Anyone who makes a habit of online shopping (which I’m assuming is all of you) knows that most sites that carry premiere designers have roughly similar assortments. That’s not a coincidence, of course; retail buying is a precarious balance of data and intuition, and making a miscalculation on a piece that’s too avant-garde or “specialty” for a mass audience can be quite costly. That’s why Moda Operandi is in such a unique situation; the site’s pre-season trunkshow system gives them valuable data on what their particularly fashion-forward clientele wants, so when they stock their recently launched “boutique” section of in-season items, select to carry interesting pieces or lesser-known designers is less of a risk. That’s led to, among other things, a particularly excellent selection of clutches.
High-end clutches occupy an interesting space in the designer handbag world, because not only do they require a customer that has enough money and inclination to spend thousands on a relatively small bag, but they also require, to a certain extent, a lifestyle that necessitates ownership of evening bags and party clutches. That’s a smaller group than is in the market for a luxurious black leather day bag, for example, so stocking too many clutches (or clutches that are too taste-specific) can be unwise for mass-market designer retailers and big department stores. Moda Operandi, though, has developed a unique clientele of full-price customers who will buy fabulously expensive things six months before they can even expect to receive them, and as you might guess, that group of women overlaps heavily with the group of women who have lots of swanky parties to attend and, therefore, the need for lots of clutches and evening bags.
Because of that clientele, Moda Operandi has what might be the best, most tightly edited selection of designer evening bags on the Internet. The site’s boutique section carries both huge-name designers like Oscar de la Renta and new faces like Edie Parker, and every piece is pretty great. We’ve collected our favorites of the site’s current selection below, but you can always shop the full edit via Moda Operandi.