Morgan Blunt doesn’t really want anyone to sue her. However, if you were to bump into the 25-year-old, you’d probably notice she’s carrying a duffel bag with the phrase “Sue Me!” embroidered across it. “I graduated from Villanova Law School about a month ago, I’m currently studying for the bar exam, and in September I’ll
Morgan Blunt doesn’t really want anyone to sue her.
However, if you were to bump into the 25-year-old, you’d probably notice she’s carrying a duffel bag with the phrase “Sue Me!” embroidered across it.
“I graduated from Villanova Law School about a month ago, I’m currently studying for the bar exam, and in September I’ll be working for a mid-sized firm doing civil litigation,” Blunt told Business Insider.
Her bag is a fun nod to her profession and an example of a broader trend among women in the workforce.
Across industries, women carry LLBean’s famous Boat and Totes as work bags and embroider fun work-related phrases in place of their initials.
Morgan Blunt and her “Sue Me!” Boat bag and tote by LLBean. Morgan Blunt
A classic style with a twist
Blunt grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, where Boat and Tote bags were part of the city’s unofficial preppy uniform. She had one herself when she was a child.
She then moved to Pennsylvania as an adult and abandoned the classic bag for a modern Longchamp, which became a school status symbol around 2024.
However, six months ago he wanted a change and returned to his roots. A boat and tote seemed like a fun and practical option that I could use to carry “pretty much everything” (school supplies, yoga gear, and more) with a personal touch.
“I wanted a bag that represented me, my past and who I’m going to be,” Blunt said.
LLB bean bags range in price from $32.95 to $69.95, with embroidery available for an additional $10 per item.
Priscilla Angier, 29, had a different experience.
The Southern California special education teacher first saw Boat and Tote bags on Pinterest three years ago and purchased one to hold her dog’s supplies. She embroidered it with her name, Junie.
Angier liked it so much that when she needed a bag to carry her lunch, school supplies, and other work needs this year, she returned to the LLBean bag. She chose to embroider the phrase “hands full” as a nod to her work as a teacher and her tendency to literally balance numerous things in her hands at once.
“Other teachers always tell me they need to get them for themselves,” he told Business Insider.
Priscilla Angier’s LLBean Boat Bag and Tote, which she embroidered with the phrase “hands full.” Priscila Angier
And the trend is not limited to law and education.
On TikTok, women working in nursing, engineering, hairdressing, dentistry, culinary arts, and more have shared LLBean bags they’ve customized to highlight their jobs.
Some have also opted for more general work and office terms, such as “return circle,” “corporate girl,” and “I’m ROI.”
In an email to Business Insider, a representative for LLBean said demand for its Boat and Totes has grown year over year, increasing 50% so far this year.
This spring also saw three of the brand’s busiest months for boat and handbag sales, the rep said. They added that more than 80% of Boat and Tote orders include embroidery.
“Customization has always been a core appeal of Boat and Totes along with style, utility and durability,” said Alex Intraversato, director of marketing at LLBean. “The ability to make it uniquely yours through charms, keychains, patches, scarves and, of course, embroidery, gives the customer ownership of a Made-in-Maine icon.”
LLBean has it in the bag
Although there are countless work bags on the market, LLBean has quickly gained a cult following who swear that their bags are better than the rest.
Some shoppers, including Blunt and Angier, consider the Boat and Tote bags to be timeless, thanks to their simple shape, neutral canvas, and heavy stitching. Both women and other fans also highlight that they are extremely durable.
“You can carry them for years and years and they still maintain their shape and structure,” Angier said. “It’s almost like the more you use it, the better it gets.”
Perhaps most importantly, however, is that two of the bags are rarely the same.
You can choose the size of the bag, the length of its handles (the longer the better for work, fans say), the style of its top, its color accents, and its embroidery.
That’s an especially big draw now. Personalization is in fashion.
Monograms are a status symbol in men’s fashion, Generation Z is obsessed with bag embellishments, and your favorite water bottle has become a personality statement.
That’s why personalized job bags fit perfectly into the mix.
“I want someone to look at me and know what my job is,” Blunt said. “Maybe I’m a little pretentious, but I’ve worked really hard for this and I want to be recognized for it before I open my mouth. My bag is a conversation piece.”