March 2010 Archives

Whites and nudes are very chic for Spring. I'm loving this Nanette Lepore dress, and I'd pair it with some simple nude pumps.

Nanette Lepore Vivacious Dress, $348


I love the gathering and the exposed side zipper.

Some basic Christian Louboutins in nude would work, or these Valentino Slingbacks, $675.

 
Stuart Weitzman Peep-Toe Platform Pumps, $345.

I was introduced to Flora in late 2004 when they brought the pattern out of the archives for shoes, bags, scarves etc. etc. for Cruise Collection '05 and Spring/Summer '05.

I bought these shoes!  I know they are ugly in a way, but they are also unexpected - and whenever I wear them I get a least one compliment from a stranger!  One time someone actually took a picture of them... seriously!  I think it's time to bring them out... it's feeling like Spring finally...

Right now Gucci isn't doing too much with the Flora pattern.  They do have a few scarves in the Spring/Summer '10 collection available. Here is the classic one, white background 35" square silk. Flora Foulard, $355.

Here is the background on Flora from the Gucci website:

Flora, one of the most loved Gucci icons, was born as a special commission for Princess Grace of Monaco in 1966. The princess had paid a visit to the Gucci store in Milan with Prince Ranier. Having bought a green "bamboo bag" Rodolfo Gucci insisted she selected a gift. When she relented she asked for a scarf. Rodolfo was distressed: he felt Gucci lacked one special enough for his distinguished guest. He immediately contacted the renowned illustrator Vittorio Accornero, to design the most beautiful floral scarf he could create. The next day Accornero returned with his painting: it was the "Flora", a multicolored flowered template that was destined for an unimaginably extended future.

Flora kindled such long-lasting affection among European women that they passed it onto their daughters. One was Caroline of Monaco, who wore a blouse in her "mother's" scarf-print as a teenager; another, the much younger Frida Giannini, whose own mother loved the print as a girl in Rome. Re-connecting with that feeling, Giannini's revived Flora on printed canvas bags for summer 2005, was met with overwhelming demand. Other Flora variations, re-scaled, re-coloured and abstracted, made it onto Forties/Seventies inspired print dresses for summer 2006, into jewelry and on evening bags. They were all hits: living proof of the power of a Gucci icon 40 years after it was first imagined.

Today I'm almost wearing this outfit from the J. Crew catalog...

I ordered the striped tissue tee way back in December and it finally arrived!  So if you want one, you better order now before they run out again.  (Classic Stripe Tissue Tee, $32.50) The jeans are the Ankle Stretch Toothpick Jean in Twilight Wash, $125.  They are not really "ankle" on me though, so they look a little bit different. 

For jacket - I'm wearing a wonderful old Theory jacket.  I'm not sure if they still make it... it's that stretch fabric they used to use for everything.  Now they do most things in the Tailor stretch wool, which is also great...

Shoes - Marc by Marc Jacobs round toe black pumps.    I got these Fall of 06 if you can believe it and I still LOVE them.

Bracelet - I am wearing one of J. Crew's chunky pearl bracelets.  It's not online, though is similar to the one below.  It seems like a cheap version of the one below, as if it were made for the J. Crew outlet, but I didn't get it at an outlet... I got it at J. Crew Princeton NJ.  I wonder if they ever put outlet items at the stores?

Earrings - Blue Nile 18k Hoops (yikes, they're $195 now! I'm glad a got mine a few years ago before gold went up!)  These are totally classic earrings that everyone should have in their jewelry wardrobe.

And an 18k gold snake chain that I've had for a while with a key pendant that I got in Kusadasi, Turkey!  I got my key before Tiffany came out with their keys, so I'm not a copier! You can get a nice key pendant from Blue Nile now (yes, they copied) for much less than the Tiffany gold version... check it out here.

I'm not really a St. Patrick's Day person (sorry, no green beer for me, no beer at all for that matter!) ... but it does make you think about green things... like EMERALDS!

Remember Angelina's amazing (and huge) emerald earrings at the Oscars last year? Wow!  But they must have hurt her ears, you can't wear earrings that heavy for too long...

Here are some from Blue Nile with diamonds that us mere mortals have a chance of being able to afford: Pear-Shaped Emerald and Diamond Drop Earrings, $1,210.

These are pretty small though, they are just under a 1/2 an inch tall... but still very pretty and elegant!

I have long been interested in luxury goods and country of origin... (thus my rants about Longchamps sourcing from China)  Here is an interesting quote from the Wall Street Journal's interview with Miuccia Prada and her husband and business partner Patrizio Bertelli.

"While the Prada brand is 98 percent made in Italy, about half of Miu Miu handbags are made in Turkey and Romania, and 70 percent of the sporty Linea Rossa shoes are produced in Vietnam. Bertelli's roots lie deep in one of Italy's artisanal heartlands, and Prada runs 13 factories with 3,500 workers in the country. But Bertelli is unapologetic about his decision to make some products abroad--as long as there are quality controls. He believes firmly that consumers should learn to trust a brand name, regardless of where it's made, and that "made by Prada" should be just as trustworthy a label as "made in Italy."

Read the full article here: "Miuccia and Me" by Alessandra Galloni, Wall Street Journal

 

Lace has been popular with the designers over the last couple of years.  Remember Prada's gorgeous lace for Fall '08?

Here's Charlize wearing one of Prada's lace dresses, Aug. '08.

Well, it's still going strong.  Kelly Ripa just wore Stella McCartney's beautiful lace dress to a Letterman appearance.  (Stella herself wore the jumpsuit version ($4,815) in black to the Met's Costume Institute Ball last year)

Here's the beautiful dress similar to Kelly's at Net-a-porter. ($1,825)

 

Here's a Philip Lim take on the same idea. ($750)

 

Okay, so it's not nearly as detailed or quite as beautiful as the other examples, but Zara has a little lace dress for only $59.50! 

French fashion house Céline is quickly shedding its reputation as one of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA's most troubled brands.

After struggling for years to forge an identity and a following, the label is finding influential retailers including Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman are clamoring to carry its collection, even as they cut back their portfolios to focus on best sellers.

Credit for the resurgence of the brand--which LVMH bought in 1996 for €412 million ($562 million at current rates)--goes to British designer Phoebe Philo and a decision to make a sharp break with the past.

Céline recruited Ms. Philo 18 months ago. To start fresh, the company destroyed all of the inventory left in the stores prior to her first collection, a move that contributed to the €98 million in restructuring charges LVMH took last year.

Excerpt from LVMH Wipes Céline Slate Clean, Opening Way for 'Phoebe Effect' , Wall Street Journal

I saw this Yves Saint Laurent blush in March Allure...  (YSL Palette Y-Mail, $65)

It comes in the absolute cutest mini-bag pouch that features the Y-mail design that YSL uses on various bags and clutches.

The darker of the two colors is already sold out on YSL's website though!

If you happen to want to spend $1000 to get a matching real bag, Bluefly has this one on sale now (20% off).  Yves Saint Laurent Y-Mail Tote, $956.

 

It is in a black/bronze textured patent leather, lined in fabric and has a zippered pocket and cell phone pocket.  Tres chic, n' est pas?  Even at $956... eek!  That's still expensive.

I mentioned in yesterday's post you could get an authentic Saint James French stripe shirt from J. Crew... it made me think, why not get it from Saint James?  So I googled it and it turns out they have a shop in my own back yard! (well, maybe front yard, it's on Madison Ave.)

The Saint James New York boutique is at 1045 Madison Avenue between 79th and 80th streets.  This location also ships orders for their online store: http://www.saintjamesboutique.com/.

They have several options in the classic striped shirt realm.

Galathee, $85. Stripe tee with boat neck and 3/4 sleeves avail. in several colors including 4 options in blue/white. 100% cotton.

Huitriere II, $100. Similar to above, 95% cotton with a bit of stretch.  Only 1 blue/white color option among the 9 options.

Lezardrieux, $165. Similar in style to the 2 above but in a 91% meryl and 9% elastane blend.  This one has slit sleeves and button detailing.

They could really do a better job explaining the items. It's hard to say why the 3rd shirt is worth $165, based on the skimpy product descriptions.  Anyway, I think I'll go check out the boutique one of these weekends...

I finally watched Coco Avant Chanel with Audrey Tatou. Wow, she was great - really quite perfect for the part.  I got the Blu-ray version since I managed to hook up my new machine and switch over my Netflix accoun to Blu-ray access.  It's not really a movie you "need" to see in Blu-ray, but it was nice to have the super crisp video for all the beautiful cinematography.  The costumes and set design were outstanding too.  Also, I though Alessandro Nivola did a great job as Boy Capel, I didn't even recognize him... although I knew he was familiar, I couldn't figure it out...

 

 

 

(re: above shirt - J. Crew is offering a shirt in their menswear line that is made by Saint James from Normandy, France - makers of the real French sailor shirt, and perhaps what Chanel used to wear? An XS might work, it's $88 and really made in France!  Check it out here.)

It's hard not to compare it to the Coco Chanel movie on Lifetime with Shirley Maclaine since both covered a lot of the same ground.  I acutally liked both of the movies, although in the tv movie I preferred the part with young Coco played by Barbora Bobulova.  (I'm not a big fan of Maclaine.)

Audrey definitely looked like a professional smoker in the movie, which is quite necessary to play Chanel.  I wonder if she smokes in real life?  Here are some pictures of the real Chanel, if these aren't a good warning for why NOT to smoke, I don't know what is.  It looks like she aged quite poorly. 

Yikes!

I was wandering around Bloomingdale's on Saturday... one of my favorite passtimes. It makes a perfect afteroon activity to walk down 3rd Ave. and window shop along the way down to Bloomingdale's. (Gracious Home, Sephora, Banana, Club Monaco, L'Occitiane, True Religion, etc. etc.)  

At Bloomingdale's I saw these gorgeous shoes at the Louis Vuitton boutique...

Slingback in Monogram Idylle Canvas, $675

They look incredibly well made. I wanted to try them on but I thought better of it, a bit dangerous perhaps.  Also, there wasn't a salesperson in site.  Oddly, the shoe area there never seems to be staffed, as if they don't expect anyone to actually want to buy shoes.  Their shoes are very expensive, and frankly often quite ugly. A basic ballerina flat was $535, so that makes these seem to be a relatively good value...

At the Chanel counter I picked up one of their last bottles in stock of the Particuliere nail polish. Apparently they had just got the shipment in and it was already nearly sold out! I also got two colors of the new Rouge Coco lipstick. The colors were very nice and the formula is great, I got Muse and Perle.

Oh, I also finally tried the 40 Carrots frozen yogurt. I ordered a "small" and was given a quite huge serving, it cost $4.90.  I don't know who could eat that much, I ate about half of it.  I got the Caribbean Coffee flavor.  It was quite good!