I remember the first time I realized some women actually carried their belongings around in a bag that didn’t have a strap. I was interning for a French fashion house, and one of our buyers came in for a market appointment with a Goayrd file pouch tucked under her arm. said arm also happened to be dressed in fur, and I remember thinking that I wanted to look that effortlessly cool one day, without really thinking much about what carrying a bag without a strap really entails.
A file pouch as a purse not only says, “I’ve got it all together,” but it also very much gives “I’ve got my chauffeur waiting for me downstairs” vibes. After all, who can really walk around all day popping in and out of public transportation and running errands like a mere mortal while clutching a portfolio that can’t be worn with a strap?
A brief Histroy of the file Pouch
The exact history of the file pouch is hard to nail down, but it has certainly got ancient roots, and presumably, they date all the way back to ancient times. Both the met and the Smithsonian archives have early evidence of what was then called letter cases. They very much resemble the file cases and portfolios as we know them today, and the briefcase in its earliest form is considered to be a letter holder. made from fabric, the below is a letter case from France that dates back to the late 17th or early 18th century.
image through The Met
The file pouch, as we know it today, can mostly be tied back to the 1800s and early 1900s, with the grow of travel and the need for special carryalls to accompany those rich enough to travel by locomotive or sea. some of the world’s many renowned luxury brands, like Goyard, Louis Vuitton, and Hermès, were created during this time period in history, and it is those brand’s that’s file pouches have been adapted by the chicest of handbag lovers as a slim daily carryall that packs a big punch in style.
There’s Louis Vuitton’s Poche files and Goyard’s version that bears the same name, but there are also less literal, slim pochettes for those wanting to achieve that effortlessly cool, I-look-like-a-boss, look. With pouch-like bags forever trending, there’s no time like the present to tap into this look. It’s one I’ve always wanted to achieve but never quite had the courage to pull it off. but you know what they say, there’s no time like the present, right?
Louis Vuitton Poche files Portfolio case 39
via Fashionphile
$485
Goyard Senat Pochette MM
via Fashionphile
$850
Celine Triomphe Canvas Pouch
via Fashionphile
$470
Saint Laurent file Holder
via Fashionphile
$500