Across the chest or as the name suggests? We go head to head with the ways to pull off the retro accessory of the moment.

Given the state of men’s style at the moment, you’d be well advised never to discard anything, however long it has been in the depths of your wardrobe. Everything, however seemingly infantile or passé, will almost certainly become “cool” sooner rather than later. From waterproof sweatpants to football scarves – there is nothing the fashion set can’t appropriate. Even belt bags. Or bum bags. Or fanny packs. Whatever you call these practically impractical accessories that you wore as a child, you probably haven’t considered them for a good decade or two. But now they’re, well, everywhere. So, how to wear them, if at all? We set the question for two of our most style-savvy staff members to debate. Here’s what contributing editor Mr Mansel Fletcher and editorial director Mr Adam Welch have to say on this pressing matter.

Mr Mansel Fletcher, contributing editor

Because I enjoy feeling free and unconstricted in my clothes, I dislike walking around with full pockets. When leaving the house, I need a bag in which to carry my car key, house keys, phone and wallet. If I’m wearing a formal outfit, I’ll carry a briefcase or a leather document holder, but what’s the equivalent for a casual outfit? Vintage-looking leather totes are much loved by the Pitti Uomo crowd but for me the answer is a belt bag (aka fanny pack, aka bum bag – let’s admit that the belt bag’s biggest problem is the nomenclature).

When I bought mine (it’s by Porter-Yoshida & Co), I was uncertain about how I’d wear it. Then I saw a shot of A$AP Rocky wearing a Gucci belt bag slung across his chest like a bandolier. Wearing a belt bag this way brings two benefits: firstly, it isn’t vulnerable to pick-pockets, which it would be if worn behind your back, and, secondly, it’s instantly accessible. It’s hard to overstate how liberating it feels to have your phone and wallet immediately to hand, even though your hands are actually free and your pockets aren’t weighed down.

In the 1990s, when belt bags were first popular, I was carrying a Jansport backpack. But I admire the revival of that era’s colourful climbing aesthetic and the belt bag’s renaissance is a part of it. Last summer, I went hiking in Montana and thoroughly enjoyed the fact that by clipping on a grubby fanny-pack (the main purpose of which was to carry two large water bottles), I was experimenting with a nascent trend. The fact that in 2018 belt bags combine dorky practicality with serious style makes them, for me, irresistible.

Mr Adam Welch, editorial director

I’ll admit that, in suggesting that we continue to wear belt bags in their traditional position (ie, like a belt, as you might think the name would suggest, but… oh it’s all so confusing), I’m adopting something of a devil’s advocate position. This is something I wouldn’t normally tolerate at a dinner party, or really, in any situation. (My feeling is: why “play devil’s advocate”? Just say the awful thing you want to say so we can argue about it, delete each other’s numbers and ban each other from all such future occasions… this would save a lot of time and heartache).

Yet, here goes: as someone who grew up with belt bags (in the 1990s, they arrived about the same time as our shell suits, and tended to come splattered with neon graphic prints), and as someone who also tried to bring them back (unsuccessfully, I will admit) around 2007, I’m a little bit riled by them reappearing as “cross-body” bags. It’s the same feeling I get when another iteration of zero-calorie cola comes out. Diet, Zero, Life – Whatever you call it, isn’t it essentially the same thing: fizzy and dark brown, with a faint taste of petrol?

I will admit, grudgingly, that wearing such items across your body does look a little bit more intrepid than the old-school way – and, looking through this season’s street style photographs, I will also acknowledge that I’m definitely overruled by the weight of public opinion on this matter. But for me, not only is the round-the-waist method that little bit more authentic, it also makes much more sense on a practical level. How exactly, when retrieving your keys from your cross-body bag, are you supposed to twist your arm to undo the zip? Surely the required contortions resemble nothing so much as a bemused T-rex. That can’t, in all honesty, be considered the height of elegance, can it?

Also, how are you supposed to put the thing on in the first place, without some kind of styling assistant? Again, some sort of backwards funky chicken-type manoeuvre is probably necessary if you’re going to snap the buckle in place, unless, I suppose, you fasten it in front, then swing it round. If you ask me, getting dressed is already onerous enough. Why make it more so?