Even the tried-and-true takeout bag has gone high-end

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.)

I’m willing to bet that people living in other urban areas have a similar experience, which makes these leather versions (down to the openings in the handles so that they can be racked for quick dispensing) all the more familiar and clever. The embossed black leather give the remade design a decided punk aesthetic, which means that I would absolutely carry one of these bags, even if they are a novelty. I’m just not sure exactly how much I’d pay for one, but if the leather’s as thick and soft as it looks in these photos, then the price isn’t necessarily unfair. Buy the “thank you” or “smiley face” versions through ShopBop for $240 each.

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QQ

i have been eyeing these forever! i am surprised it took you guys this long to catch on. been meaning to add one to my handbag arsenal, just have to wait till after the holidays to buy myself anything 😛

edoardo

Coooooooooooooooooooooooooool bags!

http://fashiondoesntexist.blogspot.com/

19yearslater

Cool! I love the high/low dichotemy and they look really nice so the price doesn’t seem too bad.

J Umm

a bit expensive….
i wonder how the leather would age
STYLE DECORUM

Eno

I’ve had mine about 10 years – sturdy, roomy, nice suede interior and is “aging” well 😊

Elyse Greenberg

these are just plain odd

Shirley J

it sure has!!! but i dont think i would be rockin them.

Alice

I actually think they are kind of ugly and not worth the $240. That being said, interesting idea

Roya

Not gonna lie, I’d definitely rock the “Thank You” one.

Alexandra Davidoff

Well, I was hoping the grocery store chains would stop charging for a plastic bag and now THIS?

Jennie

I actually like the idea of this but would never purchase it. Waay too expensive for a novelty item.

camilla

I don’t like the shape

Eno

I have a ‘Thank You’ one….yes shape and handles are odd, literally like a corner store bag. At first I didn’t like how I was bound to carry it by the handles and not on my shoulder, but very unique so I’m loving it.

Cami

The bodega bags are back in!!!

Cami
Bycamixoxo.blogspot.com

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