New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli reported that in 2023 only about 21% of Manhattan households owned a vehicle, versus 91.6% of households nationally. Cars carry not only people, but also many items you may need over the course of a day.
I’m talking umbrellas to water bottle—all sorts of things that won’t fit into men’s pants pockets. Women’s handbags are fit to purpose for carrying general necessities. Menswear traditionally branches out into backpacks, briefcases, and gym bags, each accommodating well any particular plan for the day but not general urban serendipity.
Enter the tote bag.
The metropolitan male may discover several more objets d’art on his way from an errand. Going home to fetch a bag rather defeats the purpose of living somewhere with so much to do. The tote will hold what he didn’t know he wanted!
Conveniently, the metropolis doesn’t just reward keeping your options open. It also supplies the bags to do it. Bookstores, galleries, and other institutions distribute tote bags as mementos that broadcast pieces of our cultural affiliations. I myself have been known to rock a B.M.T. subway pride tote from the New York Transit Museum.
In addition, the tote-bearer establishes himself as environmentally responsible, and either ahead-of-the-curve or just law-abiding. New York State's plastic-bag ban took effect in March 2020, and NYC imposes a five-cent fee on most paper carryout bags.
Specialized bags are full of predictions about their contents. Padded laptop compartments, dedicated bottle holders, little slots where tyrannical designers decree: a pencil here, a lip-balm there. The tote would rather not put a label on its relationship to your day. Its empty space offers the freedom to discover and play.