Meet the Boatkin: A Fresh Take on the Iconic Birkin Breathes New Life into Vintage Tote Bags

 The Hermès Birkin bag has inspired yet another take on the iconic design.

The “Boatkin” is the latest creation from Philadelphia-based brand Hathaway Hutton, which has previously sold similar custom items like hand-painted Goyard totes. The Boatkin takes the style of Hermès’ famed Birkin bag but is made with vintage L.L. Bean Boat and Tote bags, culminating in the ultimate homage to high-low fashion.

The brand’s founder Jen Risk, described the venture as “quiet luxury with a smirk” to the The New York Times in an interview published on May 30. She continued, “I wanted to mess with the seriousness of it all and give it some personality.”

Risk offers Boatkins created from Boat and Totes provided by customers, which start at about $1,200. For bags made from materials sourced by Risk, prices start at $1,600. Per the Times, she has sold over 300 Boatkins since introducing them.

“Most people love it, which has been really fun,” she told the outlet of the response to the bags, adding that “a few people get weirdly mad” because of the cost.

The Hathaway Hutton website jokes that the Boatkin is “a super fun super niche super useful tote bag that you can spill an entire nitro cold brew in and not have one ounce of guilt about it.”

Each item is hand cut and hand sewn with minimal waste. “Every single square inch of fabric and canvas from the original tote has been used (no really… there’s like 2 square inches of waste leftover),” the site’s description reads.

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The brand also includes a disclaimer about the possible variances among the Boatkins, urging customers to “understand that vintage totes were used and abused by the people that loved them before I took them to the chopping block to give them a new life.”

“While I clean the canvas very well (like… with a power washer) there may still be stains that you will see from water, dirt, pen, dogs, life, etc,” Risk warned. “Some totes have writing on the front or back (see our example Boatkin with the #21 written in sharpie on the rear). Each one is unique and one of a kind. No two are the same!”

The website states that customers should allow six months for delivery.

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The Birkin bag was inspired by the late Jane Birkin and created by then-Hermès chairman Jean-Louis Dumas in 1984. With staggering price tags and waiting lists to purchase, it has become a status symbol among celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Cardi B and Dua Lipa.

The L.L. Bean Boat and Tote was originally introduced as the L.L.Bean Ice Carrier in 1944. Company founder Leon Leonwood Bean designed the heavy-duty tote as a way to transport block ice. Per the L.L. Bean website, the bag would go on to “transcend its utilitarian origins to become an enduring symbol of American style and practicality.”

Stars like Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Jessica Parker have been spotted rocking the tote bag, which retails for around $35 to $55.

Credit: dotdashmeredith.com