Anyone who’s opened a high-end fashion magazine in the recent past knows, those types of publications are focused on aesthetics to the near-complete exclusion of practical concerns. Style.com may be known as a website first and a magazine second (check out the print edition, though, it’s pretty fun), but it still follows that same fashion mag edict – form first, function second, if at all. Depending on the application, that ethos can either be fantastical or head-scratchingly odd.

The site recently released its top 10 lists for the season’s accessories, and its choice for The Best Bag of Fall 2012 struck me as the latter. This Fendi Crocodile Clutch maybe be a beautiful evening bag, but a great piece of functional design it is not. Box clutches never are, no matter how pretty they may be. Not only that, but this little evening bag isn’t even indicative of the season’s overall accessories trends. So what gives? (more…)

Alexander McQueen Punk Skull Box Clutch, $2720 via Net-a-Porter

We’re readying a much more extensive guide to sparkly little bags for the holiday season, but while that’s in the pipeline, I couldn’t help but post about the Alexander McQueen Punk Skull Box Clutch – after all, it really deserves to stand on its own. Feathers and rhinestones and beads, oh my!

With the bag, McQueen manages again to do what it always does so well – successfully combine multiple heavy design elements in a way that doesn’t feel overwrought or silly. The company makes that kind of light touch look easy, but it’s not – just as whoever’s behind Christian Louboutin’s handbags. A clutch like this one is to be celebrated as something of an accomplishment. (more…)

Leo & Tricia Pillbox Clutch, $168 via Free People

It’s a great time of year for “Friends and Family” coupon codes and midseason sales on the stuff that was just a tad out of reach two months ago, particularly in the more sale-friendly contemporary market. While I was making an order at FreePeople.com today, I wandered over to the site’s handbag section to see if it contained any hidden treasures, and what I found confused me. A Bottega Veneta Knot Clutch? No, what you see above is a Leo & Tricia Pillbox Clutch, it merely looks a lot (a lot) like a the iconic Knot Clutches we all know and love. (more…)

Halston Heritage Susan Cluctches: Metal Mesh, $295 via ShopBop. Watersnake, $195 via ShopBop.

For how small they are, it can be difficult to find a reasonably priced box clutch. I’ve yet to figure out exactly why it is that they seem to be marked up more than their soft counterparts; does the rigid structure cost more money or use more manufacturing time? Do brands simply know that consumers are willing to pay a little more for a bag that they perceive as more formal? I’m guessing that it’s some combination of the two, which makes the reasonable price tags for the Halston Heritage Susan Box Clutches all the more exciting. (more…)