Totême review: quality, fit and where the money goes furthest
Totême review: quality, fit and where the money goes furthest
This is Luxury Shoes ’s own review of Totême, written from the fitting room rather than the press release: 1,518 pieces handled across the June, September 2026 and earlier intakes, the returns we have seen, and the brand’s product pages read line by line. The short version is that the house does what it says. The fabric is honest, the cuts are precise and the pieces repeat, so what you buy this year still looks like the brand next year. The longer version, including where the money is best spent and where it is not, follows.
Key facts
- Verdict: the strongest buys are the coats, the tailoring and the Signature pieces the house repeats; the weakest value is in seasonal jersey at the top of its price band
- Fit: true to size on most pieces, oversized by design on the scarf coats, shearlings and some knits (the brand says so on each page)
- Materials: 261 current pieces state Italy as the country of manufacture; leather linings and soles on the shoes; recycled 18kt gold on the fine jewellery
- Returns to Luxury Handbags are mostly size changes rather than quality complaints; the pieces that come back most are the oversized coats bought in the usual size
- Price: $164 to $7,440, median $980, below The Row and Khaite and above the contemporary brands
Quality
The wool coats are either double-faced, which needs no lining, and otherwise fully lined, the seams are clean and the buttons are set properly. The knitwear is the real test of a minimalist brand, because there is nowhere to hide, and the cashmere and merino here hold their shape after washing and pill less than the contemporary competition. The leather on the bags and shoes is calf and cow leather tanned to a soft hand, and the shoes are lined in leather with leather soles, which is not a given at this price. The jersey is the weakest category in our view: good cotton, fair cut, but the price on the seasonal styles asks for more.
Fit
The brand’s true-to-size claim holds. Where it does not, the page says so: the scarf coats, the cocoon shapes and the shearlings are oversized by design and the brand suggests sizing down, and those are exactly the pieces that come back to us for a smaller size. The tailoring is cut long, which reads elegant on the 180 cm model and needs a hem, failing that a heel, on most of us. The size guide has the conversion; read the Size and Fit line on every listing.
Design
The design language is consistent to a fault: monochrome, clean lines, one detail per piece. The scarf jacket is a good example, a plain jacket made distinctive by a single idea, the scarf built into the collar. The T-Lock bags do the same with a twist clasp. The risk is that the seasonal pieces can feel like variations on a theme, which they are, and the reward is that everything goes with everything else you already own from the house. Elin Kling has said the aim is small tweaks of newness that give life to existing clothes, and that is how it wears.
“It’s not about changing your wardrobe every year,” Elin Kling told The Telegraph in February 2025, “but about small tweaks of newness that give life to your existing clothes.”
Where the money goes furthest
1. Curved rib tank in Black, $260
Made from 93% organic cotton, 7% elastane, shown in black.
2. Classic cut denim full length off-white, $416
An earlier-season piece, still in stock, shown in off white.
3. Classic cut denim full length mid grey, $441
An earlier-season piece, still in stock, shown in mid grey wash.
4. Classic cut denim full length in Faded black, $680
Made from 100% organic cotton, shown in faded black.
5. Deep curve stretch wool tank in Black, $720
Made from 96% wool, 4% elastane, shown in black.
6. Slouch blouse in Dark green, $840
Made from 100% viscose, shown in dark green.
7. Belted pleated skirt in White, $850
Made from 65% polyester, 35% cotton, shown in white.
8. Slouch-neck blouse in Black, $850
Made from 100% viscose, shown in black.
9. Classic cashmere crew knit in Black, $980
Made from 100% cashmere, shown in black.
10. Classic cashmere crew knit mid grey in Mid grey melange, $980
Made from 100% cashmere, shown in mid grey melange.
Where it does not
Seasonal jersey and printed swim are priced for the season, not for a decade of wear. They are good pieces; they are just not where Totême is different from the brands around it. If the budget is finite, put it into a coat, a pair of the tailored trousers, then the belted tote and buy the tank from the brand’s permanent line, where the price is fair for what it is.
Service and shipping
The brand’s own store is efficient and includes duties in its euro prices. Luxury Handbags ships express from its UAE and Australia hubs, authenticates each piece and lists the reference; duties are usually paid on import, which the returns protocol explains. Sizes and colourways that have sold out at the source are the reason to shop here.
“TOTEME is a fashion house rooted in Swedish sensibilities, modern aspirations and the notion of style,” the house writes on toteme.com. “With an appreciation for women’s many roles and how pieces are worn in practice, we create emblematic designs with an emphasis on materiality and shape.”
Frequently asked questions
Is Totême worth the money?
For the coats, the tailoring, the knitwear and the Signatures, yes: the fabric and the make justify the price and the pieces repeat, so they do not date. For seasonal jersey and swim, the price is a season price.
Is Totême good quality?
Yes. Double-faced and lined wool coats, cashmere and merino that keep their shape, leather-lined shoes with leather soles, calf and cow leather bags made in Italy. The product pages state the compositions and countries.
Does Totême run small, and does it run large?
True to size on most pieces. The scarf coats, cocoon shapes and shearlings are cut oversized and the brand suggests sizing down; the tailoring is cut long.
What is the best Totême piece to buy first?
The scarf jacket if you want the signature, the belted tote if you want the bag, the classic cut denim and a cashmere crew if you want the everyday pieces. All are repeated season after season.
How does Totême compare with The Row?
Same restraint, about a third of the price, more fashion in the seasonal pieces and less of the rarefied fabric. The comparison has its own page.
Who is this review by?
Gemma Deeks, fashion editor at Luxury Shoes , from the pieces Luxury Handbags has handled and sold, checked on 18 September 2026.
Read next
Totême vs The Row The Signatures Price guide Materials and care
More Totême guides
Every Totême page by Luxury Shoes ’s fashion editor Gemma Deeks: Is it a luxury brand?, How to style, Brands like Totême, The edit, Who is Totême?, History timeline, Size guide, Shoe size guide, Price guide, Where to buy, Sale, Real vs fake, Materials and care, Glossary, Who wears it, vs The Row, vs Khaite, Capsule wardrobe, The Signatures, Fall winter 2026, Spring summer 2026, Coats, Scarf jackets and coats, Jackets and blazers, Shearling, Knitwear, Dresses, Trousers, Jeans and denim, Skirts, Tops and shirts, Swim and beachwear, Leather, Bag guide, T-Lock bags, Belted tote, Shoe guide, Boots, Flip flops, Sneakers, Jewellery guide, Sunglasses, Scarves, Black, Camel, beige and brown, White and ivory.
Sources and method
Checked on 18 September 2026 by Gemma Deeks, fashion editor at Luxury Shoes . Product facts, the compositions, care lines, dimensions, heel heights and country of manufacture, are the brand’s own product-page text; counts, prices and price ranges are Luxury Shoes ’s live catalogue on that date and move with stock; the founders’ biography and the house history come from the brand’s own pages and the press articles listed below, each read on the date above; the size scales are the brand’s own. Where a claim could not be checked against one of these it was left out, and where the fitting room is giving its own advice the page says so.
- toteme.com, About: the house’s own description of itself, its founders and the atelier in Stockholm
- toteme.com, Sustainability: the Signatures, the design principles, the Milkywire partnership and the 2024/25 report
- toteme.com, FAQ: shipping countries, duties, payment and returns on the brand’s own store
- toteme.com, Stores: the flagship list by country
- Totême product pages: the description, composition, care, size-guide and country-of-manufacture lines of every style (1,297 pages saved between June and September 2026)
- Elin Kling on Wikipedia
- Karl Lindman on Wikipedia
- Wikidata Q4959117
- WWD, With New Investment, Totême Shoots for the Stars (2021): the Altor minority investment, growth and margin figures and the founders’ quotes
- The Telegraph, Lisa Armstrong, 24 February 2025 (via Yahoo Life): revenue, headcount, the Paris show and Elin Kling’s quotes
- Vogue Scandinavia: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden’s favourite Nordic brands
- The Business of Fashion, BoF 500: Elin Kling and Karl Lindman
- Luxury Handbags live catalogue, 18 September 2026: prices, sizes and stock
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