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The perfect bag has long been touted as the ultimate accessory for levelling up any outfit. And there have been many over the years – think the Dior saddle bag, introduced in the early noughties, which remains a staple for the fashion set to this day; the Loewe puzzle, designed by Jonathan Anderson in the 2010s, which can be seen in most influencers’ Instagram posts; or the Jodie by Bottega Veneta, which became an instant classic when it was released in 2020. But there’s a new it-girl bag on the scene in London right now, and it might surprise you. Suddenly, the hottest accessory to be seen with is the humble branded tote bag.
We’ve all got a pile of totes stashed somewhere in our house – canvas shoulder bags we reach for when doing the groceries, going to the lido or heading on a road trip. And there have long been a handful of totes that transcend the likes of the threadbare freebies we picked up in Fresher’s Week and have held onto for a decade – think bags like the Daunt Books tote or the New Yorker tote. But as more and more shops, restaurants, hotels, and museums branch out into shoppable merch, suddenly, our choice of tote bag is a way of conveying our personality, hobbies, and even neighbourhood through our outfits.
So, which tote bag reigns supreme? One foray into Marylebone shows that the Daunt Books tote isn’t going anywhere, but there are some new coveted options to be found, too. Perhaps the most surprising is the sudden ubiquity of the Trader Joe’s tote bag – surprising because Trader Joe’s is an American brand that isn’t even found in London. A viral moment on TikTok pushed this toward the top of the tote-bag hierarchy. And it’s not the only overseas bag you’ll see on the tube this autumn: Shakespeare and Co (the legendary bookshop in Paris) is also easy to spot. If your tote bag says something about you, these bags might indicate that you’re a well-travelled person (or, just as likely, you bought a second-hand option on Vinted or eBay).
What do the other much-seen tote bags suggest about their wearers, then? There are the restaurant tote bags which show off your foodie credentials (think Bao, St John or Lina Stores); the totes which imply you’re a wine buff (Shop Cuvee); the totes which spotlight your culture-seeking weekends (Gay’s The Word, London Review of Books) and the ones which make it clear which London neighbourhood you’re loyal to (Norman’s, we’re looking at you). Below, we round up the London tote bags to covet this autumn.
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