IFB Links a la Mode

Welcome to the weekly round-up of IFB lovely links:

39thandbroadway - A rant regarding overused and annoying industry terms overused in the fashion business

A Few Goody GumDrops - A Few Goody Gumdrops can’t decide if the latest Pierre Hardy is a pet or a shoe!

Add Bubbles To Taste - How To Shop: A Sale!

Capitola Girl Jewelry Blog - A couture-inspired jewelry collection from a San Francisco artist that is filled with fanciful fun–and made out of LEGOs.

Diary of a Style Addict - sharing beauty secrets by giving away a free copy of Cosmopolitan’s new book

Dirty Laundry - The elusive and other-worldly effect of unraveling a t-shirt and why t-shirt deconstruction is amazing.

Dogmom’s Dish - Five Fab Books For Your Favorite Fashionista Be a haute holiday heroine with these picks!

Dress Me Up Dollie - Mini loves plaid. A lot!

eye4style - eye4style reports back on the fab LuckyShops event in NYC - Botkier, Foley & Corinna, Rebecca Minkoff and more…

fashion in my eyes - Sex on Legs

Fashion Pulse Daily - We’ll be at the stampede, getting trampled for fashion at one of the 8 locations carrying Comme des Garcons for H&M — stay tuned for our updates!

Flights of Fab Fashion Fancy - See Tina Fey’s working girl style- recreated by USA TODAY’S “Celeb Style” at Ann Taylor in Manhattan!

Hello, Lover… Shoe Daydreams - Because most bloggers aren’t traditional media outlets,companies should learn a new, more personal way to approach them.

Independent Fashion Bloggers - How to Social Networks to Scout Content

Little Black Book - Canine Couture:is it the right way to go or has it gone too far?

Mademoiselle Robot - This week the Mademoiselle Robot ball answers questions about blogging. If you have questions, come & ask!

Or False Glitter - Sister style swap: what happens when you mix two sisters with two very different styles?

Petite Bourgeoisie - Perez Hilton for Levi…

PR COUTURE - Fashion PR Interview: Tierra Wilson on Social Media Optimization Tips and Life as Full-Time Fashion Techie

respectfully yours - beyonce in gareth pugh, britney in rodarte: universe has a sense of humor.

Shopping and Info - Shopping and Info wants you to check out the one shoulder dress Leighton Meester wore at the Lucky Shops event plus more great one shoulder dress options.

Style Discovery - Have you ever wondered if you needed to buy Photoshop? Songy gives you (fashion bloggers) the answer you’ve been looking for. Picasa 3 is here to help and it’s of course free!

Style Tabloid - Take a look at Gossip Girl’s Jenny Humphrey’s past looks that we love (a lot more than her style now).

The Bare Skinny - Be cute simple & chic! Fashion cues from Audrey Hepburn

THE COVETED - Defeating Envy: When Coveting Goes Too Far

The Life and Times of a Problem Child - Going through some of the most captivating menswear at Amsterdam Fashion Week…

The Poste Office - Discovers Vintage Menswear… Cotton Love

The Sunday Best - A brief look at the perils involved with men wearing jewelry who are not pirates.

Your Style Star - Clutch Worthy Clutches

Imitation = Flattery?

Alloy isn't a site that I go to often. I find it to be confusing and cluttered. But a while back I was on there sifting about for what I can't even remember now and saw these black and white striped wedges. Where had I seen these before??? Hmmmm....



Oh, yeah, on Net-a-Porter. Because these below are the original Louboutin Sing Sing patent wedges. Don't they look identical? I mean, I can't even say "inspired" here. I can only say - Ripped Off!

Now although I can see a noticeable difference in the materials, even from the pictures, I don't think it is 20 times more noticeable. The Louboutins were something like $695 originally and the Alloys were $29.50 (later marked down to $15). These are really cool shoes (in spite of some tacky hussy wearing them too) and they'd be a fun pair to own but, it would be hard to pay the designer price when the $30 pair is so cute too. If I had never seen the Louboutin pair, I probably would have bought the pair from Alloy and been happy with them.

But as they say, you can't unknow something, so maybe it is for the best that they are sold out in both versions.

Communication Breakdown

The Lost Art of Communication by mbowman64

If you've had a blog or a website for even a brief while, you are bound to get emails and solicitations from various companies wanting you to write about their product or exchange links with their site. I've known several bloggers who have written about the high-handed tone that many of these companies take with them and I've even experienced it myself.

Many of these companies are used to working with huge media outlets, which receive hundreds of press releases a day, and I also think that because we are outside of the traditional publishing realm that we bloggers will be ecstatic to post up any thing they send us.

I actually have found the complete opposite to be true. Yes, there are those sites/blogs that will put up any scrap of information. Tracking down new content and taking the time to research, write, edit and publish it is hard. Most bloggers are writing because they are passionate about a topic. It's something they love. Something they'd read or write about anyway, no matter if they had one reader or thousands. So this tone can be very offensive.

For my day job, I advise clients on finding the right mix of communication tactics, offline and online. I try to educate them about what will work and how to approach bloggers using the perspective and experience I've gained having my own site. And when emails from companies come to me I try to educate them a bit as well. Here's an example reply letter to a company I had to send recently:


Hello "Company X"

Thank you for contacting me about your Product X. I appreciate that you feel I would be a good outlet for your message.

One thing you may not know about me is that I am also an Advertising/Marketing supervisor specializing in new media. One thing you may want to consider, is approaching bloggers in a new way. While there are many blogging networks, most bloggers are individuals who are writing for the sheer love of their topic. When approaching these writers, you may want to consider speaking to them in a more personal way. I feel a responsibility to my readers to not endorse or cover products and services that I have not personally interacted with. Many of my readers have become friends through my site and I like to be very upfront and honest about what I review. I always disclose if I have been given something to review or are being paid to advertise.

So, while your product does have some relevance to my readers, I cannot review it unless I was able to use it. If you would like to send me one to review I will give my honest assessment. I can return the product, if needed.

If you are still interested, please let me know.

Thank you
Poochie


So far I have received a mix of responses (or lack of responses, I should say). I don't think most companies mean to be offensive but they should learn a bit about a site, it's topics and audience before they pitch it. Not so different from how we choose traditional media... just more personal.

How have you dealt with this issue?

Imitation = Flattery?

I just recieved the Nordstrom holiday catalog in the mail the other day and as I was flipping through the pages, I was stopped in my tracks by the spread for these Steve Madden boots/sandal booties.



Which also happen to come in a taupe suede as well. Why was I stopped? Not because I find them that good looking or eye-catching or even well made.





No, it was because they appear to be very poorly conceived and executed knock-offs of the Maison Martin Margiela sandal booties (worn here by Jane of Sea of Shoes)



She also has the tall boot version of these as well.



Here's a close up of the taupe verison.

These white ones were at eLuxury.

Of course the knock-offs (named Triumphh) were done by Steven Madden... the master of bad versions of good shoes.

Find Me on Facebook...and 4 More Things

I've been having to get all introspective over here.

Dear Reader Robo tagged me with the task of revealing "4 things" about me, so here we go -

4 Things I Did Today:

1. Let the chickens out to play in the yard
2. Watched the feel good movie of the year, Sweeny Todd
3. Got on the Interwebs
4. I don't think I did anything productive after that. Slacker!

4 Things on My To Do List:

1. Consolidate my work To Do Lists
2. Consolidate my "personal" To Do Lists
3. Consolidate my To Buy, To Read, To Write To Do Lists
4. Do some of these things

4 Guilty Pleasures:

1. Cupcakes
2. Chocolate
3. Fancy Shoes
4. Not feeling guilty about any of the above

4 Random Facts About Me:

1. I have a Rooster who is in love with me
2. I once thought Bailey was a really original name for a dog
3. I currently have 17 kinds of honey, 11 kinds of oil, 9 kinds of vinegar, 10 kinds of sugar, & 11 kinds of salt in my cabinets
4. I like to read 3+ books at the same time.

And after much harassment from my friends, I filled out my Facebook page. At first I just went and added some folks but then I linked in my Flicker and Twitter and You Tube accounts, so I'm all connected.

The best part was thinking about my "Info" page. Once I started thinking of things I liked or I felt were "me" it was hard to stop. I hope that's a good thing. I ended up with:

Smooches & Schmoopies
Bailey, Talus, Astra, Badger, Grimalkin, Napoleon, Meg, Gertie, Agni
Ghosts of Ginger, Ghosts of Curry
Sophisticated Precious
Constant Contact
Causing no harm
Limited edition
More icing than cake
Paillettes
Porange kittens
Falling leaves
Embellishment & excess
Bubblegum pink
Gardenias
Dachshund Mohawks
Photographic memories
Berthillon
Ile Saint-Louis
Spooky Trees
Good framing
Shoe boxes
Jellybean toes
Professional in pink
Esoteric
Heart-shaped lockets
Bed & Breakfasts; breakfast in bed
Flirtatious winks
Through the lens
Simulacrum
Satin & Swarovski
Fall over Spring
Shade over sun
Evil over stupidity
Etymology
Rapier wit
Rainbow sprinkles
Pick-up perfumes
Children’s books
Dreamy illustrations
Tulle
Camelot
User-centric design
Honest enthusiasm
Waiting for the unexpected
Feather eyelashes
Hedge mazes
Saville Row suits
Red mustang convertibles
Cherry red nail polish
Creatures of the night
Secret thoughts
Silhouettes
Never stop learning
Tortured souls
Warm laundry
Well made beds
Vintage linens
Cloudberries
Olmstead
Bonfires
Victorian silver
Century old farmhouses
Gazebos
Grey mice
Whistles made from blades of grass
Miles to go before I sleep
Pocket watches
Underwood No. 5s
Wide satin ribbons
Orange lacquer
Vintage botanicals
Cold noses, warm hearts
Early Grey hot
S/S France
Street level
First Class
“Dear Reader, I married him”
Tea & gossip
Laudrée macarons
Chocolat noir
Kitchen sorcery
Glittering Avenues
Fountain pens
Kir Royales
Elderflower
Black hair & blue eyes
Chicken purrs
Harper blue
Warm blankets in a cold room
Old books
Women who run with the wolves
Emerald isles
Fairy tales, myths, legends & fables
Yellow eyes in the dark


What's the 411 on you?

Ensemble du Jour

This was a crazy crazy week, wasn't it. Not only did I stay up util 1:30 in the morning on Tuesday night but then I had two presentations the next day and had to work on 3 proposals and had client meetings. It's no wonder on Wednesday night I collapsed around 8:30. I had a town meeting Thursday night but luckily, I had today off. I'm still tired.

On Wednesday, I wore a black pencil skirt with a charcoal JCrew sweater. I was giving a talk on Mad Men and how the show is being picked up by so many different groups in different ways. I wanted to play the fashion element up a bit so I add some patterned stockings, my high patent peep-toe Louboutins and a ShoeMissy "Filly" rosette for a sly, tounge-in-cheek element.


11-5-08 - Presentations by Princess Poochie

Aren't these great. I love opaque, colorful tights but I love a black patterned stocking.



Thursday was my "friday" and not very cold at all but I was feeling lazy so I wore this babydoll pink and grey patterned top and over that a cropped but chunky grey cardigan. With it I wore dark grey tights and my patent Report heels. I added the adorable Confused Owl brooch from Paraphernalia.


11-6-08 by Princess Poochie

Usually I wear pink heels with this top because I just love the pink in the pattern but the grey felt very streamlined and cool.



Today I got to be totally slack and mess around on the computer all day. The hubby and I decided, since I was off of work, to go out to lunch. We found a vegetarian restaurant that we had not tried before so we decided to go there. In honor of that (and because I haven't had an opportunity to wear it yet) I wore my Soy Princess hoodie from CafePress over a pink cami, a denim skirt and my new JCrew Liza peep-toe heels in the Cherry Blossom pattern.


11-7-08 OOTO & Veggie Lunch by Princess Poochie

How cute is this illustration?




It's been really warm here which has been throwing off my outfits. I have all my winter stuff in the main closet but it's almost too warm to wear it. I think it's suppossed to cool off again soon, so more sweaters and jackets will be coming up!

By the way - more images on Flickr.

Paillettes Please

While the styles that come out for the Fall collections are usually my favorites, I have a special fondness for Resort. And continuing with my love of the great work coming out of Prada & Miu Miu, I have to say some of their Resort pieces are just stunning.

No doubt much of this adoration is due to the materials they are using to such great effect... especially paillettes.

Now I know paillettes are just sequins by a fancier name, but I'm still a sucker. Not that I'm not entranced when they're called plain old sequins. I guess there is a bit of the magpie in me (right now I am currently trying to resist sequined Chuck Taylors and a sequined hoodie... Must. Hold. Out.)

I love these peep-toe heels from Prada. A lot.



The shape is amazing, especially the heel and the color, a warm bronze-y degradé taupe would glow.



I love that the size of the paillettes change from the larger ones on the body of the shoe to the petite ones on the heel. And the overlapping discs look almost like snakeskin.




Green and charcoal together is a great combination and they look amazing on this clutch, also from Prada. Its a good size so, not only could you wear it for evening but I think it would be an unexpected element during the day. That might be hard to pull off but I like to wear my fancy stuff all the time and not just wait for going out or a "special occasion"



But right now I am totally smitten with these platform peep-toes from Miu Miu. I mean look at them, they're a-dor-a-ble! I love them! The colors are amazing. I saw another version of these from the collection and the variation in the size of the sequins is done so well, so artistically. They are just very smart and special.

I have to own up to being a bit "sold" by the feeling conjured by the word "paillettes". Of course the material is magical with their shiny candy colors. The style of the shoes and bag are not that unique but I've always liked a classic shape done in unique ways.

Dare to Dream

So a while back I expressed the dream that Mr. McQueen would be a Target collaborator...

and now, it may actually happen!



According to Vogue.com:

Our fashion prayers have been answered: Alexander McQueen has confirmed that he will design a capsule collection for high street retailer Target.

The McQueen collection, a specially-skewed take on his younger diffusion line McQ, will launch a new Target fashion program, Designer Collaborations - a sister project for the smash-hit Go International, which brings young and emerging designers such as Proenza Schouler, Luella Bartley, Behnaz Sarafpour, Rogan and Richard Chai to its rails.

McQueen has taken Leila Moss, the lead singer of Nineties Brit band The Duke Spirit, as his muse for the collection (which is to be known as McQ Alexander McQueen for Target), creating a truly lust-worthy offering of lightweight knits, skinny jeans, bubble dresses, cuffed shorts and denim jackets imbued a rebellious punk edge.

"Designer Collaborations is another way in which Target brings an emporium of designers to our guests. This specific McQ Alexander McQueen for Target collection does have the potential to skew toward a slightly older guest compared to some of our other designer collections," Trisha Adams, senior vice president of Target, tells WWD. "We believe Designer Collaborations will appeal to our fashion-forward guests as well as possibly attract new customers who are fans of Alexander McQueen and McQ."

Prepare to join the fashion scrum in March, when the collection lands in store.

HOLY MOLY!

Election Day Outfit

On this very important day, inspite of it being dreary rainy dismal day, I got out there to vote. I hope you did too.

In addition to my favorite accessory of the day I wore a black sweater dress from Target, my pink Lou Lou Loves You bow, Nine west Naples booties and (more) funky tights.


11-4-08 Election Day Outfit by Princess Poochie

I love these bows! Now I need some matching knickers. ; )



Aren't these tights crazy? They're from Target and I luv them. One thing I have to say about Target's tights... they're very soft, almost slippery. They had these in all pink and black but I like the sporadic pink within the white and black.



Did you wear anything special when you went out to vote today?

My Favorite Accessory

Yep, these are for a limited time only, but you can get one too!

Go out and VOTE!

And if you are in California - Vote YES on Prop 2.

Blogger Inspiration: Jane from Sea of Shoes

I'm not afraid to say it... when I see someone with great style, no matter her (or his) age, I like to break down what exactly it is that I like, what I can expand on and what can help me to stretch stylistically.

Jane of Sea of Shoes has a great sense of style and a great way of creating unique outfits from vintage and eBay finds as well as a healthy dose of amazing designer pieces. And I'm sure it doesn't hurt that she's lovely and has an extensive wardrobe of high-end shoes and clothes.

One of my favorite style of shoes that she wears are peep-toe boots, like these gorgeous Prada ones. This is definitely a style that is outside of my typical comfort zone but the more I've seen if the more I like it. Jane has done a great job styling hers, both casually with jeans and dressier.

What I liked about the Prada pair is their height, the way they lace up and the wider peep-toe opening. I searched around for a while and found these great boots from Jeffrey Campbell. I got them on sale at Urban Outfitters.

I just got them so I've only had time to take a few quick shots.

Now I need to come up with some outfits to wear them with!

How to Make a Leo Fall in Love with You

This is just so right that it's wrong!

Sadly if you hit all these checkboxes you would make my silly Leo head spin.

Of course, you have to be a good person too. I mean, that's right up there with the whole "expensive gifts" and "flattery" stuff...

Really....

Video Courtesy of Howcast

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?

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit

I was so excited. I had the day off and I was finally going to get some errands done, including getting my car's oil change. I was going to go to the dealer to drop off the car then walk across the street and have a breakfast at Panera while I waited.

I was thinking I wanted to be all comfy and snuggly and warm. But since I wasn't going to work, I could wear my really bright yellow tights and no one would bug me. My top is this dark green shawl collar sweater jacket from Athropologie. I love the giant golden yellow velvet pin that came with the sweater. My denim skirt to ground it and a pashmina in the same dark olive green for additional warmth.


10-30-08 by Princess Poochie

The Focal Point

Well, yeah... it's the tights. I mean these are BRIGHT! But I love them. And I did get a nice compliment from a lovely older lady at the restaurant. I wore my black flats from Target to further ground the crazy color.



Sadly for me I ended up being at the frigging Panera through lunch because the dealer said I needed my back brakes done too.

Great.

I thought I was doing a quick inexpensive oil change and it ends up being this huge cost. Now I'm broke!

Wonderful.

So that was my Halloween "trick", I guess.

Happy frickin' Halloween.


(Just kidding, folks!)

Beauty Has No Pain

I thought this was an interesting video on the cultural and historical significance that shoes, mainly high heels, plays in our society.

Of course, I kept getting distracted naming all the brands of the shoes I recognized... but still... interesting. And I would totally wear some of those historical shoes that were featured.

Do you agree with the commentary expressed here?

P.S. Thanks to the Shoe Girl for finding this!

Ensemble du Jour

The Outfit

Today's outfit is part of my Fall mix and match separates. I bought the plaid skirt and jacket and then some knit tops. I've already worn this skirt with the jacket but I like the creme top with it too.

One of the reasons I wanted to get this top was to get more use out of a few pairs of creme heels that I have.


10-29-08 by Princess Poochie

For jewelry, I just bough this lovely delicate necklace from a friend who makes jewelry. Isn't it darling? Little pearl charms that slide along the chain.



The Focal Point

But what I wanted to wear were my glittery cream peep-toe heels.

There are lots of dressy glittery shoes but most of the time they are red or silver or black. These are a creamy light gold satin and glitter.

Lush, puffy bows!

And a great curvy heel.

I bought these Nina Melia heels were bought at Zappos a while back. They also came in a great brown and a deep black - which you can still get on Amazon.