Betsey Johnson rhinestone clutch

Listen, I know when you think of Betsey Johnson you think of 15 year old girls party dresses. Actually, since this is mostly dudes who read this, you probably don't think of anything in particular. You're probably not even reading this. At any rate.

Betsey Johnson is ultra, awesomely feminine and playful. But sometimes her style teeters right on the edge of, like, being overly girly (and this is me writing this).

In comedy, there's this term 'gilding the lily' or 'hat on a hat' which explains how you can sometimes ruin a joke by adding some extra little bit of comedy when the joke is simple and clear*. It's basically a lack of restraint. That's kind of the comedy equivalent of what Betsey Johnson can do with clothes. She takes a pretty pink dress with a bow, and then, like, adds piping to it or a lace overlay or a sequins hem that can sometimes take away some of the overall awesomeness of it.

However, Betsey Johnson's love of details has yielded a truly phenomenal accessories line. This clutch, dark velvet with rhinestone details, has gotten me more compliments than any other accessory I've ever owned. I wear it with jeans and a fitted black sweater, or something simple, so it pops. I would be devastated if I ever lost it.

Good for: any girl.

Price: $138.00 (I got it at full price at the Betsey Johnson store on Melrose, but it's on about 50% off sale at overstock.com for $64.95)

*I realize how totally condescending and weird that I started a sentence "In comedy...". What am I, George Meyer teaching freshmen satire at Swarthmore? But that's the only analogy I could think up!