Living in the “walking outside all the time never get to drive my car” city of New York, I have resorted to keeping a cheap plastic grocery bag inside my handbag at all times, so that if it’s raining, I can shove my pretty bag in something water resistant so it’s not completely ruined. Anyway, I saw that apparently a couple of years ago Gap made bag out of shiny raincoat material – called Rainslicker bags. So my question, Bag Lady, purveyor of all knowledge of bags, is, can you suggest something similar? Under $50, reasonably large, and something that looks like a purse, but is made out of a shiny raincoat like plastic? I would be forever grateful! - Julie Lamberth
Alas, Julie! There shall probably never be another Rainslicker (my special secret handbag agents have found a stock picture of the Gap Rainslicker tote version, in vivid baby pink, above.) But that does not mean your handbag, or its contents, are doomed to soak. Click clicky on the jump to see what alternatives Julie could consider.
You'd think someone would've thought of rain-proof handbags by now, eh? Despite the huge need for weather resistant bags, stylin' plastic handbags are ridiculously hard to find! Seeing as Julie is from a pedestrian city with extreme weather conditions, aka New York, I can see how she'd fall in love with the Gap Rainslicker hobo. I've compiled a list of five different types of materials Julie could consider besides rainslicker that will keep nice and dry.
1) Clear plastic. Since clear plastic is all the rage right now, this was the easiest rain-proof type of handbag to find and offers the most fashion-forward options since they're being sold all over the place! Chanel was one of the first houses to jump on the clear tote bandwagon, and their entire 'Naked' line cost a few grand each. (Above left: Chanel 'Naked' shopper from Bagborroworsteal.com.) The bag on the right is a US$14.95 alternative. Since Julie is worried about TORRENTIAL downpours, I kept in mind that the bag needs to be RAIN PROOF, not just water-resistant. This clear tote bag features a zipper at the top that most trendy clear totes lack - no rain would dare creep in through the top this bag! The plastic is durable but thin, in case you'd like to squish it up and stuff it into a different tote.
2) Jelly. Yes, jelly - you read that right. A search for 'jelly' yields a few results such as this Prezzo Jelly Handbag for $US22. Jelly is a rubberized type of plastic that will stay dry through any storm. The downside is that rubberized jelly isn't very shiny, and doesn't look much like a raincoat. I did find a shiny jelly bag for $19.99, however this bag should probably fit in better with category number one.
3) PVC plastic. This probably looks most like the rainslicker tote - and its black! However, I must warn you that often 'pvc plastic' means just a coating of plastic on top of other synthetic materials, and can be easily scratched or otherwise ripped. This Xhilaration tote sports the thicker kind of pvc, and is available for $19.99 at Target.
4) Nylon/Polyester. Ick! This pair of handbags feature a rather hideous giant flower, but they do illustrate my point. Thickly woven polyster/nylon is just as rain-repellant as coated plastic, and costs only $10 from shop.com.
5) Built in rain features! I know, this isn't truly a water proof handbag, but I just couldn't resist mentioning this one! Of the lot, its the most versatile bag option, and includes an umbrella in a very discreet hidden compartment. This bag keeps itself, its contents AND its owner dry! And its only US$40 for a fairly nice looking bag.
None of these options really look like the Rainslicker, but hopefully these will keep Julie dry, and give her good number of alternative directions to pursue. Anyone out there have favorite rain-proof handbags or a Rainslicker-esque option?