How to Style a Fanny Pack Like a Fashion Week Pro

Listen, I think there’s a fanny pack for everyone. I don’t actually know how controversial that is to say in 2023, because outdoor gear has taken the Fashion Week streets with peak gorpcore flair, and fanny packs have already proven their high style chops on fashion darling celebrities, but I still feel like some people get intimidated and/or confused by the art of the fanny pack, bum bag, banana sling, or whatever you want to call it.  

It’s a damn shame, because a great fanny pack becomes an endless magic trick; it’s a means of staying hands-free, and hoarding your snacks like a moody hobgoblin on the trail, in the clerb, or at work. When I’m packing a carry-on with essentials to travel by plane, I always take one as a secret, third carry-on bag strapped over my chest. (Sneaky, sneaky.) At the height of summer heaux season, I religiously use one as my slutty everyday carry bag for stashing my eyedrops, condoms, and credit cards.

Fanny packs have also branched out like crazy since the 1980s. For one, we’re no longer limited to wearing them in classic dad belt fashion (though we fully support that normcore look); instead, you might wear that pack by The North Face across your chest with a Jean Paul Gaultier-esque mesh turtleneck; tie a fanny pack’s straps in all kinds of interesting ways (the longer the strap, the greater the fun), or wear more than one bag at a time to flex real sartorial wizard behavior. Classic brands such as Calvin Klein have been making investment leather fannies for years,  and even the most traditional of outdoor companies have started injecting their trail bags with a little more oomph.

Where there’s a will to be hand-free, there’s a way to fanny pack. Here are some of the best bum bags for getting there. 

Nothing wrong with that. Truly the most versatile of the bunch, your Level 1 fanny pack is going to come in black or another neutral color that will match everything. We’ve plucked a few in a fall-specific color scheme…

The Rick Owens dupe

There’s just something about the soft, yet industrial nature of neoprene material that feels very Rick Owens-goes-scuba-diving in the best way. This matte neoprene belt bag comes to us from Quince, the direct to consumer luxury brand behind some of our favorite home goods and apparel, from Italian leather bags to cooling linen sheets, and delivers the same elegant, yet eclectic stoicism we love from the Owens (but at a much more affordable price).

A mid-sized olive sling

Everlane makes such solid basics, and its fanny pack is no different. This bum bag is ample in size, has multiple pockets, and is made out of 100% recycled materials. Plus, olives are in right now (according to TikTok).

Go for a trail-ready fanny

Hot tip? You can find some of the best, waterproof fannies at outdoorsy stores and just use them in everyday life. REI turned out this ochre gem (which is also made from recycled nylon) and gave it a subtle grid pattern as a finishing touch. 

Reach for workwear-centric companies 

We know that Carhartt kills it in the canvas and denim department, and its fanny packs are a bite-sized version of that excellence; this one has a 4.8-star average rating online, with customers saying it’s bar none in attention to detail. “Only Carhartt would triple stitch a fanny pack,” writes one reviewer, while another says “It also has little spots to clip things on the outside.” Doing the most, as always.  

Ok, now we’re getting a little freakier. Well, not really, but if the tides of gorpcore have taught us anything, it’s that The North Face is #Fashion, and you can bring all your crunchy outdoorsy gear to the FROW if you style it right. 

The barely-there 

You are but a fashionable wisp—a cirrus cloud!—on the horizon line with this slender red sling from Amazon. Those multiple pockets are handy for keeping your party favors everything organized, and as one the bag’s 2,100+ Amazon reviewers writes, “This [fanny] is small but very comfortable, and holds a lot of necessities. I bought it for walking our three beagles.”

Our splurge pick for a slender fanny pack brings us to the Parisian brand Côte&Ciel, whose Adda Plus bag is as slender as a banana and expands to accomodate a little over two liters of clam chowder (or whatever you want to store in there).

Peak gorpcore

The North Face comes in hot with the ultra-durable 600-denier recycled polyester, three liters of carrying volume, and a touch of “Summit Gold” yellow that will help your friends spot you at the bar or the top of a mountain in Zermatt, Switzerland.

Speaking of Switzerland, this oxblood red waistpack from the Swiss outdoor brand Mammut is 20% off at SSENSE right now, and is equipped with a water bottle compartment, a bungee-style drawstring to secure your goods, and even a little handle if you want it to moonlight as a purse.

Candid camera

Nothing like a little Kodak yellow to zhuzh a black fanny pack, and make people wonder who TF you are (little do they know, you got it on eBay). Keep ‘em on their toes.

You are a Moomin

Tight.

It’s all better in leather

Add some luxe, leather slings into your nylon fanny rotation, like this slick Calvin Klein fanny pack. If you look at it long enough, you can taste the buttery black leather through the screen. Cop it while it’s 36% off.

You’re René Magritte

This fanny pack from BAGGU has a little Surrealist twist thanks to its cloud print design, so you can have something to zone-out to while riding the subway. 

You’re a rich stoner

You’re our favorite friend. The one who has the best munchies on-hand, has a Jerry Garcia-worthy fanny pack from Herschel, and a yacht named “The Scarlet Babegonia.”

Get yeehawsexual

An upcycled cowhide fanny pack??? Go off, Amazon. This is the kind of elevated bum bag that we would pair with some Doc Martens for a wedding with a non-traditional dress code.

Here’s the other thing about fanny packs: They can be a great way for the color-shy to start living with a little more pizazz. Especially as we step into fall/cooler months, there’s nothing nicer than knowing that you will be able to spot your friend by the Memphis Group-esque, bright blue fanny pack slug over their puffer. 

Keep it primary

There’s literally nothing that won’t go with this? Cotopaxi is an outdoor brand that sure merits its volcanic namesake, because all of its bags are fire (and meant to last at least 61 years).

The postmodern Deadhead

… What, you thought that there would only be one stoner-worthy fanny pack in this round-up? This Grateful Dead sling was made in collaboration with Levi’s, and is actually adorned with one of Jerry’s dancing bears on the side. No pressure, but it would make the perfect Deadhead gift for the crunchy, spaced-out, tax-evading pal in your life.

Da ba dee da ba di

Keep it icy. This blue and brown fanny from Columbia has a 4.5-star average rating on Amazon, where reviewers praise everything from its ample pocket space to the size of the belt, which extends to a 46-inch waist.

Unsurprisingly, Amazon has loads of fanny packs with rad bonus features, from holding your beer to blasting your bops. If you don’t get them for yourself, get them for your bros for the holidays. 

They’re in a state of arrested development

We all know one Gob Bluth person who deserves this. They always tip over your Sea-Doo and mess up their magic tricks, but damn, are they fun. 

The one with hidden speakers

How nice would it be to bike to the park with this fanny pack speaker? Bop to the bops in style, and safety. Love that. 

Your face fanny has arrived

So, of course Amazon is brimming (sorry) with novelty hats. This idea is so deliciously cooked–nay, fried–that we couldn’t say no. Just imagine asking your friend to get your lighter out of your forehead when your hands are busy. You just became the most interesting person in the room.  

Make it a novelty moment

Can you do an armpit fart? Is your dad from Wisconsin? Then this fanny pack belongs in your life. 

Enjoy the hands free life, my friend. 

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.