(Photo: Brad Paris)

I love your lobster.
It’s all about the lobster this summer. I had to put it on.

Is Anya Hindmarch the British Kate Spade?
We’re more proper, with English flair. We don’t appeal to the mass market as much.

Anya started the company when she was just 18.
Last year, we marked our tenth anniversary with the Bespoke Ebury bag. You can print a message inside in your own writing.

Do husbands inscribe poetry for their wives?
More often they write “That’s it! This is the last one!”

My grandfather told me a lady doesn’t leave home without her purse. What are your rules?
I’ll tell you what gets under my skin: women out on the weekend with big leather bags. It’s not pretty. Make sure your bag isn’t bigger than you are.

Have you ever had your bag stolen?
Yes, right out of my chair, in a restaurant. So at dinner, you should put your clutch on top of the table. My grandmother used to buy beautiful jeweled hooks that she’d put under the table to hang her wristlet off.

What are your least favorite trends?
Everybody has the regular LV bags. Why are they still special? And the little Prada toy key chains? They just look cheap. All that actually makes me mad.

How much would you justify spending on a bag?
I’m a little warped. I used to spend $600 every season without remorse, because I knew I’d wear the bag that winter and maybe after. Now I think I’d spend more.

Related:

• Archive: “Ask Shop Clerk”
• Articles by Denise Penny
• Table of Contents: Jul 25, 2005 issue of New York | Subscribe!