Hand-crocheted woven shoulder tote — roomy, soft-structured, with a wooden-ring drawstring. Made for the coast and the city alike.
Free express delivery worldwide · import duties included
The Ostia is the house's first accessory — a hand-crocheted woven shoulder tote named for Rome's ancient seaside port. Roomy enough for the day and soft enough to fold into a weekend, it carries the imperial palette into summer in a tactile, artisanal weave.
Crocheted from a substantial polyester-cotton blend that holds its shape without going stiff, the Ostia closes with a wooden-ring beaded drawstring and is lined with an interior ID pocket. Designed in Rome to finish the Iulia look — equally at home over a slip dress on the coast or with tailoring in the city.
| Style name | Ostia — crochet woven shoulder tote |
| Silhouette | Roomy vertical-square shoulder tote |
| Weave | Hand-crocheted chevron / granny-square |
| Strap | Single shoulder strap |
| Closure | Wooden-ring beaded drawstring |
| Interior | Lined, with an ID pocket |
| Dimensions | 34 × 22 × 6 cm (W × H × D) |
| Outer | Polyester-cotton blend |
| Lining | Polyester fiber |
| Structure | Soft, medium hold |
| Care | Spot clean; reshape and dry flat |
| Origin | Designed in Roma · ethically made |
One size. 34 cm wide × 22 cm tall × 6 cm deep, with a shoulder drop that sits close under the arm.
Roomy enough for the essentials and a wrap — the soft weave gives a little as it fills.
Complimentary express shipping worldwide; dispatched within 1–6 business days, import duties included. Most orders arrive in 3–6 business days.
30-day returns on unused items with tags attached. Each Ostia arrives in a porphyry box with the HCT seal.
Wear the Basalt Ostia over a slip dress for the evening, or the Travertine weave with linen and a flat sandal for the coast. Add the Faustina silk scarf knotted to the strap to finish it.
Keep reading & explore the edit
Ostia™Select color · Size One Size
Ostia Antica was the harbour that fed an empire. The Ostia tote answers in a hand-woven crochet — artisanal, tactile, and built to be carried for years.
Conceived by Hugo Caesar Tassi as the first accessory of the Iulia edit, the Ostia takes the basket-weave of the Mediterranean and reads it in the imperial palette — near-black Basalt and stone Travertine, each striped with soft cream.
It is a beach bag with the bearing of a city tote: roomy, soft-structured, finished with a wooden-ring drawstring and an interior pocket. Made to be kept, not discarded with the season.
Each Ostia is hand-crocheted rather than machine-pressed — a slow craft that gives the weave its density and the bag its quiet, unhurried luxury.
The chevron stripe is worked in a sturdy polyester-cotton blend chosen to hold its shape through sun and salt, then finished with a smooth wooden drawstring ring and a fully lined interior pocket for the things you reach for first.
Carry the Basalt into the city and the Travertine to the coast; both soften gently with wear and only look the better for it — an heirloom in the making, not a single-season piece.
What she said after wearing it
I was after a beach-to-trattoria bag and this swallows a rolled towel, sun cream and a paperback with room to spare. The soft sides slouch nicely once it's full, and the wooden ring keeps the drawstring neat instead of gaping open.
The little wooden ring on the drawstring is the detail that sells it — warm, tactile, a proper finishing touch rather than plastic pretending to be timber. Cinches shut in a second.
Ordered the Basalt and the colour reads as a deep smoky charcoal in full sun, much softer than the near-black I expected on screen. It sits beautifully against a linen dress and somehow looks expensive without trying.
The hand-crochet is dense and even, no loose loops snagging or stretching out of shape. You can feel the work in it.
Took it down to Liguria for a fortnight and it did everything — market mornings, a boat day, then dinner on the terrace. Brushed the sand straight out of the weave and it looked fresh again. A bag that genuinely lives the coast-and-city promise on the label.
There's only the one size here so the note is purely on me — I dithered over how full I'd want it and chose to use it as my big everything-bag rather than a neat little carry. Loaded right up it slouches a touch more than the catalogue shot, which I actually love, but if you prefer it sitting compact and structured, pack it lighter and it holds a tidier line. The crochet and that wooden ring are faultless either way.
The bag itself is everything I hoped — dense even crochet, that warm wooden ring, the Travertine a soft creamy stone in daylight. My grumble is delivery: the first one simply never turned up, tracking stalled and the courier couldn't account for it. The moment I emailed, the atelier sorted a replacement without any fuss, which I appreciated. Just a shame the wait soured an otherwise lovely buy.
Thank you for your patience, and we're so sorry the first parcel disappeared somewhere in the courier's hands — that lost stretch of waiting is not the welcome we want for an Ostia. We're glad we could get a replacement moving the moment you let us know, and delighted the tote and its wooden-ring drawstring have settled in. Should anything else ever go astray, contact@hctbeauty.com reaches us directly and we'll act straight away.
The strap drop is generous so it tucks neatly under the arm and stays put. Even loaded up it never dug in.
Entirely my own doing — the checkout hesitated, I assumed it hadn't gone through, and I ended up with two Ostia totes on the doorstep instead of one. Sorting the return ate up an afternoon I hadn't planned on. The bag is genuinely lovely, soft-structured and beautifully woven, and I'm keeping the Basalt happily. The stars are just my frustration at the muddle, nothing about the tote.
We completely understand the frustration of an unexpected double order, and we're sorry untangling it cost you an afternoon — that part should be effortless, and we'll always make the return as smooth as we can. We're so pleased the Basalt is staying with you and earning its keep. A quick note to contact@hctbeauty.com whenever something like this happens and we'll handle the duplicate for you straight away.
Be honest, this is a courier story, not a bag story. The first Ostia arrived with the box stoved in and the weave badly misshapen on one side — clearly knocked about somewhere in transit. The atelier had a fresh one out to me quickly and the replacement is flawless: crisp even crochet, the wooden ring smooth, Travertine glowing in the light. I just can't pretend the first experience wasn't a disappointment.
We're truly sorry your first Ostia arrived damaged — handing a hand-crocheted piece to a courier and seeing it knocked out of shape is exactly what we never want, and the fault sits with the handling, never with you. Thank you for letting us put it right quickly; we're glad the replacement reached you as it should, weave crisp and wooden ring intact. Please keep contact@hctbeauty.com to hand — we'll always step in at once if a parcel lets us down.
It holds a shape when empty but gives and moulds the moment you fill it, so it never looks stiff or boxy. That softness is exactly what makes it feel relaxed and not like a formal handbag. Brilliant for unfussy summer days.
The Travertine is a gentle oatmeal-stone shade, warmer than beige, and it goes with all my faded summer linens. Daylight makes the woven texture really come alive.
I've handled woven totes from labels asking three or four times this, and the craftsmanship here genuinely stands beside them. For a hundred and forty dollars the hand-work is remarkable — I keep checking the receipt in disbelief.
Squashed it into the corner of my case empty and it sprang back into shape on arrival, no creases set into the weave. A proper holiday workhorse.
Every snap I take with it — propped on a sun lounger, slung over a chair at a café — comes out looking like a little editorial. The texture catches light beautifully.
Bought this for my mother's birthday and she was genuinely delighted. She's particular about bags and the quiet, woven look suited her exactly. The drawstring closure made it feel considered rather than just another tote.
No logos, no shouting, just lovely texture and a clever closure. Precisely the understated thing I was hoping for.
Even half-empty it doesn't collapse into a sad heap — the soft structure means it always looks intentional. The crochet has a bit of body to it that cheaper woven bags simply lack.
Carried it from a morning at the gallery through lunch and an afternoon wandering, and I forgot I had it. Light in itself, comfortable full, and the woven body breathes so nothing inside gets clammy in the heat.
Twice at the lido someone leaned over to find out where the bag was from. The wooden ring seems to be the thing that catches the eye.
Don't be fooled by how neat it looks — I fit a change of clothes, a water bottle and my little camera in for a day trip. The drawstring pulls it all snug and secure on the train.
Slid out of a soft drawstring dust pouch inside the box, with a printed card explaining the atelier's craft. A genuinely lovely thing to open, and it spoke of care before I'd even touched the bag itself.
Loved the Basalt so much through spring that I caved and ordered the Travertine too. Now I just rotate them by outfit. The weave on both is impeccably even.
Light, roomy, dries fast and shrugs off sand. The drawstring keeps everything in when the breeze picks up on the prom.
Answered by the Hugo Caesar Tassi atelier
It's soft-structured — it relaxes a little when empty and fills out beautifully when packed. Reshape by hand.
Yes — at 34 cm wide it takes a tablet, a wrap and the essentials comfortably.
Pieces that share the Basalt palette and the house line
