We've all seen vanity license plates that have funny words or phrases on them that you sometimes have to decipher, but people who own an L.L. Bean and Maine-made Boat and Tote are playing along too.

The Boat and Tote were introduced by L.L. Bean in 1944 and were originally called "Bean’s Ice Carrier." These canvas bags were originally designed to haul ice from your car to your ice chest in the days before refrigerators.

I remember them back in the 70s and 80s being used by teachers to carry their books and supplies to school and from classroom to classroom. Most of them were monogrammed with the teacher's initials.

They were featured on a Hot List segment on the Today Show recently after a whole new generation caught on to the greatness of the L.L. Bean Boat and Tote.

The bags sell for $29.95 to $44.95 based on size and for an additional $8 you can add a monogram to personalize it. But rather than the teachers putting their initials on them, people today are treating them like license plates.

The Instagram page Iconic Boat and Tote is dedicated to sharing photos that are submitted of people's monogrammed bags and some of the things people come up with are very clever.

 

 

 

My hands-down favorite is TBH IDGAF.

If you plan on getting your own bag monogrammed, Freedom of Speech doesn't apply here. If L.L. Bean finds your monogram offensive in any way, they'll reject it and ask you to choose something else.

Whoever chose TBH IDGAF got through without an issue. Maybe the person in charge didn't know what it meant or figured it was innocent enough. but TBH IDGAF.

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