Tag Archives: a handbag

That Clutch Bags time of year…

Central Park during the Fall! So pretty!

Central Park during the Fall! So pretty!

It’s that time of year again and you either love it or you hate it. The start of September means a lot of different things for different people. It could be the inevitable end of a great Summer, the anticipated arrival of a calm Fall, or the stress or excitement of going back to school or work. Whatever it is, we’re all going through it and there’s no need to be glum about it!

Yup, the degrees are steadily decreasing and what was once a cool Summer breeze is starting to feel a little biting. But before we start muttering curses against Winter, let’s take some time to appreciate Fall: the season of cosy comforts and warm colors. Though the weather isn’t something to rejoice about, Autumn fashion sure is! Continue reading

A Designer Day with Clutch Bags

What words come to find when you hear: Clutch Bags NY?

Classic? Classy! Chic!

Terrific? Timeless! Tasteful!

Effortless? Elegant! Essential!

For many months now I have been blogging for Clutchbags.com and I have had such a great time observing and reporting the new and happening things going on about town. Working with Clutch Bags NY has introduced me to a world of strong women who know what they want and know how to get it.

Though I have been able to interview, review, or research a number of smart and successful women and their accomplishments, I have always (secretly) been awaiting the day I could interview the woman who is Clutch Bags NY: Laura Dotolo. Continue reading

Clutch Bags Review: The Feed Bag

Screen shot 2013-07-07 at 9.57.12 PM“Hi, Nandhi, I’ve got a package here for you,” my doorman, Frank, told me as I walked into the lobby of my apartment building. This was weird, I wasn’t expecting anything. I hadn’t done online shopping for about a month and my friends just aren’t the type to mail me presents.

I raised an eyebrow as I asked Frank who it was from.

“Well, it says it’s from a Miss Laura Dotolo?” Continue reading

A Little More Clutch Bags

 

The time is now, the woman is Laura Dotolo, and the company is Clutch Bags NY. As the acting creative director, Laura Dotolo has set a platform for the promotion of the “Made in USA” movement one handbag at a time. As a patriotic American, Laura understands the economical significance of buying locally as opposed to internationally. In her efforts to keep the American economy stimulated, her handbags are made in a factory in the Garment District of New York City. Not only does this provide jobs for her fellow Americans, it also ensures her clients the production quality she feels they deserve.

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In working for various fashion publications, Laura found that sometimes the popular trends were not what women really wanted over time. So in 2001 she started Clutch Bags NY. Drawing on her classic New England sensibility and inherited Italian aesthetic, Laura created a line of designer handbags with a clean, classic and utilitarian style. According to Laura, “We take functional ideas and make them our own. Our designs will outlast any trend or fad. I like to think these handbags and purses are something women will use for a lifetime.”

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Clutchbags.com offers a range of quality leather American-made handbags and accessories to women around the world. If you were to ask Laura about her dedication to the American-made movement, she would instinctively say that Made in USA is a quality to be proud of that you cannot produce overseas. To spread the word of the Made in USA movement, Laura reaches out to large American companies, like J. Crew, and encourages them to manufacture through her production services in New York City.

 

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About:

Nandhi is our Clutch NY blogger at large who spends her days observing and her nights reporting.  Imported to NYC from Mozambique, via McGill University, Nandhi dreams someday of becoming a screenwriter.  For the moment, she is keeping the Clutch NY audience up to date with what’s up today in fashion, trends, news and inspiration.

Clutch Bags Summer Combos

Hey, there!

Interested in purchasing a Clutch NY bag but not quite sure which one is for you? Keep reading!

Usually people buy bags depending on the color of clothing they have in their closets: a lot of black pants? Makes sense to get a black purse. A lot of white button ups? The white Mail Bag would match effortlessly. But how about mixing it up a little?

Walking the streets of New York City exposes one to fashion styles as diverse as the people who populate the city. As someone who appreciates different and unique styles, I try to pay attention to the motives behind a person’s outfit choice. As I stated before, a lot of people accessorize an outfit according to color schemes. However, recently I have noticed a correlation between shoe style and handbag style. If you’re not too sure which Clutch NY bag is best suited for you, take a look at the following Clutch Bags and shoes summer combos. Maybe you will find just what you’re looking for! Continue reading

Clutch Bags: Handbags of Summer

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“I love accessories. I’m a girl. I love handbags.” -Petra Ecclestone

 

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Summertime in NYC

It’s official: Summer is finally in bloom! But the temperature isn’t the only thing that’s up! For the passed week and a half I have found myself running around, all over NYC. Though my errands take me to different parts of the city, at different times of day, I have been noticing some consistent trends.

The  most consistent trend I have noticed is the use of the Scout Bag from Clutch Bags.  I have seen this spacious satchel on the shoulders of women uptown, downtown, east and west. Because this handbag seemed so popular on the streets of NYC, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So I decided to bring my Clutch Bags NY leather satchel along with me on one of my day of errands. I packed it with the usual suspects: IPod, keys, phone, and wallet. And I was off. Continue reading

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 Q & A with Mrs. American Made

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 Review: The Lunch Bag

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 Q & A: April loves Bags

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