Four Bag Charm Trends Right Now: Cherries, Food, Bears and Critters

Condé Nast Traveller reported that Pinterest searches for bag charms rose about 700 percent, and the shelves reflect it. Almost every charm falls into one of four motifs, so I sorted sixteen current Coach and Kate Spade charms into those rows. Price runs from left to right, from $48 to $195.

Cherries are the motif that started it, and Coach's cherry is the one copycats are measured against. Coach has a $75 strawberry and a $95 cherry, and Kate Spade has crochet strawberry and lemon charms at $78. If you like the trend but not the shine, the crochet ones are softer.

A cupcake at $48, a pretzel at $75, a pizza slice at $78 and french fries at $98 make up the snack row. They are funny without being loud, and they work on a plain bag. The cupcake is the best value here.

Bears come in every size, from Coach's $55 Puffy Bear to the $195 shearling Teddy, with a $98 Kate Spade Teddi in between. The more fur, the higher the price, and the fur is the point. I would pick the shearling one if you want the look people are copying.

A frog at $75, a fish at $78, a hedgehog at $98 and a shearling Little Rexy at $195 round it out. The critters row is the most personal, so pick the one that matches your sense of humor. I keep going back to the hedgehog.

Pick one motif and stay in it. A single cherry will always look like a choice, and a whole zoo looks like a mistake.