by Maura Carlin, Editor
With luxury houses pulling from their archives and 2000s-era bags back on everyone’s radar, a question worth asking is this: if a bag left you cold the first time around, does its return to the spotlight actually change anything?
For me, the answer is mostly no. And I say this with zero shade to anyone currently coveting one of these.
Image courtesy: @butenecmaria_life
Take the Dior Saddle. I understood the appeal intellectually — the house history, the Galliano drama of it all. But that shape doesn’t work for me functionally. It doesn’t carry what I need, and I’m not warming up to it now, even as it commands resale premiums and a devoted new following.
Original 2000 Dior Saddle Bag by John Galliano. Image courtesy: @the_vintage_bar
Reissued 2018 Dior Saddle Bag by Maria Grazia Chiuri. Image courtesy: @itscassiethorpe
Then there’s the Chloé Paddington. That padlock was everywhere in the mid-2000s — and the bag was heavy. Impressively, almost aggressively heavy. Heavy enough that I never pulled the trigger on it; I just couldn’t get past the idea of carrying that weight day in and day out. I’ve heard that Chloe has lightened the load in the new versions — but then again, is it really a Paddington without that weight?
Original 2005 Chloé Paddington by Phoebe Philo. Image courtesy: @butenecmaria_life
Reissued 2025 Chloé Paddington by Chemena Kamli. Image courtesy: @butenecmaria_life
And the YSL Mombasa — that handle. I wanted to love it. The sculptural shape was interesting. But I couldn’t get past how uncomfortable it was to carry. And here’s the thing: the new version has quietly downgraded a key feature. The original horn handle — the detail that gave the bag its whole identity — has been replaced by a leather-coated replica. So not only is the handle still the reason I’d personally pass, but the defining element that made the bag worth having in the first place is no longer quite what it was.
Original 2002 Yves Saint Laurent Mombasa by Tom Ford. Image courtesy: @moskaleva.sasha
Reissued 2026 Saint Laurent Mombasa by Anthony Vaccarello. Image courtesy: Saint Laurent
Don’t get me started on the Celine Luggage from the Phoebe Philo era (admittedly a bit later than the other bags). If you love, please don’t read; this may ruin it for you, because once you see it, you won’t be able to unsee it.
The bag looks like the Annoying Orange from the animated web series of the same name. I said it back in the day, and it’s still true (even though Annoying Orange’s popularity has waned).
Original 2010 Celine Luggage by Phoebe Philo. Image courtesy: @farahpink
Reissued 2025 Celine New Luggage by Michael Rider. Image courtesy: @nicolaladstaetter
So no, I’m not rushing back for any of those four.
But here’s where it gets a little painful. There is one bag from that era I genuinely regret not buying: the Fendi Baguette. I liked it then. I like it now. I especially like the vintage models and their distinct character and craftsmanship. Why didn’t I buy one? I genuinely cannot explain it — I had the Fendi B Bag at one point, so it’s not like I was avoiding the house. The Baguette just somehow slipped through my fingers.
Original 1997 Fendi Baguette by Silvia Venturini Fendi. Image courtesy: @la_minute_fashion§
Reissued 2026 Fendi Baguette by Maria Grazia Chiuri. Image courtesy: @fendi
And don’t get me started on my caramel Balenciaga City from 2007. Rehoming that bag was, in retrospect, one of my great fashion mistakes. That leather — the smooshy, broken-in, slightly veiny perfection of early Balenciaga — isn’t quite the same in the new iterations, though a suede version keeps beckoning.
Original 2001 Balenciaga Le City Bag by Nicolas Ghesquière. Image courtesy: @archiveselection_
Reissued 2025 Balenciaga Le City Bag by Pierpaolo Piccioli. Image courtesy: @balenciaga
Which brings me back to the original question. Some bags earn their second act — the Chanel Mademoiselle and Maxi Flap being prime examples, as Matthieu Blazy has reminded us this season. Those bags just needed a moment to feel fresh.
2009 Chanel Large Reissue Image courtesy: @mauralamode
Reissued 2026 Chanel 2.55 by Matthieu Blazy. Image courtesy: Red
But a bag you didn’t connect with the first time? I’m skeptical that a new runway moment changes the fundamental equation. The Saddle is still the same shape. The Mombasa handle is now arguably less special than it was before. And a lighter Paddington might just be… not really a Paddington. And I’ll never get over that annoying orange Luggage tote.
The more interesting question is whether you’ve changed. Have your taste, your lifestyle, your carrying habits shifted enough that a bag that once felt wrong might now feel right?
As for me — I’m staying firm on my four, still mourning my Balenciaga City, and keeping my eyes open for a vintage Baguette at the right price. Some regrets deserve a second chance. Others are just proof that you knew yourself pretty well all along.
Are you buying any of the new versions of bags from the 2000s that didn’t speak to you the first time? Or are you a firm no, like me?
