Are Tote Bags for Men Timeless, or Just a Trend?

As with clothing, bags are becoming increasingly casual, and as a result, we’re seeing a rise in popularity for the tote bag. So, in today’s installment of our Timeless or Trend series, we’ll be taking a look at the tote bag and asking the question, “Is this an item for the ages or merely a passing fancy?”
The tote back is perhaps one of the simplest forms of carrying tool. It has a simple body, which is closed on three sides. It is open at the top and has handles on opposite sides that makes it easy for you to carry in hand or over the shoulder. What’s more, the etymology of the word “tote” can actually be traced back to about 1670, and it means “to carry.”
So, while it’s already starting to sound like this form of bag has an interesting history to it, and there’s no denying that, in the modern-day world, it’s only recently been seen as a bag that’s carried by men, which makes it a perfect candidate for the series.

History of Tote Bags
During medieval times, it was common for both women and men to carry soft bags. They typically wore these over the shoulder so that the opening was accessible at hip level. Sometimes with a flapped opening, sometimes without. Kind of like a cross between a messenger bag and a tote bag.

For the majority of people, these bags would have been made of sturdy and inexpensive cloth, but there were others who could afford to carry more expensive leather bags. And, as is always the case, the very wealthy could afford to use bags that were adorned with intricate designs and embroidery, such as precious metals or stones.

This general design has remained largely unchanged for many years, and we can see how the military haversack evolved from this but kept a lot of the designed elements.

These types of bags would be refined further into two directions. One with a flapped closure and long, cross-body strap that would equate to a messenger bag, and the other will be simplified into what we know today as simply the “tote bag.”

A brown, leather messenger bag.A brown, leather messenger bag.
A white and green tote bag.A white and green tote bag.
In 1944, US outdoor goods company, L.L. Bean, marketed their Ice Carrier bag, a large open top bag constructed from sturdy builder’s canvas with a distinctive flat bottom and sides to enable transport of a greater volume of items.

The design existed as a way for users to carry heavy or difficult items from point A to B. So, although it stated “ice” on the label, L.L. Bean also suggested wood, garden vegetables, and other groceries as other contenders to be carried in their bags.

L.L. Bean’s Ice carrier bag.
L.L. Bean’s Ice carrier bag.
It’s at this point that we can undoubtedly see the tote bag in the form that we are used to seeing it in today. It’s also worth pointing out at this point that the tote bag was purely a utilitarian item and hadn’t made its way yet into the realms of fashion.

Shortly after the introduction of the Ice Carrier, the company introduced a smaller version, this time with the everyday shopper in mind. This design, which is also featured from builder’s canvas, features shorter handles and is particularly close to some of the designs that we see today from a modern tote bag.

A smaller version of L.L. Bean’s ice carrier bag.
A smaller version of L.L. Bean’s ice carrier bag.
Twenty years after the introduction of the Ice Carrier, L.L. Bean reinvented the bag as a way for people to easily pack things up for a day trip. This is where we see the introduction of the Boat & Tote bag and the first time L.L. Bean incorporates considered styling elements, such as contrasting color straps in unisex red, blue, or green.

Meanwhile, in the 60s, fashion designer Bonnie Cashin created her Cashin Carry Tote, this time out of leather instead of canvas, before designing for leather goods brand Coach, who still produced luxury leather tote bags inspired by Cashin’s work.