Long Clutch Purse

A wide tongue of scaled hide comes down the front and points straight at the clasp.

This long clutch purse is from Fashion by Primitive. The envelope clutch, carried in the hand or tucked under the arm, became a fixture of evening dress in the 20th century and has never quite left. This one is cut from glossy black leather with a pronounced crocodilian scale pattern. A broad tapering flap runs down the center, its ridge of raised scutes intact like a spine. The sides fold in softly at each end, giving the purse a gently pleated profile. It is 12 inches long, 1.75 deep and 4.5 high.

Formidable, and still perfectly polite at dinner.