News | October 8, 2010

Good Things Come in Small Packages

News | October 8, 2010

Forget these humungous handbags slung across the shoulders of every gal from Madison Avenue to Market Street. There’s no reason anyone needs a purse that can hold the entire contents of your house including the kitchen sink. In fact, I say lose the large bag! Heave-ho to oversize handles! Do yourself a favor and carry a clutch. Believe me: smaller is chicer (a true lady should never really need to carry more than her keys, a lipstick, and a bill or two, just in case her date gets fresh).

But what kind of clutch to choose? Well, in the world of the clutch, the cream of the crop is the miniaudiere. Just ask Judith Leiber, who rose to fame with her crystal clutches in the ’60s and ’70s. However, Leiber’s bedazzled animals now seem a bit dated, like something Alexis Carrington might carry. And I can’t remember the last time I saw a rerun of Dynasty.

Luckily, Linda Masquefa is poised to take over Leiber’s lot with her collection of luxury miniaudiers covered in exotic skins. The LA-based designer was first inspired to create her clutches after a jaunt to Panama, where Masquefa visited a small crocodile farm. Masquefa popped over the Europe to source the finest handcrafted closures and then skipped to New York to work with master design craftsmen. In order to maintain the elegance and integrity of the skins, not to mention the exquisite artisanship of her handbag’s fabrication, Masquefa was determined to keep her operation a limited–edition affair.

How rare exactly are we talking? Masquefa only produces five of each style. Now that’s what I call limited. Tip: Angelenos on the hunt can get their hands on Masquefa’s minaudiers at Traffic.

8500 Beverly Blvd., Ste. 648, Los Angeles, CA 90048 310.659.4313

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