Artillerie’s headquarters moved from Los Angeles to New York City this month! In celebration, take a look inside the ultimate Manhattanite bag that we featured at New York’s recent International Gift Fair — the “Lara” clutch. The Lara is strikingly classy. It’s for those of us who like to keep things simple, focusing on a single, but substantial, piece of bling to complement the black satin.

Each zipped secret compartment is concealed in the lining of the bag, making it barely visible. In the larger Artillerie bags this compartment is doubly hidden inside another compartment. See some examples below, and click on the bags for fuller descriptions and larger pictures of them.

Our display included a helpful placard for male gift-givers in search of just the right item: “The Perfect Gift for Her—For men who don’t know what to buy her and (wisely) want to avoid gifts where th wrong size could be bought.”

Of course, that’s good advice for any of us, whether we’re looking for the perfect gifts for bridesmaids, or for a new mom, an anniversary, or just because. You can’t go wrong with Artillerie. Check out the short clip below to see our booth at the fair …

While many bags sacrifice either glamour to practicality, or practicality to glamour, Artillerie bags cleverly attend to both qualities.

Artillerie founder Barbara Hawatmeh adjusts an item at the NY International Gift Fair.

 That needed combination was the handbag designer’s inspiration in the first place—Artillerie founder Barbara Hawatmeh started designing Artillerie because she wanted to keep her most personal items safe, clean and precious, especially when traveling and navigating security checkpoints.

“I realized the desperate need for a lingerie bag that would keep my underwear from being subjected to TSA hands, hotel room drawers, suitcase pockets or, worse yet, plastic bags,” says Artillerie founder and fashion designer Barbara Hawatmeh. “Every woman has possessions that empower her and make her feel beautiful. These items should be carried in bags that remind her of all that she is.”

Designed in Italy and made in Los Angeles, Artillerie bags draw inspiration from unapologetically feminine French and Italian old-world glamour and are aimed at the everyday woman on the go. Most feature water-resistant linings and secret compartments capable of concealing anything an Artillerie woman wants to keep hidden away, be it pearls and perfume or a negligee.

“There’s a kind of elegance to that,” Hawatmeh says. “You treat certain things as precious, and they are. Once people see and put their hands on the bags, they instantly get it. They want to have them and use them, they want to do that for themselves, to open their luggage or tote and see a beautiful present. The response has been wonderful.”

Artillerie’s selection of more than 40 distinct bags comes in a variety of sizes, ranging from large pouches to multicompartmental bags to clutches that can double as evening bags. Bride gift ideas, eye masks and travelers’ charms round out the line available at www.myartillerie.com.