Nylon tote bag with pink and blue patchwork print

The patchwork tote that doubles as a beach bag

Most large bags make you pick a side: canvas for town, straw for the sand. This one sits between the two. The 18 cm gusset gives it a flat base rather than the folded profile of a plain tote, so it stays open on a passenger seat or a beach towel and you can see what is inside without rummaging. It is fabric rather than plaited straw, so it goes to the supermarket as readily as to the sand. For the plainer end of the range, browse the other printed totes on the shelf.

Gingham, houndstooth and polka dots on a single panel

Look closely and the print is not one pattern but several. Red and navy gingham squares sit next to pale blue houndstooth, white spots on pink and on blue, and stylised rosettes, all laid on the diagonal across an ecru ground. From across a room the eye reads a soft pink and blue wash; up close every square is doing something different. It is a print that behaves best against plain denim and a plain top, and it will fight anything already busy.

Two details that sit outside the palette

The two turquoise rope handles cut across the pinks and blues instead of matching them, and they are set wide enough apart to leave the opening clear. The fringing does not wrap the whole bag: it edges the top and runs down the two side seams, which is what gives an otherwise practical shape its holiday note.

Keeping the print bright

A damp cloth is enough for printed nylon; harsh detergents are what dull printed colours. Let the bag dry open and out of direct sun, and empty it before it goes back in the wardrobe so the gusset keeps its shape. When high summer makes even printed nylon feel like too much, our plaited straw bags take over.