Loud & practical—two words that perfectly capture the vision behind this bag. Growing up, I’ve always expressed myself, not just through emotions but especially through my fashion sense, which is still true to this day. After college, I realized how much I rely on my backpack—not just for work stuff but for gym gear too. My backpack could hold everything, but the problem? It looked like everyone else's. And with my track record of standing out, blending in just wasn’t going to cut it.
This bag was born from the belief that you don’t have to choose between loud and practical. I wanted something that could carry all my essentials while making a statement, standing out in a sea of look-alikes. Because why settle for ordinary, when you can carry extraordinary?
Mood Board
The Process
For my first cut-and-sew project, I started with a free tote bag tutorial to get the basic layout down, then customized things like the pockets, handles, and materials. For one of the bags, I went with a lightweight cotton canvas, but for mine, I chose a heavyweight cotton canvas, inspired by workwear style. I wanted to keep that rugged look while adding extra durability since I'll be using it daily.
or the lining, I went with an olive green cotton twill to contrast the brown canvas—soft but sturdy. The polka dot pattern was inspired by the Roshe Run “Polka Dot” collection. I loved how the shoe mixed practicality with a bold design, and I wanted to bring that same vibe to the bag. Fun fact: I used a shaving cream cap as my circle template and hand-painted the dots using screen print ink!
I made a total of 3 bags—one for my friend, one for me, and the first sample. After putting the first bag through some wear and tear, I noticed that a few corners and pockets started ripping, which was thanks to the stitch method I originally used. For the other two bags, I switched things up and used different types of seams and stitches to reinforce everything. I tried a mix of single stitches, zigzag stitches, French seams, and plain seams to make sure they could handle everyday use.
FIN.
In the end, we pulled off a photoshoot to create some marketing content for our TikTok and Instagram. We wanted to show off the product in an urban setting and highlight its versatility, so we got shots of it being used for different things, like physical activities, to really show off how practical it is. Plus, we had a blast capturing some lighthearted, funny moments along the way
