24-07-2025
Who Needs a Labubu When You Could Have a Fried Chicken Bag Charm?
is the commerce writer at Eater, and an award-winning writer with bylines in GQ, VICE, The Daily Beast, and other publications. A curious home cook with a deep love of Polish cabbage rolls, her devotion to food service journalism knows no bounds.
As lovers of all things food-related, the Eater shopping team is understandably passionate about paying sartorial homage to our love of filthy vodka martinis, mall pretzels, and Aperol spritzes. There's a special sense of camaraderie in the air when a fellow pickle-lover is spotted in the wild courtesy of a realistic pickle keychain; our love of food can feel so personal that it's a bit like spotting someone on vacation in a T-shirt of your favorite local band.
When it comes to food-themed style moments, there's the bold (a radicchio-print dress) but also the more understated (a martini cell phone chain). The current accessory du jour: bag charms, which have taken off amid the popularity of 'Birkinifying' bags — named for Jane Birkin's practice of adorning her Hermès bag with scarves, tags, and keychains — and in the context of a larger consumer shift towards quirky accessories. In an interview with the New York Times about the trend, Marissa Galante Frank, Bloomingdale's fashion director for accessories and beauty, said that she noticed shoppers 'craving a way to show their personal style,' and that charms are 'a way to make a more serious handbag feel unique.' So it only makes sense that we, as food lovers, would want to deck out our bags with unique food-themed charms and keychains.
There's the classic hot-sauce-as-keychain bit, which truly never gets old — check out this interchangeable sauce keychain flight from Tabasco — as well as newer bag swag splendors, like the Instagram-viral Loewe tomato bag charm:
Fashion and lifestyle brands have become increasingly smitten with food-themed apparel and accessories recently, and the exploding popularity of bag charms has yielded a treasure trove of options for every kind of food freak and every budget. Thankfully, you don't have to spend $650 at a luxury Spanish fashion house to bring home a tasty food- or drink-themed bag charm or keychain, and your devoted Eater shopping team (hi) has trawled the internet to bring you the coolest bag charms for making your farmers market tote turn heads at the berry stands.
Let's accessorize — and maybe make those Labubus a little jealous.
This homage to Diet Coke
The Japanese-inspired brand Smoko makes all kinds of cute food-themed home goods that are worthy of your next White Elephant party (see: this ambient dumpling light), including this metallic diet soda bag charm.
For the lover of martinis and tapas
Prove your martini fealty with a string of Castelvetrano olives as a keychain, or go for Michael Kors' metallic gold and silver martini bag charm.
This designer banana is 60% off
This Italian-made banana is admittedly a splurge, but it's one that will always stay ripe. Plus, it comes with the option of either a lobster clasp or a keychain.
This tiny orange bag charm can hold your loose change
Things that this delightful five inch-wide orange bag charm can also hold: mints, lip balm, condoms, magic beans — the options are endless.
Auntie Anne's has entered the chat
In addition to both the lobster clasp and keychain, this faux pretzel is made out of brass, which means it can handle all of the brouhaha of big city life (i.e. clanging against subway poles, your crush's drink spilling).
Fasten a bundle of fruit to your farmers market tote
Take your pick of these miniature avocados, oranges, lemons, potatoes, or peppers in recycled produce bags.
You're partial to ketchup on your chicken nuggets, fries, and fried chicken
I had a dream last night that every one of these was fastened to Jane Birkin's Birkin.
Fendi's deliciously detailed leather bag charms
Somewhere, there is a timeline in which I dip my fries into Kewpie mayonnaise on a yacht off the coast of Mallorca, whilst paying close attention not to stain my truly artisanal, $1,000 leather bag charms from Fendi.
You save all of your ketchup packets
In the poetic words of Moda Opernadi, it's 'a sachet of sauce, made from glossy red capra leather' complete with a tear marker. Details, my friend.
It's always an Aperol spritz summer
The beauty's in the details of the sparkling bag charm, which has different crystals and beads to bring dimension to its design.
This elegant egg
Next stop? Finding you a rhinestone garlic tank top.
