That One Thing

I recently became a tote bag convert.

I’ve expressed my disdain for the humble cloth tote before, but, as my life and needs have evolved, a simple cotton bag—as opposed to the structured leather bags I tend to prefer—that I can toss groceries in or use to carry my laptop and that can lay flat in the bottom of my suitcase does make sense.

I got it in Greece (at this little shop in the Exarchia neighborhood in Athens), which is automatically way cooler than my previous cloth tote bags that had all been acquired either at the register at the grocery store when I realized I forgot my other reusable bags, or directly from some makeup brand or magazine that thinks I wanna walk around advertising their logo. And it’s bright orange, which somehow both matches and pops perfectly against every outfit I wear.

The most important thing about this tote bag, though, is that I didn’t get it just to have a(nother) tote bag, nor did I get it with the intention of transforming myself (into someone who loves tote bags) or my wardrobe. I had a problem that kept coming up—a casual bag I could reach for everyday that also looked cool—and now I solved it, and now I don’t really have to think about it again. My orange tote bag is That One Thing.

For a successful wardrobe to be, you know, successful, I think every category needs That One Thing. At least the accessories. That’s not to say you own just one bag—or one pair of shoes (well, I did, until recently), or one jacket—it means you have a default for everything that both works for you and feels like you. It’s your go-to necklace that works with every neckline of every top, your go-to belt that works with your jeans or with a dress, the earrings you keep by the front door so your ears are never naked. That One Thing works effortlessly with everything in your wardrobe while still adding to the outfit. And it’s that second part that’s most important, so, before we get into the function of That One Thing, let’s talk about the look of it.

The Look

9 times out of 10, when someone is looking for something functional that goes with everything, they go with black. And for like 6 out of those 9 people, there is absolutely another neutral or unconventional neutral that would’ve worked better for their wardrobe, but they were too scared to choose it!