Quit Stealing All My Ideas

I love hats. I can't help it. They are just so cool. I actually wear my hats. I'm pasty white so I like them for how they look and that they cover my face. I have some baseball caps but don't wear them all that often. I'd rather wear a big straw hat or something "fancier."

But unless you are at the Derby or Ascot, you don't see alot of other hats around. There has been the newsboy cap or the beat up straw cowboy hat but that's usually a trendy hipster or someone of that ilk.

I've been making a rash of recent hat purchases though. I got my boater, two cute vintage hats and talked just a month ago about getting a bowler (aka derby) hat. I've been researching the best options and had finally narrowed it down when I came upon this.... at Target!


Ummm... what the hell is a derby hat doing at freaking Target! Who is ripping off my ideas!

Okay, I know I'm probably not the only one buying/wearing a bowler hat but it's not like you are seeing a lot of them around getting all popular. Where did the buyer at Target come up with this one? Is this a growing trend that I am totally unaware of but subliminally influence by?

Well, I thought about buying the Target derby because, hey, it was $15 which is a bit cheaper than the ones I looked at. In the end, though, I passed. The main reason is because of the brim. A real derby/bowler isn't turned up all the way around like that, so it wasn't giving me the right look.

What I did buy is this one:




This one I bought through a vendor on Amazon. I hope it fits okay and looks good when I get it. I'm thinking of taking it with me to NYC. I tried to find a good vintage one but all the ones I tried were too big. Kind of a bummer, that.

Anyway, there were other options too, if you were looking for one.

The V&A Museum has one as a part of their Hat Anthology exhibit. This is where my boater came from. They only have 2 sizes though.

Berkely Hats seems to have a lot of hat options and their derbys come in several colors

I had first looked at the ones that Historical Emporium was selling but wasn't sure of it. I may get my next hat (a grey top hat) from here.

If I had the cash ($300) I would have loved to have splurged on a Christy's derby. It looks gorgeous.

Hopefully more pics to follow actually wearing my new hats.

Imitation = Flattery?

I know a big part of what Pat Field likes to do is play with the high and reinterpret to the low but sometimes I think she goes a bit wrong... off into the tacky direction.

The obvious original piece - the YSL Mail clutch. Sleek, shiny and classic. I have to admit I adore this.

Pricey... yes, that too.



I applaud Ms. Field for making the style accessible but the way its done just looks a bit chintzy to me. It's too colorful. Too trying to look like a real piece of air mail. It loses the streamlined graphic design that makes the YSL version so appealing.

Express Mail Clutch by Pat Field -



I know you don't want a total knock-off but it is obvious to me where the "inspiration" came from. By trying to distance itself from the original it just came out messy. Rather a closer inspired design in maybe a new fresh color (hot pink? bright aqua?) that would have been a better way to go.

Bad Trade for Beads

Apparently Stella McCartney is still under the delusion that bead are really really valuable.

Stella! The Dutch really didn't get Manhattan for $24 in trade beads and neither can you!

Look at this necklace, currently on sale at Net-a-Porter. It's originally priced at $285. Dollars.




Let's go to the close-up to see how ridiculous that is...



Those are regular old seed beads. And not that many of them. And not in a very intricate pattern. Just strings of seed beads attached to a ribbon. I could go to Michael's and get the materials for this necklace to the tune of about $20.

I had this in mind when I went to Target yesterday. And while I wasn't actively looking for jewelry, they had a ton of really cute pieces that would go well with the ethnic/safari style. I bought two necklaces, two bracelets and a carved wood ring. I need to take more photos, but here's what I'm wearing today.

This necklace had a ton of strands of bronze-y brown beads in graduating layers.



I really liked this woven bangle and it goes perfectly with the dress I'm wearing today.



It's kind of hard to tell, but this is a carved wooden wring. The top is a beveled rectangle and it has a great spotted pattern. Plus it's large enough to make a statement but not overly showy. Plus it's pretty comfortable.



The other necklace was a long black and tan beaded necklace and a tan multi-beaded stretch bracelet. I'll be wearing them soon I'm sure.

What's great is that there are literally TONS of pieces on line (although I couldn't find the ones I bought) and they are all very inexpensive. My necklaces were around $15 each and the ring and bracelets were $8.

So, again, Stella must have lost her mind with this one.

Voila! An Adorable Bag Just For You.

I was just on Simply Soles and saw this adorable little clutch from Cate Adair. I just love the Ottoman Empire-inspired shape.



Not that I'm wearing any of the newly resurged harem pants, but if you want to be cheeky, pair them with this.

Give Me Liberty!

I mentioned I was going to an antiques festival this past weekend and hoped to come home with some great finds. As always, even when you go with an idea in mind, you never know what you are going to come home with.

Liberty antiques festival is actually pretty good. I was looking for things like vintage feathers and pins but didn't come home with either of that. I did buy a monogrammed pillow made from vintage grain bag fabric and a folk are mini vanity mirror. I also got this adorable little silverplate pitcher for $5.



I shined it up a bit. It isn't perfect but that doesn't bother me. I like how the silver looks like gathered fabric.



On the fashion front I got two vintage bags. This first one is a red, probably '80s, leather clutch.



It's a good large size but not over-sized and has two compartments. I think it was $20.



I also got this adorable little faux croc bag in black patent. It's very petite but just adorable.



I wouldn't classify it as pristine but I'd give it a good 90 - 95%.



Liberty was the source of my vintage lizard bag. So don't overlook the antiques festivals. Typically it's furniture, jewelry and housewares but this year there was a dealer who had only vintage lingerie. Miss C went with me and she got a lovely piece there.

You never know what you're going to find!

Y, oh Y Do I Love Paris???

I'm not sure why I want this so much. But I just do.

I am adoring this Yves Saint Laurent "Y-mail" postcard clutch. I don't even use clutches or evening bags all that often. Not often enough to have more than the few I own now which I also don't use that much. And especially given that it's $395.

But it's also very cute and cheeky. I love the lady's profile in the faux stamp. And the Paris address to which I aspire someday.

I'm just going to pine away for this over here for a little while. Okay?

Available at Neiman Marcus (but not online) and at the YSL online store. It says it comes in white too, although I haven't seen a picture.

Summing up my weekend

So this pretty much sums up my weekend:

Wore this:


Bought this:



Saw this:


Now on sale for $6293 from $8990! Run right out! Get two!

Went in to a covetous delirium for this:



And I'm spent.

A little bit dangerous

In keeping with the lady-like look (the flip side of menswear coin), gloves always make a presence when Fall comes around. It's cool enough to wear them but not so cold that you need really warm gloves and mittens.

I love vintage gloves, which come in all kinds of colors from creamy white to pastel blue and strong kelly green. I love the embroidery and intricate cut work. I'd rather wear those than generic gloves from the mall. Plus you can get them a lot cheaper, especially on Ebay. I've picked some up for $5.

Then there is the sexy edgy look of gloves. Rouge looks pretty innocent and sweet here, but I preferred her black gloves that went to her upper arm from the first X-men movie.



I had a pair of wrist length gloves but these were something else. I actually had some trouble finding exactly what I wanted but I did find a company, through an online search, that made them. I ordered the length and size I wanted and a week or two later I got them.



They were smokin'! Very soft and well-lined. Very classy I thought and perfect to recreate my Rouge glove and coat ensemble. But as I went through the box, I found a bunch of rather interesting promotional materials.

I guess I had ordered my lovely classy gloves from a fetish site! LOL!

I guess they are sexy! And educational.

So word to the wise, have fun and find some gloves that complete your outfit this Fall. But I would stick to a well known company like LaCrasia.