L.L.Bean
Boat and Tote (1944)Founded in 1912 by hunter and fisherman Leon Leonwood Bean, L.L.Bean is an American retail company, specialized in recreational clothing and outdoor equipment. In the early days, the company only sold a single product: the Maine Hunting boot, a waterproof boot that Bean sold to hunters (this so called ‘Bean boot’ will also feature on Wikiconic).
Launched in 1944, L.L. Beans’ Boat and Tote is the archetypical tote bag – a large unfastened bag made of sturdy cloth with parallel handles that emerge from the sides of its pouch. The Boat and Tote was designed as a utilitarian bag to lug ice, but it grew out to become a standard-bearer for the upper-class summer getaway. The bags are still stitched, one at a time, in a small factory near the original store’s location in Freeport, Maine.
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