To Heck with the Cheerleader

I know I don't watch a lot of TV and all but is Hayden Panettiere really that big a celebrity? Are people clamoring for Hayden Panettiere-branded high ticket items?



I mean, it's a cute bag and all, but do I really want to spend $500 on this bag with her giant initials dangling from it?



Ummm.... Nope.

Confessions and Second Guesses

Okay, I have to make a confession. When the first images of the SATC movie came out I was swept up in the excitement and giddy fashion. And I was especially enamored of the Timmy Woods Eiffel Tower purse.



I mean, being in the move aside, it's a really cute bag. Especially the version covered in Swarovski crystals. 'Cause I love stuff embellished with crystals.



But, yeah, it's $2500. But I really really wanted it. And it's going to be an "It" bag, right? And I could get my hands on it first. So when the movie came out and everyone loved it I would have had it for months. Cool, right?



Yeah, but it's $2500. And even I am not going to spend $2500 on this. A Judith Leiber, yes (maybe). But I just couldn't justify it.

So I thought, I'll get the regular, non-crystal version (eeewww... regular. blech!). Which just happens to be $375.

So I ordered it. In the months it was backordered I kind of forgot about it and, I guess, lost my giddiness for it. Because when it arrived at my doorstep and I opened the box all I could think was: "Crap! I just paid $375 for a painted piece of wood."



The other thought that entered my mind, besides that fact that the interior of this thing is so small I could barely (and this is totally serious) barely fit a tube of lipstick, was "Will I look like a complete poser, dork, wannabe if I carry around this bag especially after the movie comes out?"

Now normally I don't think I would care as much what anyone thought but it is such an obvious bag that it would beg the comparison all the time. So I sent it back. Only a little sad but very much more relieved.



Now maybe if I had the crystal version I might have kept it.....hmmm....

Reflections

Yes, I think I'm having a small mirror obsession at the moment. Also, for some reason I think I live a gorgeous jet-setting life. One in which I totally need a stack of mirrored agendas. Also one in which said agendas would not be scratched all to pieces in five minutes.

Who am I trying to kid here? But, when I win that lottery its all silver agendas all the time. In which I will schedule my naps.

Flowers in my Arms

To to along with my flower feet, I would love to have this bag from Susannah Hunter. It's a limited edition bag for the Chelsea Garden Show (and I love limited editions!) but I also love peonies and the pink and champagne color combination.




As reported by Vogue -

"I love peonies," Hunter tells us. "They're out at that time of year and they're such lush, opulent and generous flowers - I thought they'd be just perfect."

All the bags have been hand-made in her central London atelier and have a velvet lining and an exclusive Chelsea label embossed with the RHS logo - making them the perfect place to tuck your Chelsea Flower Show Bloomsbury Bag by Susannah Huninvitation, designed by the formidable Manolo Blahnik. The Bloomsbury Bag by Susannah Hunter is priced £440 and available now at her site - www.susannahhunter.com

I'm Pining Away Over Here

In spite of my repeated claims that I am not a watch collector. There is another watch that I have decided that I really really must have right now!

I want the Hermes Kelly watch in orange and stainless-steel.



I'm not even sure why I like it so much because I typically don't even like a leather banded watch and prefer to wear mine loose, almost bracelet-y.

So, I now am up to needing the two Michael Kors watches and this one.

Le Sigh!

Miu Miu, I love you

I am so smitten. I must must must get these sunglasses. I think I love these even more than the Chanels.



And when, oh when will I be able to wear this dress. If I had the opportunity I would find a way to buy several of these adorable little dresses.



I mean, I just don't get that much lying around time.

Loeffler Randall for Target

While I'm not a fan of the Loeffler Randall shoes for Target this season, I am kind of smitten with this hobo tote in cream.



I think this is the nicest piece in the line. Granted, I haven't seen it or felt the material in person but it looks like a nice large size and I am a sucker for a white/vanilla bag. Since it's leather it should wipe down fairly easy.

It also comes in brown and is only $39.99

If you see one or get one let me know what you think of the material.

Not Zubbles!

I have a big tendency to, if' I'm really in love with a style of something, to get it in multiple colors. And now JCrew is trying to take advantage of that fact, darn them!

I love this space-agey-yet-vintage-looking "Bubble" necklace that comes in three lovely colors.

Sweet Papaya:



Brilliant Blue:



Turquoise (my favorite!):



They're each $150 and brand new, so get 'em while they last.

P.S. What the heck are Zubbles???

A little weird... A lot wonderful

As you know, I am a total Etsy convert and I placed an order not too long ago. I finally got to order some pieces from Paraphernalia, which I think is the coolest store.



How they describe their work is:

We at Paraphernalia design beauteous and wholesome accoutrements for both Ladies and Gentlemen.

We are much inspired by both vintage illustrations and 19th century magicians. We also enjoy the odd, the unusual, the uncanny and the bizarre, in all the aspects of beauty.

If you haven't seen their work, you have to go check them out.

What I love about them is that you can wear them with so many levels - very seriously or you can wear them very tongue-in-cheek. I have chickens, so this Fauna Chicken Claw Necklace can be just weird or, if you know that we have them, it's kind of funny.





I also got this Anatomica Arm Bracelet. I like that you are wearing this on your arm but you are also wearing an image of the musculature of the arm. Okay, so yeah it's a bit weird.



I also got the Anatomica Red Heart Necklace. And I don't think I need to say anything about it, just look how freakin' cool it is.






Would it be too dorky to say I ♥ them?

Yeah, I guess it would.

But I soooo do!

Christmas for thee and me

I am newly in love with Banana Republic's jewelry. I haven't checked out BR in a while because I tend to shop their less expensive sisters, Gap and Old Navy, but had read some good reviews of the quality and style of their jewelry offerings lately.

I have say that I agree with them.

I like them so much I ordered two for Christmas gifts. I got this lovely vintage yet modern looking bracelet for a very stylish friend. I also got one for me. Is that bad???



I got another friend, one who tends to be quite minimalist in her dressing, this lovely white enamel cuff. Is it wrong that I was severely tempted to keep it for myself. I think it would look great with my new white clutch....

But no! No! It will look great on her. Must. Ship. Out!



They also have some great items on sale. I think we will see me trolling this site much more often.

Emerald City

I've decided that I need a new bag (okay want). And because I don't like to be too trendy and I don't get get all into logos and labels and "it" bags, I tend to favor solid bags with strong colors.

And right now I really really want this Dooney & Bourke Alto Medium Rounded Satchel in Emerald.



It's kind of pricey at $525 but I know I would wear it for years and years. I have a light blue Dooney Alto in a kind of structured hobo shape and I still wear it and get compliments on it. This is even eclipsing the Brahmin bag I want.

Grab and Clutch

I've started to see large clutches slowly creeping in as a new style, probably exploding in spring. I like the idea of a large day clutch and decided that I wanted a large envelope style in white.

Because they are not really popular yet, I've been doing my searching on Etsy and eBay, but when I was on Saks the other day I saw this Brian Atwood Mattie clutch.



Now, it's pretty at all, and except for the gold corners, pretty much exactly what I wanted.

But it's freakin' $1660!!!!

That is ridiculous.

In my searches I found this very similar vintage number on eBay for about $14. It has two pockets and is real leather.



I bought this bag here from eBay for $16. It's white croc embossed leather and I would say it is a pretty large size as well as being in good vintage shape. I think it is even more interesting than the Brian Atwood bag. Plus, I'm not a fan of those gold accents.



So, get searching. Large clutches for day will be popular, especially white or light colors - in leather or a reptile of some sort.

Smoochable

I just love red lipstick. I think it is the whole retro thing but it amazes me how in the 40's and 50's a woman would wear red lipstick with everything and it always looked great.

The problem is, red lipstick can be a pain. At least for me. But that doesn't mean that I don't still get seduced by a new color or formulation every so often. Despite the fact that they linger in my make-up case for months.


Photo source: brtsergio, Flickr

Don't you just love the contrast and don't her lips look so pretty?



I've bought red lipstick from Revlon to Chanel and then I just never use it. But I may have a new option that can convert me into puckering up more often.

It's NARS lip gloss in Bloodwork



They say this lip gloss is pigment-rich and they aren't kidding. I had no idea how bright this stuff was until I got it home and tried it on.

Whoa, Baby!

This is screen-siren red! What is great about it is this is not a sheer gloss. It is very opaque. And the color is described as red vinyl and that is spot on. Being a gloss helps it to go on very easily. You can just swipe it on and be all sex-ah or you can blot it to matte it down and give you perfect carmine lips.

I blotted it when I put it on this morning and then topped it with a sheer sparkly brown-ish gloss. It was very wearable.

It would also be great for leaving red lipstick kisses on collars, necks and sealed letters.

Available at Sephora- $23

Pink French Sunglasses

Here's a better picture of those last pair of sunglasses.



Love them!

Rose-tinted glasses

So I have this very bad tendency to see something on someone or somewhere, fall head over heels in love and then go absolutely crazy and overboard trying to incorporate whatever it is into my life.

Case in point - large sunglasses in pink and/or round with gradiated lenses. I lurv Miss Gala's glasses here. It's back to that desire for pink hair and color coding.



Another big part of it is the Chanel sunglasses. I bought these and then ended up selling them. For more than I bought them for at least but, even thought they looked somewhat comical on me, I kind of miss them but, damn!, they were expensive.



So off I went trolling on eBay to see what I could find searching pink, round, gradiated, vintage, etc. Here are some of what I found and bought.

You think these look crazy here? You should see them in person.



These are kind of a pinkish-peach color frame with amber gradiated lenses, but the arms don't go very wide.




This last pair are the best and this picture is totally useless, I know. I was going to swipe the picture from the auction and they're all down so I need to take some more. I promise to do so asap, but it would be remiss to not include them because they are the best of the bunch. They are HUGE and the lenses are a gradiated pink. I look like I have a giant pink butterfly on my face. I luv them mucho.



I promise, more pics to come soon. Maybe I'll dress all in pink tomorrow. That would wake you up in the winter!

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.

I feel so frickin' cool

Way back in August I talked about my love for my ToyWatch watch (I actually got my acrylic one last December and love the ceramic one too).

Now it seems Vogue has finally caught on because they ran an e-article yesterday saying "Forget Cartier and Rolex, a ToyWatch is the only timepiece to be seen in this season:

ROLEX MEETS SWATCH
THEY say that the watch you wear can define your personality so, be it Cartier or Rolex, wearing a deliciously expensive timepiece makes a statement. This season, however, Italian company ToyWatch has manufactured the must-have watches; fun timepieces that have been described as "Rolex meets Swatch". The one that has everyone talking is the Solo Tempo - a stylish, oversized ceramic face that comes in black, white or navy – and it has already found its way onto the wrists of the likes of Charlize Theron and Uma Thurman. Sold at Browns, which automatically gives it fashion kudos, ToyWatch's collection contains five unique styles - so even if the £635 Solo Tempo is not for you, the fun blue Perspex version, at £112, could be a great alternative. Check out the range at www.toy-watch.it or call 0207 287 5431 for more information.

I love setting the trend!

; )

Finally!

Me and my glasses cruisin' down the road...

Designer Focus - Diane vonFurstenberg by H. Stern

I find it interesting the Neiman Marcus has a Luxury section of their website (isn't that the whole site???) but they do have some amazing pieces in their. I don't usually look at the jewelry sections, but I wanted to see what was new in ring designs.

I really like this quartz ring from the "power ring" collection. It is a Diane vonFurstenberg by H. Stern ring and it has great modern lines but is very classic looking as well.





Swarovski also has some great crystal chunky rings like this that are around $200.

Baby did a bad bad thing...

All I can say is - Chanel 5018 Round Half Tint Sunglasses.









Yes, I got them! More images to follow when they are in my hot little hands!