As the morning five-minute bell rings, senior Ella Segev maneuvers around campus, watching students scramble around while carrying their school supplies. As she makes her way across campus, Segev notices the steady stream of students with backpacks sprinkled with the occasional canvas tote bag or Longchamp Le Pliage bag, just like her own, draped over someone’s shoulder. This school year, carrying tote bags to school has become a trend across high school and college campuses, with many Paly students joining in.
While it may seem like tote bags have only recently dethroned the long reign of backpacks as the popular school bag, this trend isn’t new. Since the Longchamp Le Pliage tote bag debuted in 1993, it has remained the peak of fashion — but it has only taken hold among Gen Z this year.
Junior Nava Schwarzbach, who owns a navy Longchamp, said the shift from backpacks to bags reflects growing professionalism on campus.
“I have definitely noticed a lot of people bringing bags instead of backpacks,” Schwarzbach said. “Bags are definitely associated with growing up and being a little bit older.”
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At the same time, Schwarzbach said backpacks are better suited for heavier loads.
“If you’re not carrying around a ton of stuff, it makes a lot of sense to have a bag,” Schwarzbach said. “On college campuses, in high schools, going to work, if you’re bringing a computer, if you’re taking public transportation, if you live somewhere like New York, backpacks are the way to go.”
After Longchamp launched their Spring-Summer 2024 “Longchamp University” collection targeting younger audiences, many students began adopting the trend.
According to Vogue Australia, celebrities including Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, Kendall Jenner and Elle Fanning have all been spotted carrying Longchamp bags, inspiring many others to follow the trend.
A Harper’s Bazaar article also said The RealReal’s “obsessions” — or customers’ favorited items — for Longchamp totes have grown 235% over the last year, with purchases increasing by 17%.
Junior Cole Kristofferson, who occasionally wore a tote bag to school freshman year, said the style can be a way to stand out.
“It’s creative, and it’s different than a backpack,” Kristofferson said. “I wore a tote bag to school freshman year. Not routinely, but I would forget my backpack, and then just rock a tote bag.”
Segev, who began bringing a navy Longchamp to school every day this year, said she prefers bags for their aesthetic appeal and organization.
“It makes me more organized and I think it’s cuter,” Segev said. “It’s just a whole different feeling … It gives you a reason to like your outfit and to like coming to school.”
Segev said she appreciates the increased self-expression on campus, and the fact that tote bags aren’t considered “weird” or “odd.”
“It gives us that opportunity and that option to wear a bag instead of a backpack, whereas other schools don’t have that option,” Segev said. “When people wear more of it, others are more inclined and don’t feel the social pressure to have to wear a backpack.”
But freshman Liam Doll said backpacks remain the best option for daily use at school.
“I bring a backpack because it’s more useful than just a regular bag; it can hold more, and it’s easier to carry,” Doll said. “They could be more fashionable, but I think it’s totally impractical as opposed to a backpack.”
Schwarzbach said while bags are lightweight and stylish, they are not meant for heavy use and can break and cause back pain over time.
“Besides a physiological standpoint, most bags are not meant to be used as backpacks to carry around like that 24/7,” Schwarzbach said. “The Longchamp bag will tear where the strap connects to the bag, and other bags will too, unless they’re really meant for that.”
Athletic trainer and sports medicine teacher Stacey Kofman said long-term use of one-shoulder bags can negatively impact your body and alignment.
“Only having a bag on one side can throw off your spine,” Kofman said. “It can throw off your shoulder. It can throw off your alignment, and it can even throw off your hips. So it’s not great for you if you carry it on one side.”
Kofman said most people tend to carry their bags on one dominant shoulder, which can lead to health issues. She also said she uses backpacks for functionality, and encourages others to do the same to prevent future misalignment.
“If the weight is under 10 pounds, and it’s every couple of days, no big deal,” Kofman said. “But if you’re doing 10 to 15 pounds, and you’re using it only on one side every day, then there’s going to be a cumulative effect, and a backpack is a better option.”
According to a National Institutes of Health study, bags with unbalanced weight distribution, like one-shouldered tote bags, result in greater stress on the spine, while backpacks produce the most limited impact on the spine and on muscles. The study also advised against continual use of heavy one-sided bags to prevent back pain.
In accordance with these findings, Kofman said that because backpacks are best at maintaining balanced weight distribution, they will help ensure an upright posture.
“Bags that you can put on both shoulders are going to save you in the long run structurally, so anything that we can help ourselves with (is better) because we have a tendency to be more rounded in our shoulders,” Kofman said. “But, I can see where kids like the fashion of the newest trend.”
Ultimately, Schwarzbach said the choice depends on what students value most during the day.
“I think it’s a lot more versatile to bring a backpack — it makes a lot more sense,” Schwarzbach said. “If you like the look of bags, then they’re better. But from a standpoint of taking care of your body, bags are actually not good for you because the weight on one shoulder ends up so you have bad posture. So backpacks are physiologically better for you, but bags are just cuter.”
