FREEPORT, Maine (AP) 鈥� L.L. Bean created it 80 years ago to haul heavy blocks of ice. Now it's a must-have summer fashion accessory.
The simple, sturdy canvas bag called the Boat and Tote is having an extended moment 80 years after its introduction, thanks to a social media trend in which they're monogrammed with ironic or flashy phrases.
New Yorker Gracie Wiener helped get it started by ordering her humble bags from L.L. Bean monogrammed with 鈥淧sycho鈥� and then 鈥淧rada,鈥� the pricey Italian luxury brand, instead of just her name or initials, and posting about them on Instagram. Then others began showcasing their own unique bags on TikTok.
Soon, it wasn鈥檛 enough to have a bag monogrammed with 鈥淪chlepper,鈥� 鈥淗OT MESS,鈥� 鈥渟layyyy鈥� or 鈥渃ool mom.鈥� Customers began testing the limits of the human censors in L.L. Bean鈥檚 monogram department, which bans profanity 鈥渙r other objectionable words or phrases,鈥� with more provocative wording like 鈥淏ite me,鈥� 鈥淒um Blonde鈥� and 鈥淎mbitchous.鈥�
Social media fueled the surge, just as it did for Stanley鈥檚 tumblers and Trader Joe鈥檚 $2.99 canvas bags, which were once selling on eBay for $200, said Beth Goldstein, an analyst at Circana, which tracks consumer spending and trends.
The tote鈥檚 revival came at a time when price-conscious consumers were forgoing expensive handbags, sales of which have weakened, and L.L. Bean鈥檚 bag fit the bill as a functional item that鈥檚 trendy precisely because it鈥檚 not trendy, she said. L.L. Bean's regular bags top out at about $55, though some fancier versions cost upward of $100.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a trend toward the utilitarian, the simple things and more accessible price points,鈥� she said, and the customization added to the appeal: 鈥淪tatus items don鈥檛 have to be designer price points.鈥�
L.L. Bean鈥檚 tote was first advertised in a catalog as Bean鈥檚 Ice Carrier in 1944 during World War II, when ice chests were common. Then they disappeared before being reintroduced in 1965 as the Boat and Tote.
These days, they鈥檙e still made in Maine and are still capable of hauling 500 pounds of ice, but they are far more likely to carry laptops, headphones, groceries, books, beach gear, travel essentials and other common items.
Those snarky, pop-oriented phrases transformed them into a sassy essential and helped them spread beyond Maine, Massachusetts鈥� Cape Cod and other New England enclaves to places like Los Angeles and New York City, where fashionistas like Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Jessica Parker are toting them 鈥� but not necessarily brandished with ironic phrases.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just one of those things that makes people smile and makes people laugh, and it鈥檚 unexpected,鈥� said Wiener, who got it all started with her @ironicboatandtote Instagram page, which she started as a fun side hustle from her job as social media manager for Air Mail, a digital publication launched by former Vanity Fair Editor-in-Chief Graydon Carter.
The folks at L.L. Bean were both stunned and pleased by the continuing growth. For the past two years, the Boat and Tote has been L.L. Bean鈥檚 No. 1 contributor to luring in new customers, and sales grew 64% from fiscal years 2021 to 2023, spokesperson Amanda Hannah said.
The surge in popularity is reminiscent of L.L. Bean鈥檚 traditional hunting shoe, the iconic staple for trudging through rain and muck, which enjoyed its own moment a few years back, driven by college students.
David Sharp, The Associated Press
