There’s a microbe in my brain that tracks every new handbag Katie Holmes buys. Last year, her most popular bags included the Bevza Slim White Shopper, Khaite’s Black and Brown Leather Amelia Bag, and Mansur Gavriel’s Everyday Soft Tote. But a new year naturally calls for a new bag, and the Dawson’s Creek alum has been quick to pick one up.

Her latest purchase, however, is a little harder to identify. This medium-sized wallet in black pebbled leather, with barely any design details, is the most discreet example of understated luxury.

The actress first wore the handbag on January 10, when she teamed it with a wool coat and a pair of ’80s-inspired sneakers from Autry. The 46-year-old has made no secret of her style, and was spotted carrying the mystery bag and a pair of chunky white tennis shoes while hitting up Starbucks again on January 15. This time, she swapped her Kuzyk shearling jacket and light straight-leg jeans for a double-breasted black wool coat and wide-leg jeans. But the accessories are undeniably the same.
At first glance, many possibilities come to mind. Mango and Cuyana offer affordable bags in black leather with a similar outer texture. However, the size and shape of Holmes’ new bags are closer to the more expensive bags from brands like Akris and Roberto Cavalli. For a moment, I thought I had hit a dead end in my investigation. Then, when I came across the East-West bags from Aspinal of London, I found a real gem. I knew I had cracked the case.
The East-West bag trend finally hit the mainstream in 2024, thanks to The Row’s EW Margaux Bag and Idaho Tote and Alaïa’s Le Teckel. Since then, it seems like almost every major fashion house—from Louis Vuitton and Loewe to Bottega Veneta and Hermès—has found a way to reimagine their most popular styles to date. But the horizontal accessory trend shows no signs of slowing down in 2025, with celebs like Keke Palmer jumping on the bandwagon with the Dior Lady D-Joy bag, and Zendaya showing off her East-West diamond engagement ring everywhere she goes. So if you’re on the fence about whether to buy Freja’s $258 Caroline Bag, approved by Hailey Bieber, take this as a cosmic sign that you’re buying it. Katie Holmes’ version may not be very popular yet, but she clearly agrees that the trend is here to stay.