Bex's Christmas Gift Guide: Bonus Totes Amaze Edition

I had only planned to do three Christmas gift guides this year but since I posted the last guide, I've spotted a couple of cool tote bags. I included one in my gift guide for girls but I also culled a couple of others from my original longlists, so I thought I'd do a special round-up of my favourite tote bags. These make great gifts: they're stylish, light, eco-friendly, easy to wrap/mail, and you can even put several smaller Christmas gifts inside them--definitely much cooler than a stocking!

Bags for readers and writers
1.  Kate Spade New York for Strand canvas tote. $12.95. Stand Books in New York are famous for their tote bags, which are ubiquitous in Manhattan and beyond but Kate Spade's collaboration with Strand is a much more colourful, girly version. It's also a nice way to give someone a Kate Spade bag without breaking the bank.

2. Daunt Books totes. £1.50 and £8. When I first moved to Marylebone, I realised I had to buy a new it bag. Fortunately, the Daunt totes, which I've spotted in Cannes, New York, and beyond, as well as well as in the quartier, are a bargain at only £1.50 for the smaller, natural cotton version and £8 for the larger, sturdier, green version (which also has an interior pocket for your phone or keys). If you buy enough books, you may also get one of the bags thrown in free. Either way, I use my green tote almost every time I do a big shop and it's showing no signs of wear and tear. Edit: I spotted someone on Marylebone High Street today with a dark fuchsia version of the large tote, which looked totes amaze, as they say in Chelsea, apparently.

3. Vintage typewriter tote from TheBoldBanana via Etsy. $10. Perfect for a writer--or would-be writer.

Stylish sacs
4. Grey alphabet tote from Oliver Bonas. £12.50. These totes have a bright yellow zipper, which looks gorgeous with the light grey fabric of the bag (very Philippe Starck) and provides extra security for your belongings.

5. 'My other bag is made of solid gold' tote from Rob Ryan. £22.95. This double-sided tote has the same anti-bling slogan and star on both sides, blue on one side and pink on the other. Blue and pink are my favourite colours, so this would go with all my outfits! Ryan's contrary 'I love what you hate' design is also nice.

6. Liberty print tote. £20. These bags are a relatively inexpensive way of buying a Liberty print accessory. I really like the subtle band of print at the top of the bag and in the lining. Another version of this tote has the print on the straps and side panels (£15).

Totes for foodies and oenophiles 
7. Bordeaux wine tote from Maptote. $13. These totes are the perfect size for slipping in a nice smooth red and would be a great way of making a bottled gift more interesting. Maptote also has different designs for other regions.

8. Pun-tastic tote from Puncontrollable via Etsy. $17. Puncontrollable's totes have minimalist designs and cute captions; 'whisky business' and 'you Chinook me all night long' word work well for a gourmand.

Miscellaneous
9. Modern Toss tote from Magma Books. £5.95. This bag, which displays the command, "Buy more shit or we're all f*cked," may well have been commissioned by George Osborne.

10. Totes for geeks from Our Shop. £9 and £12. This tote with red or blue grid lines would make a nice present for anyone who has a bit of a graph paper obsession. This 'geek' tote makes a more obvious statement.