F ashion is not averse to a ridiculous accessory. See, recently, a tiny Fendi lollipop holder, specifically tailored to the measurements of a Chupa Chups and yours for £440 , or a Gucci canvas pet carrier for £2,290. But, sometimes, a trend emerges that is – whisper it – practical and affordable.
Enter, this summer, the jazzy phone strap – freeing the palms of everyone from parents and pub-goers to Hollywood stars. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link.
Learn more. Look around at rush hour, and commuters and tourists alike have their phones hooked on to corded straps and slung across sweaty torsos. Meanwhile, the finishing touch to gen Z’s OOTD videos on TikTok is to clip their phone on to a beaded strap and toss it around a wrist or shoulder.
It’s a trend rooted in practicality. In the UK, the average person checks their phone every 12 minutes . A smartphone has essentially – alarmingly – become an extension of our upper limbs, with most of us not bothering to pop them in a bag or pocket.
A strap makes carrying something like the biggest iPhone, which is about the size of a small paperback, less cumbersome. “In today’s world, our phones have become an extension of our central nervous system, integral to how we navigate daily life,” says Rachel Steed-Middleton, the founder of the London-based brand String Ting, which sells colourful beaded straps akin to candy sweet necklaces .