Elie Tahari makes cork look chic

To my knowledge, I have only once previously written about a bag made of cork, and I sort of brushed off the material as gimmicky and without longevity. Well, having now seen a cork bag in person, I think I’ve got to take back my original opinion on the material. I’m ok with being wrong, as long as that means that somewhere out there, a bag is surprisingly fabulous.

The cork bag that I had the pleasuring of playing with in real life was the Elie Tahari Cynthia Handbag, and I couldn’t have been more surprised and delighted. Not only did the cork have a soft, velvety texture to it, but the bag was light as a feather.

It hadn’t occurred to me that cork would be a super lightweight material for a handbag, but it probably should have – I’ve had plenty of cork in my hands in other capacities (ahem – someone’s got to open the wine), and indeed, it weighs almost nothing. Most of the heft of this bag comes from the Chanel-reminiscent chain, but I hardly noticed it when I put it on.

The cork has a nice metallic finish to it that makes this little bag the perfect glam accessory for warm weather, and the double chain strap also lengthens (in a way that is also Chanel-reminiscent) to allow the bag to be worn across the body. This bag is cute, functional and made out of a sustainable, lightweight material – what’s not to love? Buy through Zappos for $252.