Sheila Bridges, Harlem Toile de Jouy, Structured Tote

This elegant structured canvas tote features Harlem Toile de Jouy by the celebrated New York City–based interior designer Sheila Bridges. 

This contemporary vision of 18th-century toile—a classic French fabric abounding with pastoral imagery—riffs on old stereotypes: women styling hair, men playing basketball, girls enjoying a round of Double Dutch.

The motif originates from Bridges's tenacious search for an existing toile that suited her sensibility as a decorator, as well as her perspective as an African American woman living in Harlem. She created Harlem Toile de Jouy as a custom expression of her personal style and a thoughtful reflection upon history, politics, and culture. Simultaneously joyous and meditative, Harlem Toile de Jouy is an invitation to join Bridges in musing on the intricacies of the Black experience.

Size:12 × 12 × 5 1/2 in.
Materials: 100% cotton canvas
Details: Open top, interior pocket

This item was created in honor of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room.