The Tale of the Tote that Traversed an Ocean

From coast to coast, vintage Mulberry wound up at my door

I bought myself a number of birthday presents, but there is one that stood out among the rest. This is its story.

It all began one Thursday morning when I opened Substack for my daily subway scroll. I was met almost instantly with the below note posted by

Sogole Kane

.

And I was hooked. Toteme had released the perfect silhouette. A dome shaped, croc embossed, top handled dream. Everything I had been looking for in a bag that was actually big enough to carry my laptop (or two. Or two and an iPad. Or two and an iPad and a camera). Never let your luggable items hold you back. It was time to cast aside the canvas tote.

And so, like I, and many of us do, I turned to the great big wide internet. And like many of you know (or don’t, if not, welcome), I pride myself on my thrifty abilities. You name it, I can hunt it down. It may take me a while, but I inevitably come out on top. The Toteme bag is $1,790. And it looks it. Doesn’t necessarily mean I have that much money to shell out on a whim. (I have student loans to pay, ok?) So while the details of this bag are perfect, the price tag is not (for me). I started off where one might expect - Google’s reverse image search. This yielded minimal alternatives. I added “vintage” to the search terms. And still, my bag remained out of reach. A dream help aloft, waiting for me to close the chasm between us. Not unlike a dog chasing a treat on a treadmill, or a cat lunging after a laser pointer, or the pirates swinging in a cage made of bones in Dead Man’s Chest. But, if you’ll recall, I wrote about Furla last year. And Furla had some great dome (albeit more baguette) shaped shoulder bags, replete with long shoulder straps.

The first red string. I had a starting point. (You know that one Charlie Day meme.)

I love referencing myself. I went back to my initial Tod’s/Furla/Bally post to see if there was anything I could use as a launching pad. There was! I followed the trail back to eBay (my beloved). And this is where things started to get crazy. For reference, this is what my camera roll & Pinterest inevitably look like when I am trying to find anything:

Bally had a great dome bag, but it was too small. Furla had similar and equally sized offerings. I debated forgoing my size requirements for an otherwise perfect Nancy Gonzalez option I stumbled upon on The RealReal. It’s a great Hermès look without Hermès pricing for anyone interested. (I’ve linked all my similar and exact options at the end of this letter.)

Nancy on the left, Hermes on the right

But I’ve strayed from the point. The search for bags continued until I stumbled upon a site I had never seen. This is rare for me. But I will admit when I have been bested. I don’t know how I found the site, but Worthpoint.com delivered. Touting themselves as “the largest online resource for researching, valuing, and preserving antiques, art, and collectibles,” they have pages of archives on any item or brand your heart desires. So, I found the below bag and knew I was getting warmer.

With my compass pointing towards Mulberry, I headed back to eBay. “Vintage Mulberry Congo dome leather bag” or similar like-worded searches sent me on a wild goose chase across the hills and valleys of resale sites. I remain perplexed as to why sold results come up ahead of available listings. To the general internet people: please fix this.

And then finally. The holy grail. The pièce de résistance. The bag that stopped me in my tracks. If this was a cartoon, everyone behind me would have comedically slammed into each other. But this is not a cartoon, and I was alone in my kitchen. So, I did nothing in reality except click the link. And I thought I had found the winner. Straps long enough to fit comfortably, and yes emphasis on the comfortably (some bags should not be listed as shoulder bags) over my shoulder, a slightly rounded dome shape, and like 17” long. Check, check, and check.

But, as they say, one step forward, two steps back. I had found the bag, but an ocean lay between me and my beloved. I messaged the seller, and they confirmed that they do not ship internationally. Dreams, crushed. Ambitions, thwarted.

So I did what any sane person on the internet would do. I posted on Substack notes chronicling my great loss. And the ladies of the UK showed up. I got a number of messages offering to help! This must be that community they keep telling us to build! Soon we will have a network of fashion girls shipping vintage bags to all major ports (I hope).

Giulia C.

was the first one to offer her help, and despite my delay in ordering, was incredibly kind and supportive of my overly dramatic desire for a bag. I am going out of town this weekend (I’m writing this from the backseat of a car on my way to Boston) and was crossing all my extremities that it would arrive in time. As luck would have it, upon arriving home on Tuesday night, I checked with the fish and chips shop below my apartment (shoutout Mike - I don’t have a doorman in my little Brooklyn walk-up so sometimes Mike surprises me with my own packages). Lo and behold, Mike had my bag. After a month of hunting and ordering and logistics my bag had made it home. I immediately threw my iPad and laptop and work laptop into it for Boston transport, and while she definitely looks and zips better with less stuffing, she is a workhorse with ample lugging space. Without further ado - the bag:

The bag in-hand, taking on Metro North. She will be better for day to day without my entire life stuffed inside - the zipper is starting to ripple and buckle from so. many. contents. But with only the iPad and my regular daily transportable items, she shines.

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Now that you’ve heard me rant and ramble, the part most of you probably came for; A few similar options I was able to find on my internet sleuthing adventure. A good chunk of these come from the UK, but for my American readers, I encourage you to find a UK liaison for times such as these.

1. Nancy Gonzalez croc top handle bag, $297

2. Vintage Mulberry croc-embossed leather tote bag, $235.98 (shop on eBay)

3. Mulberry Tetbury Large Bag in Black Congo Leather, GBP 360 (shop on eBay)

4. Mulberry croc embossed brown leather bag, $155.75 (shop on eBay)

5. Mulberry Croc Embossed Brown Purse, $275 (shop on eBay)

6. Mulberry black leather tote bag, $261

7. Vintage Mulberry large congo wine red/brown leather bag, GBP 379

8. Pebble leather tote bag, $360

9. Mulberry Islington Congo croc leather bag, GBP 275 (shop on eBay)

10. Bally Leather Top Handle Bag, $171

So thanks for tuning in on this adventure. My bag and I are riding off into the sunset together (the backseat of a Subaru passing the rest stop at exit 6B).

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