Night Shift

It used to be that when women dressed up, they carried small black, beige or white handbags. Not anymore. Exotic designs, daring colors and vivid prints give today’s evening bags a new savoir-faire. Fabric treatments are imaginative--silk combined with rubber, satin adorned with metallic appliques, leather juxtaposed with pearls. Shapes, too, cover a creative gamut. Minaudiere-influenced bags are shaped like apples, pears and shells. Circle bags have wrist straps, and mini-totes come with an old-fashioned handle. And then there are pouches, oblongs, square clutches and tiny, metal lunchboxes.