2 Stars, 1 Handbag Trend: What Nicole Kidman, Kate Middleton Wear

Nicole Kidman and Kate Middleton are both tied to the same fall handbag trend, according to a headline published by InStyle and surfaced through Google News. The outlet's framing is specific: the style is positioned as a budget-friendly route to the kind of polish usually associated with designer accessories.

What did InStyle report about Nicole Kidman and Kate Middleton's handbags?

The headline reviewed for this report names both women as examples of a single fall bag trend, without identifying, in the material available, the exact model, color, or brand each carried. InStyle's framing credits both figures as reference points for the look rather than as the source of a specific product recommendation. Readers looking for the precise bag — maker, price, retailer — should consult InStyle's original piece directly for those specifics, since that level of detail was not part of the source text reviewed here.

Why does InStyle call the trend "inexpensive"?

The outlet's own headline sets the terms of the claim:

"The Inexpensive Way to Make Any Fall Outfit Look So Luxe"

That phrasing draws a line between the price of the accessory and the visual effect it produces. In practice, style desks typically use "inexpensive" to mean a bag priced well under the four-figure range common to flagship designer handbags, paired with a silhouette or finish that reads as higher-end. InStyle's headline does not attach a dollar figure to the claim in the material available, so this report treats "inexpensive" as a relative, not an absolute, term.

What structural features make a lower-cost bag look expensive?

Separate reporting from HTT's own handbag desk gives useful, generally applicable context on this mechanism. A piece on structured bag design notes that a bag's ability to hold its shape — staying upright on a table or shelf rather than slumping — is a construction detail long associated with higher-end leather goods. Reinforced bases, firmer interior lining, and boxier profiles are the features that typically separate a structured bag from a soft, slouchy one, regardless of what the bag costs.

That construction detail matters to the InStyle claim because a trend built around "looking luxe" on a budget usually depends on shape and proportion doing the work that fine leather or hardware would otherwise do at a higher price point.

How does this fit into the broader fall handbag trend list?

HTT's handbag desk separately tracks seasonal shifts across the category. A roundup titled "9 Handbag Trends for Fall 2023: First Impressions Matter" catalogs multiple shapes and finishes moving through the market each fall season. The InStyle Kidman-Middleton item sits inside that same broader conversation about what reads as current, though the two pieces are separate reports from separate outlets and should not be read as describing identical products.

What should shoppers watch for before buying into the trend?

For anyone deciding whether to act on a celebrity-tied bag trend, a few practical checks apply regardless of which specific style is in question:

• Confirm the exact bag referenced in the original InStyle article before shopping, rather than relying on secondhand summaries.
• Check return policies before buying a lower-cost bag meant to substitute visually for a designer piece — fit and scale often look different in person than in a photo.
• Inspect base and seam construction in store or via close-up product photos; a reinforced base is the detail most often cited for a bag holding its shape.
• Compare listed materials (full-grain leather, coated canvas, vegan leather) since price and durability both track closely with that spec.

The underlying claim from InStyle — that imitation of a luxury silhouette does not require a luxury budget — is consistent with how the accessories trade generally talks about trend-driven buying each fall. The specific identity of the Kidman and Middleton bags referenced in the original headline was not available in the material reviewed for this report.