#TOTEWELL: OUR TRANSPORT TOTE, BY THE NUMBERS

We love a good backstory, especially when it sheds light on an old friend. In this case, our “friend” happens to be our iconic Transport Tote (the bag we so fondly refer to as our “constant companion”). We went to our design team to find out how it all began, from landing on the perfect strap length to the months—yes, months—spent perfecting the shape.

You’re probably familiar with that old adage, “seeing is believing,” but in the case of our Transport Tote, much of the beauty is in what you can’t see—namely, all of the time that went into perfecting the details you can. To create a bag as timeless and denim-friendly as our clothes, our designers stuck to one rule: Make a trend-free style with leather that lasts forever. The result? A luxuriously cool bag that showcases the leather’s unique patina so no two are the same. The longer you carry it, the more “yours” it becomes. To learn about all the decisions and details that make it anything but simple, we went “behind the seams,” so to speak. Allow us to walk you through the making of our signature carryall tote.

7 months: The time our design team spent sketching the bag, sourcing the perfect leather and debating every little detail. They wanted the Transport Tote to be timeless—free of trendy details—so you could carry it for as long as the leather would allow (aka forever).

13 swatches: The shades of brown vegetable dye we looked at before landing on our signature english saddle color. Vegetable dye allows the leather’s natural grain to show through, so each bag develops a unique patina over time.

2 seams: That’s all the stitching needed to pull it together. The simple shape gives the bag a clean, laid-back look, so you can wear it with, well, anything. This bag doesn’t need to be the star of the show/outfit—but somehow, it often is.

8.25 inches: The length of the handle drop, a sweet spot long enough to fit over a thick coat in the winter but short enough to keep your bag far from the ground if you carry it by the handles rather than slinging it over your shoulder.

1 zipper: The only hardware on the bag—it’s hidden inside, along the pocket, to showoff the leather without interruption.

24 hours: The time it takes to test the leather dye’s staying power. A machine rubs the leather with a cloth for an entire day to ensure the color’s quality.

8 colors: The different shades the bag comes in right now, from english saddle to dried rose—plus two more, if you count hole punched leather and denim. (We do.)

365 days: The number of successive days you’ll want to carry it in the next year (every single one, of course).

Now that you know all about the bag’s history, there’s only one way to get more personal: Add a monogram. Visit our Personalization Station to order yours.

Photography by Angi Welsch.