The Best Farmers Market Totes for Every Kind of Person

Whether you opt for an homage to tomato season or a trompe l’oiel Japanese streetwear bag, it’s the best time of year to hit the farmers market, and you’re going to need a tote

I’m not sure exactly when it happened — sometime circa 2021 or 2022 — but I have become a bona fide farmers market person. Catch me there every week; I’ll be the one stocking up on apricot kefir yogurt, telling all my personal secrets to my farmers market fairy godmother Evelyn while I buy my weekly ration of garlic curds from her cheese stand, and racing to the Japanese greens booth in hopes of grabbing one of the last bunches of shiso leaves.

I live in Los Angeles, and going to the farmers market isn’t just a spiritually fulfilling shopping ritual (which, make no mistake, it very much is), but it’s also a third space where one might take the temperature of sartorial trends from a culture-agnostic, age-agnostic stance. Every week, I will see the 60-something man who for unexplained reasons is always wear a massive, Bob Ross-esque, Spirit-Halloween-looking-ass wig (that doesn’t match his sideburns at all) with a tie-dye shirt, but I will also often spot a nose-ringed member of a well-known indie band in a perfectly broken-in white T-shirt or one of Demi Moore’s daughters floating by in a sundress. The farmers market is primarily for food, yes, but let’s be honest: There is a see-and-be-seen element that shouldn’t be refuted. (If you’re a farmers-market-goer who is single, or even if you’re not and you just like attention, I’d recommend showing up looking extra cute and seeing what happens.)

The great personal signifier at the farmers market is, of course, the tote bag — a necessity for hauling your bounty of naked vegetables, fruit bunches, peonies, and deli containers of pre-made delights. I made the mistake only once of forgetting a proper sturdy tote and having to wander around with a thin, plastic bag stretching and sweating from my haul, feeling like a loser. (I also hate those people who bring a wagon; like, cool it!) Anyway, if you’re anything like me, you have a door handle in your apartment that’s home to a half dozen tote bags that have unintentionally accumulated over the years — perhaps a customized one from a bachelorette weekend, another from a giveaway at a fourth-wave coffee shop, and yet another with the logo of your former employer. These will all do in a pinch, but when you have a really great tote or two, it’s a whole different ball game.

The tote will keep your persimmon butter and radicchio safe, but is also your opportunity to make your interests and proclivities known. Thus, I present this guide to the best tote bags for the farmers market for every type of individual.

For the perfectionist: The Williams Sonoma Market Tote

This do-it-all tote is quite literally designed for the optimal farmers market haul. It’s flat-bottomed to sit upright on its own, is loaded with six outer compartments to separate your colds from your hots, your wine from your asparagus, and your baguette from the condensation of your Pellegrino, and even has a strap to hold a bouquet. Do you have 70,000 followers for your cake-decorating Instagram, a photogenic mini Aussiedoodle, and a tense but unshakable relationship with your hedge-fund-manager husband? Welcome to the only tote that can match your perfect (or perfect-looking, anyway) life.

For the shopper with ballet flats, bangs, and a closet full of Lisa Says Gah: Ban.do’s Tomatoes Are the Best Tote

This double-sided tote is giving us a little bit of cuteness aggression because it’s so aesthetic, but with its bright colors, sturdy handle, and interior pocket for your keys ‘n’ Laneige lip balm, it’s a dang good farmers market tote for grabbing your weekly supply of heirloom fruit.

For the graphic designer with a fancy loft apartment: a Big Baggu

Huge, slouchy, and machine-washable, Baggu’s ludicrously capacious tote in Yubari melon print is perfect for the former Bushwicker who now lives a quiet life on Mount Washington designing fancy olive oil brand assets.

For the girl with a slicked-back bun carrying a cream-top matcha: Bronze Age’s Swimmer Tote

Slouchy, stylist, and made of durable 100% cotton twill, this massive tote will go everywhere with you — the farmers market, the flea, or a vacation in Sicily — and look so effortless that it murmurs “you’re right, I do have great taste.”

For the determined shopper who’s fighting a major hangover: Mother Earth’s ‘The One Tripper’

It’s mesh. It weighs next to nothing. It’s absolutely massive — the clown car of bags, really. You will be getting a week’s worth of goods into this simple, stretchy bag (a few watermelons? no problem), and then you can go home and lie down for a few hours. (You can also find smaller versions of this bag style all over the place, from Amazon to Anthropologie.)

For the SSENSE shopper who doesn’t want to get their Bode tote dirty with lettuce grit: the Loewe Crafted World Tote

It designer Loewe’s $2,000 hamster purse may be out of reach, but you, wearer of Eckhaus Latta sunglasses and frequent shopper on Depop, can whirl around with a Loewe canvas tote for about $70, should you opt to purchase via the glorious platform known as eBay. Who knew? (And honestly, the hamster would get old fast.) Just make sure you know it’s pronounced low-eh-vay.

For the stoic workwear minimalist: Carhartt WIP’s Hendry Tote

You will fight over this characteristically cool Carhartt WIP bag with your partner, who is probably a mustachio’d guy in Dickies or a person of any gender who really knows how to rock a crop top with wide-leg carpenter pants.

For the smug crossword expert: The New York Times’ Crossword Handle Tote Bag

You woke up at 6 AM to complete the Sunday crossword before you headed out to pick up your organic strawberries and fresh-squeezed OJ. You post screenshots of your Spelling Bee score on your Instagram story, even though no one cares. It is nice to have smart friends, though. This is the tote bag for you.

For the home cook with an overflowing spice rack: A recycled rice bag tote

Have strong opinions about your cumin’s country of origin? Does your rice cooker stay plugged in seven days a week? This upcycled tote is made from a repurposed burlap Royal basmati rice bag, making it not just durable and a bit whimsical (love the braided handles), but sustainable, and thus, worth being smug over for your own resourcefulness and commitment to an environmentally friendly choice. Well done!

For the cheeky farmers market horndog: A Tom of Finland bag

Sure, some Tom of Finland designs would not fly at the farmers market — decidedly a family-friendly environment — but this double-sided tote showcases the famed erotic artist’s signature aesthetic while keeping things a little IYKYK and PG without losing a wink-wink.

For the Japanese fashion obsessive: Meanswhile’s Dyneema Market Bag

Welcome, Blackbird Spyplane subscriber. Sure — at first glance, from a distance, this might just look like a plastic bag from a bodega. But come closer, and you’ll discover that this Japanese-made tote is actually constructed from Dyneema composite fabric, which is 15 times stronger than steel and is actually used in bulletproof vests. Here, it will just protect your beets and goat cheese from the elements (it’s water-resistant, UV-ray-proof, and easy to clean). Plus, with its minimalist design, nylon strap, and internal pocket, it looks cool… and will look especially great with your Salomon XT-6s and Kaptain Sunshine cargo shorts.

For the weekend Joshua Tree camper who’s picking up their artisanal granola: Patagonia’s Terravia Tote

This is actually a very clever and practical bag, and you should know by now that Patagonia isn’t just for people who have hiked Half Dome. It’s a tote, but when your shoulder starts cramping up, it’s a backpack. Smart, and not just for gorpcore devotees. In fact, in all-black, it’s actually downright chic.

There you have it — a tote bag that will instantly make you look casually cool, even if you spent a very long time overthinking which one to wear. More importantly, your radishes will make it home.