More shoes! Tortoise bangles! Cute outfits!

Another successful outfit today; this one was even simpler than yesterday's.

I wore the white version of the v-neck, long-sleeved t-shirts I talked about in my last post, my slinky black side-slit skirt, white hose, and a new pair of fun leopard flats that I got for 7.99 on sale at Target. Very comfortable, and they look more luxe on your feet than they appear in this picture: Pearls, tortoise bangles (hahahaha, yes again), silver hoops with tigereye ball drops completed the picture, along with my cognac Pierotucci Birkin-style bag.

You know those women who roll out of bed looking fabulous? They might be wearing nothing more than a crisp Oxford shirt and a pair of jeans, but they look flawless and wonderful? That's how I felt today. I love a simple, elegant outfit.

Speaking of tortoise bangles, I stumbled upon this bracelet duo by Liz Claiborne (30.00) and was immediately smitten:

Chunky tortoise bangle! Sadly, no modeling pictures on the site, so I can't get an idea of the true size, but it must be fairly substantial. I am intrigued. I may hunt these down in person for a live viewing, and then buy two sets. Yes. Also, I am an idiot: the 225.00 tortoise 5-bangle set by Ralph Lauren (lusted after in this post) went on sale for 125.00, but I didn't jump on it. Those bangles are now back at the original 225.00 price point. Yes, I'm a doofus.

Today's bag: cognac Pierotucci Birkin-inspired bag.

New shoes! Cute ones! And the coat search continues...

I wore a very successful outfit today, and like the best ones, it was simple and pretty effortless. I bought three v-neck, long-sleeved T-shirts the other day, in a heavier weight that's perfect for air-conditioned offices and cooler weather: white, black and charcoal grey.

I wore the black one today with a black/cream scrollwork skirt. I started the day in off-black hose, but changed to white when I got a run. Waaah! I think the off-black stockings had a slight edge, though the white looked nice too. Tortoise bangles, of course (I live in them), pearls, silver ball-drop earrings. What really made the outfit memorable were the cute new shoes I bought yesterday!

Valentine by NaturalSoul by naturalizer, believe it or not! 37.99 on sale! I went to Kohl's with a friend at lunchtime; she was buying socks for her husband so I tagged along. When I saw the shoes on the display rack I couldn't resist. Shiny! Deep, deep red patent leather! The velvet bow on the toes! I'm such a sucker for an embellished shoe that it's almost a sickness. Anway.

I've been wearing my new cognac Pierotucci bag since I got it a couple of weeks ago, and in a very happy accident, discovered that my deep red shoes and my bag are gorgeous together. You'd think cognac would be brown, but the bag's more of a dark red with slight brownish tones. I don't normally do the bag/shoes matching thing, not conciously, so I was beyond pleased to see that it looked effortlessly polished and not matchy-matchy...because the shoes are patent and the bag isn't, most likely. I felt totally fabulous.

Also, the great coat search goes on. This one is so Madonna-in-the-80s, when girls bought men's vintage coats for a couple of dollars and turned them into huge style statements.
I like it; it comes in charcoal, which is another plus, but I'm a bit put off by all of the pockets. Do I really need a breast pocket? Boiled Tweed Coat, 139.50 at TravelSmith. The jury's still out, but it's fun looking.

Today's bag: cognac Pierotucci Birkin-inspired bag. Still no pictures. Yes, I'm ashamed.

Footwear eccentricity and my dream wardrobe. And bags!

Ah, that time of year again. Time to dream of and surf for new fall clothes! A few posts ago I said this:

Every year I swear I'm going to buy an all new wardrobe consisting entirely of solid-color clothes (no prints!) in neutral shades: black, navy, brown, ivory, cream, white, grey...you get the idea. It's never happened, but one of these years I just may do it.

While shoe-surfing the other day, it came to me. How fabulous would it be to wear nothing but leopard or other animal-print shoes? Yes, I'm completely serious. Think of it: A gorgeous wardrobe of neutrals worn with animal shoes in every style imaginable. This would be the prime year for such an eccentricity, too, because apparently animal prints are tres hot this fall.

If I were, say, JK Rowling (more money than the Queen and more fashionably flexible), that would be my signature look. Neutral color palletes and leopard shoes. You'd need a few shots of color of course, because who can resist all those deep, beautiful jewel tones that usher in fall? And think how a beautiful bag would pop against such a background...

Speaking of beautiful bags, here are three in one of my favorite color combinations, black and chocolate brown...

waaaaaay luxe - Louis Vuitton Delft Exotic in the new-for-fall monogram Mirage line, $8,250 (info - though not the picture! - snagged from The Purse Blog):

less luxe, but still gorgeous - Coach Chelsea Leather tote, $428.00, [11 1/4 (L) x 11 3/4 (H) x 5 (W)]:

waaaaaay not luxe, but still interesting - Gap Patent-trimmed leather tote $128.00 (14"x16"x4"):


I'm sure it's safe to say that I'll only be admiring the Vuitton Mirage from afar. The Coach, however, is singing a very sweet "Come buy me!" song that's hard to ignore. Even the Gap bag, in all its thrifty least-luxeness, would be a welcome addition to my bag wardrobe.

I've been looking at coats too (squee!) , and unlike last year, I've found quite a few that I'd actually spend money on. The first of many coat posts will soon follow. Stay tuned...

Today's bag: camel Pierotucci Birkin-inspired bag.

Color, take three.

Today's color is...grey!

I wore a highly unsuccessful outfit yesterday: heather grey sweatshirty material skirt, white mock turtleneck top, dark grey collared wool cardigan. OY VEY.

Overall, I think the proportions were wrong. The cardigan was a bit short for the length of the skirt, the top was the same length as the cardigan. All in all, a fashion mistake I won't make again! I'm thinking of adding the skirt to the "weekend only" pile; that's the second time I've worn it lately and realized that it's really not flattering -- at least not for work. For knocking around running errands, it'll be fine.

About the only thing the outfit had going for it was...

Yesterday's bag: Dooney & Bourke Medium Nubuck tote, in a darkish slate grey. It photographs a bit lighter than the real color.

I wore grey again today, an outfit that I always think looks good: dove grey knit dress, slinky chocolate cardigan, sheer black hose and black flats with a black/white dotted bow at the toe. It might sound weird, but grey and chocolate is a really nice combination. The dark brown is softer than black, and with the rest of the black and grey going on, it adds a subtle touch of color. I recommend that you try it sometime, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Speaking of shoes, I finally got around to buying the ones I mentioned in this post, the Target buckle-toed flats. Not quite half price but almost, and they still had the brown ones that I wanted! I had to go to two stores to get them, but it was definitely worth it. They're darling on, and the color is genius. They're a very, very dark brown, like bittersweet chocolate, like, chocolate black. I love them so much I'm tempted to get them in black as well, but I don't know if I need yet another pair of black shoes. Still, I love them madly.

Shoe lurve.

Eeee, it's my favorite time of the fashion year! All the magazines are doing fall spreads, and so far I'm pretty much loving what I've seen. The parts that carryover to real life - big bags, gorgeous deep neutral colors and FLATS! I love FLATS!, have made me a happy woman. It's always fun to see what's up for the new season, but when it's stuff you already love anyway, well, so much the better.

A work friend emailed me, swooning over a pair of shoes she'd seen at Target. The enclosed link left me less than enthusiastic:

Another pair though, looked quite intriguing:

I mentioned in another post how I'm a sucker for a shoe with an embellished vamp - well, this was no exception. We hit Target the next day for a little lunchtime shopping, and headed for the shoe aisle.

I have to admit that her little pointy-toed shoes are much cuter on, not unlike some garments. Looking at them on the shelf didn't do much for me, but once she popped them on her feet, they were transfigured. Still not for me, but no, I wouldn't heckle her if she wore them to the office. She's planning to buy a pair when they go on sale.

How did the buckle-toes work out for me, you may ask? Eeeee! So cute on. Absolutely darling. I'm not normally one for brown shoes, but I fell in love with these. $22.99 and they're available in deep red suede and black as well as the brown leather, and I won't be surprised if I end up with a pair of each. If I stop myself at one pair, though, it'll be the brown ones. These are deep and chocolately and gorgeous, and I'll most likely scoop up a pair this week. Flaaaaaaats. I'm in shoe heaven.

Today's bag: Tod's Miky Nomad Grande. Still no picture of my bag yet, because I suck.

Midnight and powder blue love.

A few days ago in comments, designer ella wondered why, with a blog devoted to bags, I'd chosen a pair of shoes for my icon. I answered in comments, but thought I'd post it here as well.

I originally searched for just the right bag for my icon. I had a very specific idea of the kind of thing I wanted, vintage preferably, a vintage illustration ideally. I surfed for hours (truly!) but nothing clicked. Then I found this, a vintage poster for Bally shoes. The color caught my eye immediately.

I loved the sweep of the garment (a coat?). I imagine it's one of those chic, ultra-feminine numbers that's fitted at the waist and flared at the hips, rather like Dior's beautiful and dramatic New Look.

I loved the movement implied in the position of her feet. Is she dancing?

I could easily imagine this woman standing at the railing of an ocean liner in days past, a luxurious fox stole draped around her shoulders as she gazes out over the water. Only a few hours at sea, she already misses her beau terribly, but she's looking forward to high adventure on her Grand Tour. Her luggage? Louis Vuitton, of course, her grandmother's old set purchased for her first trip abroad.

The color. The sweep of her coat. The movement in the position of her feet and of course, the very lady-like shoes themselves, sensible yet oh-so-feminine. All together, it's a midnight and powder blue peek into an elegant vintage world.

Today's bag: Lauren by Ralph Lauren hobo.

Totally girly shoes!

Well, I did state in my blog blurb that I might even post about shoes from time to time...and this is that time.

I saw these on the eLuxury website and fell immediately in love. Unfortunately, I didn't save any of the pertinent information so I have no idea how much they went for, but I seem to remember a figure in the 300.00 range. They're not on the site anymore so some lucky and fashionable woman is tipping around somewhere in my shoes. Aren't they beautiful?

I'm a sucker for a shoe with an ornamented vamp - bows, buckles, kiltie ties, or in this case, flowers. The dusky blue complements the brown Dior logo fabric quite nicely, and the logo itself adds texture and interest but isn't distracting. I'm not usually one to fall for logo-fabric shoes; the flower reeled me in.

Despite the cost (300+!), I told myself that if I had to attend a wedding this summer, I would buy these shoes. I think I lied to myself but since the shoes are gone my statement will go untested.

For many years I bought special occasion outfits in shades of navy. I love navy, though it's not one of the colors that look spectacular on me (red, royal blue, purple). These shoes, then, would have given me the perfect excuse to break my "no more navy!" rule. I'm thinking though, that something in the Dior brown shades would be more sophisticated. I guess I'll never know. ::sigh::