I was perusing Marie Claire Tuesday evening when I came upon Tim Gunn’s monthly column, “Gunn Laws” (da domb name, right?), in which he delves into various fashion conundrums with his expansive wisdom and articulate wit. First off, I love this guy. I’m entranced by his SAT vocabulary and his perspective on style is admirably unwavering. (Lagerfeld for Prez and Gunn for Vice, who’s with me!?) I saw him speak at an Ann Taylor store appearance and he and his enunciation were just as glorious in person.

Anyway, this month his column tackles the ever-elusive task of appropriate ‘big night out’ dressing. His first subject of instruction? Handbags, of course. As to be expected, his advice is spot on:

“Why, oh, why do people persist in darggin around luggage-size handbags to evening events?…What are people think? Do they line these behemoths with plastic in order to escape with leftovers? There is an easy prescription for getting this right: The dressier the affair, the smaller the handbag. I want to sing the praises of the clutch style, which comes in dozens of iterations…My advocacy for clutches has casued some women to balk: ‘But what do I do during a cocktail reception?’ You place the clutch under your upper left arm with a cocktail in our left hand. This leaves your right hand free for greetings.”

He’s a genius, no? Insert wedding, birthday affair or night o’ bar hopping for ‘cocktail reception’ and you’ll see how this tactic is completely useful. I know from experience that it’s not so cute to lug around the equivalent of a laundry basket to a more formal affiar, so I for one will take this advice to heart.

What about you?