To Have and To Hold: Handbags

Dolce & Gabbana’s pink feather clutch, topped with crystals is so adorable it’s hard to decide whether to hug it or wear it. There’s time to save up or forgo your rent/mortgage; it won’t be available until Oct. 30, 2017. $3,375, modaoperandi.com.

You’ll have to wait until Emerson Fry restocks this roomy, linen, leopard print clutch, but you won’t regret adding it to your accessory arsenal. $98, emersonfry.com.

Gotta have it: a hand-woven raffia tote with irresistible pink pom-poms. $152, netaporter.com.

Prada interprets Picasso for this one-off bag carried at the Prada men’s fall 2017 runway show. But I first noticed it on the back cover of Vogue on the arm of Jessica Chastain. $3,080, saksfifthavenue.com.

Think of Rafe’s mother-of-pearl and metal cubist minaudiere as a jeweled accessory for whatever you wear. $945, neimanmarcus.com. See the website for area locations in DC and Philadelphia.

“I LOVE handbags; you don’t have to take your clothes off to try them on,” says MyLittleBird’s always-wry Art Director Kathy Legg. Managing Editor Nancy McKeon considers handbag shopping spectator sport, and indeed for at least two of the examples above, ogling is about as far as one might want to go, considering the stratospheric prices of the Prada Picasso-ish top-handle handbag and the pink feather fantasy clutch from Dolce & Gabbana.  The ones from Emerson Fry and Nannacay  are more wallet-friendly. Any of these personality-plus purses makes the case that a show-stopping accessory is all you need to make your outfit go from meh to marvelous.

—Janet Kelly