The case for one very large bag is a case against three medium ones. A tote that holds a laptop, a towel, a book and a cardigan replaces the work bag, the beach bag and the day bag, and the weight penalty is smaller than carrying two of them at once. It is also the only bag shape that survives the transition from airport to hotel to town without looking wrong in any of the three.

Leather is the version that lasts, and the variable is structure. A soft unlined tote collapses when half empty and takes odd shapes. A structured one stands up and protects what is inside but weighs more before anything goes in it.

The eight here run $200 to $895. MICHAEL Michael Kors' Laila at $200 and Bembien's Mira at $300 are the compact end. Tory Burch's Perry has three compartments at $395. STAUD's Port is suede at $425. St. Agni, Liffner and Lié Studio sit between $680 and $770. Mansur Gavriel's soft suede at $895 is the least structured and the most expensive.

Woven bags exist because leather is hot. Raffia, crochet and straw all breathe, they weigh a fraction of a leather tote of the same volume, and they do not mark when a wet swimsuit goes in them. The trade is durability. A woven bag has a working life of a few seasons rather than a decade, and a snagged strand cannot be repaired.

Price does not track durability here as closely as people assume. What it tracks is hand work. A hand-crocheted bag costs more because someone spent days on it, not because it will outlast a machine-woven one.

The range is $200 to $870. MICHAEL Michael Kors' fringed crochet fan tote at $200 is the cheapest entry. Marlies Grace's crocheted tote is $295 and STAUD's Palm raffia is $350. Emm Kuo's Humuhumu at $470 and Cult Gaia's Amun at $595 are the mid-range raffia totes. Zimmermann's ruffled raffia is $675, Proenza Schouler's fringed bucket is $850, and The Row's woven mini at $870 is the smallest and dearest thing here.

The bag inside the bag is what makes the single large tote workable. Without it, a phone and a key live loose at the bottom under a damp towel. With it, the evening bag is already packed and the tote stays at the hotel.

The requirement is narrow. It has to be small enough to disappear inside the tote and finished enough to carry on its own at night. That rules out a fabric pouch and argues for a structured clutch.

The eight here run $295 to $650. Bembien's Chéri mini clutch at $295 is the smallest and easiest to lose inside a tote, which is the point. BTB Los Angeles' Leia suede is $375 and Veronica Beard's Anchor raffia is $395, which is the one that matches a woven tote. Emm Kuo's Akumal is $400. Cult Gaia's clear acrylic at $388 and Jimmy Choo's tortoiseshell at $650 are the two that read as evening objects. SIMKHAI's metal shell is $495 and Christian Louboutin's Bettina zipped pouch is $475.