Mini bags, maximum impact - Telegraph This season, there are all kinds of thrifty ways to buy a designer statement without getting vertigo, namely in the 'mini bag' As for bags - wouldn't you know it, lots of fashion editors this week have been carrying black top-handled ones. Perhaps the colour-blocking trend has gone too mainstream - it's certainly all over the pages of their magazines. A small bright clutch is still the easiest way to get a colour fix. The mini bag may have started as a backlash to the mid-Noughties craze for outsize sacks, but it has become a nifty strategy for luxury brands who wish to continue appealing to newly budget-conscious customers. In pictures: Clutches at LFW Céline lead the way with its much emulated block-coloured pouches (from £200 to £500 for a triple pouch) and, this season, there are all kinds of thrifty ways to buy a designer statement without getting vertigo. From Loewe's rococo-patterned purses at £295 (too decorative and too large to be hidden away) and Mulberry's clutch "wallet" (£350, complete with gold chain strap) to Anya Hindmarch's rubber envelope bags (£250) or Pierre Hardy's striking geometric-print canvas cases (from £115, much in evidence in the front row). Not that they hold much. But you can always decanter your surplus bits into one of Zara's or Cos's brilliant totes (Weekend by MaxMara also have some bright patent ones from £85) and use your small bag as a detachable separate compartment. Meanwhile, Marni's bandolier bags take the Céline triple-pouch concept a step further, comprising two pouches on adjustable cross-body straps that can be unhooked and worn singlely. These start at £250 for their "eco-leather" version. When I inquired whether eco-leather might, in fact, mean plastic, the sales assistants, after several minutes debate, agreed that it probably would. Shop: Colourful Clutches Left to right: Jonathan Saunders resort 2012 and Adele at the Brit Awards (Photo: Rex) Adele - saviour of the music industry, national treasure and now, fashion seer. No sooner had the 22 year old shared her views on the raunchy modus dressandi of her peers on an American tv chat show (" Even if i had, you know, a Sports Illustrated body, i'd still wear elegant clothes...Exploiting yourself sexually is not a good look") than at least half of Milan seems to be falling into line. There's still time though: we haven't seen Cavalli yet. "It's much more effective to hold back, don't you think?" asked Alberta Ferretti, rhetorically, after her film noir influenced collection of buttoned up 40s style glamour on wednesday. Frida Giannini piled on the layers at Gucci too. The MaxMara show wasn't short of high roll necks and round collars either. Yes well it's a winter collection, you might say, but you'd be suprised at how naked some winter collections have been here. Meanwhile, at Samantha Cameron's reception for the fashion industry at Downing Street on Tuesday, Glenda Bailey, editor of US Harper's Bazaar wore a beautifully prim, tulle, 50s style knee length cocktail dress by Jonathan Saunders that was one of the hit of the evening. And for once the talk wasn't how well it would have suited the Duchess of Cambridge, but how perfect it was for Adele. No please, not the Bumble and Bumble- you can't get it in Italy. Words I never banked on uttering. But when an unsympathetic security guard tries to confiscate a can of B&B's Blondish Hair Powder from your hand luggage just because it's a teensy bit over the 150 ml limit, there's no telling where the rambling mind will go. Two things this guard needs to get into his mind is that Blondish Hair Powder builds volume like no other product. It also - and this is the really crucial info - covers roots and errant grey strands when you can't get to the colourist. It may well be available in Milan, although not widely, but I sure as hell wasn't taking any chances. I checked in the hand luggage with its offensive weapon of dry shampoo airside. 25 best beauty problem solvers