Fanny packs are back, and they're going high-tech

BY KRISTI L. GUSTAFSON

We know we're flash-dancing back to the 1980s when it comes to fashion, but does a revival of the leg warmer era really mean we should embrace things like rubber bracelets, leggings and fanny packs?

Yes, fanny packs.

Americans drop wads of cash to eliminate flab from the fanny and surrounding areas, so why we'd attach anything to our hips, belly or rear -- by choice -- seems illogical, contrary.

Nevertheless, the bags are back, and much, much better than the original styles associated with tourists, runners, hikers and busy moms who don't have enough hands to handle a purse.

"In the past they made the leap from athletic accessory to suburban icon without any change in style," says Michelle Madhok, editor with SheFinds.com, a shopping blog.

That's all changed. Now that couture designers such as Gucci, Prada and Marc Jacobs have created versions, the accessory that is as practical as shoelaces actually has style.

"Now that high-end fashion designers do them and cool people wear them, they are changing their spot a little bit," says Constance White, a fashion editor with eBay.com/personalstyle. The site has nearly 1,500 fanny packs selling for as little as a penny and as much as $300.

These newer bags eliminate bulges, sit flat against the body, have adjustable belt straps and multiple pockets, and come in colors and fabrics outside of the neon nylon associated with packs of yesteryear.

A new bag also means a new name. They're now called "waist packs," "body wallets" or "belt bags."

For others, the packs are still as horribly unfashionable as shoulder pads.

"For some bold people and drag queens it could work really well," says Jeralyn Gerba, New York City editor with the fashion and trend Web site DailyCandy.com. "For the rest of us, we should just let it go."

But, she adds, in the rare case you're hip and trendy, or a style-setter, rather than settler, it can work.