The Nantucket Summer Antique Show began with a preview party on August 3rd, and the accessory of choice — the Nantucket lightship basket handbag — was ubiquitous.
The show featured a special lecture on the history of the purse, which has become a preppy icon of the island.
The bag was on the arm of Coco Kopelman and other attendees of the party, which supports the Nantucket Historical Association.
I arrived on Nantucket the day before — my first time here since 2019 — and stayed at the Summer House hotel in Sconset. Sconset is like an old friend. You can be separated for years, but once you are reunited you pick up exactly where you left off.
Every morning I crossed the foot bridge to the Sconset market for my obligatory blueberry muffin before embarking on my favorite Nantucket adventure — the Sconset Bluff Walk.
The foot path meanders through two miles of vast green lawns, under vines and arches, and provides the best vistas of New England seascapes.
The sounds accompanying the walk include the flapping of American flags in the ocean breezes, the crunch of shells under your feet, and the cheerful call of a seagull.
You end up at Sankaty Head Light, another Nantucket icon, operated by the Coast Guard since 1850.
