As our daily lives have become increasingly dependent on technology and the digital world, our need to carry things has dwindled. Briefcases haven’t been necessary since email was invented, and what with the recent revival of the cross-body bag (previously known as the bum bag or, um, the fanny pack), bags are following suit and becoming smaller.

This is at least partly the fault of Mr Simon Porte Jacquemus, designer extraordinaire and maker of tactile pyjama shirts and holiday-appropriate knitwear, who has a reputation for creating teeny-tiny bags that are good for carrying, well, we’re not quite sure. Some paracetamol? AirPods? Your ant collection? It is true, however, that compact pouches are becoming increasingly popular, especially among the well-dressed. Below, you’ll find a few men who have made it work.

If anything can show the trajectory of the cross-body bag from dumpily dressed tourists to the upper echelons of the fashion set, it’s that wearing them with sharp tailoring is not the surprising juxtaposition it once was. The blue camera bag above, worn with a two-tone jacket that follows what we’ve dubbed the “Frankenstein Tailoring” trend, completes this gent’s look.

“It” bags aren’t just for the ladies. The Dior saddle bag, pictured above, is one of the most iconic menswear items to hit the market in recent years (bar perhaps the Balenciaga Triple S, aka those giant clompy sneakers you’ve seen everywhere), and the man above makes the interesting style move of wearing it under his coat. Hey, it works.

Mr Virgil Abloh taking over as creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear marked a huge change for the brand, and the designer has not disappointed in invigorating the brand with plenty of modern energy. The above box bag, accentuated with a bright orange chain, is like the brand’s luggage scaled down, and looks brilliant with this guy’s neutral outfit. The briefcase of the future? You heard it here first.

Ah, the fleece. Much like the belt-bag before it, this much-maligned (yet undeniably practical) garment has skyrocketed itself into mainstream fashion with warm and fluffy ease. Still, that doesn’t mean it can’t be dressed up a little. Here, it’s accessorised with a leather Loewe bag, which elevates the look to something a bit more luxe. Your dad’s fleece, but make it fashion.

Remember those Fjällräven Kånken bags that seemingly everyone was carrying about five years ago? They’re still around, but they’ve been updated for 2019, which means one thing: they’re tiny. Updated through a collaboration with Acne Studios, the above bag looks particularly good with the trench coat this gentleman is wearing it with. What he’s carrying in that tiny space is anybody’s guess, but who cares?