The Most Prominent School Totes (& Some Less Popular Alternatives)
If the changing leaves and impending deadlines aren’t enough to prove we’re officially in the throes of back-to-school, the herd of Goyard Saint Louis and Longchamp Le Pilage totes swarming the streets of St. Andrews should serve as sufficient evidence. The perfect school tote must be versatile, functional, and fashionable; it has to go with literally everything in your closet, graciously fit a laptop, and be youthful and professional. The Goyard Saint Louis (£1210-1350) and Lonchamp Pilage (£120) are popular for these very reasons. They’re even more suited for St. Andrews in particular because of their material. The Goyard is made with coated canvas featuring Goyard’s iconic interlocking Y print and the Lonchamp is made out of recycled canvas; thus, both are durable enough to withstand the rainy days synonymous with Scottish weather. These bags are undeniably good school totes, but their rise in popularity has caused the market to become oversaturated with fakes, particularly of the Goyard, so I wouldn’t be shocked if their popularity plateaus or declines in the next few years. There are plenty of great totes beyond these two, and this is a compilation of just some of these less popular alternatives.
As a lover of all things second-hand, I’d be remiss to not recommend starting the search for your perfect school tote on The Real Real or Vestaire. Try typing in “Prada nylon tote” and see what you find. Usually around £200-450, these are great, durable bags that will last forever. Prada nylon is tough and who could resist the iconic triangle tag?
Another tote that might be worthy of a fall down the pre-loved rabbit hole is the Stella McCartney Falabella bag (usually going for £250-400, but if you really search they’re sometimes as low as £150). The Falabella looks like leather but is completely vegan, so you can feel good about your environmental impact and look luxurious. It’s a slouchy, chain-rimmed, rock-n-roll carryall that’s been worn by everyone from Kate Moss and Beyonce to Emma Watson and Angelina Jolie.
Two bags I’ve started to see pop up in the Spoiled line also stick out to me as well-known, but not over done: the Balenciaga City Bag (£300 to £600 second hand) and the Polene Cyme (£380 new). The City Bag is the ultimate early 2000s it-girl bag. Studded and slouchy, the City is rocker-chic in an effortless, almost messy, way. The vintage ones are the best (the more worn the better in my opinion) but double check their dimensions to make sure they’ll fit your laptop or iPad. The Polene Cyme, in contrast, is somewhere in between equestrian and boho. Polene has been gaining popularity due to the success of their Numero Dix shoulder bag, which has a similar shape and vibe as the Cyme. If you’re into the Western feel of this bag, I’d also recommend the Chloe Mony. Although often around £800-1000 second hand, occasionally listings will come up for half that.
If you’re looking for something more similar to the Goyard, there are a few options I’d consider. The current public obsession with the Goyard Saint Louis recalls a similar mania surrounding the Louis Vuitton Neverfull in the 2010s. With its iconic coated canvas, thin straps, and cult following, the similarities are uncanny. Louis Vuitton just released a new iteration of the Neverfull, the Inside Out (£1690), and has been gifting it to fashion influencers like Kate Bartlett, so a resurgence of the bag might not be far off. Another alternative is the Goyard Boheme Hobo Bag (£1500). In the same celebrated fabric as the Saint Louis, the Boheme offers a slouchier, more unique shape. Finally, if you’re looking for an equally intricate pattern in similar color schemes, but at a fraction of the price, consider the Ever Ready Tory Burch tote (£330).
When looking for a bag similar to the Longchamp, I was searching for a non-leather bag with a zip-closure, leather straps, priced around £100. Finding a bag that fit these parameters and had a vibe as refined and classic as the Longchamp was honestly harder than I anticipated, but finally I stumbled across the Ralph Lauren Nylon Medium Keaton Tote Bag (£129). This bag checks all of the aforementioned boxes, and comes in a variety of nice colors and prints.
Finally, I want to touch on a tote in its simplest form: the cloth book tote. The most popular ones are definitely the Shakespeare and Company and Daunt Book bags, both of which feature the name of the respective book store and a sketch of its storefront. When I see someone carrying these, I automatically assume they have a copy of Sally Rooney’s new Intermezzo tucked inside. The overlap in the venn diagram of book lovers and museum-goers is rather large, so if you want a bag that is less popular but still tells a passerby that you appreciate a deckle edged page, consider a tote from the V&A museum store (£8.50 to £15). Among the classic tote bags there are several really beautiful floral prints to choose from. There is also a recycled denim patchwork option (£55) that is made in collaboration with non-profit The Revival.
A good tote bag just fits; it fits your class essentials and it fits your personal style. Walking along the streets of St Andrews there’s a plethora of gorgeous and practical tote bags to inspire you in your search for the perfect school tote, and hopefully this list can serve as a good starting point.
Photography by Cecilia Ryan