I don’t know how it started exactly–a nice lug of canvas here, a floppy rectangle of yellow there. I tried my best to retreat under the guise of functionality: this one’s dark enough to hold tubes of paint, and that one’s foldable enough to take on the go, I cried silently. I need something sturdy enough for my laptop and all of its accessories–and something short enough to swing from my grasp without scraping the ground. That one’s the perfect size for my A5 notebook, and that one’s big enough to hold my winter jacket… Each one just a little different, just enough to justify their place on my designed tote bag command hook. But soon I could hide no longer–I was in it for good, and I wasn’t going to stop. And that… that was the beginning of the end.
ok basically I have a lot of tote bags (25 exactly) so here are all of them:
the ones I use the most
these are my daily drivers, my day ones, my most functional and (relatively) neutral color palette bags
i got this white canvas bag for free from my high school ap art class! she's been through a lot, evidently
my mom gave this to me randomly. it is massive and fits so much (safety glasses for scale)
free bag I got from mit mad (morningside academy of design), has many pockets and is sturdy!
the other side of the mad bag <3
free bag from mit architecture department! course 4 has the best merch fr
the ones I made
(mostly)
i sewed this bag from scrap fabric! unfortunately the strap material is kind of weird and floppy 💔
i didn't sew this bag, but i block printed the design onto it with a carved lino stamp
this was my first ever sewing project! she's less misshapen in real life, but very small
ditto for sewing
the rgb trio
title says it all
i got this at poster house, a graphic design museum in nyc! they had a very neat exhibit about movie poster design
as you might expect i got this at the boston art book fair (for free!). it was a super cool event with so many talented artists, highly recommend
i got this at a record store during a spring break trip to portland maine with my friends <3
spring picnic vibes
imagine these paired with a cheese board and 70 degree weather
my most expensive bag! i bought it from a creator i follow online
smaller and sturdier than you'd think, comes with buttons and zippers
my mom got me this from vietnam last year! i like the color of the straps a lot
graphicscore
like they have big graphics on them you know (I’m trying to come up with categorizations)
infinite magazine 2023 tote bags!
lowkey i just thought this was a funny idea for a bag. got this from target as you might have guessed
one of my oldest bags, i got this from uniqlo when they did a Roy Lichtenstein collection! he was an artist from the pop art era
i bought this from the sorority i used to be in, i like the color a lot still!
i got this from the whitney museum in nyc this past spring break, when i went to see the 2024 biennial :)
more bags i got for free
aka the rest
honestly i would use this more, but it's not the best quality :(
i actually like this one a lot, it's pretty structured so it's good for groceries, large items, etc.
i got this for free from xfair (a career fair held in feb by an mit club). they also gave out frog plushies!
the mfa (museum of fine arts) was having an event on mlk day, and besides totes, they were also giving out plastic ice cream scoops ??
burton conner!
i got this from the career fair for free, but the color scheme is actually pretty cool..? not sure if i would walk around with a goldman sachs bag though
That’s all of the bags I have… for now. But I’m always trying to get that bag so I will continue to keep my eyes peeled.
(I do actually use most of my totes, but I also just enjoy collecting them as functional mementos of a place or event I’ve been to. I think it’s nice how they come with those memories, and then you build more with them as you use them. Also they’re so easy to store and bring along on trips and outings!)
