Second Chances

I may have missed out on the Christian Louboutin Emily booties a few years back.



But now there is a second chance. An opportunity to get a similar look - vintage-y spat style booties, this time with black patent and the same cute buttons.



Obviously available from Barneys, the Estoteri is a pricey $995 but striking. And high at 120mm!

Personally, if given the choice, I'd still pick the Emily but these are sharp too. Great for Fall but would be fun with short retro dresses too.

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit

Yeah, I was supposed to be off today. But hey, I'm dedicated. When a client has a meeting, you go to the meeting, right? So, in spite of technically being off work and it being a Friday and Halloween, I still made the effort and dressed nicely for an hour and a half.

I recently rediscovered this really cute pencil skirt (actually from Victoria's Secret) when I switched around the closet. I should wear it more because I love the button detail running down the back. The top is a black embellished cardigan. Since it was cold out, I wore tights and a vintage cape and off-white gloves.


10-31-08 by Princess Poochie

I love vintage gloves. I have small hands so I can usually fit in to most of them so I have a whole hatbox full. These are plain leather and were really inexpensive, so I don't have to act all precious about them.



The cardigan I had on is the black version of this one. It's from the Behnaz Sarafpour Go International collection from 2006. I really liked this collection and this cardigan is one of my favorites. I wear it a lot. The black lace on black is a neat textural element.




The Focal Point

I think I mentioned that I have a ton of tights. I think I will need to wear tights every day. These are a neat pair. They're black and cream herringbone with a claret floral pattern running up the side. The shoes are a pair I've had for years. I have these in black also. They're Aerosole's Sixty Chic and may be the perfect pumps. I didn't realize until later that they were possibly Celine or Vivier knockoffs. I don't care, they're so comfortable.



I had fun wearing my cape and gloves. The hubby said I looked like I was from Nanny 911. Not quite the look I was going for, but on Halloween I guess I didn't look too out of place.

But what will I do when I wear it later?

Imitation = Flattery?

Last year I talked about how pretty I thought these Gucci tailored pumps are. I'd still like to have a pair of these but refrained. I have a lot of white shoes and it's not like black where, for some reason it's easy to justify another pair.



What I like is the classic shape and the chunky heel as well as the cute little strap embellishment.

Well, it took them a year but Target is giving us almost the exact same shape - with just a few changes. And there are four colors to choose from.

I, of course, like the white the best but the black and grey are pretty cute too.










I'm not as sure about the red pair, but at $33 buck I'll probably get them too. If they don't work out I'll just return them at the store.



I think they'll be cute for Fall, especially with tights or knee-socks, and I won't have to worry about them getting wet in the rain.

Saturday Shopping and Wardrobe Changes

I'll admit it, sometimes I forget the stuff I have, especially if I've never worn it or if it's tucked way back in the closet (or if it is in one of the secondary closets out of necessity).

I had to do a few errands (including going a bit crazy at Old Navy - more about that later...) today and remembered that I had this silk bustier top from the Proenza Schouler Go International line. After wearing the dress from the line, I thought this might be safer as a weekend item. Probably not so much for work. I love the top but it's a bit too loose and a bit too busty for the office.

Anyhow, I decided to pair it with my denim skirt and, for modesty's sake, I wore my white cropped cardigan with it.



To tie the colors together a bit, I decided to wear these little kitten heeled white slides from Hype. These are more of the girly little slides that I like so much and used to wear so often.



My fa-vor-ite part of these adorable little shoes are the two buttons on the strap. Super cute.



Then, tonight we had a neighbor's party to go to. I was a bit tired but knew it would be fun, so I pulled it together. I wanted to be cool and comfortable as the party was an outside BBQ/potluck. I ended up wearing a dress I bought today from Old Navy which I had bought because it just looked so fresh and felt so comfy.

Yeah, I know, who is stupid enough to wear white to a BBQ? That would be me.

Actually, I felt the risk was minimal because we had had a late lunch so knew I probably would not be eating a lot. The dress is an adorable white cotton with red smocking and needlepoint stitching.



For some reason this isn't on the Old Navy site yet. Maybe it's too new.



Cute detail, huh?



It was warm out, but a bit buggy. I covered up from the late day sun with a straw hat and the same white cardigan from earlier today. I had a Chinese paper fan to keep cool and wore my favorite classic Keds sneakers. No fancy shoes when you are traipsing across the street, walking in gravel and standing in the grass.

It was a lovely night. My neighbors are all so great. We're lucky to be where we are.

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit
After the high heels, I wanted to wear something a little more comfy. I had not had an opportunity to try out the Tibi ballet flats, so I thought it would be a good day for them.

I wore a blue and grey argule sweater and a black pencil skirt. The grey flats, of course, and my Tahitian pearl necklace.



There is another sweet story behind my necklace. I should take a picture of it, because the setting is kind of hard to explain.

One of the stops on our honeymoon was St. Paul de Vence, a medieval village near Nice. We didn't really know how to get there but somehow we made our way. When we got there we were charmed by the different shops and restaurants, as well as the twisty cobblestone streets. The city also has an amazing cemetary and view.

This was the first stop on our honeymoon trip and we were enjoying visiting all of the artists and art galleries which are there. We came to this one tiny tiny store named Atelier Perles which was filled with Tahitian black pearls. Which I just adore.

Well, we were looking at all of the beautiful pieces when we spied this amazing pearl pendant in a case. The pearl was absolutely perfect and perfectly round - a deep glossy black with lots of blues and greens. The owner showed us how translucent it was by putting in a cup of water and letting the sun shine through it. The jewelry designer did not want to mar the pearl so the setting was made of a thin gold wire that kept it in place with its tension.

So, yes, I was all excited and basically in love with this pearl. We asked the cost of the pearl and the owner said X00. We thought, X00 francs, what a great deal. Then he said, no, dollars.

Yeah, we were young and ignorant, what do you want?

So, a little sadly, we put the pearl back and left the shop. As we walked through the town, I promise I wasn't moping about the pearl (the husband confirmed this). After a few minutes, he told me to stop and wait where I was for a second.

He then went back to the store and got me the pearl.

My Sweetie, he's a good one. Tell him I told you that. ; )

The Focal Point
I was looking for comfy shoes and boy, these are it.

The insole is very soft leather and the suede is very soft and delicate as well. And I love how the sheen of the mother-of-pearl buttons play off of the matte of the shoes.



They are nicely cut low on the sides as well. I can highly recommend them.

Cute as a Button

I knew that the Tibi line had a bunch of adorable clothes and prints but I was less familiar with their line of shoes. I've only seen them on Net-a-Porter and SimplySoles.

I just found these super cute ballet flats named Daisy. Perfect for Spring, they are grey suede and have this great button embellishment on the toe. Click on the image to get a close-up view.



I just got these last night and they are soooo soft and comfortable. And I'm a sucker for this shade of grey. Especially paired with yellow and pink. The mother-of-pearl buttons are shiny and just seem to glow. I'll probably wear them with a drapey t-shirt and jeans this weekend since it finally has warmed up a bit

Tibi Daisy Flats - $315 at SimplySoles.com