Obi Clutch Purse

Red fans and a trailing cord make a lively mess on black.

This is a clutch purse made from obi kimono silk. A clutch is a handbag without a strap that is carried in the hand or under the arm, and its flat shape suits cloth with a bold pattern. Dark, softly structured pouch whose surface is covered in embroidered fans. Red panels with tan and pale grey cloud-like borders sit beside tiny four-petal flowers. A thin white cord winds down to a tassel at the right. It is 9 inches long, 3 deep and 7 high.

Neatness was clearly not the brief, and it works.