Hold the Work Tote—Rihanna Levels Up Her Suits With a Four-Figure Gucci Horsebit Bag
The singer's accessory is the opposite of commuter-core.
Not even the best work bags could accompany Rihanna on a November 13 errand to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Vital Records office. When the singer needed to make a Thursday morning visit, she checked it off her To-Do List with a major Gucci bag as her commute companion.
Instead of a laptop-friendly Coach bag or a capacious leather tote, Rihanna styled her oversize suit with Gucci's Maxi Horsebit bag: an east-west, hybrid clutch style re-released during Sabato de Sarno's tenure at the house. The extra-oversize horsebit hardware and baguette shape are nods to an early aughts design by Tom Ford—which itself was an homage to a 1970s Gucci style. Long story short, it's not the sort of work bag a local government office's dress code typically accounts for.
Rihanna visited a Los Angeles office in a leveled-up take on work dressing—including her Gucci horsebit bag.
Instead, Rihanna's Gucci bag is more often found on the A-list late-night circuit. She carried the same style to dinner with A$AP Rocky just days before, styling it with an oversize fringe blanket scarf and shield glasses by The Attico. Dakota Johnson, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Dua Lipa have also styled their Gucci horsebit bags with the opposite of a work outfits: itty-bitty crop tops, naked dresses, and leather jackets.
Last week, Rihanna carried her Gucci horsebit bag out to dinner with a blanket scarf and The Attico sunglasses.
But this is Rihanna we're talking about: She only carries larger bag styles when she's in transit, or when she's flexing a rare find like a new Dior book tote. For her purposes, a Gucci clutch-purse is all she needed to complement her oversize boxy blazer, black slacks, and pointed-toe pumps. Those pieces leaned more office-adjacent than her recent CFDAs Alaïa set or her jeans and Puma sneakers anyway—while keeping that quintessential flare that makes a Rihanna look, Rihanna.
If she has a "real" work bag—with roomy proportions and adjustable straps—she probably has someone to carry it for her.
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Halie LeSavage is the senior fashion news editor at Marie Claire, leading coverage of runway trends, emerging brands, style-meets-culture analysis, and celebrity style (especially Taylor Swift's). Her reporting ranges from profiles of beloved stylists, to exclusive red carpet interviews in her column, The Close-Up, to The A-List Edit, a newsletter where she tests celeb-approved trends IRL.
Halie has reported on style for eight years. Previously, she held fashion editor roles at Glamour, Morning Brew, and Harper’s Bazaar. She has been cited as a fashion expert in The Cut, CNN, Puck, Reuters, and more. In 2022, she earned the Hearst Spotlight Award for excellence in journalism. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Harvard College. For more, check out her Substack, Reliable Narrator.