Remember that packing advice your mum gave you when you were a kid: double bag everything you care about most. Well, she was way ahead of her time in a style sense at least.

This season, fashion’s served up the ideal solution to the ‘which purse works best’ dilemma: wear both. Dolce & Gabbana, clearly of the opinion that twice as many means twice as good, sent models down its Spring/Summer 2017 runway clutching a dual purse combo. Likewise at Valentino, where cross-body bags were layered over tiny chain card holders. 

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Dolce & Gabbana SS17
Credit: NOWFASHION

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Valentino SS17
Credit: NOWFASHION

In the court of popular opinion (where many argue trend-spotters look the most) celebrities have obliged with two ticks. Just weeks ago, Kendall Jenner was snapped shopping in Los Angeles with a chain-handled velvet Gucci bag slung over one shoulder and a white micro-backpack over both. BF Gigi Hadid has proven she knows a thing or two about double-bagging as well, having stepped out multiple times of late carrying both a tote or backpack and a classic clutch.

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Off-duty Kendall Jenner on December 28, 2017
Credit: Getty Images

But as with pretty much anything associated with hot-now fashion trends, the earliest adopter appears to have been original It-girl and Insta-muse Chiara Ferragni. The blogger-turned-designer raised eyebrows way back at the Autumn/Winter 2016 shows by layering matchy-kitsch Fendi bags before the Italian brand’s runway show. 

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Chiara Ferragni outside the Fendi SS17 show in Milan
Credit: Getty Images

Ferragni also demonstrated the first rule to making the look cool versus kooky: matching colours or complimentary styles make things easier. And no, carrier bags, gym bags and/or courier satchels definitely don’t count.

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Fashion blogger Helena Bordon does double Dior outside the Couture Week shows in Paris
Credit: Getty Images

In some cases varied sizes from one designer range works a trick (think cross-body chained purse with a medium-sized handled tote in the same colour and material) but right now, the more of a eclectic the clash you can manage, the better. Try a monotone coloured shoulder bag in a bold colour like red or pink, with a patterned purse including at least one similar colour, particularly if they’re completely different shapes.

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Susy Lau carrying a Loewe cross-body and matching hue clutch outside at last year’s Paris Couture shows
Credit: Getty Images

Mix silver chain with gold, layer cross-body styles, or clutch two handles in the same hand. The sky is the limit – provided you stick to a few ground rules. The trickiest part will be remembering in which bag you’ve stashed what.

Picture research by Bobbi Lombardo