it’s acetate, it’s orange, it’s transparent, and it’s shaped like a sando bag.

looking far more superior than the ubiquitous “i am not a plastic bag” line of environmentally conscious but hideously ugly re-usable grocery bags, this designer shopping bag from jil sander will make you want to jump in the green bandwagon, even for only the grocery shopping part.

understandably though, some people despise the idea of a designer grocery bag. it is, after all, shaped exactly like our ordinary plastic bags: no pockets, no zips, no hardware, no nothing, except for the tell-tale stamped leather tag. yet here it is, appearing in most major glossies since it walked down the spring 2011 runway, quickly becoming the symbol of jil sander’s collection, catapulting it almost to it bag status. and as far as we know, a mere label can lift the price to as much as $185. if there is outrage at the glorification of this humble shape, don’t hate the bag, hate the… er, game, to borrow a common adage.

as for me, looking at the bag makes me happy. today, for instance, when it’s raining cats and dogs outside, when water from the grass seeped into my shoes, puddles spattered onto my hosiery, the very sight of an orange market bag meant to look like the sando bag of my dreams helped me cope with the doldrums. something about making something beautiful from something so ordinary makes me believe that the world is a great place after all (i could imagine myself carrying the thing around the port, my beach towel, sunscreen and jeanette winterson novel visible through the transparent material). but pay $185 for it? forget it. wait for the knock-offs? you bet. unlike other designer bags, this one i wouldn’t mind being caught dead using a fakey of. in fact, i wouldn’t be surprised if this idea has been around kawaii shops in japan even before jil sander brought it to luxury status… now, to find those things…

photos from net-a-porter.