Be it a supermarket, the latest Sally Rooney novel or a posh butcher’s, the tote bag is a declaration of values for an age when principles come with merch
Naturally neither you nor I are the type to brandish ostentatious handbags that flaunt their brand provenance in a showy-offy manner. That wouldn’t do at all, would it? We wouldn’t dream of being so brash. Latching our tribal identity to the shops we spend money in? As if!
Except… wait a minute. I’ve just looked down at the bag sitting under my desk in the office. Not my handbag, but my overspill tote bag. This morning it held my water bottle and a dress to drop at the dry cleaners; on the way home I’ll need it when I pick up bits for dinner. The name Ginger Pig is emblazoned in flamboyant script across its sturdy, oaty linen. The Ginger Pig is a posh butcher’s shop. In smaller letters, it proclaims “Butchers & Farmers of Rare Breeds Reared on the North York Moors”, which sounds a lot fancier than the vegetable curry I am actually going to cook tonight.
Continue reading...