I know travel this summer might be a little fraught — everything costs a fortune, there’s a war on, we might run out of gas?? — but regardless, I hope you and yours have some fun plans percolating. Everyone I know is just pressing onward with their fingers crossed, myself included. Anyway, it’s fun to shop for trips! Today’s topic is a Fug Nation favorite: Carry-on bags. Personally, I am passionate about this subject — as regular readers now, I love to talk about what to wear and carry on planes (or cruise ships, or freighters or your RV or however you plan to do your summer travel this year).
For myself, this past summer I used a zip-top Boat and Tote as a carry-on bag when we went to Italy and it worked just fine! (I had it personalized with “carry on,” which I think worked on, you know, multiple levels.) It’s such a workhorse and the price cannot be beat. I am NOT a carry-on only person because I need a lot of product, but I brought my long-in-use, very old, small Samsonite wheelie bag as my main luggage. It was great, but I lost a wheel on some cobblestones. Fun fact: You can deal with just three working wheels. I assume I can get that wheel replaced, and I will because that suitcase is perfect. But in the meantime, I am trying out this small Quince expandable carry-on. It’s VERY light. Time will tell if it’s sufficiently sturdy. (They have an aluminum one but I feel like those get dinged up looking so fast.) I sort of regret not grabbing this verison with the front pocket but….c’est la vie. We had a big chat about luggage in November and I’d be interested to hear if any of you have updates since we talked then!
Anyway, because I generally check a bag with most of my clothes and shoes in it, this means I am free to go for a smaller carry-on item. I LONG for this very silly tiger-print bag and I feel like calling it my new carry-on might allow me to justify the purchase. Something like this weekender is probably more sensible. The Vee Collective totes are SO perfect for this because they have so many pockets, and now they come in pinstripe! This Tumi seems reliable. Speaking of which, I travelled for years with the old reliable Le Pliage (it’s good enough for Kate Middleton, okay!) and might go back to it, but it’s got a hole worn in the corner and the last thing I need is my stuff falling out. (Will Le Pliage fix this? Am I at an age where have multiple pieces of luggage that need fixing?) This is a really elegant weekender. And I LOVE this Cuyana zipper tote, it’s perfect for this question and there are so many good colors. (I linked to the red, which is great, but this olive one is also really chic.) If your vibe is more 1992 sleepover, the Gap has re-released their classic cotton totes. I totally had one of these.
And I rounded up a bunch of good options below but I’m also interested in hearing about your Best Carry-On Bag.
VOILA:
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