Ready for Take off!

Pan Am Travel Tote Bag

I LOVE the 60's. At least, the positive things about the 60's. The clothes, the cars, the music, etc. To me, it seems like a time when things were a lot simpler, more concise and polished, so to speak. Looking at pictures and videos taken from that time, everyone looks so well put together. Something that you don't see a lot of today. Expectations and standards back then were a lot different than they are now. I sometimes joke that I should have been born in the 50's to have lived through the 60's & 70's. (Disclaimer: I'd choose iPhones and other techie stuff over the 60's any day!)

One of my favorite things about the time period is how glamorous travel was back then. It seemed like a time when travel was a lot easier, enjoyable and affordable as opposed to how it is now. More people did it, more often. I can only imagine how much fun it would be to "people watch" in a 60's airport! And the luggage! I LOVE vintage luggage! So much so I collect purple vintage luggage. My collection currently has almost 20 pieces!

Two Amelia Earhart pieces from my collection.

I share this because one of the free social media gems I happened upon not too long ago is a travel tote from the tv series Pan Am. The show premiered during the Fall 2011 season and focuses on the airline during the beginning of the commercial jet age. It depicts the era exactly how imagine it. And the tote bag... is wonderful! It is well made and feels solid enough to actually travel with. Love how the tags mimic the luggage claim tags the airlines actually put on your luggage when traveling.

The bag is called the "Pan An Explorer" which retails for $89 and can be purchased on the Pan Am Brands website along with other Pan Am merchandise. I managed to score one by following Pan Am on Twitter and tweeting my thoughts about the show...and the fact that I really wanted a bag during one of their promotional contests.

Would I spend $89 on this bag? Probably not, although I do think it's worth it. Knowing my OCD obsession with the color purple, I'd rather spend that money on a vintage purple luggage find. But I would recommend it for the avid jet setter. It's very chic and fun! I'll use it!