A recent photo of the following bag by Louis Vuitton made me think about this pretty popular trend: Transparent bags.

Transparent bags are cleary nothing shockingly new anymore and should be known quite broadly among fashionistas. You have probably seen them already in different shapes and sizes in stores or on the street. It has only been a few years since they have appeared and the hype doesn’t seem to calm down any time soon.

But what is it that makes them so appealing?
As there is not much variation when it comes to the use of material or colours, many bags come in very sophisticated designs. Originally just a plain totebag, you can now show off your goods with small see-through purses, clutches, bagpacks or holdalls. And that’s what it is all about: Showing off what is usually unseen.

But wouldn’t that contradict the whole purpose of a bag?
If you think about the core purpose of a bag, it is to carry various things around with you in the most comfortable way.
And since most of us do not want to carry a plain piece of cloth around, bags come in all different designs and colours, sizes and even additional pockets and zippers. Usually we would go for a bag that fits our sense of aesthetic. Maybe you prefer a red fake-leather handbag to a black long dress? Or you might go for a brown backpack that match your pair of jeans and a long sleeve jumper? For see-through bags however, there is no such thing as mix and matching, but you can use the things you carry in your bag to create your own personal design.

So here we have it: While see-through bags can differ in some points (size, type of bag) in the end it’s up to you to give it your last personal touch. And this could be anything. You could use smaller purses and pouches in cute designs to decorate your goods. Or you could go by a theme and only carry things in the same colour around? Or why don’t you display a cute plushtoy, your favourite drink or a book you are currently reading, for everyone to see?

But why would you want people to see something as private as the contents of your bag?

With Social Media being a part of all our lives, it is hard to tell what should be kept private anymore. Obviously it’s our own choice what we want to share with the public, but since sharing photos and small 260-words-long-texts have become so easy, there is a lack of caution when it comes to sharing personal information. You see people talking about their traumatic childhood, showing off their bodies online, talking about their diet and food plans, giving recommandations about books and videogames, sharing photos of their latest holidays and anounce with excitment that they quit their old job. Is showing off contents of our bag just another act of the lack of awareness about the importance of privacy? Or is it more like a liberating feeling of expressing ourselves?

See-through bags help you to give a statement
Forget about cool leatherjackets with slogans that criticise society. Forget about badges, big chuncky necklaces and wide T-shirts with certain symbolism. Transparent bags are just as useful to get your message accross nowadays. You could use letters, or t-shirts with slogans to express an idea. Or you could use symbolism – flowers, signs, figures,… to communicate or rise awareness for a certain topic. The possibilities are endless, because in the end you are literally carrying a portable vitrine around with you!

But as fashion and people, statements and opinions are all different, this doesn’t mean that everyone always has to have a critical claim towards society when carrying a black and red purse in a transparent bag around with them. I am sure that there are plenty of people who couldn’t care less about giving statements and just chose a PVC bag because they just liked the way it looked. And it can be as simple as that.

Or can it? Why would you not care if you are clearly aware that anyone can see the contents of your bag?
As Aemillia Madden from Who What Wear said:

However, asking myself if I care about whatever evaluations others make based on the contents of my carryall does play with my sense of self a bit. I don’t want to care,but it’s clear I do Or can it? Why would you not care if you are clearly aware that anyone can see the contents of your bag?

Maybe it’s more about your personality rather than your opinions
Most of us don’t think about political statements or activism when we choose our outfit to wear. Most of us are no rebells and just want to look aestheticially pleasing in our own eyes. And there is nothing wrong with that.
The same goes for see-through bags. In the end this is just a new and exciting way to style and personalise your outfit the way you like it.
And so it doesn’t matter whether you want to communicate your own personal style, awareness for a project or issue or just decorate your bag to make it look good – you’ve got all the freedom in the world.
For some inspiration – Vogue has you covered!