Casey Recommends: Boat and Totes

I need another Boat and Tote (or any tote, really) like I need another blanket or box of Cheez-Its in the house. Which is to say I absolutely DO NOT.

But when L.L. Bean decided to bust out a new orange version of their iconic contrast-handled bag for fall, what’s a girl to do? Get one and schlep it around for the rest of her life, obviously.

My first Boat and Tote, the pink-handled model shown WAY below in the post¹, is at least 20 years old. It was purchased at the old L.L. Bean outlet in Freeport, where a huge canoe in the middle of the store was loaded to the gills with returned and second-quality B&Ts.

So you could score big if you happened to find one already monogrammed with your initials — yep, both Dan and I have managed this feat — or in a color someone else rejected. But even if you found the perfect color with someone else’s monogram, it’s no problem. Slap a patch over it and no one will ever know!

Because one thing remains constant about my Boat and Tote collection: no tote is ever left unadorned.

L.L. Bean has (smartly) embraced the customization trend over the past few years — following the Instagram-bait trend of monogramming bags with fun words or phrases, they’re now branching out with charms and patches at their flagship store.²

Now you can dangle lobster or lighthouse charms from the handles or zhuzh a bag with hydrangea or yellow lab patches in addition to your witty embroidered saying.

But girl, I’ve been sewing stuff onto my bags since day one. The aforementioned pink zip-top originally had — oh, I cringe to admit this, but it’s true — a photo of a mulleted Jared Leto from, like, The Face magazine or somewhere³.

If you worked with me in the mid- to late-‘00s, you probably remember that Jared Leto bag or my “bring your own citrus” black zip-top model that featured an old t-shirt logo from 826 Valencia (AKA The Pirate Store). The Lenny patch on my color-block large B&T⁴ is a perennial fave of cat ladies I meet, and if you have seen me anywhere, you’ve probably seen my tangerine name-embroidered tote with its multitude of patches.

My Boat and Totes ALWAYS get compliments wherever I go for their one-of-a-kind combinations. Yes, that’s a flex! I’m incredibly proud of the design work on each. And I do take my bags everywhere, because it’s a crucial element of being a responsible B&T owner:

You gotta “Velveteen Rabbit” them, in my terminology. Boat and Totes, like the equally iconic Bean Boots, look and feel better when they’re broken in and beaten up.

The material goes from stiff and rough to soft and pliant without compromising the bag’s sturdiness and functionality. They truly get more amazing the more you use them.

I’m now working on two bags simultaneously:

• a green tote from my ancient outlet stash to finally help Dan do something with the patches he’s been hoarding over the years (sound familiar?)
• and the old pink tote, which is getting new patches and will eventually get a new embroidered phrase (yep, the company will monogram old totes just as cheerfully as they do brand-new ones)

And I can feel the difference in the fabrics significantly. Both bags were purchased within a few years of one another, but the pink B&T has seen decades of love and use, whereas the green one has been stuck in a drawer all this time.

So there’s no time like the present to get yourself an authentic Boat and Tote and start breaking it in. Pack it full, throw it on the backseat, let the corners fray, and watch the handles fade from where your hands and shoulders have been supporting its weight.

Better yet, get two!

You can’t beat the original open-top model for versatility, and that’s why I now own four mediums and two larges. (Gulp.)

But I love the zip-top option for a bit of weather protection and to keep what I’m carrying away from strangers’ prying eyes — a good thing to remember if you’re in NYC or a bustling urban area. Otherwise, you’ll want bags in bags to keep your wallet etc. safe.

And don’t forget to sew your patches on for the longest-lasting wear. Iron-on patches are great, but remember that you’ll be putting your bag through the wringer of life in the best way.

Oh, and one more thing: YES, you can wash a Boat and Tote in a washing machine!

L.L. Bean’s official instructions are to “spot clean,” but I wash mine on the delicate cycle and air dry on a sturdy hanger. As you can see, the totes come through magnificently.

1. You can tell the pink-handled bag is old vintage because it’s one of the original zip-top models where the fabric for the zippered closure is unbleached cotton instead of the contrast color that matches the handles. ↩︎
2. I really love that the bags you can carry around the store to load up with purchases say “L.L. Bean Shoppah,” because New England “-ah” pronounciation humor is always funny. They’re in on the joke! ↩︎
3. How do you get photos onto fabric? Easy! Use transfer glue. I used to transfer magazine photos onto old t-shirt material, then cut out and sew onto totes. Any image will end up in reverse, though, so pick something without words. ↩︎
4. Another example of the changing Boat and Tote designs over the years! They flirted with colored cotton and, WHOA, a pocket! ↩︎