FREEPORT, Maine ā 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.
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New Yorker Gracie Wiener helped get it started by ordering her humble bags from L.L. Bean monogrammed with āPsychoā and then āPrada,ā 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 wasnāt enough to have a bag monogrammed with āSchlepper,ā āHOT MESS,ā āslayyyyā or ācool mom.ā Customers began testing the limits of the human censors in L.L. Beanās monogram department, which bans profanity āor other objectionable words or phrases,ā with more provocative wording like āBite me,ā āDum Blondeā and āAmbitchous.ā
Social media fueled the surge, just as it did for Stanleyās tumblers and Trader Joeās $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 toteās revival came at a time when price-conscious consumers were forgoing expensive handbags, sales of which have weakened, and L.L. Beanās bag fit the bill as a functional item thatās trendy precisely because itās not trendy, she said. L.L. Bean's regular bags top out at about $55, though some fancier versions cost upward of $100.
āThereās a trend toward the utilitarian, the simple things and more accessible price points,ā she said, and the customization added to the appeal: āStatus items donāt have to be designer price points.ā
L.L. Beanās tote was first advertised in a catalog as Beanās 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, theyāre 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, Massachusettsā 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 ā but not necessarily brandished with ironic phrases.
āItās just one of those things that makes people smile and makes people laugh, and itās unexpected,ā 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. Beanās 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. Beanās 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.