Matelassé Mini Bag

This one is in black nappa, the supple, smooth leather that gives the quilting its cushioned, almost pillowy look. Black keeps it grown up. The proportions are genuinely mini: about 7.1 inches wide, 4.7 inches tall and 2.8 inches deep, on a strap with a 22-inch drop that lets it sit at the hip or across the body. It is new.

Carry it when you want your hands free and your silhouette uncluttered. It fits the edited version of a night out, a phone, a card, a key and a lipstick, and nothing that could weigh it down. It belongs on date nights with a slip dress or a narrow black trouser and a good coat, and it survives a festival crowd because it stays close and stays closed. The quilt adds texture to plain clothes, so let it work against simple colours rather than prints. A few evenings with it on Saclyn are a sensible test of how small a bag you can really live with.