Author Archives: Laura Dotolo

About Laura Dotolo

My inspiration as a designer is something I’m frequently asked about. I started my career as a fashion stylist here in New York City. I have always found Manhattan to be the perfect canvas on which to create. There is always a hum on the streets here, a hum that gets into your veins, and motivates you to bring to fruition a dream.

Clutch Bags Review: The Pencil Bag

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There are many things that I feel I cannot live without: my cell phone, my IPod, and my denim Pencil Bag from Clutch Bags NY.I like to think of this little cutie as an inverted mullet–party on the outside, business on the inside. Like I mentioned before, the bag is denim (party on the outside). This is the kind of denim that you usually see in the form of great quality jeans like Lucky Brand or True Religion. Another aesthetically pleasing element of this little hand bag is how its beautiful blue denim is contrasted with its leathery, deep brown lining. This leathery, deep brown color is also used on the inside of the bag (business on the inside). The Pencil Bag’s smooth, leather pockets make it easy to slide cards and cash in and out without a fuss. Continue reading →

Clutch Bags Mermaid Moments

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 “The wisdom acquired with the passage of time is a useless gift unless you share it.” Esther Williams

    If we could all just feel as natural in our skin as the late athletically gorgeous movie star, Esther Williams; quite possibly then, success would flow causally with us throughout our lives.

Maybe it was her smile,  or her sureness of her abilities and capabilities. Perhaps it was her hard work and fortitude, changing her game plan as her gold medal dreams translated into Hollywood gold; her gold sequined one piece bathing suit with the metal crown that ultimately broke her back during a 50 foot dive.  Or it could have been the tenaciousness of her bouncing back after four marriages, and seven broken eardrums.  She looked great, took care of herself, followed her dreams and navigated her career with her talents at the helm. She never allowed her broken marriages, or broken bank accounts to take her down.  She moved ahead, rebounding with swimsuits and swimming pools.  A success, surely, professionally and personally.

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Clutch Bags Q & A with Mrs. American Made

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Ana Bogusky (AKA Mrs. American Made) sporting the Clutch NY Pencil Bag

This week Clutch Bags NY was lucky enough to spend some time talking with Ana Bogusky. Some of you might know her as Mrs. American Made.  For years now, she has invested in buying clothes that are only made in the USA. So keep reading to find out how and why she joined this movement!

Why are “Made in USA” brands so important to you? In 2006, our family moved from Miami, Florida, to Boulder, Colorado, and our lives changed in many ways. We started becoming more aware of the environment, we started eating more carefully, we started caring about sustainability. So I began reading labels on food packaging and joined a CSA and bought more local. As a natural progression “Made in USA” became important to me. Locally grown. Made in America. Those are the brands that guarantee the things we buy are made to the standards in the safe and clean manufacturing that we believe in. So now I am reading labels on my clothes and so many pieces are made in China, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Turkey, etc. Today, only 2% of the clothing sold here is made here. In 1960, 95% of clothing sold in the United States was made in the United States. And it turns out that if consumers spent just an extra 1% on U.S. goods, it would create 200,000 jobs. It seems like a simple choice to me now.        Continue reading →

Clutch Bags Look: 100% American Made

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CLUTCH AMERICAN LOOK“Made in the USA; it’s something I am proud of and it’s a quality that you cannot get in China. Please join me in the effort to show America that there is nothing so expensive as a cheap bag or purse that does not stand the test of time.          –Laura Dotolo

Notice anything different about this Clutch Look? All of these items are 100% made in the USA! This Made in America look is inspired by a woman named Ana Bogusky. Some of you might know her as Mrs. American Made.  For years now, Mrs. American Made has invested in buying clothes that are American-made. So keep reading to see what all the hype is  with “Made in USA” clothing! Continue reading →

Memorial Day @ Clutch Bags

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“On to the next one,” says Mother Nature as Memorial Day approaches.

Though it is a day to commemorate and remember the men and women who died while serving in the US Armed forces, Memorial Day is also a day that marks the climatic commencement of Summer. This means that temperatures are rising, as is the amount of skin shown! People are substituting their dress pants and insulated leggings for cuffed jeans and short-shorts!

However, there is also a shift in colors. The sprouting of rich, green plants and the bright yellow of the sun are quickly closing the door to dark and dreary colors. Now you’ll see vivid orange shirts and sea blue skirts make their way down the streets of NYC. For Clutch Bags designer, Laura Dotolo, it’s great to see the inhabitants and visitors of New York really get into the swing of the changing of the seasons, because that change is where she gets a lot of her inspiration from! Continue reading →

Clutch Bags Review: The Lunch Bag

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Lunch Bag in many colors

Lunch Bag in many colors

       A Show of Hands for the Lunch Bag

I use my hands a lot.  If I’m telling a story, I like to use my hands to describe the height of the heels I just purchased off Gilt.com.  If I’m dancing and start to feel a bit tired, I move my hands to the beat of the music to create the impression that I’m still dancing with high energy. And if someone asks me a difficult question, I rub my chin or scratch my head because it usually distracts the questioner and buys me more time to think. Needless to say, I’m pretty hands-on.  Continue reading →

Clutch Bags NY Loves Mom

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Mother's Day

Mother’s Day

May 12, 2013

Today is that special day when we celebrate moms across the country.  It is a day to remember how much our moms have sacrificed their lives for ours.  It is a day to be reminded of how much energy moms have put into raising little babies into children, children into teenagers, teenagers into young adults and young adults into big people.  Every step of the way our moms will always be our moms.  They will forever be the dear people we hold close to our hearts, as our life began with their hearts beating close to ours.  We love our moms for all they have done, how they have been there to support us and cheer us on, to listen to our worries, our concerns, our tears, our dreams.  Our moms have been there to hug us when we are down, to tell us that we will rise up again, to cheer us on when we are low.  They are our biggest fans when we reach our goals, their happiness beaming through their souls.  Throughout our lives, whenever they see us, their smiles light up their faces, speaking stories of their everlasting love, the life of a novel they have shared with us.

To all moms everywhere, not just today, but everyday, we love you and appreciate you for the beautiful life you have given us.

 

Happy Mother’s Day from Clutch Bags NY!

 

 

 

 

 

Clutch Bags: Made in USA

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                                                  An American Factory

“I remember a great America where we made everything. There was a time when the only thing you got from Japan was a really bad cheap transistor radio that some aunt gave you for Christmas.” –Cher

The time when America made everything is, for most, a distant memory, and for some, it is an inexperienced history. For years, clothing, electronics, and other products have been branded with the words Made in China.  Though many American companies pride themselves on producing American products, the reality is that the production of these American ideas is really taking place in other countries—like China.  A prime example of this is the Ford Motors Company.  It is an American automobile company that promotes itself as the Great American Auto Manufacturer. However, many of its product parts are made in China, France, and Mexico and only assembled in the United States.  Continue reading →

A Clutch Bags Moment to Smell the Flowers

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To Feel like a flower.

To Feel like a flower.

In  light of the last two weeks, which were filled with violence, bombings, explosions, collapses, deaths, traumas; loss, loss of lives, loss of limbs, loss of homes, loss of loved ones, we at Clutch Bags NY can safely say, it is officially spring.

Spring has arrived amongst the turmoil and sadness.  Flowers are blooming between surgeries and funerals.  This weekend, this day, this moment, death is giving way to life and sadness to rebirth.  It is finally time to stop, to look, to smell the glorious flowers that are blooming all around us. Our mortality has been shaken, threatened, challenged and taken.  We are reminded again and again, with every tragedy, with every loss or accident, that we, as flesh and blood, are not a permanent fixture on this planet.  We exist in time, in moments of beauty and stillness.  At times we forget these moments, we forget our flesh, we forget our mortality and we forget to smell the flowers. Continue reading →

Clutch Bags Q & A: April loves Bags

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This week Clutch Bags NY was lucky enough to spend some time talking with April Dinwoodie. Not only is she a Clutch NY client, she is also a woman with more than one career. April is a successful publicity director and the cofounder of a nonprofit organization called Fostering Change for Children.

Keep reading to find out what motivates April to keep moving forward!

 

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April at home with her Clutch NY mail bag

Why do you like living in NYC? New York is full of diversity. Overall, it has a great vibe. I grew up in Rhode Island which is pretty much just one note. Whereas New York is many notes. So I love it for that reason. What inspires you? Young people who have had tremendous hurdles in life, yet they manage to get themselves out of bed everyday and put a smile on their face. There’s nothing more inspiring to me than that. What gives you hope? More or less the same thing. Seeing someone breakthrough. When a person has something really challenging in front of them, watching them overcome it makes me feel hopeful.  Continue reading →