Dershaw&Co.Intelligence for the business of desire
The White Space  ·  by Dershaw & Co. Edition 04  ·  US handbags  ·  Monday, October 26, 2026

The White Space

The low-hanging fruit in luxury, every week. This week: handbags again, four weeks on. Every store's bag category sorted by its own Best Sellers sort, and the clutch she can't find at Saks or Neiman Marcus.

138best-seller slots read
3stores, sorted by Best Sellers
15styles ranked
Saks Fifth Avenue Neiman Marcus Bloomingdale's Shopbop, side read
New this week: you'll see the bags

Thanks to your feedback, the List now shows the products, not just their names. To bring you the photos, I've joined ShopMy, so product links are now affiliate links: if you buy through one, I may earn a small commission, at no cost to you. It never changes the ranking. The List is built only from each store's own best-seller data.

From my merchant's eye

She's dressing for the party

Andrew Dershaw · Founder, Dershaw & Co. · 25 years in luxury retail and wholesale

What I've watched for yearsAround now, the bag she reaches for changes. The work tote stays home, and she starts asking for something small that holds a phone, a card and a lipstick, and says she made an effort.
What she's buyingClutches and evening bags are 17% of what's selling. TOTEME's $990 T-Lock clutch takes 13 of Bloomingdale's top 27 slots, one colorway after another.
What changed in four weeksIn Edition 01, evening bags were a "watch." Now she's buying them. And a $4,900 Bottega Veneta Andiamo is the #1 bag at Saks.
What's missingAt Saks and Neiman Marcus, a contemporary clutch she can say yes to under $1,000.
The List

The 15 bags moving now

Saint Laurent places five styles in the top 15, and the Cassandre chain wallet is #1 again. Tap any bag to see it where it's selling.

Get the full Sell-Through List as a free PDF →

Dots show which best-seller lists carry the style: Saks Neiman Marcus Bloomingdale's

Product links are ShopMy affiliate links: if you buy through one, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you. Product photos come through ShopMy. Prices are as listed on October 26.

This week in six calls

The holiday clutch has arrived

17%

The holiday clutch has arrived

Clutches and evening bags take 17% of weighted slots. TOTEME's T-Lock fills 13 of Bloomingdale's top 27, at $990–1,390.

1 of 88

Saks and Neiman Marcus have no contemporary clutch

Across their 88 slots, one contemporary evening clutch: Ahikoza's $995 satin clutch, #40 at Saks. Their pouches at $790–800 are Saint Laurent and Prada.

22%

Saint Laurent still owns the list

22% of weighted slots, and half of Neiman Marcus's top 44. The Cassandre chain wallet is #1 again, on all three lists.

12 of 44

Saks is selling bags on sale

12 of Saks's top 44 are marked down for its fall sale, against 2 at Neiman Marcus and 1 at Bloomingdale's. Valentino has six bags in Saks's top 37, four of them at 30–50% off.

$4,900

The top is holding

Bottega Veneta's Andiamo is #1 at Saks and #4 at Bloomingdale's. Bags at $2,000 and up are 43% of weighted slots.

5 of 20

Fewer paid slots at Bloomingdale's

5 of the top 20 are sponsored, down from 7 in Edition 01. Coach's #1 is now the Tabby, and it isn't paying for the spot.

This week's white space

A contemporary evening clutch at $600–1,000, at Saks and Neiman Marcus

At Bloomingdale's she's already proved the price: the T-Lock sells at $990 in one colorway after another. At Saks and Neiman Marcus, the small bags that sell between $600 and $1,000 are Saint Laurent and Prada pouches. Saks lists the same T-Lock at $990, and it isn't in Saks's top 44.

Luxury houseContemporary brandEach dot is one clutch, pouch or evening-bag slot. Bags over $2,000 sit at the right edge.
For brandsA leather or satin clutch at $600–1,000 that works from dinner to the party. Pitch it to Saks and Neiman Marcus for holiday, then buy the search placement for it.
For buyersBloomingdale's has shown the price. Put a contemporary clutch next to the house pouches at $790–800 before the holiday floor sets.
For retailersThe same $990 clutch fills 13 slots at one store and none at another. Give it a first-page test before December.
Where she shops

Each store sells a different bag

Same customer, three different bag walls. Where she shops tells you which version of her you're meeting.

Saks Fifth Avenue$1,870medianLuxury, on sale. 12 of the top 44 are marked down, led by Valentino.
Neiman Marcus$2,325medianSaint Laurent's store. It takes 22 of the top 44, from $800 pouches to $4,800 shoulder bags.
Bloomingdale's$910medianContemporary and the clutch. TOTEME has 13 slots, Tory Burch 7, Longchamp 6 and Coach 5.
ShopbopSide readNo best-seller sort on its bag category, so it isn't ranked. Its Top Sellers page leans to party pouches: Liffner, Hunting Season, TWP, Reformation.
What's selling, by attribute

Shoulder bags lead, and the clutch is now second

Share of all 138 slots, weighted so a #1 counts more than a #40.

By type

By makerLuxury house = 63%
Luxury house 63%
Contemporary 37%
Luxury houseContemporary and premium
By materialSuede 9%
Leather 69%
13%
9%
9%
LeatherNylonSuedeCanvas, satin, crystal, other
By priceWeighted share
13%
22%
22%
$2,000+ · 43%
Under $400$400–999$1,000–1,999$2,000+

Close to half of the $400–999 tier is one clutch at one store: TOTEME at Bloomingdale's.

Four weeks on

What moved since Edition 01

Edition 01 read each store's curated best-seller page. This edition sorts each full handbag category by Best Sellers, so part of the movement comes from the method.

Up
  • Bottega Veneta Andiamo: new at #2 overall, #1 at Saks
  • Clutches: TOTEME's T-Lock arrives with 13 slots at Bloomingdale's
  • Coach Tabby: #1 at Bloomingdale's, unsponsored
Holding
  • Saint Laurent Cassandre: #1 then, #1 now
  • Prada Re-Edition 2005: #2 then, #3 now
  • Longchamp Le Pliage: six versions at Bloomingdale's
Down
  • Balenciaga Rodeo: from #4 to out of the top 15
  • Coach: from three styles in the top 12 to none in the top 15
  • Sponsored slots in Bloomingdale's top 20: from 7 to 5
The trade calls

Buy, watch, ease off

Draft calls from two reads, four weeks apart.

Buy into
  • Evening clutches at $600–1,000 for the holiday floor
  • Small leather goods from the big houses at $790–1,200
  • Suede shoulder bags and totes: Le 5 à 7, Le Bea, Rockstud
Watch
  • Valentino at Saks: does it rank at full price once the sale ends?
  • Bottega Veneta Andiamo at $4,900: #1 at Saks, #4 at Bloomingdale's
  • MCM Liz: on two lists, on markdown at Saks
Ease off
  • Bags that rank only when sponsored: Maison de Sabré's three Bloomingdale's slots are all paid
  • Statement top handles over $3,500 that rank on one list only, like the Rodeo

For brands: she's carrying a $990 clutch to every party this season. Make sure it's yours, and make sure she can find it at Saks and Neiman Marcus.

Channel watch

Who's buying the top of the page

Each square is one of the top 20 slots on Bloomingdale's handbag list, sorted by Best Sellers. Red squares were sponsored placements. Saks and Neiman Marcus showed no sponsored labels on their handbag lists.

In my last role, sponsored product ads on Nordstrom were one of our best investments, returning around 10X on every dollar. When she searches "black leather clutch," a brand can pay to put its bag first. Most brands I talk to either don't know these programs exist or don't know how to use them.

At Bloomingdale's, 5 of the top 20 handbags were sponsored, down from 7 in Edition 01: Coach's Chelsea twice and Maison de Sabré three times. Coach's #1, the Tabby, got there without paying. No one is buying placement for an evening clutch, six weeks before holiday parties.

A sponsored rank reflects both her demand and the brand's investment. We want to measure her, so on the Sell-Through List it counts half.

Over to you

What are your clients carrying to holiday parties this year, and what clutch are they asking for that you can't give them? Tell me in the comments, or reply to the email.

Andrew

How the list is built

  • Each store's full women's handbag category, sorted by its own Best Sellers sort, read on October 26, 2026 (US sites). Rank, price and sponsored or sale tags recorded.
  • Each bag tagged for type, material, maker and price. Colorways and sizes of one bag grouped as one style.
  • Score: a style earns 1.0 for #1 on a list, falling evenly to near zero at the bottom. Extra versions on one list add a quarter each, up to two. Sponsored slots count half. Marked-down bags use regular prices for the price analysis.
  • Shopbop's bag category has no best-seller sort, only Newest and Price, so Shopbop is a side read and isn't ranked. Edition 01 read curated best-seller pages at all four stores.
  • We publish ranks and our own analysis only. Product photos come through ShopMy. The Longchamp drawing is generic, not the product.

Sources

Edition 03: shoes →   Edition 02: ready-to-wear →   Edition 01: handbags →