As every truly well dressed woman knows, it’s the accessories that make the outfit: nothing offsets a party dress more stunningly than just the right evening bag or clutch. The biggest name in evening bags for half a century has been that of Hungarian designer Judith Leiber whose clutch couture – explosions of Swarovski crystal and semi-precious gems, cunningly crafted into the shapes of flowers, fruits, animals, and assorted whimsies – easily commands prices upward of five thousand dollars a pop. Remember the adorable cupcake handbag sported by Charlotte’s adopted daughter Lily in the hit movie Sex and the City? That was a Judith Leiber.

Judith Peto was born to Jewish parents in Budapest, Hungary in 1921. She and her family narrowly escaped the Holocaust when her father was able to obtain a Swiss document of safe passage. The document was issued to Emil Peto alone, but he forged the words “and family” on it thereby ensuring the Petos would remain safe inside a house set aside for Swiss citizens for the duration of the war. Judith met her husband, the abstract expressionist painter Gus Leiber, while he was serving with the American forces that liberated Budapest at World War II’s end.

In Hungary Leiber had been the first female apprentice and “meister” of the prestigious Hungarian Handbag Guild; as a GI bride in New York City, Leiber worked as a pattern maker and then as a foreman for several American handbag manufacturers. Finally in 1963, with her husband’s encouragement, she launched her own signature line. It took another four years before she began working with crystal and found success.

The hallmarks of a Judith Leiber designer evening bag are its exquisite workmanship, its opulent materials and the fanciful nature of its design. Leiber’s evening clutches have drawn their inspirations from traditional Asian art, Hollywood, the great decorative artists like Piet Mondrian and Gustav Klimt, and even baby pigs and slices of watermelon. Every First Lady from Jacqueline Kennedy to Laura Bush owned and cherished a Judith Leiber bag; Hillary Clinton used her specially designed Socks the Cat clutch to offset silk evening pajamas.

Though Judith Leiber retired from designing in 1998 at the age of 77, her company and legacy live on. Today the name Judith Leiber remains synonymous with the very best designer evening bags.