New bag boutique arrives in the Clutch

As the proud owner of more than 20 handbags and eight clutches, I was practically camped out on the sidewalk when new downtown handbag boutique Clutch opened its doors a couple weeks ago. The clean Fourth Avenue space, located just a few doors down from Luly Yang Couture, is well stocked -- but not overflowing -- with a dreamy selection of handbags from the likes of Alexis Hudson, Botkier and Kooba.

Clutch's Hollywood Regency design aesthetic (think black and white wallpaper, bold orange walls and black lacquer accent furniture) provides an elegant backdrop for the store's totes, hobos, clutches and bucket bags, and it's the perfect place to pay your handbag crush a visit or two.

I developed a few crushes of my own, but couldn't wait for a second visit, so I purchased two Elliott Lucca bags for myself: one made of distressed amber leather and the other a slick, black patent structured tote.

Prices in the store range from under $30 for sweet leather coin purses to $850 for glossy, oversized patent-leather totes from CC Skye. Other notable designs include a soft gray messenger bag from Shih by Stephanie Lin ($525) and the Moss Snake clutch from Alexis Hudson ($395). Over the next few months, other lines will debut, including Hayden-Harnett, Rebecca Minkoff, Tracy Reese and Dulce.