The Story Behind Baggu: Why We're Obsessed (And You Will Be Too)

If you've ever spotted someone carrying a cheerful, crinkly nylon bag in a color that stopped you mid-scroll — that was almost certainly a Baggu. And if you haven't found yours yet, you're in the right place.

At Esme & Elodie, we carry Baggu because we genuinely love it. The aesthetic fits our vibe perfectly — playful, intentional, a little unexpected — and the story behind the brand is exactly the kind of thing we think our customers deserve to know. So let's dig in.

A Mother-Daughter Idea That Became a Movement

The Baggu story starts the way the best ones do: at home, over the holidays, with someone who just couldn't find what she was looking for.

In 2007, Emily Sugihara was 24 years old and working as an assistant designer at J.Crew in New York City — a Parsons grad who knew fashion but also knew a corporate job wasn't her calling. That Christmas, she and her mother Joan started talking about making reusable bags. Joan was, as Emily has described her, "sort of a treehugger" — an artist and expert seamstress who learned to sew making her own clothes as a kid in rural Michigan. Emily, meanwhile, was a New Yorker hauling groceries home every week, her fingers turning purple from plastic bag handles.

Together, along with childhood friend and creative director Ellen Vanderlaan (a RISD graduate), they designed a bag almost exactly like the ripstop nylon Baggu that still sells today: long shoulder handles, gusseted bottom panels for stacking groceries, and a single double-reinforced seam that's the direct result of Joan's sewing expertise.

They launched Baggu in 2007 with eight colors and an $8 price tag. A full-page spread in Teen Vogue brought in their first wave of customers, and the rest — as they say — is history.

The Design That Changed Everything

What made Baggu different from every other reusable bag on the market wasn't just the price. It was the thinking behind it.

Every standard Baggu is assembled from one continuous piece of nylon material, which means minimal fabric waste. The cutout portion used to shape the bag? It becomes the carrying pouch. Nothing is wasted. Each bag holds the equivalent of three plastic grocery bags and can carry up to 50 pounds — made from 40% recycled ripstop nylon, the same durable material used in parachutes.

Emily and her team wanted to make something people would actually want to carry. Not just a bag that happened to be reusable, but a fashion-forward accessory you'd reach for every single day. The result was a bag that looks equally at home at a farmers market, a J.Crew checkout counter, or a weekend trip to the coast.

The name? Baggu is the Japanese word for "bag." (Greenbags was taken. Eco Bags was on the table. But Baggu, Emily has said, was "the least embarrassing" option — and it's a good-looking word that's easy to remember.)

From $8 Bag to Cult Status

Baggu's rise wasn't a straight line, and that's part of what makes it interesting.

The brand originally imagined itself as a grocery store staple — a product that would be sold at places like Whole Foods. But at $8, it was too expensive to sit next to checkout lane candy bars and too well-designed to stay there. It found its home in fashion boutiques, cool indie shops, and eventually major retailers like J.Crew, West Elm, and Urban Outfitters.

By 2011, Baggu had expanded into Argentine leather bags. By 2015, the brand was a household name with a full accessories line: backpacks, pouches, crossbody bags, travel bags, laptop sleeves, and more. Collaborations with artists like tie-dye legend Shabd Simon-Alexander, clog brand No. 6, Pilgrim Surf + Supply, and Fredericks & Mae elevated the brand further, cementing its reputation as something that lived at the intersection of sustainability and genuine cool.

Today, Baggu has a devoted following on TikTok where a community of self-described "Baggu girlies" post unboxings, collections, and outfit pairings. The Crescent bag, in particular, has gone viral for its effortless versatility. And the standard nylon bag — the original design, barely changed in nearly two decades — is still the bestseller.

Why We Carry Baggu at Esme & Elodie

Here's the thing about Baggu: it fits.

It fits our size-inclusive ethos because it's a brand designed for everyone — functional, joyful, accessible. It fits our boho-eclectic aesthetic because the prints and color palettes are genuinely gorgeous. And it fits our commitment to carrying brands that are doing things with intention, not just chasing trends.

When you shop at Esme & Elodie, you're shopping a curated selection — not an algorithm. We carry the styles we're obsessed with, in the prints we'd actually wear. Baggu earns its shelf space every single season.

Shop Baggu at Esme & Elodie

Whether you're looking for the perfect everyday tote, a gift for your most stylish friend, or an accessory that's going to make you smile every time you grab it off the hook by your door — we've got you.

Shop our current Baggu selection at esmeandelodie.com, or stop by our Downtown Renton boutique to see the colors in person. (Pro tip: they're always even better in real life.)

Esme & Elodie is a size-inclusive women's boutique in Downtown Renton, WA, carrying sizes S–3X with a boho aesthetic, Judy Blue Jeans, accessories, gifts, and personal styling services. Shop online at esmeandelodie.com.