The two sub-£5 bags that will elevate supermarket shopping

Naturally we’re buying them both

shopper bag

Naturally we’re buying them both

Let’s be honest, grocery shopping is a bit boring at the best of times, so if there’s any way we can make it a bit more fun, then we’re game.

So when we saw a spate of stylish shopper totes taking over Instagram, we realised those fashion influencers were onto something.

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Two bags in particular have consistently appeared on our feed, and they are so cheap it would be rude not to.

One is the humble string shopping tote bag, which your grandma probably used back in the day. Seriously, we bet she’ll have a good old laugh when you show her this.

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It cost less than £1 on Amazon, and comes in the classic cream shade, as well as green, red and black if you’re feeling a bit daring (like when you decide to do your weekly shop at Waitrose instead of Sainsbury’s, crazy).

Shop now: Mesh Bag Organic Cotton String Shopping Tote Net Woven Re-usable Bag for £0.97 from Amazon

Then, carrying on with the retro theme, we have the jelly bags. Remember those? Probably not, because they were major in the 60s and 70s, and you probably weren’t even born then.

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Sun Jellies has the original version in a bunch of fun colours like mint and coral, and it comes in two sizes, the smallest of which is just £5.

Shop now: RETRO BASKET for £5 from Sun Jellies

Now we know we said these were perfect to look chic at the supermarket, but there's no reason not to tote them outside of the frozen food aisle either.

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As influencers prove, they're stylish enough to be worn every day, with a floral dress or a white shirt and jeans. The key is to be selective with what you actually put in the bag, as it's see-through. Obviously, a book with a nice cover on it or a colourful beauty bag are nice, but dirty tissues and tampons aren't quite as elegant.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.