How to make an ita bag?

Your choice of bag is really important.

It needs enough surface area to fit all your accessories, with strong material to keep them fixed and secure. The handles and/or straps should be as sturdy and comfortable on your shoulder(s) as possible. A plastic/vinyl outer layer’s always a good idea, to protect your decorations and still show them off.

There are 2 key styles that otaku usually go for: ‘ita’ tote bags and ‘ita’ backpacks. To reinforce the (misguided?) gender stereotype, it’s kinda hard to find ita bags in ‘male’ or even ‘unisex’ styles. There are pros and cons for each type of bag.

A tote bag gives you loads of empty fabric space to work with. Accessories fit on the outside, with space for all your stuff inside. They’re carried on one arm, which puts all the bag’s weight on one hand, elbow or shoulder.

The easiest way to secure decorations is to pin them on – so you’ll see a lot of badges on ita bags. Put it this way, we’ve never seen anyone use glue or tape.

For anime lovers and idol fans, finding relevant badges is pretty simple. It’s always easier to find accessories that rep newer and more popular shows. Right now, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, and One Punch Man. Some are always going to be popular: Sailor Moon’s a great example of that.

Don’t attach anything just yet. Play around with positioning the decorations before pinning them on.

A huge badge or accessory will be the main focus. Even if you weren’t planning on it – people will naturally spot something like that first. So try placing larger bits and pieces, and then add smaller ones around them.

If you’re an ita bag beginner, you may not have so many badges and pins to work with. That’s totally fine. On the other end of the scale, use enough decorations and the bag itself could be completely invisible when you’re done. That’s also fine.

Something to think about is whether you want the look to be symmetrical or random. For true symmetry, you’ll need an identical number of each decoration. It’s not unheard of for fans to buy 10, 20, or even more of the same badge, just to get the look right.