22 February, 2011

A Tote For Each Coast

Hey Alice,

I still read your blog and look forward to reading first thing in the morning while eating oatmeal at my desk. If you recall I had sent you an e-mail for advice on a vacation and, I did in fact travel on your recommendation and loved my trip to Las Ventanas in Mexico! Since my friend and I are again vacationing together at the end of March, I thought I would ask you and your great taste another question; Our plans are to fly into San Francisco and then 8-10 days later end up in San Diego. Do you have a suggestions on a cute gift for this girls vacation? I would love to get her something that would be useful on our travels. I was thinking maybe a cute boat and tote or a monogrammed koozie! Thanks so much for your help!

Jennifer


Well Jennifer, is your friend a Northern kind of Wm. J. Mills & Co. tote gal? A traditional prep who loves a good lobster roll and thinks blow drying is a chore?

Or, maybe she's more of a Francesa Joy of Plam Beach tote chick who spends Thanksgiving at the Breakers each year and considers white a color...

But, if black is her friend, she knows the Hampton Jitney schedule by heart and nothing gets her heart pumping more than a good Soul Cycle class then maybe an Iomoi tote's more her speed...

But, then again, maybe the two of you would prefer a not too obviously labeled LouenHide when in Rome Cali tote profile? You know, just a couple of dewy skinned from a Red Door facial chiquita's tooling down the PCH in their convertible waxing over last night's fabulous bottle of Pinot...



Whichever tote may tickle your fancy just make certain to have directions to San Diego's Blue Water Seafood tucked inside. And, puhleeeze, have a fish taco pour moi...

Kindness of Jennifer Dion for the vote of confidence in my tote picking ability. And, Meg Carter for the LouenHide pic text and rec sent from a recent Gift Show. If it's good enough to house Meg's swanky Hermès wallet ya know it's a winner...XXOO

17 comments:

  1. Love this post! Very informative and entertaining! My vote is for the Iomoi!

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  2. I am a Wm. J. Mills girl all the way and I only blow my hair dry on weekends! xx

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  3. LOVE each and every one of your suggestions! (I'm known for being somewhat bag-obsessed!) I'm in NYC and just wish that the LouenHide was availible locally...I may have to get on the phone and have a little something shipped. :)

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  4. Have never been to Blue Water Seafood, but if you are still hungry, I can highly recommend the fish tacos at the Brig on Shelter Island + the cute sailor factor is pretty high.

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  5. Great finds -- thanks for sharing. Love those LH bags! Now if I could just pick a color....

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  6. Great choices! I have a terrible tote addiction, and the Iomoi possibilities are sooooo tempting. I bet one of them would hold a lot of Easter chocolate, and another could carry all the Mother's Day flowers, right?

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  7. Thanks for showing the Mills "Ice Bag" in Navy Blue with Natural trim. Although it does come in 13 colors with five trim options....and that is just the Classic series bags. Along with the tote shown the "Jitney Cargo bag" has the same look, but also has a fold down zipper top, which makes it the best for travel. The Jitney cargo is a great carry-on that can be stored above or it works great as a tote with the top un-zipped and folded down.
    Thanks for showing our bags and telling the world about them.

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  8. Please please please forgive my ignorance but please please please explain the difference between the Mills ice bag and (gasp) the LL Bean bags. There is, obviously, a big price difference but canvas is canvas (right?) so it must be the workmanship? It is nice the Mill are machine washable; that IS a big plus.

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  9. Anonymous If you don't know the difference you probably don't own one. Therefore it can hardly be called ignorance. You really notice the difference after you have washed your bags 60 or seventy times, my experience is going on 20 years. I still haven't lost a thread on my Ice Bag, and the color, like me, is still alive.

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  10. Darn it, would have loved to have seen the LouenHide bags available to order online. I'm one of those 'add to cart' kinds of gals. The ice blue is TDF.

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  11. Merci, Kathy, for helping out since I truly have no firsthand experience, other than a couple of friends with high standards that are beeeg Mills tote fans. I will say though, that as much as I love my Bean totes, one good shoving under an airline seat can leave gnarly grease marks requiring a good twirl in the washer. And, have fun trying to break down a large, stiff Bean tote to fit round the agitator. Also, the Mills bags appear like they can be easily folded and packed in a suitcase. Ya know, for loot bought abroad...

    And, about the LH bags, all I know is that they just arrived in the states via Australia and they were gorg enough for Meg Carter to snatch 2 up at an Atlanta trade show. And, Meg's got great taste. Probably worth calling one of the Monkees stores listed that carry them...XXOO

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  12. love
    sea hags totes
    old vintage vuittons
    brown rugged leather totes....
    fish tacos too
    pve

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  13. I juuust got a new tote in the mail not an hour ago! It's just a regular old LL Bean though...nothing too fancy! I've had my eye on the IOMOI tote for awhile - that and everything else on their site :) xx KO

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  14. Ohhh I just love all tote bags!!!! Hope you can follow my blog :)

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  15. Thank you for all the kind comments on the LouenHide bags! And thank you Meg for posting the picture of your find. Unfortunately, as we are still new to the US, LH bags are not yet available online, but we are growing our number of stores daily. In the meantime, feel free to call me on (804) 484 0283 if you just have to have one!

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  16. LouenHide bags just arrived at A Mano in Georgetown (top of Wisconsin Ave on the right)!

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