THE WARDROBE: THE PERFECT BEACH BAG

...and all the stuff I've crammed inside it.

I’ve heard it said that there are really only two types of women in this world: those with neat handbags and those with messy ones. I’m not a fan of reductive sentiments like these, but I must admit that the inside of my bag reveals the Type A, firstborn-daughter-ness of my own insides. Everything has a pocket of its own, and there is nary a chapstick out of place.

My beach bag, however? A whole different story—and one that frustrated me for years. In theory I love the idea of throwing my organisational system out the window come summer, but in practice I hate reaching into my bag only to pull out a handful of loose sand and a few crumpled pages of a paperback slick with spilled sunscreen.

Last year, I set out to apply my school-year levels of neurotic dedication to resolving this dilemma. I wanted to build a beach bag that was practical but stylish enough to carry to a nice lunch, travelled well, and stayed neat and tidy no matter how many little hands rifled through it during the day/how many frozen margaritas I enjoyed at said lunch.

Given that this past weekend marked the unofficial start of summer (yay!!!), I figured it was time that I share the fruits of my research with you. I can now say with the confidence of someone who enjoys making lists almost as much as she enjoys laying in the sun: it just might be the perfect beach bag.