Totes and Handbags
Shopping Bag UPDATED! as of 9.30.25
I went ahead and updated some new beaded bag and tote bag favorites for the fall season. How are we not going to order them all, they are sooooo adorable!?
Espresso Martini Beaded Bag-Espresso Martinis are some of the best, most trendy cocktails around this season. Yes! ☕️🍸
Emerald Green Bucket Beaded Bag-Forever in love with bucket bags, I think this emerald green one is such a fabulous color for fall. The shape is casual, but the beads will elevate any outfit. 💚
Dog Beaded Bag-Probably the cutest beaded bag I’ve ever seen.
Black Beaded Bag-You really can’t go wrong with a black beaded shoulder bag. Yes with suits. Yes with jeans. Yes with dresses. Yes!
Floral Beaded Bag-Love the burgundy—it’s my new favorite color for fall. Love the flowers! So gorgeous.
Leopard Beaded Bag-My son’s school mascot is the leopard which isn’t even the number one reason why I love this bag. Leopard NEVER goes out of style.
Alter Ego Coach Crescent Bag-I absolutely love that Coach makes the Alter Ego bag out of scraps to cut out waste in their workshops. The color of this one is Suede Sand and I think it is absolutely gorgeous—truly a piece you will have for years to come!
Tory Burch Ella Tote in Winter Floral-I love florals for fall, not just spring, and the colorway of this Tory Tote with the pistachio trim is perfect for the harvest season. Plus it’s 30% off right now!
Dooney & Bourke Florentine Tote-Bet you haven’t heard about D&B in a while?! Well, I chose this one because I think they have quality leather, it’s a very classic tote style, and because this color red will take you from fall all the way through to Valentine’s Day. If red isn’t your color, try this neutral one.
Longchamp Le Pliage Tote-Are you familiar with Longchamp? This French luxury brand was founded in the late 1940s makes the best travel essentials. The Le Pliage tote bag holds a 13” laptop. ✔️💻 And I’m in love with the Celadon color bc I think it would work all year round.
Margot Leather Bucket Tote-Chic. Good size. Under $100.
LL Bean Boat and Tote-What’s more nostalgic than the traditional LL Bean Boat and Tote. I love the mauve color, the size, and the price. This bag is good for toys, school supplies, and farmers marketing. It’s also great for holding car essentials for fall road trips. Things like: paper towels, extra chargers, wipies, snacks etc…
Original blog post begins here:
Back at the beginning of the summer, @lavishlyjackie posted a video of her travel day outfit. But it wasn’t just any travel day, it was a “fly in/fly out” travel day. She was attending a graduation a short flight away and would be flying home later that night.
To make things easy, she wore what she would be wearing to the graduation festivities on the plane and she carried a tote bag AND a small handbag. And she made a comment about how cool it is to carry both: a tote and a handbag. I couldn’t agree more.
“There’s something really chic about a girl with a tote and a handbag.”
So, that’s what I’ve been doing. Because I like to carry a lot of stuff with me, but I also like to carry a handbag that’s appropriate for the occasion. So, I’ve been packing both. This especially comes in handy at church. I like a small handbag, but also want to carry my journal, bible, pens, a pajmina etc…Some Sundays after church we go out to lunch as a family, and by carrying both I can just take the small handbag into the restaurant, leaving the tote with my Bible and everything in the car.
It also comes in handy on a date night. No one wants to carry a giant tote bag to dinner, but what if we need a little more stuff than what fits in the little handbag? What if I need my notepad, a phone charger, a hair brush, a makeup bag that won’t fit in the small handbag? So why not have both? Keep the tote bag in the trunk for “just-in-cases” and carry the adorable handbag into the restaurant with you.
I think this could also be handy on vacation or even just a pool day. I had a pool day with some girlfriends the other day, so I brought a beach bag with my towel and sunscreen and sunglasses etc, but also brought a little hand bag because we ended up going out to dinner after we got out of the pool and I didn’t want to lug in my beach bag.
Or even just running errands. Below was just a regular Tuesday and yes, I carried my handbag and my tote. Sometimes when I’m out I’ll stop at a coffee shop or something and work for a little bit, so I often have my laptop and/or iPad with me. I love this random little fix so much!
Honestly friends, I doubt carrying a tote bag AND a handbag is anything new, but it’s just something functional that allows us fashion girlies to wear more of our favorite things at the same time. I LOVE styling. I LOVE fashion. I LOVE keeping my clothes for decades and then pulling it out of the closet for a fun fashion moment. Like below, I pulled this dress out of the closet that can literally be classified as vintage Banana Republic. I’ve had it since college, and even though I don’t often wear it, when I do it feels kind of new.
Everything I’m wearing above is old except the shoes. And they happen to be on sale. They also come in PINK and DENIM. How adorable are the little cherries on top???
So friends, I hope carrying a tote and a handbag eliminates some of your first world problems and that you feel inspired in your fashion life just a bit. Have a wonderful week!
