The search is on – and I don’t mean for a perfect-fit bikini or one-piece swimsuit (although they’re on the list, too). I mean for the best beach bags. Because the fact is, no summer holiday look – or any outfit at home, for that matter – is complete without a beach tote, straw bag or basket bag. You know, the type of style you’ll wear on heavy rotation all season, and that’ll also see you through many years of holidays to come. Accessories maketh an outfit, after all.
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If your trusty beach bag is sitting at the bottom of your wardrobe, misshapen and filled with sand from your last trip, you’re not alone. But instead of dusting it off on your dash to the airport only for it to buckle and snap while you fill it with your Duty Free purchases, might it be time to invest in a new one?
Designer brands have made beach bags a summer staple for years now; the Loewe basket bag and Prada raffia tote bag have remained hot on our social media feeds, proving that they work just as well in the city as they do poolside. And with the SS26 runways proving this is still the bag of the season, there’s no better time to get the style du jour.
It goes without saying that raffia and straw are the obvious routes when it comes to your typical beach bag – a la Celine – but it’s the perforated and woven leather styles like the ones spotted at Miu Miu, as well as the Loewe-favoured logo colourblock iterations, that are making the most noise for 2026.
Beach bags have had a bit of a makeover in terms of size, too. The bigger the better is the general consensus – Saint Laurent’s Rive Gauche tote is what Rosie Huntington-Whiteley takes with her to the Amalfi Coast, and has enough space for valuables like your book, sandals, sun cream/sunscreen/SPF, a spare T-shirt and possibly even your kitchen sink – but don’t knock the smaller styles.