hat

Ensemble du Jour – 9-28-12

Posted on by Shoe Daydreams

On Friday, I took off work to go to my favorite antiques show. It’s twice a year and each time I go, I find something great.  Past purchases have included structured bags, great hats, linens and gold cases.  I don’t always go with a plan in mind but I usually end up with something great.

The show is held in a big farm field so boots are necessary.  I went with a bit of a “modern Victorian” look wearing my ruffly Betsey Johnson knee-high boots and a mini-straw hat headband.


”I should have brought a parasol as I usually do, because it was warmer and sunnier than I had anticipated.  But it all worked out for the best, because I found a darling French flax (I think) parasol which I promptly put to good use.

I also found a beautiful ladies English boating hat and two Fall hued table cloths which I will be using in my bakery booth next month. 


I’m always excited to wear my new purchases and we had great weather on Sunday, so I paired my new hat with white and coral Zara dress which I topped with a navy blazer from Anthropologie.  I also wore white wingtip oxfords and another previous show purchase, a white wicker purse.  It was perfect for a bookstore visit and stroll outside.
(I have got to set up my good camera with the timer and tripod!)

I hope I don’t have to put these away until Spring.  Maybe there are a few more warm Fall days ahead.

Talent, Style and Inspiration – a Fascinator Story

Posted on by Shoe Daydreams

I’m not sure if I’ve expressed this before, but I love love LOVE hats and fascinators and hair accessories of all kinds.

And I love that the lovely Kate Middleton is bringing them back in a big way.  And my absolute favorite thus has been the vibrant red straw fascinator with the maple leaves that she wore in Canada.  Obviously she is gorgeous, but the combination of the jaunty design and wearing angle, striking color and outfit pairing made it perfect.

I had to have it!

So I did a bit of research and found that the creator was Sylvia Fetcher of milliners Lock & Co.  Right away I gave them a call and was promptly told that this piece was custom made for the Duchess and not for sale.  Darn royals!

But lucky for me, I also have access to a custom milliner – my very talented friend Mary of Pretty Good Things.  So, we discussed a plan – we wanted something equally striking, red with maple leaves, but it had to be inspired by, not a knockoff.  Different shape and materials and her unique vision led Mary to create a little masterpiece just for me.

Isn’t it stunning!?!?  I don’t even have it yet but I’m so excited to wear it!

What’s great about the process is that she shared her vision and progress with me throughout.  I was able to select the overall color (in case I wanted something other than red), how I wanted to wear it, and even placement of the lining and embellishments.
In the end I ended up with a beautiful piece that will be so much fun to wear, as pretty as the inspiration piece but one that has a personality of it’s own.  And that is what’s great about working directly with artists of all types!
By the way, I’m not a huge royal family watcher, but have to admit, I love Kate and Will as a couple.  They both seem so gracious and equally in love with and comfortable with each other.  I just watched this video of them from their Canada outing and they seem sweet.  I guess I’m a fan!

Bows on the Brain

Posted on by Shoe Daydreams

I love a good fascinator. And if they are bit silly or extravagant, I like them all the more.  So it’s not surprising, is it, that I wold love to have one of these pieces from Tour De Force?

The Bronze Bowtie would be perfect with my new copper patent oxfords (still to take some snaps of those for you!) – £215.00

But the Ruby Rose is so lush too!  And I look good in red. – £159.00

Of course, Bardot bunny ears – a bow AND bunny ears!!! – may get me to hand over my card. I mean, how can you resist??? – £79.00

And I’m not done with bows bedecking me bodily (hee hee!).  I was on ideeli today and they have some fun and inexpensive BCBG jewelry.  I’ve been wanting some pretty sparkly rings and when I saw these bow rings – in bronzey gold, pink and aqua – for only $16, I jumped.

Run right over and grab some for yourself too.  A bit of sparkle and ridiculousness goes a long way to cheering up the mid-winter doldrums.

Ensemble du Jour – 6-12-10

Posted on by Shoe Daydreams

Saturday I was able to have a fun day out with my sweetie. He suggested that we go out to lunch and to our favorite antique store. I love when we go out to something other than doing errands because I use it as an excuse to wear some of my favorite things, like hats, that I just don’t have the time to incorporate on my way to work.

It was very warm out but I knew we would be running in and out of the air conditioning. I wore a very bright floral dress (and probably my only yellow piece of clothing) with a light cropped cardigan. The dress is a few years back from Target’s Isaac Mizrahi line.

I wanted a very summery mix and to play up the green too. So I used my Stephen Jones boater, a vintage wicker-y bag, my lace parasol from Venice and Jessica Simpson Pegeen heels.

Here is the dress without the cardigan. The waistline is a bit above my natural waistline so it has more of an empire feel to it.

The fabric on this is the best part. The bodice has the bigger pattern.

The skirt is pleated with a smaller pattern on top of the box pleats and a larger pattern in the folds. The dress is even lined so it’s a pretty nice quality for a mass merchandiser.

Because it was so warm I kept the jewelry simple – a very delicate gold chain with pearls and a gold bead.

A hat close up with the green and navy ribbon.

I like the preppy colors of these shoes but they are not great for walking a lot, I’ll admit. I ended up changing into my favorite Keds after we ate lunch and before we walked around.

I was happy to receive several compliments as we visited the shops. It’s funny how, when you take the time to put on something just a bit nicer, like a dress, how sweetly people respond.

7 is 10 Party – Seven New York and Fashion Week

Posted on by Shoe Daydreams

I think half the fun of Fashion Week are the parties and meet-ups that go on all around the core events. And the 7 is 10 party did not let us down.

The party, held at the Tribeca Grand, was packed! The line was down the block and inside was just as crazy. I was able to hang out with Nova Style and friends, Dream Sequins and spend a good bit of the evening with The Shoe Girl and her adorable hubby.

I have decided that my new party strategy is to wear a fabulous headpiece because people could not get enough of my delicious Agent Lover-created cake hat. Girls begged to wear it for photos, guys tried to french it. It was a magical evening all around.

I wore my Behnaz Sarafpour for Target lace cardigan over the Rosalind Keep Trompe L’Oeil Prom Dress from Oasis. I did wear the Bebaroque Betty tights but might go for a solid next time. I did want to contrast with the pink Louboutin Simple Pumps and it was darn cold out.

You cannot resist the cake hat!

Actually, I was representing my lady bloggers all around – Agent Lover cake hat, Paraphernalia Petit Nom Initial necklace and Wendy Brandes Swear rings.

I also made the extra effort with some false eyelashes. As eyelashes go, these were pretty subtle. I’ll put the large images on Flickr so you can see them up close and personal.

There are bound to be images floating all over the internet from this party because people were taking pictures left and right.
It was a lot of fun especially as I was up way past my bedtime… but well worth it!

Raising Eyebrows?

Posted on by Shoe Daydreams

Not sure if I’m getting predictable or if the people I’m around are becoming desinsitized to me but I wore some slightly “out there” outfits (comparatively, for NC) and no one batted an eye.

Is this a good thing or what? I’m not sure.

The outfit I wore with my glitter heels and TokyoMade Chapter ring what otherwise kind of basic:

5-7-09
5-7-09 by Princess Poochie on Polyvore.com

Then on Friday I wore a stripey jacket, my derby and saddle shoes (wish I could have worn my Viktor & Rolf paperclip eyelashes too).

5-8-09
5-8-09 by Princess Poochie on Polyvore.com

Today I went out for lunch (and vintage shopping… more on that later…) and wore a shiny silver skirt, sequin Chucks, my boater, a green top with my parasol and a vintage straw purse.

5-10-09
5-10-09 by Princess Poochie featuring Old Navy t shirts

Okay, so maybe these aren’t too out there but they were fun.

I’ve tried to stick to a palette but I just can’t do it. I love too many colors! And glitter! And sequins! And vintage! I know there are some things I don’t wear and pieces and colors I wear more than others but I’m just trying to enjoy what I buy. Hopefully it will last and hopefully I won’t get bored by it. That’s becoming more of a goal for me. I’m sort of all over the place but that’s okay…. Right?

Saturday Shopping and Wardrobe Changes

Posted on by Shoe Daydreams

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.

Hot Dog under a Heat Lamp

Posted on by Shoe Daydreams

I was reading Gala’s blog today and she linked to a post talking about a very young woman who died of skin cancer. It still amazes me how many people still layout in the sun A LOT and still go to tanning beds.

I can’t believe there are people who don’t know how horrible tanning beds are. I’m from Florida but extremely fair (aka Irish Chicken Meat skin), and, luckily, never got into tanning. It was way too boring to lay around like a hot dog under a heat lamp. I’ve since moved to North Carolina and it amazes me how many tanning salons are here. People are obsessed with it, and with getting tanned/burned.

Is the whole skin cancer message not getting through to people?

Why is tanning and being tanned still considered a good thing. Maybe we need to hand out some ribbons and hold some races to get it more noticed and generate more awareness about it.

Please please please don’t layout and don’t go out without sunscreen. Not only will you look younger and better, but You. Won’t. Die.

I also always ask if babies and kids have sunscreen on too. You would be surprised how many don’t.

Better yet, play up the whole lack-of-tan element. I love parasols. I have some vintage ones, a lacy one from Italy, a black kind of Goth black velvet one and some pretty Asian ones – in florals, red and white splatter patterns and rice paper. You can get some for less than $20 at Pearl River.

And there are pretty hats for all seasons. I love straw hats with flowers on them and then pinning vintage brooches, but there are tons and tons out there, especially online.

Don’t wait until they have to cut something off of you. Wear the sunscreen and cover up. A tan can fade but a big biopsy scar will last far far longer.

Photos from Swan4 and KateMonkey – Flickr