Remember those cute handcuff bags from Marc Jacobs' Heaven store this spring? It is actually inspired by The Barfly, a crescent-shaped sling shoulder bag from Cuffz by Linz, a cult LA brand famous for their handcuff embellished bags.
Founded by Linz Shelton in Los Angeles, her handbag line came out in the mid '00s. Inspired by the habit of losing of her bag at bars, Linz's friends joked that she should get her bags cuffed to her. Rather than make a bag brand new, Linz upcycled a vintage purse with a professional grade handcuff; hence, Cuffz by Linz was born.
The Barfly bags came with cocktail-inspired names for the colorways. For instance, the gold hue was called the Manhattan and the silver Martini (as seen on Paris Hilton). But for other colorways like the tweed variation we have in stock, there wasn't a name for it. Nevertheless, each bag was a collectible thanks to Paris Hilton and Fergie, whose shoulders were cuffed by those purses (pun intended). Then, it crossed over the Pacific to Japan, where the brand gained popularity and was sold in boutiques/department stores.
Even though the Barfly silhouette was slept on compared to Dior's Saddle bag, Cuffz by Linz's Barfly still had that cult level chokehold on the 2000s girlies. Sadly, the brand went defunct in 2014. Recently, Marc Jacobs' Heaven tapped Linz to release a variation of the famous handbag for its Spring 2023 drop. Although Linz's current gig at Meta is worlds away from her designer herstory, she knows that the girlies love the vibes.
Today, you can find originals on Poshmark, Etsy and vintage stores including ours!
