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Ruffled goodness.

Saturday, November 29, 2008


Ah, J. Crew. I'm loving this Astrid jacket. (However, I'm not really loving the $425 price tag.)

But you know what I'm loving even more? Orange Beautiful's sister's DIY version, crafted from a $35 Old Navy jacket and satin strips. She did an amazing job. I'm absolutely in awe. Really, you must click.

Pay no attention to the ridiculous airbrushing…

Wednesday, November 26, 2008


If you could just bear with me and ignore this model's unattractive makeup job, can I just say how much I love her knee-grazing oversized pearls? With a floor-length dress, they give just the right vibe of upscale classic and unusual-cool.

{Image via chickdowntown.com, which apparently does not stock the pearls. Or if they do, I can't tell, because the search function on the site apparently is not working. Hrumpf. Here it is! Yours for only $1,017 from Erickson Beamon. Gulp. Or, you could just be like me, and work on trying to fashion an 86"-long necklace yourself. Stay tuned!}

I know it's only November, but …

Tuesday, November 25, 2008


I am becoming increasingly fixated on Marni's SS09 collection. They layers! The prints! The palettes!

It's now on my Spring Wishlist, just behind Louboutin for Phillip Lim ruffle shoes. {Oh, yes. They will be mine!}

Snug as a Bug in a Snuggly Blanket

Sunday, November 23, 2008


I'm a big fan of luxe knitwear line Lutz & Patmos [Dear Santa, this one please!). So, I was totally thrilled to see their new collaboration with West Elm of super-soft chunky-knit pillowcases and throw blankets. I scooped up the charcoal gray zigzag throw myself – I have a feeling it's going to come in mighty handy while hunkering down on my sofa this winter.

All I Want for Christmas, part 2


There's something so simple and striking about this Elizabeth and James cuff bracelet (also available in silver). At $325, it's a pretty hefty purchase – though you can get 50 percent off everything right now at chickdowntown.com [update: crap. but not elizabeth & james] -- but Santa has some deep, velvety pockets, right? Plus, it's just one of those pieces that you could wear with almost anything. For years and years. {End small tirade of justification.}

Karl Lagerfeld imagery is the new black.

Saturday, November 22, 2008


I'm kind of over Lindsay Lohan-Samantha Ronson (she says, as the new Harper's Bazaar is ripped open beside her – while poor Jen Aniston Vogue is still neatly plastic-wrapped) but I loooove the Karl Lagerfeld bear in the back of this paparazzi pic.

Only $1500 at a select retailer near you! Too cute. But where are his fingerless gloves?

A little bit country -- but not too much, one hopes.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008


When it comes to magazines, it's fair to say that my mom and I are like oil and water. She's Better Homes and Gardens, I'm Domino. Good Housekeeping vs. Glamour. Ladies Home Journal vs. Vogue. So over the past year or so, she's been clipping me out pages from various issues of Country Living. "They're featuring a lot more retro and vintage ideas," she'd say. "I think you'd like it." The pages she's saved for me – that's a few above and below – are definitely less country, more quirky-cute. But it wasn't enough to make me a subscriber. Until now.

It was announced earlier this month that the inimitable Sarah Gray Miller, most recently the editor of the (now defunct) O at Home and former editor-in-chief of my favoritest magazine of all time, the undeniably cool (and, um, also now defunct) Budget Living (whose back issues I have stockpiled at home), is taking over the helm of Country Living. I'm predicting a considerable change in the magazine's content – after all, when even Oprah (thanks to her sidekick Nate Berkus) is railing against "country" style, you know death is near. You win, mom! Sign me up.


All I Want for Christmas, Part 1 (of Many!)

Saturday, November 15, 2008


I love the holidays. Friendly people, twinkling lights, cookies and eggnog and parties and more! And then, of course, there's the extra perk of presents. I'm going to share some of the things on my own wishlist in the coming weeks, starting with these:

Jonathan Adler novelty needlepoint pouches. To quote the designer himself, "J'adorable!"

{Yes, you might have seen these in yesterday's Express. I'm smitten!}

Rocking around the Christmas Tree



The holiday party season is very nearly upon us! I already have a slew of dresses (after coats and clutches, vintage cocktail-wear is my biggest weakness), so I've been mostly looking for fun, statement-y accessories that add a little extra something special. Here's a few that have caught my eye…

Clockwise from top left: Banana Republic Cabochon cluster ring, $39 [okay, okay, I've already bought this]; Nina Viper heel in fuschia, $80; Anthropologie chiffon Battement necklace, $118; Fred Flare bow wristlet, $14.

{update} Reader T. commented that the ruffled find from Anthropologie is likely the work of New Orleans designer Dejarnette, who has even more ruffly concoctions on her own site. Gorgeous!

{If you caught yesterday's fun fashion chat (which you can still read online), you know that I'm in love with the jewelry items they're offering at BR, J.Crew and Anthropologie right now. The whole chat made me want to get back out there and do some shopping. So if you'll excuse me…}

More Terribly Shameless Self-Promotion {updated}

Friday, November 14, 2008

{update} Here are the gift picks. Maybe you'll see something for your wishlist?






I don't mean to be all, "Look at me! Look at me!" this week, but I am a wee bit excited about the gift guide in today's Washington Post Express (downloadable pdf and item list here). I especially love the fab cover, which I can't take any credit for at all.

I'll post the gift picks later today – in the meantime, I'm off to prep for the online fashion chat at noon! See you there?

PS) I'm not ashamed to admit Mariah's insanely catchy "All I Want for Christmas Is You" has been on regular rotation on my iTunes all week. Yes, it's true: The holiday season is here!

Terribly Shameless Self-Promotion.*

Wednesday, November 12, 2008


Did you see the brand-spanking-new issue of FW today? Can we just talk for a second how much I love these red Pura Lopez shoes? (Here the are in gorgeous, close-up form.) Because I really, really do.

On another note. This Friday! What are you doing at noon? Would you like to come and chat about fashion with me? I'll be hosting my first-ever FW online fash chat Friday at 12pm, answering any questions you might have about style conundrums, where to find any particular items, what to wear certain items with, or even just to talk about the stuff that makes us swoon. I'd love it to be as interactive as possible – and I'd really love it if we can get a good group to share about style. I've been saving some blog ideas and news to write about over there instead. Come over if you can. (Or read it later, if you're busy at noon.) Should be fun!

*You know I wouldn't unless I didn't think it would be a good, fashiony time!

Snapping Out of It

Tuesday, November 11, 2008


I knew it wouldn't be long before something that I completely loved popped back up on my radar. And the winner of the first item to recapture my heart is… {dum, dum, dum}: Giles & Brother, whose chunky, quirky and stylishly simple jewelry has skyrocketed to the top of my wishlist. (And, it seems, everyone else's too: It's sold out everywhere.) The railroad spike bracelet? The wrap-around hooked cuff? *Love.* Somewhere, deep inside me, there is an edgy-utilitarian fashion lover just waiting to get out. (There is also a Betty Draper-wannabe waiting to get out, but that's another post…)

Items from Gargyle and Barney's.

Things that Make Me Go Ooooooh, part 67

Saturday, November 08, 2008


As you might be suspecting, balancing ye olde blog and the new day job is tough. Sure, there are time constraints, but mostly, all my I-have-to-have-this! thoughts that would normally go here are now being directed towards the job. Take, for example, these Charley Harper books that just debuted at Old Navy last weekend (and, um, popped up in yesterday's Post Express Styles section). I fell in love with Charley Harper when his retrospective book was released last year – but, at $200 (or a still-high $126 on Amazon), the price was a little hard to swallow. Now, you can buy a limited edition set of Harper-illustrated kids' books and games at Old Navy for pennies. Well, dollars. (I think all the products are $15 or less.) I'm bummed because my local Old Navy didn't have them in stock when I showed up the other day, but I'm hoping to get my hands on some, stat. Too. Cute!