THE problem: how to gracefully hold your purse at a cocktail party while also balancing a drink and a plate of hors d’oeuvres.

The solution: Yasmena bags, slim, beaded pouches that attach to your hand with straps.

Designer Emily Blumenthal came up with the idea for the bags after observing women socializing at clubs. “I got tired of watching girls do the ceremonial dance around their bags,” she explains.

To help them, she created a purse that requires almost zero effort to carry.

Yasmena bags – call them “palm pouches” – attach to the carrier’s hand with two beaded elastic bands, one that wraps around your wrist and another that slips on to your middle finger.

The bags come in beaded suede and lace versions in colors including black, gold, red and teal, as well as camouflage, and are just big enough to hold a lipstick, cell phone and a few credit cards – the perfect size for dressy holiday get-togethers.

Just ask Sarah Jessica Parker, whose “Sex and the City” character carries one to a dress-up party in an upcoming episode.

From $90 at area stores, including Eve Bari (57th Street between Seventh Avenue and Broadway; [212] 974-8533) and Zabari (506 Broadway, between Spring and Broome streets; [212] 925-3031), and online at http://www.girlshop.com.