Thanks to TikTok and Instagram, itabags have skyrocketed in popularity. If you’re part of a fandom, you’ve probably seen fellow fans carrying fancy bags covered in pins and keychains featuring their favorite characters or series.
“Itabag” roughly translates to “painful bag” in Japanese, and this bag is a staple of Japan’s fashion culture. The bag’s name comes from the high cost of all the accessories fans decorate it with and how people may react to the fans they see wearing it. Itabags typically display merchandise of the wearer’s favorite character: pins, buttons, plushies, keychains, and handmade dolls and rosettes. All itabags contain a “backer” so that fans can safely stick pins into the bags, and most itabags have clear plastic coverings that act as both protective covers and displays for character merch.
Itabags are essentially limitless!
I started making my first itabag in 2025, using a dark blue guitar-shaped bag that I had received as a gift. I covered the removable backer with silver stretch fabric, which stayed on thanks to an excess of thin painter’s tape. Naturally, I dedicated my bag to none other than Marvel’s Pyro — a character that I have a special connection with. I bought custom pins, a keychain, and a cheap Pyro trading card and haphazardly attached them to the bag.
I proudly carried my itabag for a few months, but at a convention’s afterparty, my bag met its demise. The bag’s strap ripped, immediately tearing a chunk off of the bag like a carnivore devouring its prey. My heart was immediately shattered, and I spent months looking for a new bag.
I managed to get a new itabag about a week ago, now romance-novel-themed as a homage to Pyro’s occupation. After I decorated the bag, I realized that I love it a million times more than the bland black purse that I had used after my last itabag broke. I feel like the itabag, though possibly cringey to others, is able to help me express who I am. The itabag says, “I like to be weird and stand out. I love this character, probably more than anyone else does, and I’m unafraid to show it.”
My itabag makes me feel as though I’m able to say, “This is me and I don’t care what you think!”
I think that anyone who dedicates themselves to a fandom, regardless of age, should partake in making an itabag at some point if they have the funds to do so. It truly feels like a great way to express oneself and it’s freeing in a sense. Due to the “childish” or “cringey” nature of the itabag, owning and displaying one feels like saying you don’t care what others think– and you shouldn’t!
An itabag exists with the intention of making you happy and allowing yourself to express what fandom(s) you’re involved in! An itabag is supposed to be fun! You only live once… Join the craze! Create an itabag for yourself! This is your sign!
Photo by Harper Sunday on Unsplash
They’re such a fun way for fans to show off their collections and personality. I also love how they’ve become a creative form of self-expression in fandom culture. If anyone’s curious about where to start collecting pins or accessories, I once even found unique pieces at a pawn shop that worked perfectly for customizing my own bag.