Basket Case: How the Nantucket Lightship Bag Became the Ultimate Island Status Symbol

Summer has always been a verb for Nantucket’s seasonal residents, but this year, it’s turned into a contact sport—one splashed across national news outlets and hotly contested in Instagram comments. The source of all this debate feels both unlikely and inevitable: the Nantucket basket, a storied on-island status symbol. 

The Hamptons-ification of Nantucket has been brewing for years, but the Nantucket basket seems an especially divisive figure for derision. Perhaps the basket’s allure and subsequent gatekeeping can be boiled down to an us-versus-them mentality: new versus old money, summer residents versus arrivistes influenced by Instagram and Elin Hilderbrand novels (the latter is, at least, literary). That said, islanders of this exclusive New England enclave increasingly prefer displaying their capital in lavish—dare we say, bordering on tacky?—ways: the detailed Range Rover (sporting the mandatory over-sand decal); the $8 million seaside cottage (the cheapest shack now costs north of seven figures); the $99 caviar-topped lobster roll at Cru.

The fetishization of Nantucket means woven whaling handbags are ripe for controversy. Let’s dig into it, shall we?

In the famous words of Carrie Bradshaw, “I like my money where I can see it—hanging in my closet.” The Nantucket lightship basket, which runs north of $1,000 for an entry-level edition and, until quite recently, was the epitome of an if-you-know-you-know item, has now been launched into the public sphere as this summer’s most-talked-about accessory. 

It may be hard to imagine, but Nantucket was once the province of old salts and fishermen who made their living as whalers. The provenance of the Nantucket basket traces back centuries, long before the arrival of the first white settlers to the island in 1659. The native Wampanoag tribe fashioned woven baskets by hand, using local materials—hickory, ash, oak—and pounding the wood into splints, a practice they shared with European settlers in the mid-17th century. These baskets were primarily used for storage and transportation and received a major stylistic upgrade in the 1830s. By that time, the local whale population in New England had started to dwindle, and Nantucket whaling ships sailed further into far-flung ports, eventually reaching the Pacific, where they brought back a crucial new element: rattan. It is this combination of rattan staves, cane weavers and a solid wood base that defines the traditional Nantucket basket.

What makes the basket special is the expertise and customization. The high-level craftsmanship dates back to the mid-19th century: In 1856, the first lightship vessel was sent to monitor storms off Nantucket’s south shores, and sailors, bored at sea, would bring basket materials with them on the boat to pass the time. There, out on the Atlantic Ocean, the craft was refined, and the first lidded basket was created by lightship Captain Charles Ray—hence, the lightship bag.

A century later, José Formoso Reyes transformed the basket’s style and meaning into the purse it is today. Reyes, who emigrated from the Philippines to Nantucket in 1945, applied his extensive knowledge of rattan—and a healthy dose of creativity—to create the signature basket that remains so popular today, complete with lids and ornamental carvings. History buffs can visit the Nantucket Whaling Museum to see early basket editions and learn more about their evolution and the techniques used to make them. Reyes deemed his creations, a pocketbook variation of the lightship, “friendship baskets,” as he intended the accessory to be a signifier of the owner’s connection to (and belonging on) Nantucket. 

Today, local artisans 30 miles offshore still practice the traditional technique to create the quintessential Nantucket friendship basket. Each item requires roughly 30 hours of hand-weaving and manual crafting, from cutting and measuring the wooden staves and fitting them to the base, to tight cane weaving, to securing the hardwood rim and adding any additional embellishments. Hundreds of copycats persist, but a true Nantucket basket is defined by four key elements: it must be woven on a wooden mold and have a solid wood base, rattan staves and fine cane weavers. And, of course, it should be woven on the island in order to be truly authentic. Further adding to the Nantucket basket’s exclusivity is the fact that only about five stores carry these specialized, traditional baskets—but more on that below. 

While Reyes used whale bone for his embellishments, today these details are crafted from dark ebony or ivory, often depicting marine life, hydrangeas or outlines of the island. Additional customization includes carved wooden toggles or closures, and the inclusion of a dating coin, a minted penny embedded into the basket’s base. Specific makers also burn signatures into the wooden interior, or include island maps at the basket’s base.

It’s this combination of time-consuming labor and expensive materials that makes the basket so pricey. While miniatures and open-lidded baskets can start at $250, the lidded purses often run from $1,500 up to $5,000. Larger, more intricate purse styles can retail for more than $10,000. While the dream is to inherit a Nantucket basket as an heirloom (bonus points if it’s at least two generations old), all hope is not lost just because your great-grandmother didn’t have a penchant for $1,500 woven handbags. If you’re looking for authentic, hand-woven options on the island, check out the master-crafted collector items and certified vintage baskets at Antiques Depot, The Basket Shop, Michael Kane and Nantucket Looms, the last of which also offers weaving classes. And, as new weavers and practitioners of the Nantucket basket are popping up at a fast clip, expect continued innovation in the coming years. (Check out Parker River Proper’s variations on the classic basket, including ice buckets and koozies.) Just brace yourself for sticker shock, get ready to spend and do your very best to avoid filming on your front-facing camera in-store.

That final point is why the term “friendship basket” has taken on an ironic edge. The baskets may not be turning friends against each other, but perhaps (more tribally) it’s residents against visitors, seasonal neighbors versus year-rounders, or, simply put, everyone against influencers. Such was the case when the proprietors of Four Winds Craft Guild, a Nantucket antiques shop established in 1948, posted a now-viral, nautical quarterboard emblazoned with “No Influencers” on Instagram. Almost immediately, influencers were up in arms over the sign; some, including Paige Lorenze and Wishbone Kitchen’s Meredith Hayden, criticized it as sexist, protesting that their profession is predominantly female. Lorenze operates a seasonal Dairy Boy pop-up on Federal Street, offering another example of year-rounders versus seasonal residents, local industry versus outsiders. 

This cheeky protest of the front-facing video brigade is just the latest in a battle against the onslaught of day-trippers and snap-happy tourists crowding the Sconset Bluff Walk, causing endless lines at the Juice Box, and filming in local retail stores. Four Winds isn’t exactly representative of the commonfolk—their Nantucket Friendship Baskets can fetch up to $3,500. Still, the ethos of the Nantucket basket—a time-consuming tribute to woven perfection that nevertheless gives off an effortless, if-you-know-you-know air—is fundamentally at odds with influencing as a concept, a practice that is, by nature, fleeting and, quite gratingly, effortful.

Perhaps the uproar around the Nantucket basket is best understood as a protest of the commercialization of an ancient practice, and the equally ancient desire to gatekeep the last vestiges of uniqueness and character in a flattened world accessible to all via our smartphones. The Nantucket basket has long been a way of declaring oneself not only an island insider, but also someone with taste. The customization allows owners to showcase their own artistry and preferences—and, Lord knows, preppies love a monogram.

When contemplating the appeal of the Nantucket basket, consider Jane Birkin, the classic, unfussy and effortlessly chic muse who inspired the eponymous Hermès handbag. Her name is now synonymous with the leather purses, but the actress was famously devoted to her signature woven wicker basket. This effortlessness and versatility are the source of the basket’s eternal appeal—it’s not only stylish, but functional. While the handles may be smaller, the structure of the basket itself—the woven rattan with its sturdy wooden bottom—is remarkably indestructible. You don’t need to worry about it falling apart on a night out. And unlike an evening clutch, the interior is quite spacious—a true luxury in a world where women’s attire often doesn’t have pockets. You can fit your phone, wallet, lip gloss and even a portable charger.

Like an Hermès bag, the Nantucket basket is a status symbol of belonging to a certain club (and income bracket), and it boasts a multi-year waitlist. Similar to a Birkin, a Nantucket basket is chicest with a bit of patina and wear. One shouldn’t be too precious: Think the Olsen twins carrying their beat-up Birkins while stalking around Manhattan, accessorizing with oversized attire and equally oversized Starbucks.

Perhaps the status symbol is most potent when off-island. Reader, I carried one to a black-tie wedding in Palm Beach, and the compliments I received were endless. That said, the same crowd that summers on Nantucket also uses winter as a verb in Florida, so this isn’t exactly surprising. Still, it speaks to the enduring appeal of a classic style. Whether the accessory will retain its in-the-know credentials after this summer remains to be seen, but there are more ridiculous things to spend your money on than a chic, well-made basket—at the very least, you’ll know the purse will outlive the haters this summer, and for many more to come.