Rackage: Plaza Too on Hudson Street

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Rackage is a look inside recently-opened stores around town. Today, let's browse West Village shoe and handbag emporium Plaza Too.

We so wanted to hate on Plaza Too when we first stepped inside the Hudson Street boutique. Exhausted by the West Village mallification—specifically, the overabundance of high-end handbag and accessories stores one street over on Bleecker—Plaza Too's cutesy window displays (at right) with expensive handbags looked like another blow to the neighborhood.

But once you get over the fact that it's another pricey retailer for the (wealthy) West Village, you can appreciate Plaza Too for what is: a little one-stop shop for some of the best shoes and bags we've seen in a long time.

Pedro Garcia sandals and bags

Plaza Too carries an assortment of brands for footwear and bags, including Kate Spade, Burberry, Tory Burch, Butter, Cole Haan, Pedro Garcia, Coach, Tibi, Botkier, Michael Kors, Kooba, and so on. They have more than seven buyers for their small stores, and their specialization is obvious, as there's nary a bad item in the house. It's kind of like a "best of" from some top-notch labels. Prices are high but by no means obscene: Shoes range from $99 to about $499 a pair.

Plaza Too opened on Hudson Street less than five months ago, adding to a handful of the company's stores in the New York, West Chester, and Connecticut areas. Of course, it lacks the charm of old West Village shops like Peanut Butter & Jane, but things could be a lot worse than a friendly staff and great pair of Tibi t-strap flats.

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Tory Burch Madison Avenue

797 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10065 212-510-8371 Visit Website

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Cole Haan

128 Prince Street, New York, NY 10012 212-219-8240 Visit Website