My bumbag obsession began last summer while packing for a holiday in Greece. 

Flying on a budget airline, I was allowed to take just one bag and feared I would have to cram all life’s essentials – passport, lip balm, mobile phone etc – into my bulky carry-on.

I complained to my 17-year-old daughter Ottoline that I didn’t want to keep zipping and unzipping my whole suitcase. I had visions of being ‘that’ passenger, holding up queues while I rootled through multiple compartments. She gave me a ‘duh’ look and said, ‘Why don’t you just get a bumbag?’

I snorted, thinking she had gone mad. Didn’t she know bumbags are an eyesore, a sartorial punchline?

Ottoline rolled her eyes. ‘Everyone I know has one,’ she told me.

Admittedly, I did own a bumbag in my 20s – like the Americans, we rather disconcertingly called them fanny packs back then – but even I agreed it was basically a fashion abomination, despite being plain and black.

Ever since, I’ve been under the impression that only naff people with no fashion sense wear them. Or, worse, people trying too hard, like Absolutely Fabulous’s over-the-top PR boss Edina.

Ottoline told me I was being ridiculous. She pointed out I could fit my passport and everything else in it, then fasten it round my waist so it would not count as luggage.

Inspired by her 17-year-old daughter Ottoline, Lucy Cavendish (pictured) invested in a bumbag by Geestock

Inspired by her 17-year-old daughter Ottoline, Lucy Cavendish (pictured) invested in a bumbag by Geestock 

I think young people are far more practical and less image-conscious than we ever were. They wear things with great style and are prepared to experiment, to stand out. 

So not only do they show off their bumbags with pride but even compete to accessorise theirs with the loudest strap. Fluorescent elephants, anyone?

Taking a leaf out of her book – and reasoning that no one would see me on the plane anyway – I went on Amazon and ordered a silver one from Geestock for £9.99.

It dawned on me, as I swanned through check-in with all my valuables stowed safely at my waist, that this bumbag lark might be somewhat life changing.

I now take mine everywhere with me. Like Mr Potato Head, I can stick a million things into it: from a spare pair of knickers and socks to medicines, make-up, sunglasses, tissues, lipsticks, hair toggles, jewellery, tweezers, lighters, money, keys, my phone, my friends’ phones (so they don’t lose theirs).

People my age keep laughing at me but I’m the one waving my hands in the air at a gig without a care while they hoick a handbag up their shoulder for the umpteenth time or shuffle gingerly to the music with it on the floor by their feet.

On Valentine’s Day, I went to the opera and, once again, there I was with my bright silver bumbag round my waist and all the leg room in the world. I was even asked by one jealous audience member where I’d got it from. ‘What a brilliant idea,’ she trilled.

At a literary event last week, I had a glass of wine in one hand and a book in the other. I no longer have to worry about thieves while I’m out, and nor do I have to rootle around in the bottom of a traditional handbag for my keys.

Geestock bumbags (pictured), available on Amazon for £9.99, are popular with Gen Z

Geestock bumbags (pictured), available on Amazon for £9.99, are popular with Gen Z

But aside from the practical win, I now believe my bumbag compliments every outfit I pair it with. I love that the silver makes a statement, and it’s got the Gen Z seal of approval from my daughter, too.

She has even bought me a spare – a sparkly, pale pink number I will use when my beloved silver one gives up the ghost.

Like Gen Z, I occasionally wear mine clipped insouciantly across my shoulder, and I’ve noticed that designer bumbags from Prada and Chanel are now sought after without a trace of irony. Louis Vuitton has a rather natty one in its signature print for an eye-watering £1,460.

So have they really moved on from the dreaded fanny packs of my 20s? In truth, no, there’s a limit to how chic one could ever look with one’s belongings strapped to one’s body. But I don’t care. When it comes to stylish bags, I’m happy to hit a bum note.

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