Totes for the stylish brownbagger

Fashion-forward lunch takers may eat up the chic new lunch totes hitting the market. Whatever your style — California beach chic, uptown elegant, sleek and tailored — there's a practical, durable and eminently portable new tote aimed to suit you.

The new totes often have some sort of insulation built in, to keep foods hot or cold. Many come with a compartment or two to stash utensils, sanitizer or beverage. Most are easily cleaned by hand or machine.

John Roscoe Swartz is a co-CEO and chief design officer of the New York-based Built, which makes a broad range of funky yet functional carry cases for everything from laptops to lipstick to Lego.

"We came up with the concept for our first lunch tote when we couldn't find one that we liked, and now they're top- selling Built products," he said.

Made of lightweight, malleable neoprene — the wetsuit material — Built'S lunch totes are machine washable. There are several styles, for both men and women.

Sally Bartz, a former designer for Roxy, Volcom and Paul Frank, started her Newport Beach, Calif., company Halsea when she decided to focus on "easy, sophisticated women" rather than the young surfer crowd. Her laminated canvas, leather-trimmed lunch totes could easily serve as handbags, and come in a range of groovy yet timeless prints and hues.

Pottery Barn stocks both a lunch bag and tote in muted earth tones; both can be monogrammed.

Target has Nexxt's tailored nylon totes, each named after a different world city. Choose from plaids, Chanel-style quilt patterns, and a range of modern hues.

Long Beach, Calif., photographer Vangie Ogg will reproduce your favorite photo onto a retro-style metal lunch box. You can add a monogram or additional photo on the other side. They may not be the most high tech or efficient food totes, but they're charming and fun. (www.photolunchboxes.com)