As a non-binary person socialized as a woman, I have a charged relationship with purses. Wearing anything too girly can give me weird gender feelings, but running around with no bag is simply impossible. What can I say? I carry a lot of stuff. Luckily, I’ve recently found a bag I like that holds everything I need in a surprisingly compact pouch.
My relationship with my Everywhere belt bag from Lululemon was love at first sight. Looking for a Christmas gift for my fitness-loving mom, I stumbled upon this unisex, multi-use water-resistant bag on the Lululemon site. It’s a single zippered pouch with a long, adjustable strap and a buckle closure. You can wear it as a stylish crossbody bag, sling it over your shoulder, rock it on your waist like an old-school fanny pack — the options are endless. It feels chic and elevated, not dorky or bulky like the fanny packs of days past. Unlike other cross-body bags, it doesn’t have fifty million compartments or a football-shaped body that feels like you’re lugging around a human baby.
It has a super simple silhouette, with no extra zippers or do-dads, meaning you can easily get things in and out of it. It’s a fuss-free bag that keeps your hands free — ideal and convenient for carrying my inhaler with me (which I imagine could also be the case for people who carry Epipens, insulin or other necessities).
It’s a compact rectangle measuring just 7.5 by 5 inches, so you never have to hunt around a bottomless black hole searching for your Chapstick or a rogue AirPod. Volume-wise, it holds a liter, which is a weird way to think about a bag, but as I can assure you this means it holds everything you need for a day on the town: phone, keys, wallet, mask, headphones, pen, hair ties, chapstick, phone charger, emergency snack, etc. I will say, though, the dimensions of the bag are about the same size as my water bottle, a 32-ounce wide-mouth Nalgene, so it cannot zip closed with the water bottle inside it. But if you carry a smaller bottle, it may fit.
Best of all, the Everywhere bag has a discrete zippered compartment on the back of the pouch (the side that lies on your body), perfect for storing cash or holding your passport when traveling ― a must-have in my book. I recently took a solo trip to Mexico City and wore my Everywhere bag every day. You can keep your wallet/credit cards zipped in safe and use the big main pocket for face masks, hand sanitizer and small bills, so you’re never exposing your wallet to the world.
While the hipster in me was psyched to find a cool hidden gem at a popular store, I soon realized this magical bag has developed a large following on TikTok. Everywhere belt bags videos have racked up over 243 million views, with people raving about the versatility and usability of the bag.
Recently, the brand launched the Everywhere belt bag with an extended strap that measures 41.7 inches when fully extended. The extended strap fits better if you’re taller, want a looser strap, have a large chest or plan to wear the bag crossbody and not just on your arm. The extender strap currently comes in more colors than the regular one, so it’s certainly worth checking out.
For a go-to bag that’s effortless and stylish, I can’t recommend the Lululemon Everywhere bag enough. But if you’re looking for something in a different color or slightly different style, I rounded up a couple of other compact flat-front belt bags with adjustable straps. And yes, they all have the secret back zipper part.
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