Ask a travel security expert how to keep your handbag safe in a busy European city, and you will hear the same answer over and over: wear it across your body. It sounds almost too simple to be a strategy, but there is solid reasoning behind it, and the advice is remarkably consistent across police forces, travel editors, and anti-theft brands. A small upgrade, a second point of contact, can make it work even better.
This is worth getting right, because the way you carry a bag turns out to matter more than what you paid for it. Here is what the across-the-body rule actually means, why it defeats the most common kinds of street theft, and how to choose and wear a bag that gives a thief nothing easy to take.
Why carrying across the body works
A crossbody bag worn diagonally across the torso, then rotated to the front, stays in your line of sight the entire time. That keeps it out of the blind spot behind the hip, which is exactly where a pickpocket prefers to work, unseen and unfelt. More important than visibility, though, is the mechanics of the strap. Because it runs over your head and across your body, the bag cannot be lifted off in a single motion the way a shoulder bag or a handheld clutch can.
That single property is what defeats the snatch-and-run thief, including the scooter and moped riders documented in Rome, Paris, and Barcelona. A snatch relies on a clean, fast grab and an immediate getaway; a strap worn across the body turns that into a struggle that would drag the wearer and draw attention, which is the opposite of what these thieves want. Guidance from CNN Underscored, the anti-theft bag maker Pacsafe, and the U.S. Embassy in France all arrive at the same instruction: across the body, rotated to the front, with a hand resting on it in crowds.
Where the single shoulder strap falls short
A bag carried on one shoulder or in the crook of the arm is easy to lift and slides off with very little effort. It also tends to drift behind you when your hands are full with a phone, a coffee, or a camera, which puts it in the precise position a thief is hoping for: out of sight and loosely held. None of this means a shoulder bag is a mistake at a restaurant table or a quiet neighborhood. It simply means that a single strap gives you less to work with when someone is genuinely determined, and it offers nothing against a snatch from behind.
The wrist loop, the second anchor most bags skip
Here is the upgrade that most handbags overlook. A wrist strap adds a second, independent anchor point. With the bag tethered to your wrist, it cannot be set down and forgotten, hung on the back of a chair, or slipped off a shoulder, and those quiet losses are some of the most common of all. Police repeatedly point to the café chair grab and to the bag put down for a moment as leading ways a bag simply walks off. A wrist loop closes that gap, because the bag is in constant physical contact and constant attention.
Worn together, the two carries are stronger than either alone. A crossbody strap and a wrist loop force a would-be thief to defeat both at once, in public, with people watching. Since opportunistic thieves choose the quickest, lowest-effort target in view, a bag that is anchored at two points is rarely worth the trouble when an easier bag is a few steps away. You are not trying to be impossible to rob; you are trying to be more effort than the next person, and that is usually enough.
The features that actually matter
Beyond how you wear it, a few design details do real work, and a few marketing claims do less than they suggest. A zippered or otherwise closed top is the most useful single feature, because it removes the open-mouth tote that lets a hand dip in unseen; travel-safety guides consistently rank a secure closure above almost everything else. Sturdy, well-attached straps resist the cut-strap and yank methods better than thin or decorative ones. Some travelers value slash-resistant straps, locking zippers, and RFID-blocking pockets, all of which CNN Underscored and Pacsafe describe as genuine extras, though they matter most in the highest-risk settings and are not necessary for everyone.
Material and finish quietly matter too. Quality leather and solid hardware hold their shape and survive a tug, where flimsy construction gives way. And there is a subtler benefit to a refined, structured bag: it reads as a considered everyday piece rather than an obvious tourist target or a flashy prize, which helps you blend into a city rather than stand out in it. Blending in is its own form of security, and it costs nothing once the bag is chosen.
How to carry in the situations that matter
The right carry shifts slightly with the setting, and a versatile bag lets you adjust. On the metro and in a packed queue, wear the bag in front with a hand over the closure, since this is where the bump and the closing-doors theft happen. In a crowded market or at a festival, the wrist loop earns its keep, keeping the bag close while your hands are busy. At a café or restaurant, bring the bag onto your lap or loop the strap around your leg rather than trusting the back of the chair. At an ATM, keep the bag in front and zipped, and be wary of a stranger who appears to help. None of these moves is dramatic; together they cover the handful of moments where theft actually occurs.
Why how you carry beats what you spend
It is worth saying plainly: a thousand-dollar bag worn open on one shoulder is more vulnerable than a modest bag worn across the body and kept closed. Thieves do not read price tags from across a piazza; they read posture, access, and attention. The most expensive handbag offers no protection if it hangs behind you with its top gaping open, while a sensibly carried bag gives a pickpocket nothing to work with. This is the encouraging part of all the data, because the most effective defense is a habit, not a purchase, and it is available to every traveler regardless of budget.
A bag designed for both carries
That said, the right bag makes the right habits effortless, and very few are designed for both recommended carries at once. The Apposé Taylor Executive was built around exactly this flexibility. Handcrafted in Italy from pebbled leather certified by the Leather Working Group, it ships with both a crossbody strap fitted with D-rings and a coordinating leather wristband, so a woman gets the two carries experts recommend in a single piece. It has an exterior zipper closure, fits a 13-inch laptop or tablet, and converts to a clutch for the evening, and the wristband comes in six interchangeable colors so the bag that protects your essentials still looks like yours.
One honest note to close on. Apposé designs the Taylor for style and versatility, not as a certified anti-theft product, and it is not marketed with slash-proof straps or locking hardware. Its value here is that the convertible straps line up with the carry methods security experts actually recommend, which makes good habits easy to keep. No everyday handbag is a guarantee against a determined thief. A smart bag and smart carrying sense, used together, are what keep your things where they belong.
What about backpacks and belt bags?
A natural question is how the crossbody compares with the two other carries women often consider for travel, the backpack and the belt or sling bag. Security guidance is fairly clear on both. A backpack is comfortable and holds a lot, but it rides behind you in the one blind spot you can never watch, which is precisely where a pickpocket wants to work; travel-safety writers and anti-theft brands such as Pacsafe recommend wearing a daypack on your front in crowds for this reason, or choosing one with hidden zippers that sit against your back. A belt bag or sling worn across the chest shares the crossbody's main advantage, since it sits in front and cannot be lifted off in a single motion. The deciding factors are the same in every case: a secure closure, a sturdy strap, and a front-of-body position. The crossbody simply tends to combine those most naturally with a bag large enough for a full day out.
SOURCES
• CNN Underscored (interview with travel-security expert Kevin Coffey): supports the crossbody recommendation, the open-tote vulnerability, and the security features that matter: detachable strap secured to a fixed object, anti-slash material, and RFID blocking. https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/travel/best-anti-theft-bag
• Pacsafe: supports the description of genuine anti-theft features such as slash-resistant straps and RFID-blocking pockets, and the front-of-body backpack point. https://pacsafe.com/collections/crossbody-bags
• U.S. Embassy in France: supports the advice to carry a purse that zips, held across and slightly in front of the body, and to swing a backpack-style bag to the front. https://fr.usembassy.gov/services/assistance-for-victims-of-crimes-in-france/pickpockets-in-paris-how-to-avoid-becoming-a-victim/
• AAA: supports the cafe-chair positioning advice and the crossbody and belt-bag comparison for keeping a bag in front of you. https://cluballiance.aaa.com/the-extra-mile/advice/travel/outsmart-pickpocketing-scams-while-traveling
• Apposé: source for the Taylor Executive specifications: handcrafted in Italy, Leather Working Group certified leather, included crossbody strap with D-rings and wristband, exterior zipper closure, and 13-inch laptop capacity. https://shopappose.com/products/aspen-white