SEE Sarah’s fabulous new fashion column:

HOW TO DRESS LIKE A GROWN-UP

OVER a lifetime, I’ve realised it pays to apply two hard-andfast rules to spending money on fashi on. All I ask of something is that it’s really useful — all the time — and that it adds a little bit of joy to life.

When you’ve got your steely shopping head on, it’s amazing how few things tick both boxes, and this is particularly true of bags.

There may be thousands of millions of them in the world, but finding one that fits everything we need for both day and night isn’t easy.

One giant bag is no longer the answer for a modern woman’s busy lifestyle. Nor is a ladylike handbag of the kind with which our mothers managed.

With all the gubbins of technology and quick- change acts women have to perform every day, most of us turn into packhorses — highly annoying, when you want to maintain the appearance of a streamlined racehorse. The only way round it, I’ve found, is to become a two-bag woman.

I’ve taken to carrying one big, sturdy tote for the heavy lifting, with another small, delightful envelope bag to whip out from it when I want to appear superorganised and unencumbered.

On a practical level, I have an eight-year-old designer tote from Bottega Veneta, which was expensive at the time but has proved worth it in terms of capacity and indestructibility. (I’m liking the look of Bella Freud’s budget hold-all, though — £5 from Sainsbury’s, £1.50 of which goes to Sport Relief, on sale from February 15.)

It’s almost embarrassing how much I carry in mine: purse, make-up bag, notebook, pens, iPhone and charger, laptop and charger, sunglasses, book, trainers, umbrella, gloves, water, and something for dinner.

But how to keep up the illusion of being a poised, together person? Enter the genius invention of the zip-top pouch. Small yet practical, it ticks my boxes for a fashion item that doubles as a daily necessity.

We can thank British designers Christopher Kane and Mary Katrantzou for coming up with the new generation of colourful, printed zip-top pouches.

It was their way of loading a lot of fashion-punch into a neat oblong of an accessory when they didn’t have the capacity to make proper handbags. The pay-off for us was that we could show off by carrying around a happy-looking new designer thing at a fraction of the price of an ‘It’ bag.

Then it became a Thing. Victoria Beckham was quick on the uptake — alongside the superdeluxe handbags that made all the headlines when she launched her collection in 2011, she has developed a range of straightforward rectangular clutches in different prints and fabrics.

They come in two sizes: the Large Pouch, big enough to take an iPad; and the Small Pouch, more of a traditional make-up bag size. There’s a pink and white floral small version, costing £240, on victoriabeckham.com.

The website displays them alongside her totes — not as matching sets, but as a hint that she knows the ways of the twobag woman’s lifestyle.

And now the High Street is cottoning on to the idea.

I like L.K. Bennett’s bold floral bag, £95, and Asos has a pretty black one with delicate blue flowers for £15 ( asos.com), while Hershel has a striped pouch that is a snip at £25. There are suede patchwork versions reminiscent of things I’ve seen from Celine at & Other Stories, £105, and others, like Essential Antwerp’s sequined wink-eyes pouch, £85, which have a delightful sense of humour about them.

Just park your giant tote in a cloakroom, whip out your chic pouch and head off with nothing more than your phone, credit card and lipstick. Rest assured, other people will look at you and think: ‘How does she do that?’