Reader Questions: LL Bean Maine Isle Flip-Flops; Packing for a Cape Weekend; Tote Washing

My Flip-Flops (Clearly I have a thing for whales!)

Muffy, what do you think of the Maine Isle Flip-Flops? I've been eying them, and they have great reviews. 


While I seldom wear Flip-Flops, I do own both the L.L. Bean Maine Isle version as well as some from Eliza B..  Here are my thoughts on both.

The Maine Isle Flip-Flops are perfectly adequate.    There are two things about them on which I am not so keen.  First is that they are a “made in China” knock-off of the “made in New England” Eliza B. version.  And second, I seldom see a color and motif combination that I like, although the best this season is the Pink Tulip/White Boat option.   While the Eliza B.s are more expensive, you can custom design your own pair, choosing form their incredible inventory of motifs.

L.L. Bean's "Made in China" Knock-Off of a "Made in New England" Product

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I am dating a great guy from Wellesley Massachusetts. We just graduated from a University in North Carolina (and I have lived in North Carolina all of my life). He has invited me to Cape Cod for the weekend and I thought you would be the perfect person to ask about what I should pack. He told me that I needed to bring a sweater or fleece because it's cooler at night there than it is at the beaches in North Carolina. Growing up, I would have never thought to bring a sweater or pants to the beach during the summer so this is very new to me. I think we are going to be near Falmouth, on the Cape, and also take a day trip to Nantucket. I'm only there for three nights so I don't want to overpack, but any advice you have for me would be greatly appreciated, because this is completely new for me! My boyfriend showed me your blog a while ago when we started planning this trip to the Cape, and I have read your posts almost religiously since then. 

I'm really looking forward to hearing back from you soon! Thanks so much!


Your boyfriend is absolutely right!   It’s funny because I would never dream of going to the beach at night without a jacket and spare pair of khakis handy, no matter on what part of the New England coast I happened to be.

Having said that my first thought is that you might like to have some sort of wind breaking garment handy, whether it be a shell or perhaps better, a wind breaking fleece.  (In fact, my Patagonia Retro-X Cardigans stay in the car year round.)  It is a quite long ferry ride to Nantucket and the temperatures of Nantucket Sound are still cool so the breezes will reflect that.

I have never been known as a light packer, but here is what I would be sure to include:

• A cotton cable sweater; 
• Polo shirts; 
• Khaki pants and shorts, 
• Topsiders, 
• Running shoes (I usually do a lot of walking); 
• A hat; 
• Sunglasses; and
• A bathing suit (but not for salt water swimming!)

The forecast for all of the New England coast is dry air and bright sunshine at least until Sunday.  This also means the nights will be cooler.  Have a wonderful time and tell your boyfriend that my husband, while growing up, lived for a while on Cliff Road right next door in Weston.

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Hi Muffy, I recently discovered your blog; thank you for writing it! I'm curious about how you wash the Boat & Tote bags -- the label recommends only spot cleaning them, but they can get quite dirty. Is there any way to machine wash them without wrinkling or bleeding the color?


There have been many occasions where spot cleaning no longer did the trick to clean my tote bags.  That is when I simply throw them in the washing machine.  Often enough, this is the result:



Funnily, the only bleeding that I have experienced is a bit with the natural canvas, not the colored cotton fabric. They do wrinkle, but for me that is just a bonus. The wear and tear that I have experienced at the corners from washing does not bother me, and is worth it to get the totes that much cleaner. Eventually, when they get too dirty to appear in public I relegate them to a new position such as wood hauling.