The art of weaving bags from natural materials – dried grass or bamboo, for example – is millennia-old, with basketry techniques dating back at least to Egyptian times. It was in the 1950s, though, that the straw bag came to be seen as a stylish item associated with luxurious travel, and taken home as a chic souvenir. The Eaton Bag company in London lead the way this side of the Atlantic while Audrey Hepburn and the Nantucket brigade wouldn’t have been seen dead without one, whether at the beach or not.
