Tote bags

One of the many fashion items becoming a part of our everyday lives without us realising is the tote bags. Having read a short article on it in the newspaper at the weekend, I've started thinking if I really have a thing for them. For me, it all started when a fashion magazine gave away this world famous tote bag a couple of years ago:

It was so handy and strong to use, so I always had it with me when I went out shopping. Then, I discovered a whole different world of similar reusable bags made of organic cotton / canvas. Supermarkets here are not very willing to give their customers plastic bags (which I can understand to some extent) so I knew, sooner or later, I would have to have my own bags around whenever I popped into one. That was when I made a habit of using my own shopping bags to avoid the feelings of guilt for asking for plastic bags and anger for getting told off by the looks some cashiers might throw at me!

Only later did I find out that an English fashion designer named Anya Hindmarch started this craze after she designed her first tote bag "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" and sold it in shops and online:

 

The article I read in the paper mentions how these bags were once very cheap and "Anti-It" but are now sold with price tags over £600 and have become a symbol of self-expression and a stand against the designer bags that are ridicilously over-priced and so tiny you cannot put your wallet and mobile in at the same time.

I have four of them so far and they are real life-savers when I look for a bag to chuck my gymwear in or when I go food-shopping. Plus, they easily fit in my bike basket :)

Believe it or not, there's even a book on tote bags and the history of their making:

These are some of my favourites:

 

What I need now is to learn how to make one.
I will keep you updated.