Between $295 and $458 the edit is at its most inventive. Simon Miller supplies two Concha clutches at $295 each, one in carved wood and one in metal, and they are the most sculptural objects in the whole selection. Loeffler Randall's Zella Small Embossed Leather Clutch and Corrine Small Gathered Suede Clutch both sit at $325 and are the two softest shapes. Cult Gaia accounts for three: the Eos Lungo Beaded Trim Clutch and the Eviana Clutch at $398 each, and the Ilaria Small Clutch at $458. Those three are the most recognisable pieces at this level and the reason the label owns this category. A.L.C.'s Finn Bag at $395 is the most conventional shape in the bracket. For an occasion bag you will use a few times a year, nothing above this tier is necessary.

The middle bracket is tightly clustered in price and is where the leather quality steps up. Liffner accounts for four of the eight: the Pushlock Suede Clutch and Pushlock Leather Clutch at $495 each, the Belted Croc Embossed Leather Clutch at $595 and the Croc Embossed Leather Pushlock Pouch at $625. That is a lot from one label, and the Pushlock is the shape it is known for. Staud supplies the Cy Leather Convertible Clutch and the CY Embossed Leather Bag, both at $495, and the convertible is the more practical of the two because it takes a strap. Mansur Gavriel's Mini Cloud Clutch at $595 is the softest bag in the edit. Simkhai's Roma Leather and Aluminum Shoulder Bag at $595 is the most structural.

Above $760 the edit becomes designer evening bags. Toteme's Mini T Lock Leather Clutch at $760 and T-Lock Convertible Clutch at $990 are the two quietest, and the convertible is the more useful. Valentino Garavani's Rockstud Medium Suede Flat Pouch at $790 is the most recognisable shape here. Jimmy Choo's Ganache Biker Leather Clutch at $795 and Skylar Croc Embossed Patent Leather Clutch at $1,450 sit at either end of the label's range. Saint Laurent supplies the Uptown Pouch in crocodile-embossed shiny leather at $800 and the Cassandre Large Envelope Pouch at $1,200, and the Cassandre is the largest bag in the edit. Ferragamo's Eel Leather Clutch at $2,800 is the most expensive and uses the most unusual material of any piece here.

Clutches are the bag category with the worst cost per wear in fashion, because by definition they hold almost nothing and come out a handful of times a year. That argues hard for the bottom bracket, and the Simon Miller Concha at $295 is more interesting to look at than anything above $1,000 in this edit. Where the middle bracket earns its money is convertibility, and the Staud Cy at $495 and the Toteme T-Lock at $990 both take a strap, which roughly triples the number of occasions they suit. Above $1,200 you are buying an evening bag and nothing else. If you take one thing away, buy the clutch that turns into a shoulder bag and you will actually use it.