At the turn of every corner in the Quad students can see young women concerned with fashion carrying tote bags instead of school bags to class.
According to Vera Bradley sales figures, a Merle Norman designer, from 2001 to 2002 there was a 61 percent increase in tote bag sales and a 25 percent increase in their “Vera bags,” which also are grouped in the “tote bag” category, said Catherine Hill, public relations coordinator for Vera Bradley.
Their 2002 to 2003 figures were not as impressive, seeing a 3 percent increase for totes and a 17 percent decrease for Veras, which are considered a form of tote bag, she said.
“These two styles have been in our line for several years, which may explain the decrease this year,” Hill said.
Nevertheless, she said there has been a “significant increase in newer handbag styles that could also be used to tote school books.”
Hill included their “Backsack” as doing well and their new “Betsy” bag is also a “big seller.”
Vera Bradley also was mentioned in a 2002 Money Magazine’s article about “What to wear on college campuses,” featuring the Vera bag as ideal for books, Hill said.
Back on campus, Lindsay Dyer, an English sophomore who got her tote bag at the Banana Republic, said she had a book sack, but she likes her tote bag better because she can bring a tote bag other places besides school. She also said she thinks tote bags are becoming more of a trend on campus because she keeps seeing more and more people with them.
Jennifer Falgout, a secondary education junior who got her tote bag for $14 at Target, said she thinks tote bags are a trend and she likes them better because they are easier for her to carry around a tote bag on one shoulder than a book sack. She also said she likes tote bags because it makes her look cool and trendy along with being practical.
“It’s easier to access than a book sack,” Falgout said.
Diamond Paten, a microbiology sophomore who got her tote bag at Dillard’s on sale like Falgout, said a book sack is more trouble and her tote bag is more stylish and can hold more “stuff.” Her books and various other objects normally kept in a purse are easier to get to than swinging around a book sack to try to find things.
“Everyone seems to have one except boys,” she said.
Coinciding with another noticeable trend, monogramming, Collin Middleton, a mass communication sophomore, said her mother bought her tote bag on her birthday and got it monogrammed with her initials.
“I didn’t get the memo about the monogramming, but apparently my mom did,” Middleton said.
Her Nine West bag is big enough to hold her books while fulfilling a couple of new trends.
Jen Summer, a mass communication sophomore, also is jumping on the trend bandwagon. She said her GAP bag is easier to carry and is less stress on her back. Like several other women, she finds the bag to be easy to access when she is walking and easy to throw her books in when class is over.
Women all over campus are catching tote bag fever claiming the easy access bags just make college life simpler while fulfilling the need to be on top of the latest trends.