Barnes and Noble Heart Shaped Tote

 

This tote is so cute! I saw it on some form of social media and thought it was adorable. But I know in my heart of hearts (haha), that I should not get this tote. 

For one thing, I’m not really a tote bag girlie. Tossing my stuff in an unstructured bag is not my favorite thing to do. I like to have a few pockets and dividers to keep things protected and safe. There is nothing more annoying to me than having to dump out everything in my bag to find my lip balm. And the shape would be really annoying. I would think everything would float down to the bottom and knowing me, my keys would poke a hole through that bottom point, rip through the bag and everything would scatter on the street.

Additionally, since it is a seasonal item, it would probably get used maybe mid-January to mid-February (4-ish weeks). Even though it is only $20, is spending $5 a week on it worth it? And then I would need to store it and hopefully remember to use it for next year. Or not. Because they’ll probably see how successful this one was and decide to create an even more extra version that I can’t live without. And I’ll need it for my “set” because I am a collector.

I love the vintage aesthetic of it and as someone who has recently fallen back in love with reading, I can totally see my fantasy self using this. And Fantasy Me is my favorite, but she isn’t real. Reality Me would use it one time, probably get too many comments from people in public or from my coworkers (who have zero filter and are so rude sometimes) and then ball it up in some corner where it will get some weird stain or other damage. And I’ll be sad about the fact that this cute bag didn’t get used and loved and now it can’t get loved because it is ruined. 

If I still think about this tote bag throughout the year, I would allow myself to figure out how to make my own version. But, if I am going to go to that much effort, wouldn’t it be better to do it with something I could use each and every day? 

In thinking more about this, I actually would love this design as an enamel pin. That way I could “dress up” my bag for the season without it being super explicit. Unlike the tote, a pin would be less noticeable, much easier to store and won’t get as easily damaged. And using them feels a little more personal and private since people aren’t really going to notice them in the same way. After all, I want to purchase things because they make me happy, not because other people said it was cute. 

Have you been tempted by a tote recently?