This Bag Trend May Be Annoying, But Nothing Makes an Outfit Look More Expensive

I'm usually pretty receptive to just about any bag trend, but there's one current one that I've been reluctant to touch because it's just plain annoying. I want my bags to be easy to carry, roomy enough to hold my essentials, and of course, chic. When a bag trend doesn't check these boxes, I usually skip it. But there is one current trend that doesn't check these boxes but that I still want. The trend is elegant clutches, which may not be hands-free or all that roomy, but they make an outfit look so chic and expensive that I just don't care.

If you want a very relevant example, take a look at A Complete Unknown actress (and current Oscar nominee) Monica Barbaro. While doing press in NYC this week, she paired two different suits with the same croc-embossed structured clutch bag by Jacquemus. Sure, her outfits already looked expensive, but the bag made them look even more expensive. Just think what one could do for jeans and a T-shirt. If I've convinced you to carry a clutch and be slightly annoyed while doing it but look incredibly elegant and rich, keep scrolling to shop a handful of options (that capture the vibe of Barbaro's) that I have my eye on.

Monica Barbaro wearing an all-white outfit in NYC

(Image credit: MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images)

On Monica Barbaro: Jacquemus suit and The Salon Croc-Embossed Leather E/W Clutch ($1390)

Monica Barbaro wearing a burgundy outfit in NYC

(Image credit: Raymond Hall/GC Images/Getty Images)

On Monica Barbaro: Victoria Beckham suit and bodysuit; Jacquemus The Salon Croc-Embossed Leather E/W Clutch ($1390)

Shop Chic Clutch Bags

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Allyson Payer
Senior Editor

Allyson is a senior editor for Who What Wear. She joined the company in 2014 as co-founder Katherine Power's executive assistant and over the years has written hundreds of stories for Who What Wear. Prior to her career in fashion, Allyson worked in the entertainment industry at companies such as Sony Pictures Television. Allyson is now based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She holds a BFA in theater arts. Her path to fashion may not have been linear, but based on the number of fashion magazines she collected as a child and young adult, it was meant to be.