Cute bags for mundane things
A love letter to BAGGU
I first heard about Baggu through a younger co-worker who had better taste than me. “Bagwhat?” I said. And then I Googled it and my life was forever changed.
Baggu started in 2007 with the simple mission of creating a functional, eco-friendly shopping bag that could replace that cursed bundle of grocery bags you have stuffed under a kitchen cupboard somewhere. That bag became…
The Standard Baggu
This was the first Baggu I bought, admittedly because the prints were so fun. But I was immediately surprised how many uses I found for it, and also how many compliments I got while toting it around.
I bought the famous strawberry print, this amazing and no longer available daisy print, and a plain gray because I thought, absurdly, I might want to have a neutral tote.
The gray one has been used maybe twice because, I realized, the reason I love these bags is precisely that they are cute when they have no reason to be.
I use them for:
Storing PBJ’s on a long outing with kids.
Toting sunscreen, and when it leaks I throw the tote in the wash.
Carrying kids pajamas when we go to a family gathering I know will run late.
Grocery bags when I was still in the good habit of bringing my own bags (thanks LA! I miss you and I don’t).
I loved Baggu so much, I voluntarily signed up for text messages from a brand for the first time in my life. Which led me to buy…
The Cloud Bag (Sandy Liang edition)
Listen, I barely know who Sandy Liang is, but a year later when I saw the print in this collab, I was instantly obsessed. Tragically I was up to my neck in reusable totes by that point, and didn’t feel like I could justify another.
And so I did the logical thing. I bought the only size that was still in stock, in October, for myself, for Christmas.
Once again, I am delighted to report that I use this thing weekly. The material feels sturdy and waterproofish so I like using it as a cooler bag. It folds down flat but is surprisingly spacious enough for a big mixing bowls and a few ice packs.
If you love Material Girls, will you hit the heart at the end of the post? It really helps people find us who aren't our Moms!
I also use it as a quiet things bag when I’m going to church or headed to a long doctor’s appointment. Or when I want to go play pickleball and need my kids to have enough distractions they have a chance at being entertained. I throw it all in the bag! Weird shaped toys and crumbly snacks I can hand-vacuum out afterward. It also has a little inside pouch, which I sometimes unsnap and use on its own as a keys/phone/wallet holder.
Is this print extremely loud against any other print? It is. Do I care? No, I do not.
The 3D Zip Set
Last summer we visited my sister-in-law in Manhattan and were wandering around SoHo wondering, what could we possibly buy that would fit in our carry-on’s? You can imagine my shock of delight when we stumbled upon a Baggu retail store!!
After maybe 75 minutes of debate, I bought the 3D Zip Set, for the print obviously but with the same blind faith I would use them a lot. And guess what? I have!
They are great for toiletries, especially because when you unpack your stuff, they fold down flat and don’t take up unnecessary space in, say, a tiny NYC appt. Also how fun is it that they’re called 3D bags? I love a clever product name.
I tracked down all three, and they’re currently full of Legos, Plus Plus, and Hot Wheels.
I don’t even care if these bags, which I bought for myself, are constantly strewn about the house holding ugly toys, because they look cute wherever they are strewn!
The Fanny Pack
My one Baggu miss was the Fanny Pack. I thought it was cross-body, and the models show people wearing it as such, but it doesn’t feel right to me to wear it that way and I’m still slightly allergic to going full fanny pack.
I have not found myself reaching for it but also couldn’t return it because I bought this one in SoHo too and later that night used it to smuggle some chocolate into The Outsiders and got it smudged everywhere. I consider this a worthwhile souvenir, I just can’t recommend it with my whole soul.
Because I was hoping to buy it as a replacement for my Lulu crossbody bag (whose zipper has been stuck since two weeks after I bought it, AHEM), I indulged in a second, true replacement in the form of the…
Mini Crescent Bag
I will forever regret not getting this in the cloud print when it was in stock, and sometimes I wish I’d gotten the medium size. But it’s roomier than the typical cross-body shape and fits in the crook of my arm like a baby.
By now you might be thinking, wow she’s got a Baggu problem! And maybe I do! But my take is that life requires a whole lot of bags, and I have found my preferred bag supplier. Everything I’ve bought is quality, eco-friendly, and delightful to my eyeballs. It’s such useful stuff I don’t remember what I paid for any of it.
This storage of mundane objects in cute containers feels like a reclamation somehow. That as an outnumbered, tired mother of boys who’s usually in stretchy pants, I can still have a few cute things.
For my part, if I need to Bag, I will Baggu.
What Rebbie bought this week
These H&M denim bermuda shorts THAT ARE ALREADY SOLD OUT. I almost didn’t tell you but they’re so good I think it’s worth signing up for the restock. They came last night and I wore them today. I wish the pleat was more permanent (it’s already faded and the chances I will iron it back in is zero) but we get what we pay for.
Also RubySnap dark chocolate mango cookie dough from the freezer section at Harmon’s. They are absolutely delicious, so unique, and don’t require your KitchenAid.
What Meg bought this week
I actually have an update on a previous purchase. My daughter finished one of the Rolife miniature kits, and it’s so adorable.
The only part she needed parental assistance with was the electrical wiring, for which she wisely asked my husband and not me. Not because we’re gender-roley in our house, but because she knew the likelihood of me electrocuting myself was high. Other than the lights, she constructed the whole thing herself over the course of a few Sunday afternoons.