Leather Crossbody Bag

How to Wear a Crossbody Bag

Wear a crossbody bag with the strap over the shoulder opposite your writing hand, so the bag lands at the hip on your dominant side and that hand reaches the zip without crossing your body. In a crowd, slide the bag around to the front of your hip with the opening turned toward you, where a resting hand covers it. On a bike or a long walk, push it behind the hip so it stops swinging. Over a dress or a slim coat, the strap looks cleanest crossing the middle of the chest rather than riding up near the neck.

Measuring Your Strap Length

The strap length you need is a measurement of you, not of the bag. Hold a soft tape at the crest of your shoulder, take it diagonally across your chest, to the point on the opposite hip where you want the top edge of the bag to sit, and that number is the strap setting to aim for. Add about 2 inches for a winter coat and take 2 off for a bag you want snug under the arm. A petite frame often ends up on the shortest holes and a tall one on the longest, so the adjustable straps here matter more than the bag size.

Leather Straps Settle Over a Season

A new leather strap gives a little in its first weeks of wear, the way a belt does, so a crossbody that sits perfectly on day one can hang slightly lower a month later. Leave a spare hole above the setting you start on, and move up a notch when the bag begins tapping your thigh. Between uses, store the bag lying flat with the strap coiled loosely beside it, so the strap is not stretched under the weight of the bag.

For the smallest shapes, see the small crossbody bags sorted by depth, and for color advice turn to crossbody bags for women in black, taupe and brown.