The 8 Must-Have Bags For Effortless Summer Style In 2025

Vogue Arabia

23-05-2025

Your choice of summer bag says a lot – that is, almost everything and nothing – about you. For example: are you an aspirant Jane Birkin, cycling around the south of France with several hair brushes and bottles of wine stowed in a woven basket? Are you a Dua Lipa-type, braving the intense, polluted heat of New York with just about everything you own on full display in a mesh Alaïa carryall? Or are you an Amalita Amalfi – surely the most glamorous of the Sex and The City -ers – padding the starboard side of a yacht with a raffia Valentino shoulder bag embroidered with all sorts of kitsch florals? These bags are serotonin, portable personalities, on-ramps to whatever [insert-#girl-summer-here] you are gearing up towards – and there is no shortage of moods to explore.
Photo: Jane Birkin, 1973. David Thorpe (Getty Images)
Here, eight of this season's trending styles to carry you through the summer months in style.
Canvas totes
First up on the list is the classic canvas bag, which, despite being a year-round wardrobe essential for glamorous commuters – an oxymoron if there ever was one – really comes into its own when the days turn long and warm and bright. Whether you're strolling along the beach on holiday or running errands in a supermarket, this versatile piece adds a dose of laid-back sophistication to any outfit.
Photo: Miu Miu via FarFetch Miu Miu Ivy canvas tote bag, AED9,000
Straw bags
The essence of sun-kissed beaches, picnics, and Slack-free days in nature, no summer is complete without a straw bag. Close your eyes and you can almost hear the Whispering Angels singing from inside them. The options, of course, are endless: from oversized maxis (perfect for a day lounging poolside) to diminutive babies (ideal for an aperitif as the sun melts into the horizon).
Photo: Jacquemus via FarFetch Jacquemus Le Petit Soli Basket bag, AED1,275
Raffia bags
For the past few years, Prada's raffia tote bag has been a cult purchase, with the likes of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Gigi Hadid, Dua Lipa and Hailey Bieber all photographed clutching the summery style both at home and on holiday. Just about every brand has, of course, caught wind since – and with good reason: they're light, durable and worn always with a casual ease. Prada Crochet tote bag, AED7,800
Basket bags
There is a bohemian charm to the humble basket bag. They're rustic, nonchalant and a little bit French – evoking the image of a 1970s Jane Birkin, and a collective yearning for the simpler days of yore. It's about mixing fashion with down-to-earth practicality, all breezy sundresses, denim and floppy hats.
Photo: Chloé via Luisaviaroma Chloé Small Woody bucket top handle bag, AED2,019
Woven bags
If you are looking for an alternative to nostalgic summer accessories, let us suggest the woven, or intrecciato, bag. It's a little more of an all-rounder than the seasonal basket bag, a little more inconspicuous, but the lightness of the weaving makes it perfect for hot and heavy days. STELLA MCCARTNEY Ryder woven tote, AED7,160
Colour-pop bags
Summer is the season when nature's colour palette bursts into bloom, and so it perhaps makes perfect sense that our wardrobes follow suit. From pastel hues to vibrant tropical prints, a zingy bag is a clarion call to shake off the lingering gloom of the colder months.
Photo: MM6 Maison Margiela MM6 Maison Margiela Classic Japanese mesh handbag, AED1,177
Farm-to-table bags
A floral-printed, fruit-speckled bag is an obvious, mood-boosting choice for the summer season. Call it farm-to-table fashion.
Photo: Valentino Garavani
Transparent bags
Brave is the individual willing to reveal the true contents of their bag at any given moment. But isn't that what summer's all about? Living carefree, spontaneous, unencumbered? Letting it all… hang out? Alaïa Medium mesh tote bag, AED5,027
Article originally published on Vogue Italy