is a talisman. Something to ward off evil.

4. What would your dream bag charm be?

This is easy: Takara Pocket Critter Hello Kitty robotic keychain. It’s Hello Kitty and her twin sister Mimmy playing the piano in a little bubble. So hard to find in working condition/good price.

5. Do you have strong feelings about Labubus or anything else related to bag charms?

Labubus are fugly. I think they’re going to make up their very own trash barge island in the ocean very soon. Why one would ever want to wear a character outside of the Sanrio universe I’ll never know...

Violeta Rivas

Age: 19
Occupation: Student

Where you live: Arcata, CA

Number of bag charms: Eight

How long you’ve been collecting: For about 10 years

1. What was your first bag charm? What got you into them?

My first bag charm was a Sailor Moon keychain I got from the flea market when I was 9. I was just entering third grade and wanted everyone in school to know what my favorite show was lol.

2. What’s your favorite bag charm? Your least favorite?

Probably the evil eye owl. My friend Mai brought it to me from Greece. My least favorite is not in my bag anymore, but it's a pink bunny with a rattle inside. Incredibly cute but too noisy.

3. Do you care about “authenticity” when it comes to bag charms? For example, someone buying their charms all at once vs. collecting them over time, or buying them off Amazon

I do. It’s not my business how people spend their money, less how they personalize their belongings, but that word right there, personalize. When I personalize my bags I think about the story each charm has, what part of my life it might reflect, along with how good the charms look together. I tend to switch out charms depending on how relevant their stories are to me at that moment. How personal can an Amazon charm be if it's not gifted to you, or bought for a bigger reason than just “I wanted to Jane Birkin-fy my bag”? What does buying charms in bulk say about the way you consume, and more importantly in my opinion, the reason you consume? When you look at your bag, can you feel that it belongs to you?

4. What would your dream bag charm be?

A bunch of keys tied together with red thread, preferably keys of all the houses/apartments I’ve lived in. Big and metallic.

5. Do you have strong feelings about Labubus or anything else related to bag charms?

I personally don’t like Labubus, they kind of scare me. Monchichi plushie charms are a lot cuter.

Faris Ibrahim

Occupation: Student

Age: 22

Where you live: New York City

Number of bag charms: 5?

How long you’ve been collecting: Never intentionally collected, just always loved accumulating rubbish

1. What was your first bag charm? What got you into them?

Growing up in Dubai I remember hella ladies at the mall had Fendi monsters on their purses and it always resonated with me, probably because I was still a child and I thought they were toys. My first bag charm was technically a set of orange and green ‘Ultimate Survival Technologies’ carabiner hooks with various navigational/geographical tools on them (ie. compass, flashlight etc.) because I was really into camping at that time and my mom wanted me to be safe. It was so fresh and the jingling noise of all my attachments became a major clout signifier when I went on camping trips to the desert with my elementary school.

2. What’s your favorite bag charm? Your least favorite?

I really like my Mimi plaque, cuz it’s from my friend Emily’s thesis project. I also love the versatility of a carabiner hook, lately I’ve been attaching flip flops to them (low hanging fruit I know) because I just can’t seem to keep my dogs inside. I love the Loewe one - it has a frog charm which was my mom’s nickname growing up (my mom and her siblings all had animal nicknames like Tokyo Toni’s fake Ugandan kids). I don’t have a least favorite, I think they all need to serve a function or purpose to me, otherwise why carry the extra weight.

3. Do you care about “authenticity” when it comes to bag charms? For example, someone buying their charms all at once vs. collecting them over time, or buying them off Amazon.

It’s very interesting how much people seem to care about how authentic someone’s bag charms are. I definitely agree it’s cringe to try and emulate a genuine accumulation of trinkets from a life truly lived. It feels a bit phony to me, and is reminiscent of people sinking their teeth into something ‘new’ and literally slurping up every platelet of a vibe out of it. But everybody is fake as hell so, who cares if your bag charms aren’t prayer beads from a monastery in Bali or a little rabbit foot from your dead granny’s favorite rabbit’s favorite foot. I think the topic of bag charms is far too trivial for people to be tweaking over them. It’s sort of all the same.

4. What would your dream bag charm be?

I am a very superstitious person and am always knocking on wood, So I would love to have a keychain that is just a perfect little block of wood, maybe from a symbolic tree like a cypress, so that I could knock on it whenever I needed to. I think this is a good philosophy to have. I think having a dream bag charm is lowkey OD but to each their own. I suppose I wouldn’t mind if I had one of the Chanel candy bracelets from FW2014 that I could put on my backpack. I think taking it one step ahead is using brooches or pins; Something about breaching the skin of a bag with something can maybe help separate the real trinket accumulating thugs from fakers who wouldn’t commit to it.

5. Do you have strong feelings about Labubus or anything else related to bag charms?

Not really. I enjoy using charms from a practical point of view. If you fuck with Labubus that’s also chill.