WHILE we’re raring to bring our best bags out to the beach or wherever else we’re going this summer, it simply isn’t practical (or very kind to the material) to lug around one of our city bags. So, we’ve come up with a list of bags one can bring to the seaside that will complement a summer look, keep your things dry, and get more than a few looks.
LONGCHAMP’S LE PLIAGE FILETThe favorite shopping bag of the French, the net shopping bag gets a high-low makeover from Longchamp. Seen on the Netflix series Emily in Paris used as an actual shopping bag, the Le Pliage Filet ($110) is made in a collaboration with FILT, France’s oldest manufacturer of net shopping bags. Those bags have been in Normandy since 1860, but this one is available with the Le Pliage’s signature Russian leather top handles and snap closure. Moreover, they come in more colors than the stereotypical beige: Emily had hers in Lemon, but then, there’s also navy, black, blush and red.
PRADA RE-EDITION 2005Water-repelling nylon is a blessing at the beach, and who else would we go to for nylon but Prada itself? While the couture house has been around in Italy since 1913 (as the logo says), it reached global levels of fame with its introduction of the Prada nylon backpack in 1984. “To this day, the fabric represents an original and innovative approach to the way Prada thinks about fashion, epitomizing the unwavering tendency to change as the natural expression of our society,” their website says. The backpack, and other subsequent nylon iterations, became a symbol of 1990s chic. In recent years, members of Gen Z who are nostalgic about the ’90s and the ’00s have revived the Prada nylon trend. Prada, responsive to the desire as well as environmental concerns about the synthetic fabric, released the Prada Re-Edition 2005 ($1,690) in 2019. The bag, following the lines of the once-popular mini hobo from their own archives, is made of Re-Nylon. This is a regenerated nylon yarn (Econyl) produced from recycled, purified plastic trash collected in the ocean, fishing nets, and textile waste fibers.
LOUIS VUITTON’S ONTHEGO GMSpeaking of Econyl, Louis Vuitton is also using the sustainable fabric for the OnTheGo GM. The bag’s material is embroidered with the Monogram pattern for a padded, sporty-chic feel, and comes in both beige and black. Its handles and its lining are splashed with the house’s signature monogram, just in case you forget what you’re holding.
THE HERMÈS GROOMING BAGOur personal favorite for the canvas category from the storied French maison, the square Fourre Tout, has apparently been discontinued. So, we’re going with our second option, the equally rustic-luxe The Hermès Grooming Bag. It was originally designed to hold and carry saddles, boots, and brushes, but we’re pretty sure the water-resistant canvas and the saddle-stitch seams seem like they should see action beyond the stable. The price, at about $2,150, also makes it an alluring buy: you’re owning a bag from Hermes without forking over a minimum of five (US dollar) digits.
BIRKIN BASKETBefore actress Jane Birkin came to be associated with the Hermès Birkin, she was lugging around a basket. That basket is tied to the Birkin bag legend: the contents of her basket had spilled on a flight while she was seated next to Jean-Louis Dumas, then-Executive Chairman of Hermès, in 1984. The event sparked the creation of the bag, some models of which are sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars (and some even go into the millions). You can now have something like that basket that preceded the legendary bag. A Dutch company makes the Bangs Birkin Basket (€149 or $167), modeled after the one once toted by the actress. Each basket is handmade by Portuguese artisans and it takes approximately three days to make. The cane used for the basket is gathered and left to soak in water for a few days to soften before the fibers are bent and twisted into the form of the basket; The handles are wrapped with a rustic-chic linen twill, handmade by locals in Amsterdam. — J.L. Garcia