Somehow I got through my entire twenties without an evening bag. We all did, probably. It was that kind of era; the start of grunge. Evening bags? Strictly for Nancy Reagan. But gradually the 1990s became a more glamorous decade. Or at least sparkly. The noughties even more so. The sequinned Fendi Baguette bag with its dinky gold chain was the ne plus ultra. You couldn't move in Accessorize without knocking over stands full of inexpensive tributes.

Whoever greenlit the Baguette's chain shoulder strap was on to something. It meant that an evening bag could do double duty as a day bag; ergo, women would pay a fortune. A day bag, however, could never work at night. Well, it could. I'm sure we've all done the walk of shame - the one from office to dinner with a hulking great sack. But it doesn't look or feel right.

READ: £1m Chanel and Louis Vuitton handbag collection auctioned for £100,000

A small bag with no room for a laptop or document case is a base-line requirement for a fun night out. But I like an impractical-looking bag that's a pragmatist at heart. I love those bi-coloured pochettes based on Phoebe Philo's inspired original for Céline. They're not sparkly or sequinned, but you can't fit much in them - therefore they're evening. They're also good for slipping into a tote to keep keys and purses safe and separate.

IN PICTURES: Top 10 new season handbags for autumn 2012

I don't think they're as classic as my favourite evening bag, however: a grey flannel Chanel 2.5 with gold chain (choose your accessories hardware as you do your jewellery, picking the metal that best suits your skin tone). It is probably a day bag, but it's delicate so I save it for night-time. Or weddings. It always does the trick, no matter how dressy or undressy the event. My other stand-by for full-on black-tie dos is a deceptively roomy, bronze snakeskin Anya Hindmarch clutch that works with jeans but is better with a cocktail frock. Neither the Anya nor the 2.5 seems to go out of fashion, so who needs any more? But Lulu Guinness's Lip clutches are cute. They'd never work as day bags - way too dinky. But even they have a secondary use - as fashion sculpture.

From left: Wool and leather, £135, by By Malene Birger, from my-wardrobe.com , Leather, £39, by Miss Selfridge missselfridge.com , Faux-suede, £495, by Stella McCartney, from Liberty liberty.co.uk

Via: The Investment Dresser: chain-strap handbags