This season, more than any in recent years, designer have foregone some of the logos and labels and extraneous buckles, straps and accoutrements, that have made handbags (and other accessories) chunky and sometimes downright unwieldy. This is the season of the return of the elegant, ladylike handbag.

If you have small to medium bone structure, rejoice!  Image consulting principles suggest that the appropriate scale of the construction details of your accessories, including handbags, shoes and jewelry, is most flattering to you when they relate to your physical features. Small to medium size wrists suggest that the  hardware and other details of your handbags are most attractive when they too are not overly large in size.

A current ad for a Hugo Boss handbag presents a bag with a smooth surface, a small clasp, and minimal hardware on the bag’s handle. Notice how these relate to the small wrist of the model holding the purse.

In a current ad for Max Mara, actress Amy Adams is pictured with a bag of beautiful smooth surfaces and minimal hardware, and a medium-width strap, which looks perfect with her average-size wrist.

A current ad for Coach also reflects restraint in the size of handbag details, although there are significantly more “bells and whistles” on these casual designs with their studs and hangtags and relatively chunky hardware.