Stuff I Like - Spring Edition
Ridiculously cute, stupidly impractical, tiny totes.
This SIL list has absolutely nothing to do with running, other than the fact that I, a runner, carry an exorbitant amount of stuff to and from the store each day. At the very least I’m toting my lunch, water bottle + road matcha.1 At the very most I’m toting all of this plus an entire change of clothes because I’m running or pilatesing or doing some other sort of sweat inducing activity that requires a complete sink shower + outfit change in order to feel fit to be amongst the general population.
While running itself isn’t a gear heavy sport, most runners I know still have a lot of it. Pop open our trunks and there’s usually an extra pair (or two) of shoes, some socks, perhaps an old pair of shorts we forgot about, maybe a towel. Back when I used to drive a lot more it looked as though I was living out of my trunk because you never know when you might need a yoga mat or an extra sweatshirt.
I’ve always been a bag lady; I designed accessories for 10 years before a short stint in apparel followed by a longer stint in concept + trend research. I spent $250 on the dress I wore to our wedding party, and $1200 on the Givenchy sandals I paired with it. No regrets. Only one of these have been worn more than once. I never got into the city bike or scooter situation, despite it being a very practical and very efficient way to get around a city not designed for fast travel. The reason being I simply always have too much stuff with me. Bags of running gear, bags of work gear, bags full of food plus a warm beverage of some sort. A much more practical guide would be ginormous bags that fit everything plus a kitchen sink, however they aren’t nearly as cute as the tiny ones I’m about to offer up.
If you came here for run content, I apologize. While some of these bags *might* be big enough to carry a pair of running shoes, they won’t carry much else. You’ll probably need at least two, plus maybe an additional option that’s flimsy + you can pull out should you randomly get a delivery of books, pillows, and sunscreen all delivered to your place of work on the same day.2
So humor me by allowing me to indulge in my love of the impractical, while also ignoring SS’26 shoe orders, incoming AW’25 orders, and an inbox that I tried so hard to keep at zero but is at 232 unread (if you’re waiting on an answer to something, feel free to resend - I won’t be offended). I live, sleep + breath run products (I’ve had dreams I’ve been fitting people for shoes) but today I’m allowing myself the luxury to not. So if you too love the impractical, join me as we venture through a list of ridiculously cute, stupidly impractical, tiny totes.
L.L.Bean Boat + Tote In a Ridiculously Tiny Size
The original tote created for it’s practical simplicity. Introduced as Bean's Ice Carrier way back in 1944, the Boat and Tote was billed as a bag made of builders' canvas for hauling ice "from car to ice chest." Each bag is tested to hold up to 500 lbs and hand stitched by ‘expert sewers’ in Maine. A true icon, I have the largest version of the original + recently just purchased the mini (I wish I’d seen this even tinier, impractical version because how cute would it be clipped to my already tiny tote?)
I wanted something heavy enough to carry a water bottle + my lunch, something that wasn’t too precious should one of them spill all over the inside. According to the website, the mini also fits a 6 pack, should I decide I’d like to instead carry that. Upon receipt I’d say a 6 pack is a bit of a stretch, however, if that’s the *only* thing you wish to carry perhaps you can make it work.
One of the best features of the Boat + Tote is the ability to monogram it because I am, if nothing else, a sucker for a good monogram. My large one (purchased ten years ago as a ginormous carry all for when I was running before work at work) has my actual initials, but for this tiny option I took inspo from the bag I saw
carrying last month in Boston + added the most obvious 3 letter word ever.
if you, like myself love a good post it note, do yourself a favor and order these from Muji. they’re genius + i use them for absolutely everything. A Woven Leather Tote You Must Hold In Your Hand At All Times
I have a ridiculously small + cute ‘straw’ bag from Zara (in quotes because the price point was such that I’m pretty sure it’s paper + not *actual* straw). I bought it last year when my love for bags that could only be carried by hand started to itch. Cross body? Over the shoulder? Don’t know her. I only wanted bags that make it even harder to do things while also carrying things. I still love it, but worried due to the nature of it’s delicate (price driven) design that one day the handle would give out (I’m sure it has nothing to do with the 20 charms hanging off of it).
said tote from zara. she’s cute, but she’s delicate. So this year for mother’s day I asked for a higher quality, slightly larger option I could carry to / from the store + around the city. Small enough to be slightly impractical but large enough to (nearly) fit a water bottle.3 This mini tote from Dragon Diffusion scratched the itch. The shape is slightly different that the Zara one above but the end use is still the same. I love that it’s leather so it’s more durable, will wear in beautifully and is just large enough to carry the necessities + nothing more. Dragon Diffusion also sews an antiqued St. Christopher charm (the patron saint of travellers) into all their bags. Love.
me toting my cute little woven tote to class before heading up to the store. also this is what ‘transitional’ dressing looks like in SF. spring up top / summer on the bottom. A Stupidly Cute Packable Tote.
I brought in Epperson Mountaineering back in the early spring (possibly so early it was still winter) because I love that the bags are made of technical fabrics (run adjacent) but also *not* for running. Runners don’t always be running, we contain multitudes + so stocking items that fit all aspects of our lives is important to me (in a perfect world someday I’d also stock ridiculously cute woven leather bags like the one above as well). The goal was to carry the packable large climbing totes because they’re lightweight and big enough to hold everything but at the last minute I added the lunch tote to my order because it was so cute, tiny + the punchy tomato red was *chef’s kiss*.
It’s been our strongest seller by far, simply because of it’s ridiculously cute + compact size. Practical for pretty much nothing, this bag is the bag you roll up + bring with you should you need to suddenly carry home like, three oranges.
More Ridiculously Small + Stupidly Cute Totes I’d Buy If I Didn’t Already Own A Lot of Ridiculously Small + Stupidly Cute Totes.
The thing with ridiculously small + stupidly cute totes is that one isn’t large enough for everything, so at minimum I find I always need at least two, and maybe a third for just in case. I can’t in good conscious add any more of these bags into my life, but if I could, here are some additional ones I’m pining for.
I absolutely adore Clare V + either of these bags from her latest collab with Le Catch would fit the bucket (no pun intended). At left it’s giving the ease of canvas, with the sass of a leather fringe + is so unique I could probably convince myself that it deserves a place in my closet without working too hard. (Or my husband, who reads this newsletter could surprise me with at anytime + score major points. Hint, hint). At right, an alternative to the Dragon Diffusion bag I’ve been carrying daily since Mother’s Day. The bright colors are reminding me of a lawn chair in the best way and if I were pregnant (which I’m not), I would probably get this as my diaper bag so once I was no longer lugging diapers I could to claim it as my own.
Anyone remember Fleabags from the early aughts? I L-O-V-E-D those bags, but the closest I ever got was buying one from Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo’s website ‘Of a Kind’ that was very, very similar to the canvas totes in the middle. These bags are a bit smaller, but perfect for carrying life’s smaller necessities. Far right is a dramatic east/west tote silhouette, made popular by The Row but sold at a price that doesn’t require harvesting an organ. Love the mix of nylon + leather because there’s nothing I love more than a side of technical.
Hopefully wherever you’re at spring has finally sprung, or perhaps it’s already full on summer. Happy last day of May and if you happened to be heading out for a run this morning and thought to yourself ‘gee I wish I had a bag that was small enough to fit this pair of Birkenstocks I’d like to pack for after my run’, you’re welcome. All of these bags will do just that and nothing more.
*k
I’ve been replacing my second matcha latte of the day with a TSP of matcha mixed into half a topo chico. Delicious + refreshing 10/10 recommend.
Too specific? Just me?
Bags bags bags!
All hail the BAG bag!