There’s a principle in design that feels almost radical today, despite being centuries old: objects should be beautiful because they are useful. Not despite it. Because of it. The idea is often credited to the Shaker design tradition, a religious community in 18th and 19th century America known for their furniture and crafts. Their philosophy was disarmingly simple. A Shaker principle is often paraphrased as, “Do not make something unless it is both necessary and useful, but if it is both...

Fashion has a funny habit of pretending something is “new” when in reality it has simply been waiting for its turn again. Right now, that thing is the tote. Not the tiny, overly precious handbags that can barely hold a phone and a lipstick. Not the hyper-structured mini bags that look better on a shelf than they do in real life. I’m talking about large, open, unapologetically practical totes - the kind you can actually live with. If you’ve been watching the fashion cycle closely, the shift...