How Many Handbags Does a Woman Really Need?

So we at Luxist clearly love handbags, we feature a new one every day as part of our Handbag of the Day feature. But although handbags might be a fashion statement, a means of expressing ourselves, and an occasional therapeutic indulgence, they're also a necessity. Whether a tiny clutch or an enormous tote, when is the last time you left the house without a bag of some kind to carry your essentials?

Arguing that carrying a handbag is a necessity is easy, and there's no doubt that certain bags serve different purposes, but is there any certain number of bags a woman really needs? How much does fashion and personal enjoyment factor in when deciding how many bags is respectable to own and how many is too many? I read somewhere once that the average woman owns 8 handbags, but that almost doesn't seem like enough if you factor in the four seasons, daytime, nighttime, and allowing for at least a neutral and a statement piece for each of those categories. Plus it's nice to allow room for the occasional purely trendy indulgence every now and then.

It's a question that has no real answer, unfortunately. But just out of curiosity, how many handbags do you own? And how many do you think is too many?