Admittedly, I went a little crazy with LL Bean Boat and Totes a few weeks ago. I went to buy one and ended up with three. One of the bags I bought was a mistake and I had to correct it, but since I had it monogrammed… I was stuck with it. Totally fine because I know I’ll have a good use for it.
The reason why I made the mistake was that I couldn’t tell what size to get. The information I found online was confusing and contradictory and even the visuals on LL Bean’s website didn’t really convince me one way or another. I couldn’t figure out if I wanted to get the large or the extra large. I went with the extra large thinking it would be the perfect tote/carry-on for traveling, but it’s ginormous. I don’t think any of the photos I saw online really conveyed just how big it is. (I can sit inside of it.)
I reordered the large and it was perfect!
Above is LL Bean’s Large Open-Top Boat and Tote with regular length handles. It’s still really big, but it’s more manageable than the extra large (which I’m going to use as cute storage!). I would say that this size is perfect for weekend travel, a teacher bag, or a tote for errands when you’re schlepping a lot of stuff around.
I loved it in Vermont because I could fit a wool coat, our giant camera, my regular handbag, and my laptop. With room to spare, bam.
Now, I would say that it’s probably too big to fit under the seat of an airplane (as your “personal item”) and it’s probably too big for everyday classes. But I would say that it’s good for lugging any and everything you need to the library for studying.
Now this little guy is the same dimmensions as a medium Boat and Tote. Well, it is a medium Boat and Tote, just with leather straps. I actually thought it was a small from the photos online and (ugh) didn’t read the dimmensions. I still love it, but it’s bigger than I was expecting. It fits a lot though, which is great. It could easily double as an everyday tote or a school bag. My laptop fits as well as a notebook or two and the things I normally carry in my handbag. Last week, stuffed a puffer vest inside of it while out with friends, just in case.
This would also be a great choice when flying as it fits more than your typical handbag and will still easily fit under the seat as your personal item.
