Purse Purge: Susana Monaco Carries Ticonderoga Pencils, Dead Bug Samples

We're forever in debt to Susana Monaco's easy jersey dresses and cute, cotton separates for making any cocktail party a lot more comfortable.

We might have surmised from Monaco's low-maintenance aesthetic that the contents of her handbag would be similarly fuss-free: classic Ticonderoga pencils, a patent Marni wallet and Lancome mascara are all everyday essentials for the designer. Of course, there's positively no way we could have predicted her inclusion of an enormous dead dragonfly -- a specimen for her daughter, an avid bug-collector.

1. iPhone: "Comic book effect of my daughter, Emanuella, taken off iChat when I was in working in Paris. [We were] keeping each other company while she did homework."

2. Sketchbook: "Everything starts and ends in there (including, in lower right corner, words of inspiration for bikini waxing by the best dermatologist in NYC: Dr. Orentreich)."

3. Box of Ticonderoga Pencils, 12 #1B: "'The world’s best pencil' is a true claim. And yes, need whole boxful."

4. Office Keys: " I know, I know, so many."

5. Makeup: "Lancome mascara (is there any better?) and MAC plush gloss for a pick-me-up."

6. Real Scary Dragonfly: "Yes, actual size found by my daughter on the corner of 38th st and 7th Ave. She collects bugs and is constantly on the look-out, so there is always at least one in my bag… lucky me."

7. Herbon Essentials Toilettes:  "Lemon only!"

8. Marni Wallet: "Fits everything."

9. Jolly Ranchers’ Cherry Candy: "Not shown, as they never survive long enough in bag."

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