Designer Bowler Bags – Are they making a comeback in 2022? Featuring Dior, Chanel & Prada

Designer bowling bags or bowler bags were all the craze in the early 2000s and they seem to be making a comeback in 2022!

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First of all, let’s look at what are bowler bags. They are typically medium sized handbags in a dome shape with two short handles and occasionally with a longer shoulder strap as well. It’s not a handbag that is considered very classic as the shape is not for everyone. This style of bags was particularly popular in the early 2000’s and we all know that Y2K fashion is coming back with a vengeance. So, get ready for a 2022 full of bowler bags, low rise jeans & crop tops because it is happening!

Since the last many years have been all about small/mini/micro handbags, it’s no surprise that larger styles of bags are now coming into fashion. Let’s all celebrate the (maybe) end of tiny handbags that can only fit your air pods – the new “IT” bags of 2022 will tend to be larger styles. The bowling bags tend to be more casual, as they’re a part of the “athleisure” trend, so keep that in mind while analyzing the versatility of the bags.

Let’s now look at the top fashion houses that have released bowler bags already

1. Dior Bowling Bag

Dior’s Spring Collection by Maria Grazia Chiuri brings some interesting shapes & styles, in particular the Dior Vibe Bowling bags, as well as the Dior Vibe Hobo Bag. Dior’s new bowler bags come in 2 sizes (medium and large) and a few different color variations. In total, there’s 12 different Dior Bowler Bags that you can choose from, with prices starting from $4500 to $7000.

Dior seems to push the Vibe bag the most out of all the new collection by gifting it to a lot of influencers as well as through ad campaigns, so it will be really interesting to see if it “sticks” and actually becomes one of the most sought after pieces in 2022.

The Dior Bowler bags are not understated and minimalist, they are bold, loud & extravagant. Combining the loud metallic colors, the big “Christian Dior” written on the front of the bag as well as the size of these pieces means that you’ll definitely make a statement wearing this style.

Dior Vibe Bowler Bag in the medium size

It’s definitely the most wearable one between the two, and a great everyday bag. It’s dimensions are 13.5 x 7 x 6 inches or 34 x 18 x 15 cm , and according to Dior, it fits a 15″ laptop. It also comes with a pretty thick shoulder strap, which will make the Vibe quite comfortable to wear. The colors chosen for the medium vibe are pretty neutral: navy, black, blue and metallic gold and silver – however, the bag feels really bold regardless. The bowling bags are very “athleisure” style bags, so it might be hard to style them with a more dressy work outfit for example.

Pricing wise, they range from $4500 for the navy smooth calfskin one to $5300 for the white one with the Dior logo embroidered on.

Dior Vibe Bowler Bag in the large size

The large Dior Bowling bag is a great bag for travelling, it can be your carry-on luggage on the plane or even your gym bag if you tend to carry a lot with you. There are 2 different sizes for the large Dior Bowler, the biggest of the 2 have the following dimensions 19.5 x 10 x 1.5 inches or 50 x 26 x 23 cm. The blue bowler bag is a collaboration with the Italian artist Pietro Ruffo and is slightly smaller than the other two at 17.4 x 7 x 11 inches or 44 x 17 x 27.5 cm

It has a rubber bottom which is great considering where you’d use this bag. Similarly to its smaller sister, it comes with an adjustable shoulder strap that is pretty thick and comfortable. The prices for the large Dior Vibe Bowling bag start at $5700 and go to $7000 for the most expensive one.

Vintage Dior Bowling Bags

If you like the look of the new Dior Bowler Bags but there’s no way you want to spend at least $4500 to get the trendy look, we recommend you look on the pre-loved market, for Vintage Dior bowler bags which right now retail mostly under $1500 and even under $1000. They’re mostly made out of canvas although there are some leather options as well. The prices of these will probably sky rocket IF the Dior Vibe Bowling bags will really be an “IT” bag of the season. So get yours soon if you like the style.

2. Chanel Bowling Bags

Chanel Deauville Bowler Bag

Chanel is expected to drop a few different bowling bags for their spring and summer collections. One bag that has already made an appearance on their website is the Chanel Deauville Bowling bag.

It is priced at $3300 which sounds kind of affordable when we think of Chanel’s many price increases. Its dimensions are: 11.1 × 10.9 × 4.7 in or 28.5 × 28 × 12 cm. It has a very similar look to the Deauville tote, except of course the bowler is a completely different shape and it has a zipper! Chanel will actually release more bowler style bags in the new collections, so stay tuned as we’re going to look into those as soon as we’ll have more information about it.

Compared to the Dior Vibe Medium Bowling bag, the Deauville bag is smaller ( 11.1 × 10.9 × 4.7 inches for the Deauville and 13.5 x 7 x 6 for the Vibe) and unfortunately cannot fit a laptop inside, but it might be a better option for a day to day bag if you don’t need to carry a laptop or lots of items with you. The Deauville is made out of canvas which means that you’ll need to be careful with it being stained as you cannot just wipe the dirt like you would with a leather bag. The Chanel Bowler is also cheaper than its Dior counterpart, so you will save $1200 if you were to choose Chanel over the cheapest Dior Medium Bowler. Of course, the Chanel bowler is not made out of leather and it cannot fit a laptop, so if these are dealbreakers for you, we recommend you look at the Dior line instead.

Vintage Chanel Bowler Bags

As we established at the beginning of this article, bowler bags were previously in style in the 2000s. As with everything in fashion, trends are cyclical and luckily you’re still able to grab a bargain for a vintage Chanel bowling bag. In particular, the Cambon line which was very popular circa 2005, has a few bowler bags (one that comes in a gorgeous pink). As of the time of writing this article in January 2022, the prices for vintage Chanel Bowling bags is still relatively low and you can grab one in good condition for approximately $1500 which is a bargain for Chanel.

3. Prada Bowling Bags

Reintroduced by Miuccia Prada for the 2020 Resort collection, the Prada bowling bag comes in 3 sizes: a mini, small and medium.

The Mini Prada bowling retails for $1300 and has the following dimensions: 6″ x 9″ x 4″

The Small Prada bowling bag retails for $1900 and has the following dimensions: 8″x 12.5″x 5.5″

The Medium Prada bowling bag retails for $2300 and has the following dimensions:  8″ x 13″ x 7.5″

The Medium Prada bowler is similar in size to the Medium Dior Vibe bowler bag, however it is much better priced, being at least $2200 cheaper than the Dior bowler. Unfortunately, it’s not very easy to find the Prada bowler bag new, as it was released a while ago. It’s still available to purchase new from MyTheresa, otherwise you’ll have to hunt for this beauty on the pre-loved market.

Vintage Prada Bowling Bags

The 2020 Prada Bowler bag is very very similar to the original, vintage bowler Prada. Unless you want to shop new, we recommend you look for these on the pre-loved market as there are quite a few bargains to be had. You can easily find a vintage Prada Bowling bag for around $700, even less if you look around. We’ve left a few options below.

Closing thoughts

The designer bowling bag seems to be gaining some traction in 2022, be it from the designers themselves (see Dior pushing its Vibe bags) or from high fashion magazines and influencers. It makes sense that this style of bag would come back into fashion at some point, and it does make sense that people are a bit tired of the micro bag trend where you can’t even fit your wallet.

However, history has showed that the bowler bags typically don’t last too long and they’re quick to be replaced with more classic shapes. Our opinion is this: if you LOVE the bag, love the style, the casualness of it then by all means go ahead and buy it. If you kinda love it but you’re not sure if you truly do love it or if you’re just influenced by social media, then maybe look at the pre-loved market instead. If you don’t like it at all, then it’s simple – just skip this trend. We should all buy things that we truly like and that we can actually see ourselves using.

Let us know what you think, will you be buying into this trend or you’ll skip it for now?

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