What is purse furniture, and why is it gaining popularity on the internet?

A new internet trend has emerged in which restaurants have created a secure spot to keep your luxury bags

Ever walked into a restaurant, seated yourself at a table, and then looked around for a safe spot to place your bag? We're confident you have, as have many other bag-toters like you. It has led to the ingenious idea of the purse stool, an invention every bag lover will have to thank their lucky stars for.

Restaurant Le Dalíin Le Meurice in Paris is one example of this trend, with caramel-coloured Hermés Pippa Stools on display, reported Bloomberg. 

Priced at $10,600 (Rs 8,70,000), the stools are more expensive than many luxury handbags, the report said.

Rare Steakhouse, a restaurant at luxury hotel Encore Boston Harbor in Massachusetts, also has small white padded chairs that match the decor, for bags.

Other restaurants are showing a little more innovation. Shingo, a Japanese restaurant in Coral Gables, offers convenient hand-woven baskets that sit underneath a customer's chair.

"I'm happy to see these points of service becoming more of a trend," the chef-owner Shingo Akikuni was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

"Fine-dining-only service points have made their way into more mainstream restaurants as service, generally, has become elevated across the industry," Akikuni said.

This trend, however, may not last, as large bulky handbags give way to tiny purses like the Jacquemus clutch, which has gained in popularity in recent years.

According to a survey conducted by Circana, the younger generation of Gen Z and Millennials are also ditching handbags in favour of more practical bags like fanny packs and totes.

The survey found that more than 60 per cent of women ages 35 and older report that they always carry a handbag for activities, other than work or school, compared to only 39 per cent of women ages 18 to 34.

However, handbag sales were still up amongst shoppers over the age of 35. Such shoppers are generally more likely to be the target market for expensive restaurants touting their handbag stools, it said.