1150.00! For canvas! I want one.

So...in my last post I talked about curbing bag spending after my wild, months-long Pierotucci buying spree. I thought about getting a Tano -- or two, at those prices.

Hahahaha!

Somehow, my brain turned "one cheaper bag" into "Louis Vuitton! Yes, please!" I have one LV now, the ever-classic Speedy 30, but I'd like another, more structured bag, something slightly larger for those times when I'm toting more than the usual amount of life crap. I'd really like a Speedy 35 or 40, but for the money, that seems a bit redundant. So!

I've been looking at the Deauville for quite a while now, possibly through two price increases, one certainly, so I'd be insane to wait any longer. It's 1150.00 on eLuxury, which, luxury, no kidding, because it's basically coated canvas.

I wouldn't balk at paying that much for leather (I already have!), but...canvas! I think this is Salma Hayek, but I can't say for sure. One thing for sure is that she looks as short as I am, whoever she is, so this is a good picture for sizing purposes.

Oooooh. Want.

Including the Speedy, I own four LV pieces: the Passport Organizer Wallet, which is the best wallet I've *ever* owned (I think I'm the only woman on the planet who has one); the Snapped Billfold and Coinpurse wallet for smaller bag days, and the Pochette Cosmétique for lipsticks and such. The Passport Organizer was worth every penny, by the way; I've had it about three years and even though I've carried it every day, it's still in nearly mint condition.

LV love notwithstanding...1150.00 for canvas? I can't decide! I'm going to the Mothership this weekend; I'll have a better idea once I see the Deauville in person. I can pose in front of the mirror for a while, and drive the sales staff crazy with my indecision. Maybe I'll buy something small to soothe their anger. One of those little round coin thingies, perhaps.

1150.00! For canvas! But I really, really want one.

Today's bag: Lous Vuitton Speedy 30

Fall! Almost!

I wore a surprisingly successful outfit the other day, surprising because I threw a new color into the mix and came up with something a little nicer than the usual.

I have an oddly-patterned skirt that's covered with geometric shapes. It's a lightweight two-layered skirt, a nice weight for three seasons, but it doesn't look ridiculous in winter. The predominant colors are cream and a soft celadon green; detail colors are a kind of olive/brown shade and a bit of light teal. The tops I wear usually play on the greens, creams and browns.

Since it's been a bit fallish the last few days, I thought it would be nice to transition into deeper colors. I picked a dark teal knit tee to wear, along with my slinky chocolate cardigan. It looked wonderful! The only thing I'd change would be my footwear; I wore tan/light brown shoes which I swear, just don't look quite right with anything -- and I can't figure out why. I bought them with summer clothes in mind, and I've tried them with several outfits. Seeing them the other day was the final straw. The next time the Salvation Army calls for donations, they're out the door.

For my new fall combo, I think cream stockings (the skirt's too light for anything darker, no matter what the fashion nabobs are telling us this season) with my dark brown silver-buckled flats will look nice, especially with the chocolate cardigan up top.

In other completely-not-surprising news, I'm scouting bags to give myself for my birthday. Since I've gone Pierotucci hog wild the last few months, I'm looking at bags with more modest price tags. I'm thinking a Tano might be nice; I've never had one, but they seem to be interesting bags for the price. Stay tuned!

Today's bag: cognac Pierotucci Birkin-style bag. I loooove it.

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.

Yves and Dior, sittin' in a tree...

Okay. Remember this post about Chloe's Big Edith, the bag that looks like a cross between the YSL Muse and a regular Edith? Well, the Muse has been a busy bag, because another lovechild has been spotted, this time from the House of Dior.

I wasn't too crazy about the Gaucho when it first came out; kind of like the regular Edith, I didn't see what all the fuss was about. That was before my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when I saw the Gaucho Croc-Stamped Patent bag:

Holy Hannah, that's beautiful! The Muse just continues to inspire and improve other bags, doesn't it? Genius. Here are the particulars, if you're like me and would love to buy one of these babies. Available here at eLuxury, $2,390.00, 18.5"x 13.25"x 7.5" (big!). Here's the bag in action:

Dior's not the first place I stop when I surf eLuxury, so it's a new experience to find myself head over heels for one of their bags! If I had to give Dior a few thousand dollars for one of their products, this Gaucho/Muse hybrid would be my pick. Ah, she is shiny, croco-stamped love.

Today's bag: cognac (yes, another one!) Pierotucci Birkin-inspired bag. When I stop being lazy I'll take pictures.

My coat is made of squee!

Now that the fall items are beginning to roll in, my annual coat search has begun. Last year's attempt to be fabulous fell far short of the goal; this year I just want to find a simple, beautiful, classic coat that will work just as well dressed up as down. What I'd really like is a classic menswear cashmere topcoat, cut for the feminine body, of course.

I wrote the above in a draft post on July 4th. Fast-forward a few weeks to last night...

Unlike my rather cracktastic claims of coat fabulousness last year (ye gods, what was I on?), I'm set to achieve true outerwear perfection this year. As mentioned in my last post, I've been positively giddy with this season's offerings. I've seen so many beautiful coats and cute jackets that my hard drive is filling up fast with the photos I've saved!

I wanted a neutral color, nothing too long, and nothing too trendy. I wanted a coat that would look polished with work clothes, but relaxed with casual clothes. Ultimately, I wanted something classic that would look great for a number of years, and not look dated as soon as the leaves begin to fall next year.

After looking at many, many coats, this is the first one to really slot itself into the "buy me!" niche in my brain:

Despite the fact that it looks slightly purple or lavenderish, the website listing (and the catalog picture) shows the coat is grey. I saw it and fell in love, despite the fact that I'm not the world's biggest fan of hooded coats. Still, pretty! I very nearly bought it a couple of days ago, but last night I kept surfing. Then I saw it, this beauty by Eileen Fisher:

The people at Saks really know how to style a photo shoot, eh? At first I thought it was a bathrobe, and I was completely underwhelmed. But the more I looked at it the more it intrigued me, and I wondered if somewhere out there, someone had actually taken pains to make the coat look interesting. Hurray for Garnet Hill!
I was sold, because this is exactly what I've been looking for. It's stylish, it's got that vintage vibe that I love, and the oatmeal shade is a perfect neutral (camel would be better, but I can live with it). This coat can be dressed up or down, and I'll still be able to rock it when I'm 70! How perfect is that?

Two things are a bit worrisome. It's unlined, so will it be warm enough? On the other hand, an unlined coat is a much lighter coat! The length is the stickiest point: it's about 42 inches long, and I'm about 61 inches high. If I'm lucky, it will hit at my mid- or lower-calf. I've got my fingers crossed. Stay tuned...

Edited to add another picture:

Eileen Fisher coat, at Neiman Marcus, Saks, Garnet Hill. Also at Eileen Fisher. Plus sizes, $378.00, women, $358.00.

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

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.