Living with a bag that has no roof

How to keep things dry in a tote bag when it rains, with a three-pouch system, smart packing order and a rescue plan.

By jelli.world, the bag brand. Our styling advice, with sources linked in the text and jelli.world products offered for sale.

In the early 1750s a London merchant called Jonas Hanway began carrying an umbrella through the city's streets, and the city did not thank him. According to Atlas Obscura, umbrellas were thought too French and faintly unmanly, and the cab and sedan-chair men, who did their best business on wet days, pelted him with rubbish. One tried to run him down. Hanway kept carrying it, and umbrella ownership spread across England within his lifetime.

The open tote has the opposite reputation. Everyone loves it: throw things in, find them fast, fit a surprising amount. But it is a bag without a roof, and in the rain that is a design flaw you have to solve yourself. Here is the short version of how to keep things dry in a tote bag. Start with a shell that doesn't absorb water. Then pack in zones, with zipped pouches for anything that mustn't get wet, a sleeve for the laptop, and a separate corner for the dripping umbrella. Carry it with the opening against your body.

To keep things dry in a tote bag, start with the shell

A canvas tote lets the rain in from two directions, down through the top and straight through the sides, and your things then spend the day in a damp fabric box. Its history explains why. L.L.Bean's famous Boat and Tote began in 1944 as an ice carrier, built to haul block ice to home freezers. The open canvas tote was born to carry heavy, cold, wet loads. Keeping paper dry was never part of the job description.

A jelly tote solves half of the problem at once. The material is wipe-clean and shrugs off rain, so water stays on the outside where it belongs, and only the opening is left to manage. That is a much smaller job.

Three pouches, no more

The mistake is treating the inside of a tote as one big room. Divide it into three zones and give each its own pouch.

The laptop or tablet goes in its own padded sleeve. Anything robust, such as a water bottle, a lunch box or a paperback you don't mind going a little wavy, can sit loose.

Packing order, bottom to top

Heavy and hardy at the bottom: the bottle, the lunch, and the laptop standing upright in its sleeve against the side wall, where it also keeps the bag's shape. In the middle go the office pouch and the care kit. At the top, on the side that rests against your body, the vault, so phone and pass come out without rummaging under a downpour. On the outer edge sits the wet zone, for the folded umbrella in its sleeve or a damp scarf, as far from paper as the bag allows.

It sounds fussy. Once it's habit, it takes thirty seconds.

How to carry it

Wear the tote on the shoulder with the opening pressed into your side, so your arm and body become a lid. When you hold an umbrella, tilt it forward and toward the bag side, so it covers the bag as well as your head. In a real downpour, drape the end of a scarf or the flap of your coat across the opening. And if your tote has a magnetic snap or a little clasp you never use, today is the day to use it.

Hanway's umbrella, incidentally, remains the best accessory a tote can have. A hood keeps your head dry and does nothing at all for the bag on your shoulder.

London drizzle, New York downpours

The British problem is duration. Drizzle rarely fills a bag, but a whole day of it settles a fine damp over everything near the opening, so the vault pouch and the paper folder matter most. The American problem is volume: a sudden East Coast downpour can put a real puddle in the base of an open tote within a couple of blocks. If that's your weather, a tote with a zip or snap closure is worth the small loss of easy access.

When the drips get in anyway

Some rain will always find its way in. When you arrive, tip out anything pooled in the base, wipe the inside with a tissue or a cloth, and leave the bag open for a few minutes so the interior airs. Jelly and PVC wipe dry almost at once. Never put a wet umbrella in without its sleeve; that is how most "the inside of my bag is soaked" stories begin.

A clear tote, styled from the inside

If your tote is translucent, the pouch system doubles as styling, because the inside becomes part of the outfit. Choose pouches in one colour family, or clash them with the bag on purpose. A tangerine pouch inside a lilac jelly tote looks considered; a drift of receipts does not. Colour-coding helps in practical ways too, because you stop searching and start reaching for "the green one". jelli.world makes jelly totes in bright, playful colours that suit the idea well: a shell that looks after itself, with a little colour-blocking going on inside.

Covered

Hanway had to endure flying rubbish for his umbrella. You only need three pouches and a habit. For a tote that's happy in the rain, browse the jelly bags at jelli.world.

Common questions

How do I waterproof a canvas tote?

A fabric water-repellent spray helps in light rain, but it wears off and needs reapplying. Inner pouches are more reliable, or start with a material that doesn't absorb water.

What should always go in a waterproof pouch?

Your phone, cards, keys, travel pass and any paper you can't replace, such as tickets or documents.

Are clear zip pouches waterproof?

Most clear PVC pouches are water-resistant, but the zip is usually the weak point. For everyday drizzle that is plenty; for a real soaking, look for a roll-top.

Last reviewed: 15 October 2026