The two sub-£5 bags that will elevate supermarket shopping
Naturally we’re buying them both
Naturally we’re buying them both
Let’s be honest, grocery shopping is a bit boring at the best of times, so if there’s any way we can make it a bit more fun, then we’re game.
So when we saw a spate of stylish shopper totes taking over Instagram, we realised those fashion influencers were onto something.
Two bags in particular have consistently appeared on our feed, and they are so cheap it would be rude not to.
One is the humble string shopping tote bag, which your grandma probably used back in the day. Seriously, we bet she’ll have a good old laugh when you show her this.
It cost less than £1 on Amazon, and comes in the classic cream shade, as well as green, red and black if you’re feeling a bit daring (like when you decide to do your weekly shop at Waitrose instead of Sainsbury’s, crazy).
Shop now: Mesh Bag Organic Cotton String Shopping Tote Net Woven Re-usable Bag for £0.97 from Amazon
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Then, carrying on with the retro theme, we have the jelly bags. Remember those? Probably not, because they were major in the 60s and 70s, and you probably weren’t even born then.
Sun Jellies has the original version in a bunch of fun colours like mint and coral, and it comes in two sizes, the smallest of which is just £5.
Shop now: RETRO BASKET for £5 from Sun Jellies
Now we know we said these were perfect to look chic at the supermarket, but there's no reason not to tote them outside of the frozen food aisle either.
As influencers prove, they're stylish enough to be worn every day, with a floral dress or a white shirt and jeans. The key is to be selective with what you actually put in the bag, as it's see-through. Obviously, a book with a nice cover on it or a colourful beauty bag are nice, but dirty tissues and tampons aren't quite as elegant.
Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.
Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).
Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.
However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.
Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.
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