This Decades-Old Goyard Bag Is the Luxury Standard in 2024 Street Style
It's finding new fans in fashion people—and Hailey Bieber.
You know the classic Goyard bag when you see it. The style, called the Saint Louis, has been a quiet, steady presence in street style for decades: a double-handle canvas tote coated in a painterly monogram print, sold in colors from chocolate brown to bright orange with leather handles to match. It was designed decades ago to be a beach bag (it's also reversible), but its limited inventory and luxury materials have made it more of a status errand bag in street style.
While this Goyard bag is hardly new—the house opened its doors in 1853, and the Saint Louis style pre-dates even the Louis Vuitton Neverfull—it's having something of a renaissance. It turned up in all three sizes throughout fashion month street style, in shades from green (paired to leopard prints) to cerulean (set against a dark suit). Hailey Bieber carried an extra-extra large Goyard bag in a teaser for her new Rhode Barrier Butter last week—and stuffed it with all her new parent necessities. Out in the wild, Goyard bags are hauled over the shoulders of New York City business women and New England-area suburbanites. They're even a status symbol in the high-low outfits on The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
The real sign that a Goyard bag wave is cresting over our closets is in the resale market, where purchases of consigned styles tend to wink toward broader trends. According to data shared in Fashionphile's Ultra-Luxury Resale Report, sales of Goyard's canvas and leather tote are up 16.5% this year. Kimberly Bickle, Fashionphile's site merchandising manager, also tells me searches for the Goyard Saint Louis bag have risen 57% in the past year.
More than one Goyard bag is high on shoppers' lists, according to Bickle. Both Goyard's Saint Louis bag and its mini Anjou tote bag have been fixtures on the site's "Hot Item" list since 2021. (Styles need to sell in 15 days or less to make it on the list.)
The Saint Louis bag's celebrity fans include more than Hailey Bieber: Everyone from Rihanna to the Kardashians has toted one to the airport or on errands between the mid-2010s and today. But Bickle says the brand's rising appeal has more to do with how it feels to carry the bag than who bought it first. "Goyard is renowned for its exclusivity, rich heritage, and enduring quality," she says.
Its pedigree doesn't get in the way of its utility, either. "I think another reason it’s gained popularity recently is the need for functional and stylish totes to wear to work with the rise in returning to office," Bickle says. "It’s the perfect size and weight to carry a laptop and many other daily essentials."
Some It-bags feel extremely Gen Z oriented, like the Coach Brooklyn or Zip Curve bag. Others skew European-insider-only, in the vein of the Gucci Blondie bag. Goyard's bag appears to be cross generational with a bent toward women who really know their taste. Fashionphile reports the Goyard Saint Louis is most frequently purchased by women ages 55 and up. But as street style proves, other generations are already catching on.
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Halie LeSavage is the senior fashion and beauty news editor at Marie Claire, where she assigns, edits, and writes stories for both sections. Halie is an expert on runway trends, celebrity style, emerging fashion and beauty brands, and shopping (naturally). In over seven years as a professional journalist, Halie’s reporting has ranged from fashion week coverage spanning the Copenhagen, New York, Milan, and Paris markets, to profiles on industry insiders including stylist Alison Bornstein and J.Crew womenswear creative director Olympia Gayot, to breaking news stories on noteworthy brand collaborations and beauty launches. (She can personally confirm that Bella Hadid’s Ôrebella perfume is worth the hype.) She has also written dozens of research-backed shopping guides to finding the best tote bags, ballet flats, and more. Most of all, Halie loves to explore what trends—like the rise of doll-like Mary Janes or TikTok’s 75 Hard Style Challenge—can say about culture writ large. (She justifies almost any purchase by saying it’s “for work.”) Halie has previously held writer and editor roles at Glamour, Morning Brew, and Harper’s Bazaar. Halie has been cited as a fashion and beauty expert in The Cut, CNN Underscored, and Reuters, among other outlets, and appears in newsletters like Selleb and Self-Checkout to provide shopping recommendations. In 2022, she was awarded the Hearst Spotlight Award for excellence and innovation in fashion journalism. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Harvard College. Outside of work, Halie is passionate about books, baking, and her miniature Bernedoodle, Dolly. For a behind-the-scenes look at her reporting, you can follow Halie on Instagram and TikTok.
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