The second group is the roomier side of the family, and the header says it plainly: Baguette Soft and Mamma Baguette. If the classic small shape never quite fits your phone, keys and a lip balm, this is where I would look. The names tell you the sizes, so read them closely before you decide.

The Baguette Soft Small leather top-handle bag in taupe is the smallest of the soft group, and the top handle makes it feel closer to a handbag than a shoulder bag. I like that for a day in the office with tailoring. Then come the Baguette soft medium bag and the Baguette soft medium black Nappa-leather bag, which sit in the middle, along with the Baguette Soft Medium in dove-gray nappa. The black Nappa-leather one is the version I would pick if I wanted a single bag to go from a coat to a dress. The Baguette Soft calfhair and the black cavallino Soft Medium are the textured ones, and the natural, multicolor crochet and sellier brown raffia-effect Soft Mediums, the last with FF embroidery, are the ones I would carry in spring.

The two Baguette Soft Large leather shoulder bags, one in black and one in taupe, are the biggest here. Large is relative with a Baguette, so check the strap drop in the fitting room. You want the bag to sit in the crease of your arm without sliding down when you reach for a door. A longer strap can make the same bag look more relaxed with a sweater and wide trousers.

Then there are the Mamma Baguette bags. There are two Mamma Baguette medium bags, one in woven raffia and one in a warm orange leather, plus the Medium Mamma Baguette shoulder bag in lilac, and the Mamma Baguette large and small bags that bracket the medium in size, so five in total from this line. Because they share a name, the difference between them is mostly color and finish, so I would open each photo and look at the clasp and the stitching. A shape this familiar gets its character from small details.

A practical test: put on your usual coat, load the bag with what you really carry, and walk to the mirror. If the bag slides, tighten the way you hold it. If the bag still feels too heavy for its size, try the next one up.

The last group is small on purpose. Mini Baguettes, wallets on chain and clutches are for the nights when you carry a card, a phone and a lipstick, and not much else. The header sums it up, and I think of these as evening bags that also work in the daytime.

The Baguette Mini leather top-handle bag comes in black and in beige. Black is the practical choice, and beige is the one I would choose with a white shirt and jeans. The two Baguette Mini FF Zucca shoulder bags in brown carry the logo that Harper's Bazaar says Karl Lagerfeld invented in 1965, and Savoir Flair says the FF originally stood for Fun Furs. It is a tidy bit of history to hold in a bag the size of a hand.

The Mini Baguette FF-motif bag with its chain is the party one, and it asks for a simple outfit: a slip dress or a good black suit. The pale mint Wallet on chain Baguette is the one for people who want colour without a print. Among the newer minis, the dove-gray Selleria with its 309 hand-sewn topstitches, the light-blue denim with multicolor embroidery and the hazelnut-stitch raffia are the ones I keep going back to, and the Baguette chain-strap clutch is the smallest of all.

Then the wallets on chain. The Baguette wallet-on-chain, the Wallet on chain Baguette and the Baguette wallet on chain in nappa leather with FF motif are the same idea in slightly different clothes. A chain lets you wear the bag across your body, which frees your hands. Check the chain length against your hip when you try it on, because that decides how the bag looks with a long coat.

What I would skip: stuffing a mini with a full day's worth of things. If it will not close without a fight, the shape is lost and the clasp suffers. Pick a bigger Baguette from the first two grids for those days, and keep the mini for evenings.

Town & Country counts more than a thousand versions of the Baguette in Fendi's archives, and resale is where the older ones turn up. Every bag in the next two grids is pre-owned, from Fashionphile, Rebag and Vestiaire Collective, and every listing was live when I checked. This first group is the one I would carry on a Tuesday: leather, canvas, denim and the Zucca print.

The black crackled calfskin Baguette 26424 and the large FF 1974 embossed nappa are the quiet ones that go under a coat. The white logo-embossed nappa, the Miele Scuro embossed Baguette and the beige Romano Selleria are the lighter versions for spring. For the logo, the tobacco Zucca, the grey Zucca with a chain strap, the metallic gold Zucca and the Zucca mini with neon piping all carry the FF.

Denim gets its own corner: the King FF embroidered Baguette, the Grace mini in denim-effect jacquard and the Grace Mamma Baguette all look best with a white shirt. The yellow quilted FF leather Baguette with a chain, the pink Bugs Eyes Baguette and the Fendace print with a safety pin are the playful ones. Fendace came from the September 2021 Milan show where Fendi and Versace swapped houses, and Rebag noted that the Baguettes picked up Versace's safety pins.

Tip: on resale, look for close-ups of the clasp, the corners and the lining, because that is where a Baguette shows its age. What I would skip: a listing with no photo of the inside.

This is the louder side of the Baguette: beads, sequins, shearling and fur, often on a bag no bigger than a hardback book. These are the ones I love looking for secondhand, because no two listings are quite the same.

The sequin ones are the brightest: turquoise, green, lilac and pink paillettes, the light blue sequin nappa and the red sequin lizard. The beaded group is denser, with the black beaded Baguette, the yellow, green and teal beaded bags, the floral beaded black one and the tobacco lizard Zucca with crystal beads. The black canvas Baguette with multicolor beading and the crochet Mamma Baguette with sequins sit between the two.

For winter, the shearling and fur Baguettes feel like holding a small animal, in the nicest way: the black fur bag, the shearling Baguette, the curly sheepskin in plaster, the fuchsia and black Mini Be and the Zucca shearling mini. The denim pieces here are dressed up too, with floral openwork, flower appliqué and jewel studs, while the silver glitter Baguette and the fringed wool knit are the party ones.

Tip: beads and sequins can loosen with age, so zoom in on the edges and corners before you buy. What I would skip: a heavily beaded bag on a long strap, which pulls at the stitching. Carry these short and under the arm, the way the name says.

Resale is where I look first, but Fendi keeps adding to the line, and four bags from its current season made me stop scrolling. They show how far the 1997 shape can stretch while keeping the clasp you can find without looking.

The Baguette 26424 in black crackled crocodile leather is the classic shape from the first grid with a glossy, broken-up surface that catches the light. The Baguette Soft Small in the same black crackled leather has the slouchier build and a top handle, so it reads more like a handbag. Those two are the ones I would carry to work with a navy coat.

The two Mammas go in opposite directions. The Mamma Baguette Medium is covered in beads, with pink, orange and blue flowers worked across the front, so I would wear it with a plain black dress and nothing else that sparkles. The Mamma Baguette Small in anemone purple nappa is a soft lilac that sits well with grey, camel and denim.

Tip: when you buy new, keep the dust bag and any cards that come with it, because they help if you ever pass the bag on. What I would skip: the beaded Mamma as your only bag, since it is happiest on nights out.

So how do you choose one. I start with what I carry. If it is a phone and a wallet, a Baguette 26424 Small or a Baguette Mini is plenty. If it is a laptop sleeve and a water bottle, none of these will do it, and no shape will fix that.

Next, think about your closet. Dark leather and Nappa-leather work with almost anything. Canvas, denim, calf hair and embroidery do more with plain clothes, so I keep everything else simple. The FF logo versions look best when the rest of the outfit stays quiet.

Finally, wear it the way the name suggests: tucked under your arm, strap short, shoulder relaxed. Carry it across the street and see if you stop noticing it. The right one disappears into your day and still gets a second look.