WORD ON THE STREET:What it means: These days it's no longer enough to have a Louis Vuitton swinging off your shoulder – there has to be a cute pugface peeping out of it. Handbag dogs have become a must-have item in any self-respecting socialite's handbag.
These toy dogs can sell for a grand, but buyers are willing to pay the price for the social cachet they afford. But, true to their fickle nature, social butterflies often tire of their animal accessories and abandon them when they become too much trouble. Suddenly, they've gone from handbag dogs to binbag dogs.
Where it comes from: Blame Paris Hilton – she wasn't the first to attend a premiere with a pooch in her purse.
However, soon after Tinkerbell the chihuahua's first public appearance, a million wannabes were flouncing out to their local petshop for a pup to pop into their Prada.
How to say it: "She couldn't afford a new Prada bag, and she couldn't bear to be parted with little Trixie, so she got her handbag dog made into a handbag."
