Smart new purse made out of cowhide, initially (6)
I believe the answer is:
spruce
'smart new' is the definition.
'spruce' can be an answer for 'smart' (I've seen this in another clue). I am unsure of the 'new' bit.
'purse made out of cowhide initially' is the wordplay.
'made' indicates anagramming the letters.
'out of' means one lot of letters goes inside another (some letters on the outside of others).
'initially' indicates taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'cowhide' is 'c'.
'purse' anagrammed gives 'sprue'.
'sprue' going around 'c' is 'SPRUCE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for spruce that I've seen before include "tree with needle-like leaves" , "Neat and trim like fir tree" , "Trim - conifer" , "Well-dressed" , "Tidy - fir" .)