The personality of a canvas bag

Why it should become a must-have item for women

When I picked up my parents at Heathrow Airport weeks ago, they both greeted me with a glare of morbid look. I had come to them wearing a pair of unflattering jeans, a boring top with a dirty canvas tote bag. I sensed they disapproved of my overall choice of outfits but decided to exclusively scrutinize the unfortunate bag for its obvious vulnerability.

My parents told me the bag reminded them of the favorite bag of a middle age lady who always sat in the front row at a church in my hometown. They called my bag “bak lan bag”. Bak Lan is the name of the old lady who got her fame not only because she always sat in the front row at church but also because she attended the whole four masses in a row on every Sunday. As a result, her sanity has been questioned by many for years. So now my dirty canvas bag assumed an identity. It got a name albeit the unpleasant origins of the name.

What they call my bag doesn’t matter to me. I like it because it looks like a proper bag where you can actually keep your stuff. I tried to convince my parents to let me wear it but they wouldn’t relent and sworn me not to use it anymore.

Then my mom made me buy a new bag. She suggested that I went for a glossy sling handbag that I had first spotted. I agreed but then the clerk I approached told us they did not have any fresh stock available. The one that we saw was already slightly scraped. On another shopping trip later, I set my eyes on a cow skin tote in chocolate brown color. It is big enough to carry almost anything. But later when I put it into the basket of my bicycle, it found out that it does not fit in perfectly.

To lift up my spirit after being put down by this unsatisfying purchase, I decided to buy the first choice of sling bag in another department store. When I made the payment, the clerk told me it was the last fresh stock they had. I was overwhelmed with the lucky purchase. However, the satisfaction was similarly short-lived. When the first purchase is too big, this one is simply too small. It only has enough space for my wallet, two mobile phones and key rings. As a result, both of the bags now sit beautifully on my desk in my room. I have never worn them again since my parents left. I went back to my dirty canvas tote bag and decided to stay faithful for a while.

I love canvas totes because they are not fussy. You can put anything in it and they will shape around the stuff you shove in there. Also, they don’t come across as being pretentious despite the occasional cheesy message they normally have on front (All canvas totes have messages that are meant to lift up your spirit or boost your identity). Mine was written with Totes Amaze. I don’t know what it is supposed to mean but it doesn’t matter anyway. I did not fall for the bag because of the message. It was on sale when I picked it up in a store in Norwich.

Whenever I walk around the city center, I will always look at canvas tote bags on display although I already have more than one. They are all from different places and bear the name of the places where I got them from: a Taiwanese bookstore, UEA, M&S and a shoe store in Jakarta. When I visited the British Library and Notting Hill market in London the other day, I wanted to get one with the prints of those places but then I remembered the promise to my mom. If It had not been for my parents, I would have collected two more totes.

I love totes because they all come in different personalities. Some are lousy and funny while the others may be reclusive and mediocre. I want to have them all for a similar reason some other women have collected their branded bags. You can never have enough. Your eyes are hopelessly glued to those things once you spot them anywhere on sale or chicly worn by someone. But unfortunately, unlike branded bags, totes do not make it to the list of high street fashion where wearing one would boost your status. Wearing a tote, especially when it is dirty, sends a message that tell people you don’t care enough about yourself. Alas, this is no true.

I sometimes wish canvas totes are THE bags of my generation, loved by every woman and a must-have collection in every woman’s wardrobe. It deserves this status because totes do not dictate or eat up your identities the way a Birkin or a what-ever-berry does. It would flexibly shapes around your profile as a student, a shopper, a leisurely stroller or even a career woman, all of whom need honest generous spaces. It is a bag which doesn’t come tricky with room (it can also be folded up after being used) or overwhelm with its daunting looks. It is a fine subtle bag for both users and passerbyers.

Intermezzo
I have a friend who also likes canvas tote bags. He likes them and a bit fussy about the way they look. He recently added his collections by buying one from a pub. The bag has the pub’s name written on it. When I asked whether he was satisfied with the purchase he said not so much. He said he didn’t really like the print color of the bag which got washed away when he put it into the laundry machine. I asked whether he liked the original color better, he said no. He said he liked the color of the bag when it was being washed. Here is the original conversation about the bag and its color:

Lian Som: So, if you don’t like the bag before and after you washed it, when exactly do you like it then?
Friend: During the wash(ing process).

Lian Som and friend were laughing now.