Small Hand Bag

A silver ring and a leather tab close the top, with a luggage-style tag hanging off one side.

This small hand bag is from Fashion by Primitive. Structured handbags with a pair of top handles have been a staple of tailored dressing for well over a century, and embossed scale textures have long been a favorite finish. This one is black, with a deep crocodile-pattern surface that runs in large tiles down the front and smaller ones at the sides. The body flares gently toward a flat base. A strap tab fastens through a silver ring at the top, and a small leather tag dangles from one handle. It is 9 inches long, 6 deep and 16.25 high.

Compact, composed and slightly formal.