‘A living museum’ — BJ Students visit historical Pokfulam Village and interview docents
19 August 2024Bag Charms Speak Volumes: Student Stories of Connection
Backpacks, bags and totes are essential for every university student, but they can also be a canvas for one of the school year’s biggest fashion accessories – the bag charm.
A walk through the Hong Kong University campus often reveals a sea of charms dangling from people’s bags. But whether they take the form of animal plushies, cartoon characters or coveted “Labubus” encased in sturdy plastic, every charm tells a story.
Back to the beginning
The trend’s origins are a bit murky, but British fashion icon Jane Birkin is often cited as inspiration. “Birkinfying” a bag has become global fashion-speak for personalizing purses with eclectic charms, scarves and keychains, much like Birkin’s affinity for decorating her namesake Hermès bag.
Hongkongers, always ready to jump on a fashion bandwagon, kicked off the trend locally with Disney accessories like the teddy bear Duffy before expanding into charms of all shapes and sizes. In South Korea, some bag charm fans consider a guy taken if he’s got a charm on his bag, thinking that it must be a gift from his girlfriend.
Charmed life
Back on campus, bag charms often add flair to their owners’ outfits. Some fashion-conscious students enjoy matching their little companions with what they’re wearing on the day.
Ultimately, though, while bag charms are a colourful and often adorable way for students to express themselves, many of these charms hold a special meaning to their owners.
To find out more, JMSC feature writers spoke to six charmed-up students, who shared their stories of love and friendship.
Hanna Marcella Kurniawan
Bachelor of Science — Food and Nutritional Science
My bag charms connect me to my exchange memories in South Korea and they each have a special meaning behind them. During my time there, I got to meet up with one of my high school friends who was studying at Yonsei University. I never got to see her after graduation so our three meetings were very special. On our last one, she was late to arrive, but turns out she was actually buying this little teal plushie for me. It was a very sweet gesture, and now I get to hang it on my bag.
I bought this rabbit on my trip to Busan because it reminded me of my pet rabbit back in Indonesia. It’s one of the more unique bag charms I’ve seen, and I love that it carries a little carrot. Misty actually just recently passed away in December, on Christmas morning, but on the same day, a stray cat wandered into our house and stayed to become a part of our family.
As told to Abbas Ifra Shahid, student journalist
Zakiya Lee
Bachelor of Science — Molecular Biology and biotechnology
“It’s a dead frog! I’m not sure where it’s from or why it’s dead. I bought the bag from an online store, and the frog came with it. I’ve never heard of ‘Kermit the Frog’. I just like it because I think it’s cute. It was one of the reasons that made me want to buy the bag.”
As told to Brian Mikael Cheng, student journalist
Emily Lok Yiu Fung
Dora Wu Pui Lam
Bachelor of Science — Speech Language Pathology
This square, white plushie with a smiley face was a present from Emily, my best friend here at university. She gave it to me for my nineteenth birthday. It was actually part of a set of two characters – I think they are called Jellycats. I decided to separate them and attach an extra key chain so we could share it. Now we match! Hers is pink.
I think it’s important to have a good friend at university. Both Emily and I are from Hong Kong, but we met last year, during our first year.
As told to Sara Fernholm, student journalist
Carmen Tang
Bachelor of Arts — Global Creative Industries
The handbag ornament that I carry around with me has a significant meaning, and it’s been around for quite a while, although not a very long time.
“I encountered this adorable Cupid panda doll accessory when I was travelling with my boyfriend in Chengdu.”
For a bit of context, my boyfriend is from Australia, so he was actually visiting Hong Kong and China for the first time when travelling with me. Chengdu is the city of pandas, and when we visited the Chengdu Panda Conservation Zone there were many panda-themed souvenirs. We specifically chose a Cupid panda because of our romantic relationship.
As told to Cherry Fung Sin Wai, student journalist
Lucia Li
Bachelor of Science — Nutritional Science
Every day, two key charms hang from my school bag – “My Piano”, one of my favourite Sanrio characters, and a smaller otter, standing on its hind legs. I bought the “My Piano” charm on a girls’ trip to Japan last winter, and it always brings back memories of us having fun. However, the otter holds a special place in my heart. It’s part of a pair of key charms, and my boyfriend owns the female otter who has a bow on her head.
Hanging the otter from my bag makes me feel like he’s always by my side, especially since we’re doing a long-distance relationship. When we bought these charms from the gift shop Log-On, we first spotted a pair of cats – one black cat and one calico cat – but decided on the otters because we both wanted the calico charm. This became a valuable memory for us.
As told to Nicole Sin, student journalist
Gabrielle Patricio
Bachelor of Science — Biological Sciences
I decorated my black backpack with a little smiling quokka keychain on the right side of my bag, near the water bottle holder. The bag charm holds a special meaning to me. Quokkas are my favourite animal in the whole world, but this charm also serves as a sentimental reminder of my long-distance best friend, Lauren, whom I had the privilege of meeting while on exchange in Australia last year.
It was given to me as a gift from her and is actually a part of a matching two-piece set – one for me and one for Lauren.
There’s a magnet by the left ear, so when I reunite with my friend and her white version is next to it, our quokka charms will connect.
As told to Stephanie Bezant, student journalist
