Beyond the Brown Bag: Stylish Lunch Totes

Built NY’s Micro Dot Lunch Tote is easy to spot in a crowded fridge

‘Tis the season for holiday soirees and that means post-party leftovers. And, in the New Year, the resultant promise to adhere to a diet and spend less money. Enter: the brown bag lunch

It’s often a tasty affair (who doesn’t love a sandwich stuffed with leftover turkey?), but not one that ranks high when it comes to style.

If your office fridge looks anything like the one in BC Living’s lunchroom, chock full of liquor and grocery store bags (plus a lunch kit with a skull and crossbones motif on it – told you skulls were in!), you might want to make sure your lunch bag stands out—and in a stylish way.

Here are three super-functional and stylish lunch boxes to help you get beyond the boring brown bag:

1. Neoprene Dream

Built NY’s Tasty Lunch Tote is made from insulating neoprene that keeps your soup warm and your salad nice and crisp. It comes in bold patterns, like Micro Dot, so it’s easy to spy this baby in that packed fridge. Bonus: It’s machine washable.

2. Bento To Go

Black+Blum has covered all the bases with its super-cool Box Appetit Lunch Box. There’s a special sauce pot for condiments like salad dressing, ketchup or soy sauce. A lid snaps tight to prevent leaks. This modern lunch box comes in blue, orange, black or green (with a matching fork/knife, not less), and there’s even a removable inner dish, perfect for nuking only what you want. Bonus: It’s BPA-free and microwave and dishwasher safe.

3. A Taste of India

If you’re one of those people who hate it when your pickled beets turn your mashed potatoes pink, To-Go Wear’s three-tier stainless steel Tiffin Set is a must. The container latches shut and its sturdy design prevents delicate foods from getting crushed. Now you can pretend the SkyTrain is the Darjeeling Limited train, instead. (Now, where’s that chai wallah?) Bonus: It’s dishwasher safe.