Lola&Bailey

While waiting for the man to get off the other computer (so I can print out a resume and submit it) I've been oggling this jewelry by Lola&Bailey.

"Lola & Bailey is a partnership between Cheri Uppal and Theresa Nguyen established in 2006 out of a yearning to create beautiful and intriguing design products that are a reflection of the user.

Lola & Bailey is based on a fictional romance between characters. Each product takes you on a journey through the lives of these characters in love and life, breakups and makeups and everything in between.

This collection is 'The First Kiss'. It's whimsical, fun and ambiguous. Wear them upside down, sideways, let your personality come through your jewelery."

And by god I am feeling the collection. I've always had a big thing for jewelery and I'm known by my big statement earrings (which I need to replenish.) And I love love love Arte Nouveau and story telling so you can imagine how I was when I found them.

Pictures are from Modamuse.com, so without further ado, my favorites:

First Kiss:

Third Kiss:

From the Cloud Watching & Star Gazing collection there are pendants and pins. My favorites again:

Sun Catcher in Creme:

And Sun Shifter in Creme:

The only thing I could possibly wish for are some earrings. I would love it if they made earrings. Or rings. Maybe they'll do it in their next collection. If I could will things into being,
I know I'd be hearing news about their earrings tomorrow.

Until then. . .

Red Pants

Pretty Girl from Black Pearls asked what to wear with red jeans that wasn't just a black top. She wanted something cream, tan or brown. I fiddled with Polyvore for a second and this is what I came up with. Nothing very wowy but definitely different from the norm. I think most people would keep it black and white with that splash of red, or do lots of splashes of red. Creams and tans makes the red not as jarring and not as "hipster." Pretty and earthy with a bit of passion, if you will.

Sneakers

I've been contemplating getting a pair of sneakers (considering I don't really have any) since doing my post on what I'd wear at 40 and I've been trying to figure out what I should get. You always have your Converses and that's awesome and I need a pair of simple black ones. But when it comes to sneakers that I want to stand out in, it's always been Dunks. I love them because when I put them on, unlike other kinds of sneakers, they don't make my feet look fat (which is also why I like Pumas.)

A lot of fashionistas refuse to wear any kind of sneakers that don't have the Converse look. While that's okay I think they're missing out on something. I can understand the fear of the shoes ruining your aesthetic. If you're trying to look like a spring rose, people naturally gravitate towards flats. I guess that's one of the reasons why flats becoming tired for me. They're so. . .easy. I mean, easy can be good but it's always great to have adventure with your fashion.


Take what Lauren from Fops and Dandies wore the other day to an Elton John concert. She has on what are typically "urban wear" shoes but she's managed to still look pretty and interesting. Everything about what she wore was quite perfect actually. The jacket made it a little dressier for the concert while the shoes managed to dress down what she was wearing so that she didn't have that overly pretty look.

I don't know if I'm adventurous enough for dresses yet but I'm gonna work on it. Maybe I just need to do some experimenting on Polyvore.

These are the ones I saw on sneakerhead.com that I liked:






I do have issues with each kinda. I'm not a fan of pink or gray. I like everything else though. The navy and white (and there are black and white) would fit in with everything but they sorta lack a glam factor.

I don't know. If I decide on something I'll post about it.

Tutus

Style.com very recently put together a slideshow of fashion that was inspired by ballet and Degas. Some of those looks were really costumey, definitely like costumes I've worn before, others were more wearable which is good. That's one of the things I immediately look for in clothes, how I could wear it. Most of the clothes themselves I probably wouldn't be able to wear alone unless I had some place to go to at night, but I imagine that if you paired some things with simple tees or sweaters, to detract from some of the glitz, you could maybe wear it during the day. I'm really tempted to try and recreate some of these looks with my sewing machine but I'm afraid my skills aren't yet up to par.

Anyway, here are my favorite looks.

Ralph Lauren.

Luisa Beccaria. (not that wearable, love it anyway)

Luella. Goth much? (love it)

MaxAzria. (Don't know about the top part but love how skirt ripples.)

MaxAzria again. (so wearable)

Collette Dinnigan. (black cardigan + feather skirt?)

Prim Magazine

This past Tuesday Prim Magazine launched. I'm sure many of you have already heard of it and I'm a bit late on the band wagon but I just thought it was a great magazine. It's very different from other magazines and ezines I've read because of it's realness.

My only problem with Prim was that it wasn't as picture heavy as I would've liked it to be. When it came to showing global style it was one picture per person from the chest up and no link to a blog or flickr that they might have had. I would've also liked to see more people who looked like me, black. But that's natural. One tends to gravitate towards things that are most like them. (And that's probably why there needs to be more zines with black people as contributors.)

I think one of the best things about it (outside from it being run by some of our favorites from the blogosphere) is that instead of only putting up ads for high end stuff or stores, they put up links to eBay vintage stores. While there is a downside to that (stuff that I used to get cheap is now being bidded up like nobody's business) I think it's great to support your local business, if that's what it can be called. Not to mention that vintage is great and not just because it's more or less one of a kind but also because of it being low impact. Instead of going out and buying a brand new sequined dress that the company will have to make again to refill the store, you can buy something that's already been made and is probably of better quality. It's less of a waste and at this point in human history, the majority of what we're doing is wasteful.

With that said, Prim has produced a good first issue. It has fashion, it has lesser known designers, vintage hookups, bits of music and art, anice little diy for skinny jeans which saves people a good $60-140 and great articles. The best was a thought provoking one about why fashion hasn't produced anything new lately and is revamping old ideas, which I'd love to write a response to (I wonder if there's a letter to the editor?)

Anyway, I suggest you check it out.

Bringing in Spring

I said in my last post about how I gave away a lot of my clothes so has to help out my wardrobe. To be honest, I really don't buy very much clothing. My mother definitely taught me quality over quantity and the little DIYer in me has a habit of wanting to make things that are costly but shouldn't be so.

At any rate, I'm in need of a spring jacket. I have a great purple coat but it'll be too warm to wear. It almost makes me sad cause I recently got it. It's so lovely! But I have to face facts. I need a new jacket. I might've said earlier about how I want a tuxedo jacket with sharp coattails like the below. But with shorter tails and long sleeves. I'm not sure if I can find one so I might have to make one.

So I've been crawling various sites trying to find a nice one and I saw a lot of really cute jackets and vests but my favorites would have to be the Nanette Lepore and Marc by Marc Jacobs jackets (respectively) that I've seen at Nordstrom.
I love yellow as an accent color. My favorite color is purple and luckily enough they go amazingly well together. I have to love the second vest too. I love the great big bow on it. I'd love to pair it with a simple white shirt and some shiny black jeans. And some impeccably girly jewellry. Girly with an edge.

What I Would Wear at 40

So Gala from iCiNG had the following question from a reader:

“I confess, when I shop with my 19 year-old daughter, I am so envious of the style choices she has. PLEASE do women like me a favor! How can a forty-something mom build a style without large expense (we are paying for college you know) which will look new and fresh but appropriate for our age. Remember, we don’t have the great bodies we did at your age. Classic but unexpected. Flattering. Age-appropriate but FUN! What do you see yourself wearing at 40?“

And then she invited other readers to say what they envisioned wearing at age 40. When I think of older women I always think about women who have the fun of 20 year olds but with a sophistication they lack. I think a lot of the trends we have today could be applied to the older woman as long as you add some class to it. No ratty shirts or ripped jeans or clothes that show too much cleavage. But that doesn't mean you can't have girly touches.

I see this one as a sort of going out for brunch on a Sunday and then shopping. Or even out for a few drinks with some friends. Or for a nice movie date. That's something I love about clothes older women wear. They transition so well from day to night. I was and am a bit on the fence about the shirt but I know that my mother wears bows and she always looks classy and age appropriate. Oh and the chopsticks are for hair. I also chose the brown and the gold instead of the more traditional black simply because it looks better on my skin. And besides who says brown doesn't work with black? I definitely looked good in a black dress.

At work/business meeting it's very subtle with just a pop of color. It's still very fashionable with the chunky boots and the touch of girliness in the earrings but still a bit restrained. Pencil skirts look especially good on the older frame. For some reason young women just don't pull it off for me. And then you have a bit of leather to rough it up some.

And of course those times you're running to the store for one item or another and you've been in your pjs and now you have to find clothes again. Also known as the project-that's-due-tomorrow-and-your-kid-just-remembered-at-9pm outfit. And I'm being pretty realistic here too. I'd just grab some jeans, a longsleeved shirt, the jacket I used for work. I'd toss my hair into a sloppy bun and jam a hat on my head. And then I'd root around for something comfortable for my feet. And if it was cold I'd grab that paisley scarf and the gloves.

This is what I think I'd wear on an evening out. Maybe if I were to go to a ballet or an opera. Just very classy and refined.

As you can tell I reused a few things because all you need in your wardrobe are a few really awesome pieces and you can totally move them around to suit their function. I recently gave away a lot of my old clothes and I find it easier to find things and come up with outfits. As for style at 40, when it comes down to it, this is the ultimate formula: texture + shine + sophisticated + fun. So you can have that bow or those pink patent leather shoes so long as you pair them with something sophisticated.