Katie Holmes's New Favorite Tote Bag Makes Quiet Luxury Even More Undetectable

Katie Holmes wearing a black coat and a black tote bag while carrying a starbucks coffee

(Image credit: The Image Direct)

published 15 January 2025

There's a worm in my brain that feeds exclusively on tracking down every new tote bag Katie Holmes buys. Last year, her most-carried picks included Bevza's slim white shopper, Khaite's Amelia tote bag in both black and tan leather, and Mansur Gavriel's Everyday Soft Tote. But a new year naturally calls for a new carryall, and it didn't take long for the Dawson's Creek alum to deliver.

Her latest acquisition, however, has proven a bit harder to identify. Largely free of any obvious design signatures, this medium-sized pebbled black leather purse is the quietest of quiet luxuries.

A photo of Katie Holmes bundling up in a black longline coat, jeans, Autry sneakers, and a black tote bag. — Katie Holmes bundles up in a black longline coat, jeans, Autry sneakers, and a black tote bag.

The bag first appeared on the actor's arm on Jan. 10 when she wore it with a shearling coat and '80s-inspired sneakers from Autry. An unabashed outfit-repeater, the 46-year-old was spotted wearing the mysterious bag and chunky white tennis shoes again on a Jan. 15 pit stop at Starbucks. This time, she traded her sheepskin Kuzyk jacket and light wash straight-leg jeans for a double-breasted black wool coat and wide-leg denim trousers. But the accessories were unmistakably the same.

Mango Handmade Oversized Wool Coat

Autry Medalist Low Leather Sneakers

At first glance, a number of possibilities came to mind. Mango and Cuyana both offer accessibly priced black leather totes with similarly textured exteriors. But the size and shape of Holmes's new bag felt closer to the dimensions of pricier options from Akris and Roberto Cavalli. For a moment, it felt like my investigation had hit a dead-end. Then, I struck gold when I stumbled across Aspinal of London's East-West tote bag. Instantly, I knew I'd cracked the case.

Aspinal of London East West Leather Tote Bag

The East-West bag trend was a slow burn before it finally broke through in 2024, thanks to The Row's EW Margaux Bag and Idaho Tote as well as Alaïa's Le Teckel. From there, it felt like nearly every major fashion house—from Louis Vuitton and Loewe to Bottega Veneta and Hermès—found a way to reimagine their most popular styles to fit the moment. But there's no sign of the horizontal accessories trend slowing down in 2025, with celebrities like Keke Palmer embracing the wave with her Dior Lady D-Joy bag and Zendaya flashing her East-West diamond engagement ring everywhere she goes. So if you've been wondering whether to scoop up Freja's Hailey Bieber-approved $258 Caroline bag or not, consider this your cosmic sign to cop it. Katie Holmes's version might be anonymous for now, but she clearly agrees this trend's here to stay.

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Hanna Lustig is a staff writer at Marie Claire, where she gets to gab every day about the topics she holds most dear: fashion, beauty, and celebrity. Hanna’s editorial journey began with formative internships at Elle and InStyle, where she was lucky enough to work for some of the smartest women in media while she was still in college at the University of Tennessee. Hanna then accepted a digital culture reporting fellowship at Insider, where she helped carve out a new beat dedicated to covering influencers. Those experiences later served her well as a staff writer at Glamour, where she developed a knack for spinning quick turnaround celebrity news and trend reporting into juicy feature stories. Some of her greatest hits include an earnest ode to the no-pants trend, this meticulously reported feature exploring the rise of endoscopic facelifts, this snappy take on the Chanel-designed fantasy of Sofia Richie’s wedding, this tribute to WAGs past and present, and this timeline of Katie Holmes’s life and career as told through her denim collection.

Diane Keaton once hung up on Hanna during an interview, but thankfully that mishap did not derail what has otherwise been a deeply fulfilling career writing for and about women. As one of Marie Claire's resident experts on style and culture, her current coverage ranges from exploring TikTok's contrast makeup theory and the return of the boat shoe trend to interviews with costume designers for hit shows like Nobody Wants This and The Penguin. When she’s not at work, Hanna can probably be found listening to pop music, talking to her dog, and gossiping with her best friends. For more of Hanna’s perfect opinions on pop culture, you can follow her on Instagram and X.

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