Friday, July 23, 2010

How to dress: Clutch control

You can tell the exact moment when a wedding reception hits its stride by the sudden appearance of stray handbags on tables, like starfish at low tide, while their owners are off having fun. A clutch bag is a fabulous prop for posing with. So much more elegant to be stood on a lawn, hands clasped serenely around a jewelled bag, than to show your nerves by fidgeting, one hand tugging at imaginary fabric caught in your knickers and the other absent-mindedly worrying at last weekend's mosquito bites. And while clutch-addiction can hit your bank account hard, it won't damage you, so it's a healthier social crutch than a wine glass or a cigarette. But fast-forward a few hours, and the clutch becomes an impediment. You cannot clutch and have fun at the same time; it's a physical impossibility. And the conventional short-strapped evening bag isn't much better. What generally happens with the snug over-the-shoulder bag is once you put stuff in it, it wants to fall off, so has to be clamped to your side by means of a tensed upper arm. And once you've got the arm tensed, your body language is all nervy-late-night-walk-back-from-bus-stop, rather than night-of-your-life. Enter this summer's going-out bag: the long-strap, boxy-bag. The strap means it can bounce around on your hip and it won't fall off; the boxiness gives it a kind of treasure-trunk mystery. A metal chain and a squared off shape give it a hint of Chanel 2.55 heritage, which is never a bad thing. Too nice to be left on a table; thankfully, you won't have to..

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