Fashion is adapting to the swiping economy with wallets, purses and bags all shrinking.
It’s been called the cashless effect, the idea that we spend more when we can’t see what we’re spending. But with a cashless economy looming in the distance and bank card use fast eclipsing cash purchases, this so-called “effect” is not just influencing our expenditure – but also how we carry money entirely.
It started with the micro-bag, one of 2018’s biggest trends at Fendi and Jacquemus as well as Topshop and Zara, which is large enough to carry a phone, a key fob and a card case but little more. The fashion is now moving on to purses, wallets and even pockets. At Selfridges, coin-free cardholders are currently available as well as purses, with the department store claiming this season is all about the “downsized cardholder”.
By 2026, it is predicted cash will be used for just 21% of transactions, according to figures from UK Finance. Although rumours of 1p and 2p coins being phased out is a bit of a stretch, wallets or purses could disappear altogether and be replaced by phone covers, according to (Guardian) money experts. Dutch company Mujjo has just launched its line of iPhone cases with built-in wallets that are selling like hot cakes, it claims. Like Sweden, the Netherlands is virtually cash-free.
There is another side-effect of this shift. “As we go cashless, it’s giving women a greater sense of freedom and, as a result, accessories are getting smaller – in fact, they’ve become purses with straps,” says Kathryn Bishop, the deputy foresight editor at retail intelligence and brand consultant the Future Laboratory. Whether this shift will affect things like pockets is a little knottier, she says, saying that might be the case for men but that the opposite is happening with women.
“Arguably, men’s clothing had pockets because it was the traditional ‘keepers’ – be it of keys or money – but now we’re seeing women adopt workwear jackets with functional pockets to carry their debit card or phone.”
Many brands have created oversized pockets for the “sole purpose of women stashing their daily essentials”. At Fendi’s spring 2019 show, pockets proliferated, with some labeled “keys” and “phone.” According to creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi, “if you have to multitask, so should your clothes”.
Either way, this shift in accessories sparked by a changing economy is working in fashion’s favour, not simply because we are buying more. Accessories, especially handbags, have bigger margins than clothes, and generally turn the biggest profits.
