For years, the tote bag was largely associated with utility, something to carry groceries and other everyday essentials. Today, it has become a familiar sight across Delhi’s colleges, cafés and streets, often customised with stickers, illustrations, quotes and personal touches.
For some, the appeal is practical. For others, it is about aesthetics. And for an increasing number of young people, the bag they carry has become another way of expressing who they are.
For Parul Rai, a final-year Journalism student at Delhi University, tote bags became part of her college wardrobe from her first year. She currently owns six, all of them gifted, and carries one to her internship. “It just styles better, and it's easy to carry,” she says, pointing to the space it offers without feeling as cumbersome as a handbag.
The shift is visible among her peers too. Rai says many students she knows moved towards tote bags after their fourth semester, partly because they realised they did not need to carry as much to college. The simplicity and ease of carrying them made the transition natural.
A canvas for creativity
For some young users, however, the tote is more than something to carry belongings in. It is a blank canvas.
Vigya Gandhi, a third-year Mathematics student at Daulat Ram College, owns four or five tote bags and uses them for college, cafés and outings. What attracts her is the ability to customise them. She has experimented with drawing butterflies, adding beads and attaching charms to her bags. “I can customise it in any way I want,” she says.
Gandhi has also noticed people across Delhi University and the Metro personalising their totes with drawings, crochet work and other embellishments. For her, this creative freedom is part of what makes the bags appealing.
Annapurna, a sociology graduate who also paints and customises her own totes, similarly sees them as an extension of herself. One of her favourites, bought from Sarojini Nagar and hand-painted by her, has stayed with her despite its design fading over time. “It has a part of my heart,” she says.
She describes her favourite totes as “a piece of my personality or a piece of art.”
The Instagram effect
Social media has played a role in changing how the tote is perceived. Aastha Dogra, an 18-year-old first-year dental student in Delhi, remembers being teased as a child for carrying one to tuition and dance classes. Back then, she recalls people asking if it was “a vegetable bag”.
That perception changed over time.
Dogra now owns around six or seven totes, including leather, jute and slouchy versions, with some carrying dialogues from her favourite films and another customised by a friend. She says social media influenced her own choices, particularly when she was preparing to enter college.
“I had thought of buying a different backpack or something. But then because of this social media culture I had to buy a tote bag to look cool in college,” she says. For her, the appeal also lies in subtle self-expression. One of her everyday totes carries references to coffee, books, stickers and other interests. “It has everything that I love,” she says.
More than merchandise
Tote bags have also become an easy way for organisations, bookstores, cafés and cultural spaces to put their identity into circulation.
Gandhi has collected bags from college societies and book clubs, while customised and event-specific totes have become common tokens of appreciation at student events. She compares this new form of collecting with the coins, CDs and other objects that previous generations might have kept. “In a Gen Z way, we are collecting tote bags,” she says.
Fashion designer Bhavya, based in Noida, believes the relationship between totes and branding has further fuelled their popularity. Museums, bookstores and brands have been able to monetise demand for totes while simultaneously using them as marketing tools.
The trend, however, is not entirely new. According to Bhavya, tote bags began becoming a style statement in the early 2000s, when designer totes and their visibility among pop-culture personalities helped push them into mainstream fashion.
Function meets fashion
Their accessibility has helped keep the trend going. Totes can carry water bottles, books, laptops and everyday essentials while remaining relatively inexpensive compared with many conventional bags.
For Annapurna, the affordability and ease of carrying them are part of their appeal, particularly among college students. Gandhi similarly prefers them for their ability to accommodate a water bottle, something she finds difficult with smaller handbags.
Bhavya believes functionality is especially important for younger consumers who value comfort and practicality. She also points to the reusable nature of totes as an attraction for environmentally conscious consumers looking to reduce their dependence on plastic bags.
Yet the tote is not necessarily replacing the conventional handbag. Annapurna sees it as a different category altogether, one that combines utility with art and personality. She also believes the form is evolving, with newer versions incorporating laptop compartments and more structured designs.
For Bhavya, that evolution is likely to continue. She expects greater creativity and innovation in both design and functionality, while the accessibility of the tote keeps it relevant.
From a once-mocked “vegetable bag” to a customised canvas carrying someone's favourite books, films or memories, the tote has acquired a new identity. It still carries the essentials, but increasingly, it carries a little bit of its owner too.