https://www.whowhatwear.com/belt-bag-trend--5ac445dc11909
The Fashion Psychology Behind Wearing a Fanny Pack—Yes, Really
“This trend is interesting,” adds body language expert Patti Wood, “because it allows you to move, to a certain degree, like a man does.” Wood is the author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma and provided me with even further insight into what wearing a belt bag, as opposed to wearing one (or, at times, three) shoulder bags, might express about its wearer. “I’d be curious to talk to the women [who wear them],” she adds, “and ask what’s it like not to have this dent in your shoulder and have this thing you’re keeping track of all the time, because it gives you enormous amounts of freedom.” This independence—be it moving “like a man” or simply without anything physically weighing down your upper body—seems to ultimately be the most common standout thread among our experts and insiders. While fashion, as Mair says, is a powerful tool that can be used to create positivity, the belt bag may be less of a gimmick, as initially suspected, and more of a tool to make a woman feel like she’s putting herself first.
“It speaks to a self-focused and self-care attitude,” Woods even suggests. And while, no, a fanny pack certainly doesn’t look like other forms of self-care we may be familiar with—choosing to stay in on a Saturday night so you can take a yoga class Sunday morning or blocking all your social media friends who give their two cents on every news headline—it also seems to be a trend that doesn’t ask you to follow, but rather lead. It’s nostalgic, practical, and doesn’t give a damn about what women are traditionally expected to wear or do or act. If that doesn’t feel very 2018, what does?
