Greener Pastures

It hasn't been that long since Isaac Mizrahi left us bereft at Target and moved on to new adventures at Liz Claiborne.

I for one was skeptical. I mean, wasn't Liz Claiborne the brand that was known for the bad taupe purses in the 80s. Right?

In spite of that Mizrahi has moved right in and brought his frothy pink and retro girly designs to life. The elements I loved at Target are now being made with nicer materials to go with the slightly higher price point.

I'm pretty cheap about clothes but I did buy a few of his new pieces via the online store.

First up was this silk shirtdress in a watercolor floral pattern.








I love the colors and pattern so much, I got the silk and knit cardigan as well.

But what I really liked were all of the great skirts on the site. This plaid pleated skirt came in pink and the grey. I'm going to wear this a lot over the summer with a grey tee and silver heels, but can pair it with darker grey or black tights in the winter too.

But why not get the pleated skirt in pink too, since I love pink? Well, I saw this and knew there was no competition. I had to have this gingham dirndle skirt. This skirt is amazing in person. The top layer is a watercolor gingham plain on whisper thin silk. Under that is a layer of tulle and then a stiffer liner that gives the skirt a frothy full shape. I twisted and swished and twirled around in it all day. It has such a 50s-ish feel, I just want to slip on a knit top or cardigan and dance.

I'm so excited that, even though he's gone from Target, Isaac is still out there making clothes that I can buy. I may not be able to get them as often but I hope they continue to be as fun as these.

Donning the Purple

I was looking back on some older posts and realized I went through a bit of a grey suede phase there and then I was all over blue satin too. I think I just get a color stuck in my head and fall in love with it, obsessively search it out and can't get enough.

Now I'm in love with purple/lavender/violet/fuschia heels. Not pink, because lord knows I have tons of pink (not that I'd turn more down! And, OMG! That list is from '97 and I know I have even more now!) And I realized, I don't think I have any shoes that are purple. I do have some with purple in them but no purple, no lavender, nothing!

Can that really be true? So instead of opening up every shoe box to be sure, maybe I should just get some... ya know... just in case.

Right?

I am currently smitten by all of these. I love the Sedaraby shape. It's a gorgeous shoe.



But do I prefer Raspberry, above, or Purple? Do I love the Raspberry one because the color is called Raspberry? Is it too close in color to my Guess Pyramid heels? Maybe I should just start with Purple and then figure out a way to get the Raspberry too. Oh and did I mention I'd love to have these in white?



I know I wrote about these before, but, I still can't get them out of my mind. Dammit!



And now these. I adore these Viva Lolo heels. They're so adorable and have such a classy shape. The color is so unique. WANT!




I am also seeing a growing obsession for deep peacock teal shoes too. I must be stopped!

Week In Review Again

Over the weekend we went to Asheville and it was an amazingly lovely day. Because it was a bit chilly but still warm and sunny, I only needed a light jacket. My favorite is a light blue corduroy one from American Eagle that I've worn for years. I love the sky blue color and I paired it with my favorite color with it - lavender. The color combo was sky blue, lavender and off white with touches of black

I had a lavender Gap tee, Gap Classic jeans, vintage off white leather gloves, my pink/lavender cameo from Etsy, a lavender pashmina wrap as a scarf and my Paraphernalia "Story" pin. I also had a silly little dog in a doggie sling wrapped around me because he was cold and doesn't like to walk!


10-13-08 Asheville by Princess Poochie

I was trying to remember what I wore this week because I was all over the board. While the henna tattoo on my hand finally raised some interest in folks my other crazy accessories didn't. I think I've exceeded the shock value limits here.

We had a Dio de los Muertos-themed lunch at the office so I wore my skull tattoo necklace and Sourpuss skull striped socks from SockDreams. I paired that up with a blue JCrew sweater (since there is blue in the necklace) over a base of a black cami and skirt.

The next day I was a bit more professional in my cute black jacket and pencil skirt from Target with my bright blue Manolo Butterflo heels.


Week of 10-13-08 by Princess Poochie

Isn't this cool?



Stripey!



Yesterday I wore a dark grey deep v-neck from Gap over a khaki pencil skirt. But it needed a bit of shine so I paired it with these brocade Estrella slingbacks from Manolo Blahnik. They are soooo gorgeous.









I love wearing a fancy shoe in a more toned down way. If I waited for an event for these they'd never see the light of day.



Today I wasn't even supposed to go into to work but we had a huge project so I did. In spite of feeling crummy. In spite of being cold. In spite of it raining all day. I'm a trooper!

Anyway, I didn't even blow-dry my hair - just put it up into to buns on the side of my head. I wore a simple black jersey top, my polka-dot Old Navy flippy skirt and grey canvas flats. Pretty comfy and basic. Now I'm going home to loaf and read one of the fifteen books I've got going!

Happy Weekend!

Store Focus: SoleStruck

I just realized that I hadn't posted a few of the other outfits that I wore last week.

I wore one of my favorite Target dresses. This was actually one of the first dresses in my "Dress Reintroduction" plan. It's a nice heathered grey wool with a two-tone green herringbone accent. inside the collar, cuffs and the reverse of the belt. I like to roll the cuffs up so you get to see the green and then I paired it with my vintage La Rose green velvet heels (which are more olive-y green) and my vintage locket.



Then, when it actually got a bit chilly I whipped out my Gap cashmere grey and black stripe dress and added lavender We Love Color tights. I also wore a matching lavender wrap so I at least had some thing to tie those tights too. And I added another new Paraphernalia piece - my Kiss pin. Oh yeah, and my Facade heels. These are my new #1 most versatile heels of the year. I'm going to wear them at least once a week I think. I seriously should have bought 2 pairs.



Not that either of those outfits have anything to do with the title of this post, but, hey, I did the Polyvores. I'm going to use them!

Anyway...

SoleStruck.

I hadn't shopped with them before. There are so many great stores out there, especially online, that I don't get a chance to go to all of them... if you can believe that! I tend to get lazy and go to the sites I use a lot. So I'm glad when other bloggers, friends and even the companies themselves make recommendations of places to check out. Also, there is a bit of a boycott going on against one of my typical shoe haunts, so I'm probably not going to be shopping there for a while.

I was actually contacted by Sole Struck about testing out their site and service, so I quickly popped over to see what I could see. And I have to say I was very interested, indeed. Like many sites, they offer free shipping which makes it much more convenient for shoe shopping. In my opinion you should not worry about ordering shoes online anymore, especially once you have a few favorite brands that you are familiar with.

Just order the shoes, they come to your house and, if they don't fit, just send them back. Free shipping, free returns... how much easier could it be? Well, my mailman (and the hubby too, I'm sure) might be sick of me and the packages but, eh, there aren't a lot of options here in Fashion Exile so, whatever.

Anyway, Sole Struck graciously offered me the opportunity to choose a pair of shoes. Hello! Kid in a candy store!

After spending a while on the site, I narrowed it down to seven pairs.

First up were this pair of Campers Twins. I liked the shiny overlapping dots and that each shoe is different. I thought they would be cute with a whole slew of tight colors for Fall.




And they have a nice sturdy rubber sole which would be good for winter weather.



But who am I kidding?

I've worn stilettos during a sleet storm in New York (okay, yes it was stupid I know that but it was more than 10 years ago and I was caught out in the storm unexpectedly. I did almost kill myself!)

So I thought I would be more practical and get a fun pair of Hunters, because I've been having a hell of a time finding some rain boots in my size and in a cute look. Wouldn't these but nice and sturdy and great for running around in the yard?



Yes, I do need a pair of boots but there were also cute girly shoes to think about so maybe I'll hold out on those this time.

I mean look at these adorable Betsey Johnson peep-toes. Bows! Peep-toes! Scalloped edges and contrast stitching! I likey!



But of course I get distracted again looking at other pink and red heels including these Jessica Bennett buckle pumps. I love love love pink and red together.




Then I see they come in a green and blue combination and now I really can't choose.



So I went back to Betsey Johnson Betseyville section to see the red and white pair and saw these wedges and knew that I was completely smitten.



I mean, seriously, look at the shape. And the adorable chunky zipper-edged patent bow. But black and green or....




or black and turquoise? I still can't choose. Maybe I should just flip a coin.



In the end, I asked for these Vince Camuto leather knot heels with contrast stitching. My favorite element of the design is how the body of the shoe is sewn to the sole. It gives them a unique and hand crafted look.



These are very comfortable, classic and well-made shoes. I was so happy with them in person that I immediately wore them on Friday to work. They are great with jeans because they are a warm medium camel color and will work well with a whole slew of colors.

I paired mine with my new Gap Classic jeans (which I'm obsessed with, by the way. They fit soooo well!) and my medium green argyle sweater from Target. I also pinned my new crest pin from my last antiques festival excursion to the hem of the sweater.



All in all, I'd recommend checking out Sole Struck. They carry a number of really great lines, including favorites of mine like Chinese Laundry, Charles David, Report and a bunch more. And they have great customer service.

Personally I'm keeping those other pairs in my shopping cart. I think I'm going to have to go back in there and get those wedges. Green? Blue? Both?

Yes!

Week In Review

Since I've been slack in the outfit recapping department lately, I thought I would put a few of the latest ones in one big post.

The other day I wore a really comfortable green wrap dress from Target. Mine was a bit lighter green than this one but it conveys the idea. I wore a white camisole under mine just to be safe.



I wore my green jade bracelet and for shoes I wore my Sinamon sandals from Nicole Brundage.








My favorite part of these shoes are the pinked edges to the straps.







They're also very interesting due to how the straps wrap around. They are attached to the heel, go over the instep and twice around the ankle.



Yesterday I was very casual in my denim pencil skirt, a lavender tee from the Gap and my Jessica Simpson silk madras wedges.





Yes, I know. Jessica Simpson shoes. But, hey, I like the colors and think they are cute. I've come to grips with the shame.




On Wednesday I wore one of my favorite outfits. A simple 3/4 sleeve white knit top with the Mizrahi huge peony print skirt. I just love love love the giant floral print on this. So big and bright and pink.



For jewelry I wore this dainty littke necklace made of crystals and pink topaz briolettes.



For shoes I wore these little fabric mules from Kate Spade. These are back when I thought Kate Spade was doing some really fresh, unique and pretty designs. I have this same shoe in two other fabrics - a tan & black zebra and a muted mulit-stripe. But this is my favorite of the three.

And these shoes are a testament to how I treat my nice shoes with care. They are a very light color fabric shoe. You'd think they'd get dirty very very easily. And they could. But I've had these shoes for at least 9 years. And while they may be due for some new heel taps, they are almost pristine.





Kate Spade - make more pretty things like these again!











I also like how they fit right on the front of your foot. They're almost retro slipper-y in shape and, I think, ultra-girly. Another version of flower feet.