This Is The Only Basket Bag I Want To Carry This Summer – Here’s Why It’s Fashion’s Favourite

Do you own a basket bag? Of course you do. So does your Pilates instructor, your boss’s niece, and that friend who claims she’s ‘not really on Instagram’, but somehow owns the exact same one you saw on Camille Charrière’s grid last week. The basket bag is no longer a summer whimsy. It’s a seasonal inevitability. Straw? Wicker? Raffia? Potato, potahto. If it looks like it could hold a handful of cherries and a copy of Bonjour Tristesse (never mind the chicken wine), it qualifies.

Blame Jane Birkin. Or blame the algorithm that has reduced an entire generation’s summer identity to French-girl-on-the-market-run. Either way, we’re here now, all trying to out-basket each other. And just when you thought the genre had peaked (or plateaued into the fashion equivalent of an Instagram carousel), along comes The Row with a basket bag that isn’t merely a basket bag - it's the basket bag. Enter: the Oregon. Raffia, minimalist, gorgeously understated. Naturally.

The Olsen twins - those patron saints of pristine tailoring and thousand-yard stares - have once again created a quiet-luxury object of desire that renders all other summer bags redundant. From the Half Moon to the Margaux and the N/S Park tote, they’ve turned their knack for elusive cool into an empire of sold-out silhouettes and luxury price tags. Their haute flip flops - recently spotted on Jonathan Bailey - are equally as viral, as are the styling hacks that come from the brand’s lookbook and are the reason why you’re seeing everyone wearing a slip over tailored trousers this summer.

But here’s the kicker: the Oregon comes at a (relatively) palatable price for an item from The Row (we’re not delusional either). It's still expensive enough to feel like a real treat; not so expensive that you need to fake an investment rationale. It’s green, it’s roomy, and crucially, it feels like a subtle nod to fashion’s inner circle without being loud about it.

The bad news? It keeps selling out. Obviously. So, join the waitlist, say a prayer to Saint Mary-Kate, and in the meantime, consider the (still chic) alternatives we’ve rounded up below. Because if you’re going to succumb to summer’s most inevitable trend, it may as well be the best version of it. Or at the very least, the one with the most artful lining.

Shop: The Row's Oregon Bag and The Best Alternatives

Henrik Lischke is the senior fashion features editor at Grazia. Prior to that, he held the role of commerce writer at British Vogue, and was junior fashion editor at The Sunday Times Style. A first-class honours Fashion Journalism graduate from UAL: London College of fashion, Henrik is invariably on the lookout for the newest talent in fashion, that is driving the industry forward, and shining the spotlight on them whenever possible. He’s also got a passion for interiors design and the arts. Follow Henrik on Instagram @henriklischke.