Butterflies on the Brain

I've got butterflies on the brain....

Which would you choose?

The slingback or the d'Orsay?

With the slingback you see more of the sweet fabric but the d'Orsay is such a lovely shoe and one of my favorite styles from Manolo Blahnik?

Thoughts????

Adore-able! Sally Hansen Nail Effects for Spring '12

Sally Hansen... you keep doing it so right!

Not only was Valentine's Day heart-filled and sweet, but you've totally hit the mark for Spring.  I mean, how much more perfect could these be for a "Pastel Ice Cream Sundae" spring theme??? I really need every single one of them... okay, maybe two of each!

Seriously!  How cute are these?  I got the ones below and am just missing Not A Peep! (a must have I will need to track down).  I may need to get another Pink-a-Dot too.  

I found mine at Ulta but usually CVS has them too.  Keep an eye out and grab them when you can!

Images via Nouveau Cheap (top 4), Mine

Sorta Sketchy

I'm pretty limited in the talent department when it comes to artistic ability (I'm much better at baking) but I'm having some fun with my basic sketches of outfits for Spring/Summer 2012.  If you look closely you can see a preview of recently purchased item.  I'll share the actual pics and links soon.

If you are good at drawing or art, I'd love to see your work too.

Spring '12 Theme 1 - Pastel Ice Cream Sundae

Sure it's February but that makes it the perfect time to be planning for Spring and Summer.  Not that I haven't been already.  I mean, I've bought more than a few dresses, shoes and bags to get me ready for the season.  February is always my least favorite month but all the Spring goodies coming in stock have me excited.

I'm going to do a recap of my Fall Themes (Clean Collage Prep & Chromatic French) and what I bought, since I made sub-categories for Investment, Seasonal and Whimsical purchases.  But I am excited to share my two themes Spring.

What I first determined a few weeks ago is "Pastel Ice Cream Sundae" and, amazingly, yesterday found  this Louis Vuitton SS '12 ad campaign making of video.  It epitomizes my inspiration!

One of my first purchases for this "theme" were my new ASOS patent mint loafers.

This theme is going to have color-blocking in candy-colored shades, soft fabrics and a bit of a retro style.  

I'll be sharing more of my finds soon too, but you can get a glimpse (as well as some of Theme #2) via my SS '12 inspiration board on Pinterest.

Red, White and WhooHoo

I love finding gorgeous vintage shoes but you know what I love even more?  When other people find gorgeous vintage shoes and think of me.

The lovely Ashe Mischief spotted these vintage Frederick's of Hollywood 1960s heels on Etsy and I immediately snatched them up.  I can not resist a good curvy 60s heel.  It's my favorite heel shape of all.

So yep, I've bought these beauties.  Not sure how I'll wear them yet, but who cares!  Look at that sexy heel!

Imitation = Flattery? Miu Miu vs TopShop

Whether you love it or hate it, you have to admit, the "inspiration" between these two pairs of shoes is blatant.

First we had Miu Miu's Fall/Winter '11Glitter Cap-toe pumps.  This was the season of glitter and Miu Miu was leading the pack.

TopShop has come right in and taken the design and made it a bit more chunky as well as subbed in more glitter.

I love the design but dislike the knock-off.  What are your thoughts???

8-bit Fashion Flashback

For S/S’12, Aldo has teamed up with three major designers from London Fashion Week - Preen, J.W. Anderson and Mark Fast; 


They're creating some really cool designs, and the best part? They’re available now at ASOS, including four exclusive styles.

I love the cool 8-bit print of these Preen heeled sandals.  I wish they had done this in a boot version. 

Preen ALDO Rise Giffee Printed Heeled Sandals
£135.00

Searching for Forever

Happy Hearts Day!!!

You know I love a good heart heel, so how smitten was I when I saw these beautiful heels from Charlotte Olympia, aptly named "Forever"

Here's to a love that lasts forever... and not just a love of shoes....

Pre-order "Forever" from Charlotte Olympia - £660

Kinect and Clothes

I'm a big fan of new technology and am very excited to see how the Kinect interface continues to evolve. I really think it has the capability to be one of the greatest innovations we've seen.  This Kinect "dressing room" is one fun example but it could evolve to helping you decorate a whole room all they way up to walking through a architecture schematic.

I can't wait to see what happens next. 

Ensemble du Jour - 2-7-12

Yes, I wore this soft kitten-grey polka-dotted cardigan from Target.

And it went great with the red pencil skirt from Express

And with the grey Tibi Daisy flats...

China Glaze's Recycle warm grey polish looked great too...

But really... it was all just a backdrop for the ring.

Isn't this adorably stunning?

It's the "Winter in Paris" snow globe ring from DIVINEsweetness on Etsy.  And I knew I had to have it the moment I saw it.  Worth every penny and the wait to get it.

It stands out and draws eyes while being subtle and delicate.  I'm just in love but I'm going to savor the wearing of this.  It's too precious for every day....

Looking for Wu

Like everyone, I'm in search of items from the Jason Wu collection from Target.    While I like the items, the hassle of even trying to get, well... anything... pisses me off.  And I'm not going to buy from "scalpers" on eBay.  I just won't do it!
After trying, no lie, 4 Target stores in our area, I found two pieces I liked.  The first was the cute cat tee.  I really want to get the scarf and bag too with this, but that hope remains unrealized.

I did nab one of the iconic shift dresses.  I think I'm going to wear this during this or next week with black tights, my YSL Mohawk heels and a black velvet blazer but for summer I'm totally adding a yellow patent belt and yellow Manolo Blahnik pumps.

While I was at Target I spied three other cute, light-weight dresses.  These are going to be great when it's sweltering. Nice enough for work but casual enough for weekends.  Plus, I get to have fun playing with all the colors in the patterns and they were only $25 each.

I got the navy/red/white print...

Coral floral...

And I had to get the cobalt blue!

So fun!  Now... if you see that cat print bag, let me know!

Ensemble du Jour - 2-6-12

Yes, hot pink is going to be huge for Spring/Summer 2012 but so is tangerine, coral, and my new favorite saturated hue... Cobalt.

I was smitten with this color and over the weekend was excited to see the perfect sweater at Target for wearing over bright patterned dresses.

I wore it right away with a fun oversized snake print skirt and....

my Manolo Blahnik Mladari mary janes.  Isn't this color great?  And the heel height is just perfect.

I love that the strap is lower on the arch too.

These come in a great emerald green too.  This weather has been warm enough that it's making me think about Spring clothes way too much.  I bought a whole bunch of dresses, now I want to wear them!

Feeling Arty

It may be pretty obvious from posts over the years that I'm a bit of a "collector".  Shoes of course, tea sets, antiques, vintage accessories, etc.  But one collection I'm pretty passionate about is art.

I have art all over the house.  I often will see a photo, drawing or painting and it just speaks to me.  I have to have it.  Frankly, I have more art than I have space for and, as I'm particular about framing, I have some pieces waiting to go up while I search for a new quality frame shop since, sadly, my old place went out of business.

But while the art in the house ranges from original giant watercolors to contemporary photographs to vintage prints, I'm very excited that I can decorate my office with some fun prints from 20 x 200.

In there I already have my Cinderella concept art and I'm going to bring in my For Like Ever poster to be the centerpiece of my main wall, but around it I'm going to add some new pieces that I think, combined, will create a stunning eclectic mix.

The first up are two pieces in a series by Lauren DiCioccio.  This one is: Vanity Fair MAY08:pg269 (and, incredibly, looking not a day older)

And this one is Vogue JUL07:pg145 (Ripeness is All).  I love how she's taken words created a visual artistic interpretation. 

Yes (You Complete the Picture) by Trey Speegle is particularly appropriate for a fashion blogger as the original artwork was the giant backdrop for the Stella McCartney 2009 Paris Runway show. The paint by numbers inspiration combined with the bright colors and Parisian setting instantly drew me in.

I got two others from a series.  Sweethearts (here) and Jelly Belly (below) by Jonathan Lewis are beautiful colorwork pieces but I love that their inspiration came from the artist being overwhelmed by the packaging and merchandising of US candies.  Perfect for a marketer but also... just pretty!

While my office is already filled with pictures of my pets,  I couldn't resist the sweet lamb from Sharon Montrose. Lamb No. 3 is one of 8 photos offered.  I would love to get them all because her beautiful pristine photographs are some of the best lit images I've ever seen.

Jane Mount has created art out of one of my favorite pastimes... evaluating people by their book choices.  I love books and I love illustration and this piece in her ongoing series - Ideal Bookshelf 353: English Lit - contains almost everyone one of my favorite novels, some even in my favorite binding.  If has Jane Eyre.  There was no way I could NOT buy it.

Frozen by Katie Baum simply spoke to me.  No particular reason for it beyond the great camera work and the prettiness of the subject.  I just wanted it.

And my favorite (and probably NSFW) is You by William Powhida.  Yep, that's a page of the "F word" but I love love love it. I think it's hilarious.  Will I actually put this up at work... that remains to be seen.

The great thing about 20 x 200 is you get these amazing artists (really, read the bios on the ones here) who are doing limited editions that are made affordable for everyone.  Sure, I have some "investment" pieces but I also want some great art for places like my office.  20 x 200 gives me the opportunity to get the best of both worlds.

These are all going to be framed in white with white mattes to make the art pop.  It may take a while to get them all done, but I'll share a picture of the full wall when it's installed.

Yeah for art!