Spring bags: Toward the light

May's here, and a chance to harp again on my #1 fashion fetish; the importance of a seasonal bag. 

Fall/winter bags can be a big outlay: those supple leathers, the hardware that lasts. Spring/summer bags, though, offer respite from those pricey items, because they need to be light, and fabric serves for nearly all occasions. Most of the good leather bags I bought years ago now hold stashes of socks or toiletries, anyway.

In the windows today, a selection mostly made from fabric and natural fibres, chosen to sidestep steep prices.

Textile totes

Left: Dora Nola is the company of Montréal scarf and bag designer Manuela Jarry; when I carry my canvas tote, I'm often asked where to find it.  The totes are well-made and ample but not huge. Shown, "Stories" tote; price, $CDN 65.

Top right: I bought a Rive Droite "Custine" recycled cotton bag at Montréal's Le Palais Bulles, and like both the design and the fact that it's washable. The zipper is good quality, and the colour choices are continually refreshed. The bag is lined in an unpredictable and fun cotton, too; price, about $CDN 100. The brand makes many other styles.  

Bottom right: Linen is wonderful for a warm-weather bag but so many are made with skinny straps that don't support well. This is an exception, a lined linen with substantial straps from the Australian company Affaires; powdery blue is a versatile summer hue. Shown, Model 002; price, $CDN 175. Made in other colours.

Raffias

In a raffia, quality counts, because a roughly-woven bag will abrade your clothes and look ratty within weeks. Choose a medium or small size, or they look beachy.

Left: Sézane's "Rosie" raffia basket bag, in a versatile mauve shows the chic possible from this organic material. Raffia is from a specific palm tree, more durable and pliant than straw. Price, $Cdn

Centre: Another Sézane, the charming "June" basket; price, $CDN 305.

Top right: Australian designer Helen Kaminski's "Lipari M" tote is the high-end entry, but her bags last, and this gives me a chance to show how a black can look seasonal. Price, $US 477. (You can find them secondhand sometimes.)

Bottom right: A little "Shell" bag that's unusual and inexpensive, just enough to carry to lunch or dinner, from Etsy seller VzyluBags (Ukraine); price, $CDN 38 plus shipping.  

The Japanese solution

If you only need a pretty, light bag to carry essentials to a restaurant or party, the folded-fabric bag is an intriguing approach.  

Furoshiki is a traditional Japanese fabric technique used to make gift wrap or bags. For sewn versions, many patterns are available for free online, or you can order them on Etsy. But I like the non-sewn, folded styles because, if using a scarf, you can change the bag back to a scarf if you wish.

The fold works best with a scarf 35 in./90cm or larger, and like origami, there are simple and more complicated versions. The Green Wrapper, on You Tube, shows how to make a basic, graceful bag in a 5-minute tutorial.

Furoshiki have no compartments;  slip a coin purse or small makeup pouch inside. They allow you to splurge on a piece of gorgeous fabric or use a silk scarf too heavy to wear around your neck in hot weather.

Below, a luxe take from Hermès' "petit h" workshop, which repurposes sample and scrap materials—its own silks as a furoshiki bag. The  $1, 200 price reflects use of two pristine, archived carrés, but imagine what you could do with any good-weight silk or cotton scarf, yourself!

 (Here is an Instagram tutorial from Abigail Goodman showing how to make a shoulder bag or a smaller 'dumpling' handbag from one carré and a scarf ring; she adds duck cloth to the interior for shape and to protect the silk. For the shoulder bag, you could also use a cotton canvas tote bag with the straps removed, or a bag insert. For the dumpling, a little makeup bag is an option.)

A furoshiki bag strap allows you to make a solid shoulder strap or handle, and keeps the fabric from being soiled by your hand. The strap shown is from Etsy seller LinkCollective (Japan) and adjusts from 55cm-105cm; price, $CDN 69 plus shipping. Available in various colours.

The French company Inoui offer coloured and braided straps, designed for their scarves but usable for any large square. Shown, braided strap in kaki, €55.

When not in use, furoshiki can hold other items, and you might display it on a bookshelf. Fabric is art!

Closed and sturdy bags

To handle travel, rain and situations where you need a secure bag, I like a nylon in a seasonal colour. I am devoted to those from Groom Paris, because they don't look like hiking gear, yet are strong and durable. (I have fifteen-year-old Groom nylons that still serve; they are washable.) They sell out in a flash, especially the Clone model; price, €169. 

Photo: Groom Studios

The Australian company Prene make bags of neoprene, in sophisticated styles. Shown, the Martini Bag in buff beige, price $AUS 150, and the Mara Shoulder Bag in oat, with its useful exterior pocket; sale price, $AUS 90.

Photos: Prene

The last straw

We remember Jane Birkin, who favoured a lidded wicker basket for her summer outings, even carrying it to nightclubs. Her basket tote, with its overflowing contents, was her signature long before Jean-Marie Dumas of Hermès met her on an Air France flight and offered to make her a more secure leather bag.  

"Wicker" is the weaving technique; wicker is made from straw, raffia or rattan; the latter two will be strongest.

You can find various sizes of Jane's bag (a classic product sold in French markets) now on Etsy; this is the "Jane Birkin bag" from Portuguese seller PadaWorks; price, $CDN 51.

May is, after all, "the merry, merry month", and here in the deep North, we cast off coats and boots. The bags should change too. I'm going to make a furoshiki, inspired by a woman who casually pulled out a square of cotton and knotted it while in line at the grocer's.  

Not a label in sight, which is another plus, and probably one of a kind!