The Next Status Tote Might Just Be the $5 Fisherman Net Bag
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Last week, Creatures of Comfort teased a new product in an Instagram Story: bright pink and baby blue leather tote bags laser cut to look like nets, with big steel handles. Thebagswere like upmarket, next-gen fisherman grocery bags — the kind popularized in recent years by Céline (which released aversionof the bag in 2015), and Vetements (which featuredonein their fall 2017 look book).
These homages are interesting, but perhaps unnecessary. After all, we’re currently experiencing a golden era of casual and highly affordable utility bags: Hardy nylonBaggus, canvas printedtotes, Mexican market bags, and strawbasketsare so well integrated into modern style — and convey status in their own weird way — that spending hundreds on the expensive counterparts doesn’t seem worth it. Particularly as it relates to the humble net bag.
Net bags, from what we can glean, appeared in the 1920s in Czechoslovakia as a grocery bag, before becoming ubiquitous across the globe when trendsetting Parisians began using them in the ’60s and ’70s fortotingbaguettes home from the market. Gabrielle Pelletier, the accessories buyer at e-commerce site Lisa Says Gah, gives the French credit for the most recent resurgence of net-bagpopularity as well:Anne-Laure Mais, the creative director of Musier Paris, andJeanne Damas, the founder of clothing lineRouje, both of whom began wearing them publicly (on the street and online, where their outfits are viewed and dissected by some combined 1.5 million followers) around 2016. Around that time, we started noticing women grabbing net bags from spots likePearl River Martin Chinatown, swapping them in for their screen-printed canvas totes, or using them for beach days.
Pelletier says that the version of the net bag available on Lisa Says Gah has done exceptionally well in the two years since she started stocking it. “I think people are pleased to not have to buy an ‘It’ designer bag anymore,” she says. “The net bag is versatile, cheap, and chic — you can use it from day to night.” (If you do plan to cart one around day to night, here’s a tip: get some nylon zippouchesto hold your smaller things. Otherwise they will absolutely fall out.)
And who wouldn’t like the idea of a slightly chicer, genderless, expandable, and incredibly cheap (I know can’t be trusted with expensive bags) tote? We think it’s like the Euro version of theclear vinyl handbagsthat have been popping up all over the place: see-through, but in a relaxed leaving-the-farmers-market way. Here are the new statement bags — besides one designer bag, the priciest one is just $36 — we like the best.
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On UO they’re available in pink, yellow, red, and a pretty periwinkle.
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And another, except these are baby pink (and have extra long handles).
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This one is made by Filt, a Normandy-based company that’s been operating since 1855.
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The Lisa Says Gah eco-tote by Abaca has a sweet small handle and comes in a nice natural shade.
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Woven Tote
Made of a bromeliad plant, “one of nature’s sturdiest materials.”
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Okay, this is $210. And it certainly won’t fit any vegetables. But it’s a very stylish, structured take on the trend.
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