Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A straw bag is a bag woven from plant fibre — straw, raffia, seagrass or cane — and is defined by its material rather than its shape. This page defines the term, separates the fibres that share its name, and distinguishes it from the basket bag.
A straw bag is a handbag whose body is woven from straw or a similar plant fibre. The term names a material, not a shape or a way of carrying: the woven body may be a tote, a basket, a clutch, a bucket or a crossbody bag, usually finished with leather handles and trim at the points of wear. Straw bags are the classic summer bag — light, dry and breathable — and equally the classic holiday bag, descending from the market baskets of the Mediterranean, one of which, carried by Jane Birkin through the late 1960s and 1970s, became a lasting style reference.
The word 'straw' in shop use is a family name for several fibres. True straw is the dried stem of wheat, rye or rice, braided into plaits and sewn into shape. Raffia is the flat fibre stripped from the raffia palm's leaves, crocheted or plaited into softer, supple bags. Seagrass is woven into tougher, rustic bodies. Wicker is a method rather than a material — the weaving of rigid canes of willow or rattan — and produces the stiff, fixed shapes of basket bags. Modern production also uses paper yarn and synthetic raffia under the same name, gaining durability at some cost in character.
The distinctions matter when buying or describing. A straw bag in the strict sense is braided stems, stiff and smooth; a raffia bag is leaf fibre, soft enough to fold; a wicker bag is cane, rigid enough to stand as furniture does. All three are sold under 'straw bag', and all three share the material's limits — water spots and warps woven fibre, and an unlined weave lets small items work through — which is why better examples are lined and leather-bound. Shapes, care and the style's history are covered in the Fashion Influence guide to straw bags.
A bag whose body is woven from plant fibre — straw, raffia, seagrass or cane. It is a material category rather than a shape: totes, baskets, clutches and crossbody bags are all made as straw bags.
No. Straw is the dried stem of a cereal grass; raffia is fibre stripped from the leaves of the raffia palm. Raffia is softer and is usually crocheted or plaited, while straw is stiffer and often braided and sewn. Shops label both as straw bags.
A basket bag is a straw bag built like a basket — rigid, with a fixed shape and an open or lidded top. Straw bag is the wider term; soft woven totes and clutches are straw bags but not baskets.