July 18, 2018

The Summer Bag Edit: Seasonal, Smart and Surprisingly Roomy

Featuring the bag I’ve consistently worn for three months…

My bag collection used to be a sea of black leather, with a large tote that I would use for holidays or whenever I headed down the beach, and that was that. No straw. No embroidery. No colour. Just a black leather clutch, a black leather ‘over the shoulder’ bag and a black leather tote. What a surprise, eh? However over the past two summer seasons I’ve realise the true value of investing in a bag that has a little more pizzaz to it.

Being the boring ‘winter-loving’ dresser that I am, who basically just wears a variation on jeans and t-shirt all year round, there’s something about a fun and summery bag that switches up my outfit from something that I could be wearing in November, to an ensemble that has a bit of hot weather flavour to it. LOOK! I’M TRYING! I previously didn’t venture into non-black bag territory because I felt like they would be unpractical and hard to pair with my wardrobe, but actually I’ve found it to be quite the opposite; if you pick correctly you’ll want to wear it all year round. So today I thought I’d share with you my top picks (including the bag that I’ve worn basically every day for the past three months), that are surprisingly roomy and are sure to be a real workhorse of your summer capsule…

Let’s start where it all began, with a Woven Bamboo Bucket Bag (I purchased mine from Wood Grey, although Mango now offer the exact same one and it’s a little cheaper). I wore it so much last summer that I broke it. Thankfully the repair was easily made, but that’s how much wear I got out of it. I love it and there was something about the relaxed feel of it that eased me into summer dressing. Not only did it come in really handy whenever I’ve been away to hot countries on holiday, it was wearable in my wardrobe for six months plus and a good purchase all round.

This summer I thought I’d expand my summer bag choices a bit, and instead of going for an over the shoulder number – which to be fair is the most practical option – I thought I’d add in a bit of variety and go for one that’s more ‘hand holdy’. There’s something about a bag that you have to hold by the handles that just makes you feel chic (or is that just me?), plus makes it a little more versatile for evenings out. Enter the Alienina Woven Bucket Bag. It wasn’t the cheapest purchase I’ve ever made, but I have solidly worn it everyday for the past three months. I’ve taken it to the beach. I’ve worn it up to London for a day of meetings. Heck, I even wore it on a night out and it remained perfectly cream. CAN YOU BELIEVE? It’s fair to say that with these two in my wardrobe I’m sold on the whole idea of summer bags. So here are my high-street and my not-so-high-street favourites…

THE HIGH-STREET SUMMER BAG EDIT

Right I’ve had a good ol’ dig to find the cream of the crop in this category, and my suggestion if you’re looking for a good value summer bag that looks way pricier than it actually is, or like you got it from some far-flung exotic destination and it’s one of a kind – soz – is to check out Mango’s offering. Sure, other high-street retailers have a decent selection of straw totes, but there’s something different about the range at Mango and if they’re not a pretty decent dupe for a higher-end item, then it just looks like a higher-end item of it’s own. WARNING: It’s hard to browse their site currently without buying something.

This Fringe Bucket Bag is the closest dupe to my Alienina Bucket Bag that I’ve found. Sure it’s not the same kind of material, but the shape and colour are pretty spot on (plus it’s less than a third of the price!). If you’re after something that feels more like a summer clutch, then this Beaded Wood Handbag is roomy (and perhaps too roomy to stick a pen in!), but would make any dress or jumpsuit feel a little more summery. You’ll spot what it dupes in the next section, but this Net Tote Bag is popular for a reason, or if you fancy something that rivals Mary Poppins this Jute Shopper Bag looks like you could comfortably fit the kitchen sink in it.

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THE DESIGNER SUMMER BAG EDIT

I’d say that summer bags are most definitely something that don’t require huge amounts of investment. Whereas with leather bags you can argue the toss about the quality of the fabric and workmanship, a woven piece is a woven piece and certainly isn’t going to be the hardiest bag around no matter the price tag. The only time it’s worth taking the plunge is if there’s a style you’ve seen that you just can’t get out of your head or there isn’t a reasonable high-street dupe that comes close enough/you’ve won the lottery. WELL DONE!

If you can’t already tell I love my rope bag, and this Alienina Woven Cotton Tote is slightly larger than the one that I have, plus comes in navy too if you if you don’t fancy taking the leap to dust-grabbing cream just yet. A few of my favourites on Instagram have this Muun Caba Straw & Printed Cotton Tote which just absolutely SCREAMS summer and makes every outfit you wear it with look beach appropriate. If you fancy something a little more out there, then my eyes lit up when I saw this Sensi Studio Canasta Mexicana Leopard-Print Straw Tote Bag (I KNOW!), or this Staud Moreau Macrame & Leather Bucket Bag is easily dupable, but hard to find in this glorious red and pink colour-way.