I’ve been on the hunt for a really good raffia tote. Summer is around the corner, and I don’t want to schlepp a leather shoulder bag onto the beach—it kills the vibe. I should preface this by saying I’ve been hunting since the spring of 2025, when I was living in Hawaii with my parents. And while there were a few okay raffia totes available in Waikiki, I didn’t want to get just any flimsy straw bag that would disintegrate after a few uses. I was ready to invest in a chic, high-quality raffia bag that I’d use every summer after.

Easier said than done, honestly. Sometimes I’d find my dream bag just for it to be out of budget. And when I finally have said budget again, the item is out of stock. That’s a sad reality for people who shop with a hyper-focused fixation (me). We know what we want, and we won’t settle until we have that exact item.

I have a series on Florré called “The Hunt.” My first episode was released in March, where I hunted down the perfect leather jacket. These shopping stories go beyond just your average roundup of cute stuff on the internet. I actually go out and see the items for myself (or at least try to). Sometimes I have trouble finding the pieces I have in mind, so there’s unfortunately not much I can do about those. The hope with this series is to do the heavy lifting of actually going into stores, feeling the products with my own hands, and giving you a more thorough review of what’s in market, with the end goal of spending my own money on them. So, let’s get into what I’ve found for today’s story: the best raffia totes!