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Bag with crush potential: No more summer without my basket bag

24.5.2022

Translation: machine translated

The love between Jane Birkin and her basket bag lasted longer than her iconic relationship with Serge Gainsbourg. This summer, I too have fallen for the romantic, laid-back charm of basket bags.

At the beginning of May, I came across my ultimate summer crush on the Internet. I was already dreaming of picnics by the lake, trips to the flower market and walks on the beach - with her on my arm. Yes, I had to have it, this basket bag. The missing piece of my summer wardrobe puzzle. So I placed my bid on Ricardo - and won the auction without competition. I guess it was meant to be.

The next day I picked up the raffia one with gradient color, adjustable black handles and cognac leather patch from the previous owner. Since then we are inseparable - and not only because of the look. So my new favorite item is incredibly practical. Despite the compact size, in addition to my essentials in high temperatures even more important things like sunscreen, a water bottle or my sunglasses case find space in it. Yes, even a book and snacks fit in.

Auch beim Spaziergang ist meine Basket Bag dabei.

The Birkin bag couldn't replace Jane's basket

Jane Birkin was similarly in love with shocks about half a century ago. After all, the Anglo-French style icon is not only the muse of the Birkin Bag by Hermès, but also a basket bag pioneer. Birkin fell in love with a stinky cylindrical basket with a lid while on vacation in Portugal in the late 1960s. The souvenir became a loyal companion: until the seventies, the singer and actress traveled practically exclusively with a basket instead of a conventional bag. And although Hermès dedicated a luxurious leather model to her in 1984 as a spacious replacement for it, she is said to have continued to reach for the wickerwork.

While simple baskets like Birkin's are still popular, basket bags come in more sophisticated shapes, colors and sizes these days. They are still made from materials such as palm leaves, rattan, willow rods, straw or reeds.

Korbtasche à la Birkin.
Source: Instagram: @melodiebance

Modelle in Shopper-Form sind aktuell besonders beliebt. — Korbtasche à la Birkin.
Source: Instagram: @melodiebance

Basket Bags outlast the summer

That basket bags only go with sunny looks is a fatal fallacy. Sure, they're probably the obvious prop of choice for nautical outings in breezy dresses, but that's not where the range of uses ends. On the contrary.

An unexpected style break makes the bag stand out all the more, and it's capable of adding an elegant casualness to pretty much any outfit - a breeze of carefree vacation air in bag form, so to speak. Models with leather applications in particular are an extremely versatile accessory that looks just as good in the office or at a chic dinner as it does on the Limmat.

Die Sommerkleid-Kombi liegt auf der Hand.
Source: Instagram: @dorisblancpin

Smart casual wirkt die Basket Bag aber mindestens so gut. — Die Sommerkleid-Kombi liegt auf der Hand.
Source: Instagram: @dorisblancpin

Even though basket bags have received a lot of love in the last two years, they are by no means a short-lived hype. They've been returning to the fashion front just in time for warm weather for decades now. I even predict that the summer classic will break out of its seasonal prison in the future and will be used increasingly even in cooler temperatures - as Jane Birkin already demonstrated: she combined her basket not only romantically with a white dress, or casually with flared jeans and a T-shirt, but also daringly with a winter jacket.

Im Herbst hat die Basket Bag nicht ausgedient: Sie passt toll zu Mänteln.
Source: Instagram: @fakerstrom

So I am confident that the romance between me and my basket bag will endure seasons. If you're also looking for a summer fling with potential for the long haul, I highly recommend these six styles: