The ultimate beach accessory

Every now and then we’re faced with a few hard to explain, yet interesting phenomena. The widespread adaptation of items or objects originally design for different purposes is well known to us all. During last week’s road trip I got a chance to experience first hand one such case. 

As I laid back on the beach struggling to perfectly capture my friends from Driftwood Collective on camera, I couldn’t help but notice the pervaded use by the surfing community, of one of the most unexpected items to date: the Ikea Shopper. Yes, I’m referring to the one you may purchase for €0.50 coming out of any venue of this Swedish giant.

Although at first the vision of groups of sunburnt surfers carrying their boards under one arm and indigo plastic bags under the other may seem utterly ridiculous, the truth is that within the relaxed, beachy background, they blend in amazingly well. Actually, it would make one hell of a beachwear editorial (IKEA, if you’re reading this don’t forget to credit me later on). If you come to think of it, the choice makes almost perfect sense: cheap, resistant, durable, waterproof and lightweight, you can throw anything in it and it won’t let you down. Furthermore, seeing how much love blue’s been getting this year (Pitti anyone?), they’re pulling it off with quite a bit of fashion panache.