Introduction to Show Tote
Christine Kane knows all too well the headaches of getting your handbag through security at a big event. During the Taylor Swift Eras tour, she headed out to the concert with what she thought was the right-sized bag to get into the performance. But that wouldn’t happen.
“We 100% got turned away right at the entrance,” Kane said. “So we had to go all the way back to the car.”
Now, Kane is trying to fix that all-too-common problem with a new company called Show Tote — along with co-founder Deborah Bowles, who has run into the same kind of challenge. Their new business is offering several bags to meet the requirements of venues across the country while taking a stylish approach.
“And that’s important to us – to have not just a simple bag,” Bowles said. “It needed to have style and characteristic — and not just, you know, clear bag, yeah, or other leather bags. … You can carry them every day.”
Background and History
The company’s start dates to more than a year, and it just began selling online last month. It’s always a big step to start a company but they see huge opportunities for it — and the pain points that they’re addressing.
Kane and Bowles are longtime friends with a history that stretches to their childhoods in Grand Prairie. They attended their first concert together, attending a performance by Depeche Mode, though there no special requirements for bags back then.
Show Tote co-owner Christine Kane shows a clear tote, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Dallas.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
Bag Restrictions and Venue Requirements
Bag restrictions have become increasingly common. A key year was 2013 when the NFL mandated clear or small bags, acting partly in response to the Boston Marathon bombing.
Still, while there are many requirements from place to place, there’s no clear consistency. So, what’s allowed in Madison Square Garden in New York may not work at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
To ensure that customers always get the right bag, Show Tote examined over 1,000 venues to track and determine what sizes and materials would work, Kane said. That means both clear options and more traditional ones that skew smaller.
Visitors to the Show Tote website can search by venue to find the best bag, and that can produce several choices. For example, there are seven options at American Airlines Center, including three that feature clear material.
Products and Designs
Show Tote’s bags embrace a fashion-forward approach — and prices range from about $200 to more than $350. These are fashion-forward designs that are made in the U.S.
The bags are crafted from Italian leather and the clear options are made from a higher-quality clear material that’s thicker and doesn’t bend as easily.
The two friends have split the ownership evenly with this entrepreneurial move. Bowles has a background in marketing in the alcohol beverage industry and has been tackling the practical efforts of fulfillment out of her own home. Kane brings a background in the music industry as a manager.
“I spend a lot of time at concerts and a lot of time going to shows, and a lot of time with, ‘What bag should I bring?’” she said. “It’s a constant topic of conversation amongst me and my friends, Deborah being one of the early, early ones.”
Show Tote co-owner Christine Kane shows a product, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Dallas.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
Design Process and Launch
It was a process that took time, Kane said, as they examined the best approach for the handbags.
“We spent a lot of time in my living room, looking at materials, looking at hardware, picking, going back and forth with our manufacturer” Kane said. “… It was hours and hours and hours of picking and materials and yes and no.”
