Beyond the Bogg: The Elevated Beach Totes Worth Carrying This Season
There's a reason the Bogg beach tote became a cultural phenomenon — rugged, roomy, and unapologetically practical, it answered a genuine need. But if you've found yourself wondering whether your beach bag could do a little more work aesthetically — whether it could carry your towel and your entire sense of self — you're in the right place.
The travel beach tote has evolved. This season, the most compelling options on the sand lean into craft, texture, and artisanal detail: woven raffia, hand-embroidered straw, and structured forms that move seamlessly from the shoreline to a seaside aperitivo. Consider these your elevated alternatives — and your invitation to rethink what you carry.
The Craft Tote: Woven, Raffia & Straw
For the boho beach tote devotee
Where the jelly beach tote prioritizes function, the woven and raffia tote prioritizes feeling. KAYU — the Los Angeles-based brand that has quietly become the go-to for discerning beach-goers — understands this completely. Their pieces are hand-crafted by artisan weavers, each one slightly different from the last, and built with the kind of generous interior that makes a foldable beach tote redundant.
Aquamarine Lace Cover Up Mini Dress
MISSONI — $545.00
A classic Melissa Odabash pareo (navy tassel trim, endlessly tieable) belongs in every beach tote as a permanent resident. The L*Space floral sarong is the kind of lightweight layer that stuffs into a side pocket and re-emerges looking perfect. And MISSONI's Raschel lace cover-up mini dress is the answer for days when you'd rather the cover-up be the outfit entirely.
The Edit: What to Look for in a Beach Tote
Before you commit, a few things worth knowing. The enduring appeal of any good travel beach tote comes down to three things: volume (enough space for a full day's worth of gear without looking like a luggage cart), structure (a tote that collapses completely when empty, but holds its shape once loaded, is the ideal collapsible beach tote), and material (woven raffia and straw age beautifully — a slight tan and the odd frayed edge only adds character).
The boho beach tote aesthetic has staying power precisely because it taps into something beyond trend: a love of craft, of natural materials, of bags that feel handmade because they are. Choose accordingly, and your beach tote becomes less a seasonal accessory and more a well-traveled companion.
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