Made in honour of the city that draws us all in, let’s walk arm-in-arm with Rosenstaub’s latest design – the 1.G.1777™ Canvas Tote Bag – that’s as special as Paris itself.
If you’re anything like me, Paris is always on your mind. You dream about future holidays or look back on trips past: family vacations, impromptu solo escapades, lavish lover weekends and so on.
Personally, I love people-watching as I sip un café en terrasse, seeing Parisians with an eye-catching designer bag in hand and a subtle everyday tote over their shoulder zipping through boulevards of Haussman buildings caught up, like us, in Paris’ energy.
But have you ever thought – like I have been recently – about what lies underneath today’s postcard Parisian streets? Not just the metro, sewers or catacombs but further back to 1777 in the city’s depths…
The secrets of Paris' underground
Years ago, before we came to eat croissants and climb the Eiffel Tower, Paris was sinking.
Its early buildings were created from stone dug out from around the city until, one day, streets began crumbling into the vast forgotten quarries as their unsupported tunnels collapsed below.
“… the roofs of the buildings… changed their angle slightly in relation to the skyline. A second later, there was the sound of a giant heaving, a great sigh and stretching his limbs… a gaping trench had opened up and swallowed all the houses.” – Graham Robb, Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris.
Half of 18th-century Paris risked falling into what locals called the mouth of hell (la bouche de l'enfer). That is, until the king’s architect, Charles-Axel Guillaumot, was called to action.
The visionary Guillaumot began to map out Paris’ underground (a labyrinth said to be more complex than the map of Paris itself!). For his master design, the Sweden-raised Frenchman erected below-ground pillars to stabilise the more resilient Paris of the future.
Each was engraved with its own code, including Guillaumot’s first pillar: Le début - 1.G.1777.
Go to Paris with Rosenstaub's 1.G.1777 Canvas Tote Bag
Running a small brand, I’m inspired by Guillaumot’s craftsmanship and innovation. And I’m excited to represent his role in saving the Paris we love today with a new design: 1.G.1777™ – a staple but sturdy everyday tote bag to complement Rosenstaub’s higher-end Neoprene bag ranges.
This medium tote bag’s simple yet elegant visual elements celebrate our affinity with Paris’ iconic heritage and present day culture. Bold 1.G.1777 lettering references Guillaumot’s legacy, while thick elongated lines visualise his pillars that forever hold Paris up. Then, bridging past and present, an area of whitespace opens up to the dynamic lives Parisians live today thanks to these robust foundations.
Beyond Paris, this bag presents a metaphor relevant to us all: as much as the world trembles around us, there are elements that hold it together if we care to look for and preserve them.
Why an everyday tote ?
While designing the 1.G.1777 fabric tote bag, I’ve been thinking: what makes a place like Paris stand the test of time? After learning about Guillaumot and his pillars, I know Paris would not be Paris without its people. Their hidden stories make the city’s spirit stay alive.
And like I mentioned before, Parisians love to carry canvas tote bags across the city as the hardy and trusted companion to their more precious designer handbags. For them, totes aren’t a fleeting trend but an everyday lifeline.
For us, too, they keep us dreaming big on our days in the French capital. Tote bags come with us as we explore the Louvre in the morning and read in the sun in the Jardin du Luxembourg in the afternoon. They lug our water bottles that keep us hydrated as we walk by the Seine. And they hold our vintage hauls back to the hotel and come back out with us as we run fashionably late to our reservation at Bouillon Pigalle.
Like Paris’ underground pillars, an everyday tote brings practicality and creativity together so that the people of a city can thrive.
Our Paris tote bag is made to love and to last - just like the city itself
I’m ready to love Paris’ grit even more with this affordable companion to investment items from Rosenstaub’s other collections. Made in small batches with quality canvas material, this fabric tote bag balances cultural expression with everyday functionality. That’s because, just like Guillaumot, I believe in making the things we love last a long time.
Whether buying a train ticket to the city of dreams or picking up your everyday tote from Rosenstaub, you can take yourself to Paris with this beloved city’s heritage on your shoulders for many years to come.
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