In less than a week, I’ll be on my way to the 2012 Sasquatch music festival. Good thing I just found my ca. 2009 silver American Apparel fanny pack under a pile of clothes. (Note: The vintage fanny pack shown above is from modcloth.com and has more of a Solid Gold dancer feel than my monochromatic model).
I’m delighted that fanny packs are enjoying a renaissance. They’re handy, obviously, and it’s easy to muster enough irony to carry off the look. In fact, when I bought mine a few summers ago, I figured it was to my advantage to choose a bold color or print, something like the American Apparel vinyl model below. A neutral might suggest that I take myself and my wardrobe too seriously. The Jansport pack photo, above, is from rei.com. I covet its wild spirit. The catch is that I often wear prints. And while WanderChic is all for clashing patterns, even she knows her limits.
[Cue the Wayne’s World time travel music with wavy hand gestures.] Back in the day, I had a big, clunky fanny pack that I only took on youth group trips to Ohio’s King’s Island or Cedar Point theme parks and only because my mom made me. An over-the-shoulder purse would be impractical, she reasoned, as would a backpack. I can’t remember what the other kids did with their lunch money, tissues, and chap stick. We didn’t have cell phones, so that wasn’t an issue. I didn’t have keys to anything other than a diary. I was too young to drive, so I didn’t have a license. What did I need to carry around, anyway?
I’m sure the cool kids figured out a more elegant solution, perhaps stashing their lunch and souvenir money in the tightly wound cuffs of their pegged Guess? jeans.
Not only has the reputation of fanny packs evolved, but so has the nomenclature. While American Apparel calls it like it is, you can find similar storage systems referred to as: waist pack, waist purse, hip pack, hip pouch, hip bag.
Another name is belt bag, such as this one from rocksandsalt, a Brooklyn, NY based etsy store (photo above is from their site.) OK, and I take back what I said about neutral colors. It looks really good in khaki, and the asymmetrical shape gives off a funky utility vibe. The belt bags are also available in “safety orange,” kelly green, metallic hot pink, and other sassy shades.
One of my favorite etsy finds, above, is from TheGlassHorse (photo is theirs.) If only the Pekingese puppy add-on were a fluffy orange cat, I’d be a goner.