What trip to the beach is complete without an attendant carload of gear? Towels, beach chairs, lotions, and snacks; beach reads and water toys; spare flip-flops, sand-encrusted sunglasses, and cloudy-day cover-ups. When it’s too much for two arms to carry, try a canvas tote.
More than just a beach bag, the classic canvas tote is ubiquitous up and down the Island’s shores and shop aisles alike. Lightweight, quick drying, easy to upend and shake free of sand (or produce), the tote is practical, economical, and stylish.
But what is a tote, exactly, and what makes it the perfect summer baggage? As the verb “to carry,” tote is of unknown origin, though one popular theory suggests its ancestry lies in West African languages. (Tuta is “carry” in Swahili.) As a bag, there’s little mention before the turn of the century, and it wasn’t until the 1940s that this simple, utilitarian style took off in the United States.
The sudden uptick in the casual handbag trend was due in large part to the popularity of one bag in particular: the L.L. Bean Boat and Tote, first introduced in 1944. Then labeled as an Ice Carrier, the Boat and Tote is made of durable cotton canvas and boasts a bright, double-lined base and matching handles. The structured bags can be monogrammed – helpful given their omnipresence and the potential for surfside mix-ups – and have been tested to hold up to 500 pounds. That’s a lot of floaties.
Unsurprisingly, the L.L. Bean original spawned numerous copycat versions. The simple design serves well as portable advertising – Vineyard Vines customizes its tote with business logos uploaded to its website – and companies have been known to give swag-laden, monogrammed totes as employee gifts on retreats.
The tote bag’s versatile shape and size make it easy to dress up or down. Designers Kate Spade and Marc Jacobs have given the tote a stylish twist, introducing sleek and slender options. Locally, the Black Dog offers nautically themed sailcloth totes, with a zippered opening to keep contents safe and dry on the water.
As an eco-friendly alternative to the “paper-or-plastic” debate, in recent years tote bags have gained traction beyond the beach. Savvy markets, from our own Cronig’s to the popular daytrip destination Trader Joe’s, have jumped on the tote train, branding and selling their own canvas bags and encouraging customers – either by charging for paper bags or with snappy designs and slogans – to carry canvas.
But nowhere are the virtues of the tote more valuable than the long, hot walk from a parked car, over the dunes at South Beach or beyond the cliffs at Lucy Vincent. Whether yours is a designer handbag (like the Hermès Escale tote, ringing in at a cool $1,075), a register-ready receptacle (Stop & Shop will do in a pinch), or one of their preppy predecessors, with a cute and comfortable canvas tote, carry in/carry out has never looked so good.
Slip Seventy Seven: Made in Maine, which used to be part of Massachusetts so it’s almost local, right? Created out of recyled sails, these come in a range of sizes and prices (19 Circuit Avenue, Oak Bluffs).
Rainy Day: Feel good about your bag habit with a Maika Carryall from this Main Street boutique. Made from recycled canvas and printed with eco-friendly dyes, these roomy totes come in a variety of beachy prints priced at $62 (66 Main Street, Vineyard Haven).
Vineyard Gazette: For nearly 170 years discerning readers have been taking the Vineyard Gazette to the beach. For significantly fewer years, some have carried it in this handsome tote made by Vineyard Vines. Find them online at vineyardgazette.com/store/products, or at the Vineyard Gazette office building for $95 (34 South Summer Street, Edgartown).
