A beach-appropriate bag used to mean something low-key and suitable for sand (a straw basket bag at best and a ratty tote at worst). Now, however, the stakes have been raised by certain holidaymakers, namely celebrities who’ve been packing their beach essentials - a packet of Lays, perhaps, or the latest paperback - into their Hermès.
For her recent holiday in Ibiza, Kate Moss was photographed wearing a kaftan top and a wrist stacked with silverware, a chunky belt fastened around her bikini bottoms. The look’s pièce de résistance, however, was a Hermès Kelly, scuffed with sand or perhaps SPF 50, which hung from the crook of the supermodel’s arm. It’s a flex equivalent to stuffing nappies, a lunchbox or a spare change of shoes in your Birkin. Don’t forget, this receptacle has the kind of pedigree that means an early version - in this case the original bag owned by the woman it was named after, Jane Birkin - recently fetched £7.4 million at auction.
