It sounds crazy but I think it worked. A vintage leopard coat, teal v-neck and fishnet-y tights, red skirt an a House of Holland double necklace in tonal crystals.
It’s all nails and shoes around here, isn’t it! I know I’ve been skewing a bit polish/nails heavy around here but I wanted to make sure you saw this offer. Zoya is giving 2 free polishes for just the cost of shipping. Shipping is $6.95, so I think it’s a pretty good deal!
The two I got are Cynthia (part of the Smoke Collection) –
A smoky, blackened peacock teal with soft warm undertones. A very uncommon shade of blue for a subtle but funky look.
And Barbie – Soft, warm medium baby pink with very subtle hot pink shimmer. An adorable girly shade to accent any outfit.
I can’t wait to try out these polishes! What ones will you buy?
Disclaimer: Nail swatch images not my own.
If you thought the birdies were pretty on the grey suede and pink pumps, you might also like these delicately shaded sandals with the same bird pattern, although now it is in the lightest teal.
I just adore the color on these. They also come in a great swirly coral pattern too which I think will be a huge color in spring and summer.
I mentioned that I went to Target on Friday and went a bit out of control. There were tons of things that I liked and so I took several large bag-loads home. I think I scared the register girl a bit.
But mainly I just don’t like to try things on in the store. That and I get stuff home and change my mind about them. That’s why I never take the tags off right away. Sometimes I need to look at them for a while before I really commit to keeping them.
At the end of the day I’m taking back a dress, 8 shirts, a bunch of jewelry and two skirts. But what I ended up keeping were these lovely summery items.
I’m not a huge dress wearer so I’m trying to find more dresses that I feel comfortable in. I like these alot, especially the blue and off-white print dress. The 3/4-sleeve cardigans are right up my semi-preppy alley and the two light t-shirty tops will be good basics too. And I love the fun jewelry. I’ve already worn the pink bubble necklace. The elephant charm necklace has a retro/JCrew sense too it. And the green chain one is actually all made of beads, so that’s pretty cool.
If you click on the image it will take you to Polyvore where you can link to each of the items.
You can kind of tell where my colors are going for Summer: white, black, grass green, teal/aqua over khaki, white and black. Accent colors of pink, yellow and orange/coral.
I got a few headbands and footless sheer tights which are both super cute. More pics to follow. Once this crazy weather warms up a bit.
I had never really considered vintage shoes as viable options before my experience with vintage La Rose dead stock. And I hadn’t really done a lot of exploring of vintage shoes on Ebay (everything else, yes, shoes no), but I’ve been really happy with some of the pieces that I’ve found on there. The style, quality, fit and condition have all been good.
I try to pace myself so I end up going through the site every few months and just seeing what there is on there that I have to ruthlessly stalk down and use dirty sniping tactics to make them mine. Here’s my latest haul:
These are three of the shoes I got (one more is on the way). What we have (from left to right) are a pair of 90’s teal Etienne Aigner pumps, a pair of 80’s Kenneth Cole gold lace up shoe-boots, and 40’s/50’s Nanette brown suede heels.
Here are some close-up views of the Etienne Aigner shoes:
The color is a beautiful peacock teal with these great little cut-outs on the back and sides. They are very walkable and comfortable.
The gold Kenneth Cole’s are kind of funky and very very gold. I think I was influenced by Jennine at The Coveted and Susie at Style Bubble. They have such fantastic style that they encourage me to take greater risks with my wardrobe.
I’ll probably wear them this weak with all black and some black tights so they really pop.
But I can’t pass up my favorite mid-century heel silhouette. I love these brown suede and leather pair that I got.
The loopy stitching is great and like nothing you would get today. I think I’ll wear this with a tweedy or plaid skirt.
I just got a few other amazing pairs. As soon as they come in, I’ll post them up because they are too pretty to not share.
I haven’t been watching Gossip Girl but I keep hearing the raves about how good it is. I know I probably won’t get sucked in, but maybe I should because the fashion does look pretty good.
WhoWhatWearDaily featured some of the styles from the show’s characters and where to get them. All the looks are cute but I loved the Blair Waldorf look below – shiny black trench, red stockings and the cutest boots!
They are Sam Edelman boots and were on sale at SmartBargins.com. I like the mix of grey, white and teal toe cap – all popular style trends this year but so classic you could wear them forever. I had to run out and get these. 50% off! And they look more wearable than the Louboutin Emily booties.
When I couldn’t find them at first, I, of course, went to Zappos. I found that Sam Edelman makes a few cute shoes and saw these boots in two other color combinations. I love the yellow quite a bit and were tempted by these.
But I like the tan, bordeau and white pair too. But they are full price on Zappos, so I decided to go with the teal version. Maybe I can get another pair later.
Look for some version of that outfit soon!
The weather here was particularly fabulous this weekend. Sunny but cool enough for a sweater. Perfect napping outside weather. And because it was a perfect Fall weekend there were a million things going on around town which is my big excuse for being lacking in the posting department.
I left work early on Friday and went to the grocery store to stock up for my weekend alone. The next morning I got up and got all the animals fed and walked then I went to our farmer’s market because they were having a craft fair as well. Last year I had met a lovely older gentleman who makes these amazing wood bowls by hand. I jumped on a beautiful piece and we’ve kept our apples or squashes, etc., in since then. So I was very hopeful that he would be there again this time. At first I didn’t see him, but there he was. And with amazing new pieces.
I got the best red cedar bowl that is carved so thin you can’t believe it’s possible. And the graining of the wood glows in the light. It’s big enough for 3 mini-pumpkins and is now on my dining room table. I also got a burled oak compote, the pattern of which is so unusual and striking. I filled that up with small gourds for the hallway. His prices are not cheap, but given that they are hand-turned and carved, I think they are worth it. They look like future Antiques Roadshow treasures.
On Sunday, I cleaned some and then let the chickens out to “free range” in our backyard. As I said, it was perfect napping weather and my chickens fell asleep in the sun. It is the funniest thing to see a chicken sprawled out like a co-ed snoozing in the sunshine. I need to get a picture of that to share.
Sunday afternoon, I was invited to a Ladies Tea by my friend Sonja, the founder. 
Sonja is creating a new social networking idea and is working to spread the word. I love tea and have been going to tea all around the world for over ten years. Her idea is to bring women together to create connections and a forum for ideas and interaction. I wrote and article for one of her newsletters even. It’s a fun and interesting concept. Well worth checking out!
To the tea, I wanted to wear something comfy but warm since the day was cooling off, so I wore a new Mossimo sweater in a heathery brown and one of my brown skirts.
To add some visual length and pull in a lighter tone, I have these graduated bead necklace which is very long. It’s kind of heavy too.
And for the first time, I wore my new Miu Miu brogues. The theme of the tea was “Wellness” and what I brought was Dagoba chocolate with lavender and Lavender Sables (french shortbread cookies). I think that influenced me to wear this because of the lavender color in the shoes.
They have that great Miu Miu cushion in the sole, so even though they are high they are pretty comfy.
All of the major department stores are integrating a focus on new designers, hoping to be the first to break out a young talent.
Saks Fifth Avenue’s Fashion Incubator is currently featuring Jonathan Kelsey’s shoes. The collection consists of 7 pumps, sandals and shoe boots for Fall. Jonathan worked at a variety of houses including Jimmy Choo, which I can see the strong influence of in his clean lines and rich colors.
Suede Patent Pump $675
Metallic Leather Sandal $695
Metallic Leather Pump $585
I love the depth of color and the quality of the materials. The designs have a very modern and graphic sensibility with a very sophisticated silhouette. But one element that I am not yet a fan of is the cone heel. His are not as sharp as some heels I’ve seen and I know they pull from a 40’s fashion but I just find them to be clunky and with out much sex appeal.
What do you think of this heel style and would you buy from him? Do you see him as the next Choo/Manolo/Louboutin?
Shoe Daydreams 
