Fashion
Historical utility AND high fashion. LL Bean's 80-year-old staple bag finds a new audience as a statement bag
FREEPORT, Maine — Created 80 years ago by LL Bean to carry heavy blocks of ice, it is now an essential summer fashion accessory.
The simple, sturdy canvas bag called Boat and Tote is enjoying an extended moment 80 years after its launch, thanks to a social media trend in which they are monogrammed with ironic or flashy phrases.
New Yorker Gracie Wiener helped kick off the initiative by ordering her humble bags from LL Bean, monogrammed with Psycho and then Prada, the expensive Italian luxury brand, instead of just her name or initials, and posting them on Instagram. Then others started showing off their own unique bags on TikTok.
Soon, it was no longer enough to have a bag monogrammed with the words Schlepper, HOT MESS, slayyyy or cool mom. Customers began testing the limits of LL Beans' monogramming department's human censorship, which prohibits profanity or other objectionable words or phrases, with more provocative words like Bite Me, Dum Blonde and Ambitchous.
Social media fueled the surge, just as it did for $2.99 Stanley tumblers and Trader Joes canvas bags, which once sold on eBay for $200, said Beth Goldstein, an analyst at Circana, which tracks consumer spending and trends.
The return of totes comes at a time when price-conscious consumers are moving away from expensive handbags, which have been in decline, and LL Beans bags fit that bill perfectly because they are fashionable precisely because they are not fashionable, she said. LL Bean's classic bags cost about $55, though some fancier versions cost more than $100.
There's a trend toward utility, simplicity and more accessible price points, she said, and customization adds to the appeal: Status items don't need to be designer prices.
The LL Beans Tote Bag was first introduced in a catalog as the Beans Ice Carrier in 1944 during World War II, at a time when coolers were common. It then disappeared before being reintroduced in 1965 as the Boat and Tote.
Today, they're still made in Maine and are still capable of carrying 500 pounds of ice, but they're much more likely to carry laptops, headphones, groceries, books, beach gear, travel essentials, and other common items.
Those sarcastic, pop phrases have made them a sassy staple and helped them spread beyond Maine, Massachusetts, Cape Cod and other New England enclaves to places like Los Angeles and New York, where fashionistas like Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Jessica Parker are wearing them, but not necessarily brandished with ironic phrases.
“It’s just one of those things that makes people smile and laugh, and it’s unexpected,” said Wiener, who started it all with her Instagram page @ironicboatandtote, which she launched as a fun side hustle from her job as the social media manager for Air Mail, a digital publication launched by former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter.
The folks at LL Bean have been both amazed and thrilled by the continued growth. Over the past two years, the Boat and Tote has been LL Beans’ top contributor to attracting new customers, with sales up 64% from fiscal 2021 to 2023, said spokeswoman Amanda Hannah.
The surge in popularity is reminiscent of LL Beans' traditional hunting boots, the iconic accessory for traversing rain and mud, which had their own moment a few years ago, worn by college students.
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