Shop Current and Vintage Wicker Basket Handbags For a Timeless Summer Look
Several bags get classified as classic—a structured black leather bag, a monogrammed canvas tote, a satin clutch for dressier moments. But what about the wicker purse? The best basket bag of them all. Since its heyday in the 1950s, when women toted around wicker and plasticy woven top handle bags all summer long, the bag has maintained its status.
It’s important to note the many iterations for the basket bag; there’s the au currant designer market tote bag (popularized by Loewe) that riffs on the traditional French and Moroccan woven palm leaf bags. There’s also the round Balinese rattan bags, which evoke a bit of wanderlust and make you look like a very fashionable tourist. But for the purpose of this story, we’re focused on preppy, prissy wicker baskets—they’re the most ladylike of them all, and they’ll never be out of fashion. See here Christy Turlington photographed by Arthur Elgort in 1992 sporting gingham and a white wicker bag—isn’t she lovely?
The best part of the classic wicker purse is that you’ll always be able to shop them. Right now, Mark Cross is offering up his prim Grace Box Bag in a wicker version, while Jacquemus is doing just the same with his Le Chiquito. And you can always count on Kate Spade for a great take on the classic. For vacations, Brazilian label Serpui has you absolutely covered. Should you want to go less Upper East Side, grab one in a cylindrical shape—we like some from Sacai and Gatti. But why not go full circle and shop vintage? Etsy will lead you to a trove of ’50s wicker bags that deserve to be adored for decades to come.
Shop all these and more, below.
