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A leather fanny pack keeps your phone, cards, keys and passport at your waist, or across your chest, where you can reach them without opening a bag. Ours is the Ely, hand stitched in full grain leather, hand woven leather, soft suede or hair-on cowhide, from $115.
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The ElyThey are the same bag. Fanny pack is the American name, bum bag the British one, and belt bag is what fashion pages call it now. All mean a small zip bag on an adjustable strap, worn at the waist. A good one also lets out far enough to wear across the chest as a sling or at the hip as a crossbody, which is why the Ely is on our sling bag page too.
At the waist: the classic way, on the front or slightly to one side, over a T-shirt or a dress. Across the chest: let the strap out and wear it over one shoulder, bag on the chest, the way most people wear one now. It is the most secure way to carry a phone in a crowd. Low on the hips: loose, over a coat, for a relaxed look on a weekend.
The Ely comes in one size, cut to carry the essentials without bulk, in three finishes.
| Style | Width | Height | Depth | Strap | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ely belt bag | 9" (23 cm) | 5" (13 cm) | 2.25" (6 cm) | waist 26–48" (66–122 cm) | $115 |
| Ely belt bag, woven | 9" (23 cm) | 5" (13 cm) | 2.25" (6 cm) | waist 26–48" (66–122 cm) | $135 |
| Ely belt bag, suede | 9" (23 cm) | 5" (13 cm) | 2.25" (6 cm) | waist 26–48" (66–122 cm) | $125 |
The strap fits waists from 26 to 48 inches and lets out further to wear as a sling. Inside there is a slip pocket for cards, and on the back panel a hidden zip pocket for a passport or cash.
A phone with up to a 6.9-inch screen, a card holder or slim wallet, keys, a passport, earbuds and a lip balm. It is not a bag for a water bottle or a tablet; for those, see the Hexham large sling.
A nylon belt bag is fine for a run. A leather one is for everything else: it looks right with a dress or a jacket, it does not go shiny and bobbled, and it gets better with use instead of fading. Full-grain leather also stiffens slightly with age, so the bag keeps its crescent shape rather than sagging when it is half empty.
The smooth Ely is full-grain leather and the most practical: it handles rain, wipes clean and darkens with use. The woven Ely has a hand woven front of full-grain strips over a solid leather back, for holidays and festivals. The suede Ely is soft cow suede bound in smooth leather, for a relaxed autumn look, but keep it out of heavy rain.
Each Ely is cut to order in our own workshop. The strap anchors are doubled and stitched, the buckle and zip are solid brass, and the back pocket is set into its own reinforced panel so it lies flat against you. Woven fronts are woven by hand, which is why the woven Ely leaves us a day later.
Smooth: black, cognac, chocolate, tan, oxblood and olive. Woven: black, cognac, chocolate, tan, oat and olive. Suede: chocolate, taupe, moss and black.
A belt bag is the bag most experienced travellers carry on the day itself: passport in the back pocket, phone in front, nothing to put down and forget. Worn across the chest, it stays in sight on platforms and in markets. On a flight it fits inside your carry-on or stays on you, but check your airline.
If you mostly want to wear it across the chest, a sling is a little roomier and its strap is more comfortable on the shoulder. If you want the option of the waist, and you carry less, the Ely is the better bag. Many people who buy an Ely end up wearing it as a sling most of the time and at the waist on holiday. For a bigger chest bag with a hidden back pocket, see the Skipton and Hexham slings.
Three initials pressed free, on the leather back panel. The smooth and suede Ely leave the workshop in 3 to 5 working days, the woven Ely in 4 to 6. Returns run 30 days.
Wipe smooth leather with a dry cloth and condition it twice a year. Brush the woven front gently. Brush suede and protect it with a spray. More in our leather care guide.
The Ely is one of our most given bags, because it does not depend on a dress size and suits men and women alike. With three initials pressed on the back panel, it makes a good birthday, graduation or travel gift. It arrives boxed and wrapped in a cotton dust bag, ready to give.
See our leather sling bags, mini crossbody bags and men's crossbody bags, or go back to all leather crossbody bags.
Nothing but the name. Both are a small zip bag on an adjustable strap, worn at the waist or across the chest.
The Ely strap fits waists from 26 to 48 inches and lets out further to wear across the chest as a sling.
Yes. Let the strap out and wear it over one shoulder, with the bag on your chest or at your hip.
A large phone, a card holder, keys, a passport, earbuds and a lip balm.
Yes. The Ely is cut for men and women, and the smooth version is also on our men's page.
$115 for the smooth Ely, $125 in suede and $135 with a hand woven front.
Any bag can come back within 30 days, unused, including one with your initials on it.
Returns and exchangesEvery bag is cut, stitched and finished by the same small team. Nothing here is bought in and relabeled.
Our storyThe outer layer of the hide with nothing sanded off or sprayed on. Panels are cut around weak spots, never across them.
What full grain meansStitching covered for life; hardware covered for five years. We repair rather than replace.
The warranty