This Australian Handbag Brand Is About to Be Everywhere

After checking out the new SoHo store last November, I just could not stop thinking about the green Ordinary Pleasures bag that had been hanging in the window. So as an end-of-the-year treat I bought it for myself, along with a leather card holder for my mom. At $220 for the bag and $50 for the wallet, the two pieces fit squarely into what I deem the “treat” price range—not so expensive as to blow my entire shopping budget for the year, but not so cheap as to be a no-brainer purchase.  But as I’d already gotten a feel for the brand IRL before buying, I felt very confident they would both be worth the money.

Months later I can now confirm this shoulder bag is one of my most-used handbags, and one that garners me compliments nearly every time I carry it. The leather is soft and flexible, but still holds its shape incredibly well. And I love that the straps are long enough to comfortably fit over a winter coat. This particularly silhouette also achieves the magical balance of offering ample room for all my essentials and then some without ever looking or feeling bulky or overly large.

As for the card holder, my mom tells me it fulfills all the very practical requirements of such a simple item. It fits her credit cards, library card and ID with ease, and hits that sweet spot between securing your cards in place without making it a struggle to slide them out when needed. “I can tell the leather will stretch some over time, but not so much that I am worried about anything falling out,” she tells me.

And I am not the only fan—chatting with two other fashion editor friends, I learned that they, too, are kind of obsessed with Status Anxiety. “The Light of Day bag ($270) is my new favorite work bag,” raved one commerce editor. “It’s so chic, but also fits my work laptop without actually looking like a work bag. I use it all the time—weekdays, weekends, travel, all of it.”

“For me it’s the Zenith ($190),” another fashion editor told me when I mentioned the brand’s growing popularity. “It comes with multiple straps so I can wear it any which way, and has as a surprising amount of room for my stuff.” She noted it’s become her go-to for travel so she can have multiple style options without taking up precious space in her suitcase.

Bottom line, you can bet you’ll start to see Status Anxiety popping up more and more often, especially in conversation with similarly chic, ethical brands in that sweet “treat” price range. So if you’ve got your eye on something, I suggest going ahead and adding it to your collection now to beat the curve and revel in the fun of telling all your fashion friends that you were a fan before the masses caught on.