In 1892, Edmond Goyard created the Goyardine canvas, a natural coated cloth blend of cotton and linen with tree-like piled up Y dot patterns that pay homage to the family's ancestry as log drivers. That fabric is behind the tote people mean when they look for a Goyard tote dupe, and it is a good place to begin.

The tote itself, the Saint Louis, arrived in the early 2000s and became the style most associated with the brand. Sotheby's describes a simple, unstructured silhouette with two leather handles, an open top and an unlined interior, light enough to fold relatively flat. Add hand-painted initials and stripes, and you have the whole look. I think the appeal is the ease of it: no zip, no hardware, just a bag that carries your day. This edit gathers totes from other labels that share that idea: coated canvas, leather trim, an open top. None of them borrow the Y pattern or any logo.

Start with the coated pieces. The Béis Canvas & Leather Tote in natural and black has slim top handles and packs flat, which is the closest to the original's spirit. The Anine Bing Leo comes in a large black and in fig, both open and unlined, with a streamlined shape I would take on a weekend away this month. The 3.1 Phillip Lim ombre market tote in sand adds a glossy finish and a detachable pouch, a nod to the original's little pouch. The Tory Burch Ella Twist in pink has leather top handles and flips to a second look, and the Rains zip tote in black is the one for wet commutes.

Before you pick, fold each one in half, then pull gently on a handle. A good coated canvas creases softly and springs back, and the trim should be stitched, not just glued.

Plain canvas with leather handles is the quiet cousin of the coated look, and it is easier to live with. Harper's Bazaar quotes one stylist who looks for a heavyweight cotton canvas, a similar weight to cardboard, since it holds up much better than lighter calico options. Hold that thought while you shop.

The Polo Ralph Lauren Canvas & Leather Tote in khaki and black is the sturdy end, with leather handles and trim and an optional webbing strap, while the Rue de Verneuil bucket tote in white has navy webbing handles, navy stripes and a rounded open top. The Longchamp Le Foulonne in natural canvas has an open top, a large tan leather panel and an adjustable buckled handle. Clare V.'s Volie in kalamata and black trims canvas in leather with double handles, and the Coach Utility tote in chalk is packable cotton canvas with a small leather tag, which I would toss in a carry-on for a holiday trip.

The same article says to look for seams finished with binding rather than overlocked, and for strong cross-stitched handles. Turn the bag inside out in the fitting room and check both. Small leather details matter too: a designer quoted by the same magazine suggests a small leather detail that elevates the design and gives it a refined finish.

What I would skip: a tote whose trim is thin and shiny against a flimsy canvas, since the whole look depends on the two materials looking like they belong together.

Goyard's own Saint Louis can be worn with the canvas or its interior face outward, and that is one reason the shape stays so flexible. Reversible alternatives let you do a similar trick, so the inside is worth as much attention as the outside.

The Tory Burch Ella Twist is coated canvas with leather top handles and flips for a second look, and I like it in turquoise and in black. The medium reversible nylon tote in black is recycled nylon that turns inside out for a second color and comes with an internal zip pouch, while the large leopard version has the room for a gym bag. Stoney Clover Lane's Everything Tote in denim has a cotton lining and an open top, and the Pit Stop in Provence version in garden rose adds a bow. If you prefer leather, the Old Trend Camellia in cognac and the GiGi New York Luna in camel are both reversible leather, the Luna unstructured so it molds to what is inside.

Wear it both ways in the fitting room. Check that the reverse side is finished, with no raw edges and no visible glue, and that the handles sit flat on both faces.

What I would skip: a reversible with one handsome side and one rough one. If you will only ever carry it one way, choose a simpler tote.

Even Goyard's own range has a small version: Sotheby's says the Anjou Mini translates the recognizable shape into a much smaller format. That is the idea behind this small group, a tote for a phone, keys and a lipstick rather than a laptop.

The 3.1 Phillip Lim mini market tote in green ombre is coated canvas with leather trim and an open top, and it is the one that reads most like the larger original. The Think Royln Daydream Mini in Pacific has double handles, a flat base and a removable crossbody strap. The Kate Spade New York Dash in cream and black is sturdy canvas with contrast trim, and the JW PEI Hana in chocolate is a faux leather mini with gathered accents. Staud's Christos Mini comes in transparent smoke PVC with a matching zip pouch, and the BTB Los Angeles Dottie is raffia with leather trim, one for next spring more than October.

For October I would carry a mini over a knit dress or a long coat, with the strap removed so the handles do the work. Test the opening before you commit: an open top on a small bag should still let a hand in easily, and the base should sit flat.

What I would skip: a mini with so many trims that you cannot see the shape.

Stripes are what many owners paint onto a Saint Louis. Vogue Hong Kong notes that the house introduced hand-painted personalisation, with coronets, initials and stripes. A striped tote from another label gives you that cue without anything painted by hand, so the stripe is the detail that sells the look here.

Clare V.'s Canvas Stripe Beach Tote in purple and brown and the Anine Bing Lara in white and black both pair stripes with leather trim and a structured base. The Kule All Over Stripe in navy and the Reformation Lucia in blue are the plainest, open and unlined cotton canvas with double handles. Reiss's Sacha in navy and off white has an interior zip pocket and a reinforced base, and PARKE's oversized pink stripe is the soft, slouchy one. The Marc Jacobs medium in red and white adds patch pockets and an optional leather strap, and the Staud Christos large stripe in Monday stripe has leather trim and a lining.

Look at where the stripes meet the handles and the seams. They should line up, because a crooked stripe is the first thing anyone sees. Adding your own initials with a small leather tag or a scarf is an easy way to make a plain tote yours.

What I would skip: stripes so wide or busy that the shape disappears.

I would begin with the shape, then the material. Open top, slim handles, a little leather, and a canvas that is coated or heavy enough to keep its shape. That narrows the field quickly.

Then I would fold it, flip it, and check the seams and the handle stitching. If it passes, the color decides, and a stripe is a good tiebreaker. Last, I would think about the season: a coated tote for rainy October commutes, a canvas one for the weekend bag, a mini for evenings out.

Edmond Goyard put a coated canvas to work in 1892, and nobody has needed to improve on the idea of a good open tote since.