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In conversation with a friend the other day -- a chic Toronto agent in her 50s who can face off against any of the world's great shops armed only with a credit card -- we declared the death of the "It" bag.

The hunger remains, but her hundreds of smashing bags are getting lonely. Her last big-ticket purse purchase was a cream-coloured Chloe Paddington last year, to celebrate the nailing of a seven-figure book contract.

"It's bloody heavy. The thing about these It bags is that they ignore practicality," she said. "It's all hype and bother."

Fendi had a contender in the B bag, which is now its own fashion locomotive of a line: the oversize buckles, covered in patent and sewn on one and two at a time to purses of various sizes and materials. (At Holts this week, one could select a large leather version for $2,275, or a smaller pony version for $2,775.

Again, my agent buddy was right: "It's too fancy for everyday. I don't need more patent gathering dust in my closet."

But the clever Milanese had a brainstorm: the B belt. Making its debut on Fendi's spring 2006 runways, the belt cinched -- forgive me the pun -- a number of trends.

The waist, of course: Fendi's B belt, for which there are thick waiting lists at Holt Renfrew across the country, gives ultimate definition to that long-forgotten indent below our breasts and above our hips.

It also harks back to the corsetry on deck for fall. Patent at the waist has a distinctly fifties feel. Bingo, another trend down.

And they look particularly great over long, eighties-style white shirts and leggings, or over the ubiquitous shirt-dress. If you have patent wedge shoes to match, all the better.

Belts are a particularly lasting investment: Because they take up so little room, they are things I keep over time. I've still got some doozies from the original Desperately Seeking Susan years. All that patent and Day-Glo is serving me well again. But it's a toss-up which to go for, the original or the knockoff (seen here, $545 from Fendi or $25 from Aldo). But then, who cares? In a decade or so, when you pull it out of the drawer, no one will remember whether you had the original or the knockoff: They will both be vintage.