Totes

As we all know by now, Pantone announced last month that 2012′s Color of the Year would be “Tangerine Tango” – a vibrant, saturated, deep orange that looks almost hot to the touch. With so many blazing bright colors dotting the runways as of late, the declaration seemed like Pantone’s most accurate in a long time. When I clicked over to Bergdorf Goodman today and saw the beautiful, sunny Givenchy Antigona Tote daring me to get out my credit card, I knew in my heart that Pantone was indeed on to something big.

First Hermes (and then no more Hermes because they got sued), then Chanel and now Balenciaga – tote company Thursday Friday seems like it won’t be satisfied until every iconic handbag under the sun (except any made by Hermes because, well, you know…) has been immortalized on its Thursday Friday Together Tote Bag. This one, naturally, is called the “Moto.” Clever.

Anya Hindmarch Printed Totes, $295 via Net-a-Porter in Beach or Homework Print

We all know that I can get a little bit feisty when I feel like companies are trying to cash in on their good name by shilling overpriced, under-designed canvas tote bags to their hungry fans, but Anya Hindmarch is always a notable exception to my personal canvas rule. Instead of merely slapping some leather handles and her logo on a canvas tote that you could get anywhere, Hindmarch’s design team actually take the time to, you know, design something.

With something like the Anya Hindmarch Printed Canvas Totes, you still get all the simple usability that you need out of a big, simple, lightweight bag. You also get a healthy dose of British humor, which I think makes the price tag a little bit more palatable.

Marc Jacobs Cosmic Croc Embossed Leather Tote, $1995 via Net-a-Porter

I’ve been visiting my family in Atlanta for the last week, and because of the relatively temperate weather we’ve been having the South, I’m having a hard time remembering that the intense part of winter has yet to come. I haven’t worn a coat of any kind for seven full days. It’s sunny and shiny and happy outside. Snow? What’s snow? I’ve never heard of snow.

That being said, that’s probably why I looked at the Marc Jacobs Cosmic Croc Embossed Leather Tote and thought, “Oh, how perfect to take on a swanky resort vacation or pair with a sundress or, you know, whatever as long as the weather’s warm!” Except that the weather isn’t going to be warm for, like, four or five months. Sigh.

Cast of Vices Corner Store Leather Totes, $240 via ShopBop

Everyone is familiar with the plastic bags that the Cast of Vices Corner Store Leather Totes mimic, but as I’ve come to learn over my first six months in Manhattan, New Yorkers have have an even deeper connection to these little plastic totes. New York’s healthy population of bodegas, delis and mom-and-pop takeout joints keeps a steady stream of these bags flowing into use in the city, and where suburbanites might find themselves using a Target or Kroger bag to line their bathroom waste baskets or carry their lunches to work, in New York, the odds are that it’ll be one of these generic designs instead. (Or a Duane Reade bag, but I try to pretend Duane Reade doesn’t exist.)

Anya Hindmarch Big Ben or Corgi Headline Totes, $295 each via Net-a-Porter

Oh, the Brits! They’re a funny lot, aren’t they? They brought us Monty Python and Benny Hill and Eddie Izzard, and for that, the rest of the world is eternally grateful. British humor is renowned the world over for its special brand of biting dryness, and it only makes sense that a London designer would be pursuing the art of handbag humor.

Anya Hindmarch is often witty, but the Anya Hindmarch Headline Printed Canvas Shoppers take things to a new level. Using iconic bits of Britannia like Big Ben and the Queen’s beloved corgis, Hindmarch gives you a funny way to haul your daily necessities. Plus, they have a little surprise on the inside.

Images via Racked.com

Remember the Thursday Friday Together Totes emblazoned with images of the iconic Hermes Birkin? The bag generated a ton of conversation when we first wrote about it back in January, and although most of you found them distasteful, lots of women didn’t; I think I see at least one a day being schlepped through the streets of New York.

Unfortunately for Thursday Friday, Hermes also found the idea distasteful and decided to sue their pants off. Fresh off a private settlement with the French luxury giant, Racked reports that Thursday Friday is ready to take on another iconic bag with its Together Tote: The Chanel 2.55 Flap Bag. Lawyers, start your engines.