Vintage All Over Again

It always cracks me up when I see a very vintage design crop in in a modern story or store.  Not even an "inspired by" design but one totally reproduced from a vintage piece they must have gotten a hold of.

For example, I was browsing a Who What Wear article on "9 Style Secrets That Bloggers Know (and You Don't)" and saw this purse featured from Gaia.

Oh wait!

 I know that purse... because I have it!

And mine was not $98. It was like $20 and is an actual vintage piece bought from an vintage accessories dealer at a show in 2011.

Maybe I'm a blogger in the know.

At least I know to buy the original vintage piece for a much better price and quality than a reproduction!

Ensemble du Jour - Labor Day Dressing

Yesterday we had a lovely day off and spent it trying a new restaurant and leisurley browsing at the nice mall in Charlotte, South Park Mall.

I decided to wear a dress I had not had an opportunity to wear yet - my JCrew sequin stripe dress.  I love the heavier knit and the marine shades of the multi-sized sequins scattered in an ombre pattern.

I paired this with my cobalt Celine Luggage tote - always a handy size to carry.

For shoe, I'd thought about wearing my marine sequin Louboutins but decided to be more neutral and tie in with the color of the creme fabric.  I ended up wearing my lacy Enzo Angiolini Eamaxino peep-toes.

Found a few cute tops for Fall, which I'm eagerly anticipating!

Hurry up cool weather!

Spring Has Sprung

The weather was so gorgeous this weekend that I went a little Spring floral crazy.

I wore the Scene and Believed Dress that I bought from ModCloth last year and paired it with a bright pink cardigan, my vintage white wicker purse and gold sequin flats.  We were doing a ton of errands from grocery shopping to the Farmers' Market, and everywhere I went, the dress got compliments.

It is pretty adorable, I have to admit.  I also did the Sally Hansen "Not A Peep" decals in honor of Easter.

It's going to be high 60s and sunny all day today.  I think I'll drive home with the car top down!

Good Things to Those Who Wait

I've been coveting the dimensional Tory Burch Flora bag since I saw it on the runway for Fall 2012.

When it finally came out in stores, I was a bit dismayed at the price. At nearly $1000, I was not going to buy it any time soon.

I tracked for months.  On the site, in stores, in Friends and Family sales.  Eventually I gave up when the Spring 2013 items were posted and the bag went off of the site.

Then, I receive a "Private Sale" notice.  Hoping this was a keyword for clearance, I took a chance.  And there it was for more than 75% off.  Yeah for me!

It's still not an inexpensive item but it's so classically shaped, neutrally colored yet totally unique, I know I will be wearing this for years.  I love the multi-season appropriate color, the faux tortoiseshell link handle and delicate flowers.  Plus the size and shape is great.  I can't wait until it arrives!

Patience is a Virtue... Sort of

More than a month ago, I expressed my love and desire for the Hold Court Quinn bag and the Delavan Terrace Linden basket bag.  But I decided to be good and not get them.... or at least hold out until the next sale.

Well, thank you Kate Spade because the Friends and Family event this weekend enabled me to get both for 25% off!  Sweet!

And ever since I saw this picture, I've been pining for the JCrew frog clasp bracelet in blue and
 green.   But every time it come up, it gets sold out immediately.

Well this time I jumped on it!

It's on back order for months, but I hope it will still show up!

For immediate gratification, I got their cute apple print skirt.  It's such a fun print and breezy.  Perfect for the upcoming summer months!

Fooling My Eye - Jump From Paper

It's a funny thing... sometimes the way to my heart is by fooling my eye.

 That's what happened the first time I saw the bags from Jump From Paper.  I was surprised.  I was puzzled.  I was enchanted.

 I smiled.

How could you not smile.  Your brain sees something that says it is 3 dimensional but your mind says "No!  It's only a drawing in 2D!  How can this work???"

Silly brain - just look closer!

Here's their story -


JumpFromPaper™ is a playful and innovative line of handbags created by Taipei-based design duo, Chay Su and Rika Lin.

One cozy afternoon, the two girls were chatting, when they got to sketching their dream designer handbag. A surprising idea popped up – “How amazing it would be if a two-dimensional hand-drawn illustration could come to life as a real bag!” They explored every possibility, rendering fantasy handbags in perspective, and giving birth to JumpFromPaper™.

Cartoon-like outlines and bright and cheerful colors add a brisk yet funky flavor. And despite the slim appearance, each JumpFromPaper™ bag has a roomy interior to accommodate personal belongings and even a laptop.

Even knowing and seeing the close ups, my mind is in turmoil.  I love it!!!

I think my favorite is "Cheese!" camera bag style (below) but all for their designs - make sure to see them all - are adorable!

Now, to find a Lichtenstein to complete the set....

Courting Kate Spade

You know I love a bit of whimsy, especially in a cute purse. And how good is Kate Spade at knowing what is going to strike my fancy???

Well, how about this 50s fabulous, WASPy tennis-lovin faux grass "Hold Court Quinn" bag.  Oh, how much do I want this for Summer???  SO MUCH, I tell you!

 I also wouldn't turn down this sweet picnic basket style bag...

How adorable would this be with one of my new patterned dresses???

Maybe I need both!  It's the only solution!!!

Celine Selections

Sooo.... I was daydreaming about the Celine Luggage Tote in highlighter neon pink but sadly, Celine didn't make enought to fulfill the waitlist. 

No pretty pink for me.  : (

But... I do have 3 other options.  Orange...

Neon highlighter yellow (I'm told this image does not do it justice and that it is very neon yellow)...

Or rich tomato-y red....  (a bright red with orange undertones)...

Which would you choose???

I'm leaning towards the red as it's more "classic" but the neon yellow is very appealing as well.  Thoughts?

Investing in Gold

Pinterest is getting to be deadly.  I keep seeing images like these and deciding that I must go out and grab these items myself.  I need gold for Fall.

I've been off gold for a while but this season, it just seems right.  As real gold shoots up, I find myself wanting to add it back in.  But not real gold... I want burnished vintage warm old gold.

I want to wear gold with red, with black, with navy and brown and especially leopard print and tortoiseshell.

So my first and best bargain was this leopard print clutch from ASOS.  With a coupon code, I nabbed it for about $25 (it's only $35 now) and have received tons of compliments on it.  I've been searching for a clutch that grabbed my attention, was the right size and price and this is it.  I've been wearing it to work the past few days and it's funny how a clutch makes you feel instantly more put together.

This even has great metal accents and, on the upside, I don't have to worry about it getting ruined!

I have to admit, I've been wanting this watch for over 4 years.  I finally found a good price on Amazon ($50 off!) and caved.  I love a chunky watch and Michael Kors created the perfect one.  It's acrylic tortoiseshell and just dreamy.

But then Pinterest and my sucker-ness for sequins got me again...

Zara got me with this sequin "wallet" clutch. (They also got me to get this polka-dot jacket but sadly it didn't fit right and had to go back.  Sad face.)

So yes, me and chunk watch-clutch-magic-time is going to be happening all winter long.

To add to my clutch-bracelet soiree, I found some great pieces at my favorite antiques fair.

Not the hex nut bracelet, of course.  I made that during my big craft weekend.  It's amazing how photogenic these are.

Nope, my two vintage pieces were these great mesh bracelets.  They are so comfy to wear.

The teal accent is going to go perfectly with my new mary janes.

Little mesh bracelet... just as sweet.

And my favorite finds were these Volupte cigarette case and compact with a gorgeous Persian enameled motif.

The case is tiny but I'm going to use it as a clutch. Just pop my cards and id and that's it for a night out.  No keys carrying that night. Or I can pop it into one my my new clutches instead of my overstuffed wallet.

I usually default to silver, but this season, it's all about gold.