Piece by Piece

Building the perfect wardrobe has to be one of the most difficult things on the planet - and yes, I do put this above neurosurgery, gastronomy, and sending people into space. The reason? Building the perfect wardrobe is a neverending task. Once you send someone to the moon, you've done it - there's a sense of completion. Fashion changes monthly. A great wardrobe today won't work two years from now. And also, what defines a great wardrobe? Most fashion writers say that there are 10 (or sometimes 12) key pieces that a person needs in any closet: a trench coat, a little black dress, a white/white shirt, etc. Well, not me.

What you need is just one piece. One piece of clothing that is totally and utterly you. A piece that will make you feel comfortable, confident and glamorous, no matter what.

Once you've found this piece, then you can start to build the perfect wardrobe. Because this one piece of clothing will tell you all you need to know about your style: what am I most comfortable in? Am I classic? punk? hippie-ish? what's my "color palette?" Am I frills or fewer frills (there's just no such thing as a no frills fashionista)?

My one piece is a Chanel sweater from the 02 collection that I couldn't bear living without. It cost $1800.00 (next to my car, it's the most expensive thing that I own) and because it's white and quite expensive, I don't wear out just to grab coffee. But most importantly: I feel better knowing that for me, it's perfect, and it's in my closet.

And speaking of my closet, the rest of it seems to be a lot like this cardigan: pretty cozy, not overly structured, and quite girly.



What's your "one piece?"

color. by. binding.

This will likely sound like a pretty dorky suggestion, but it's easy (as far as decorating goes), so give it a try first: organize your books by color. While this might not make books the easiest to find, it makes a statement. And best of all? It will change the look of your room FOR FREE! Try it on just one shelf first - I promise you'll be surprised at how cluttered your others books seem in comparison.

I. love/love. Emily. Martin

Emily Martin, a.k.a. The Black Apple, has long been one of my favorite sellers on ETSY (www.theblackapple.etsy.com). Her paintings are the most wonderful, magical creations. I love/love all of them, and so it took some time for me to decide which I would most like to have on my walls. This past week, I made my purchase (I chose three) and they just arrived, as wonderful as I hoped they would be:

Oh My Fendi!

I'm certain that Fendi can do no wrong. Two years ago I lusted after their multi-color lizard skin pumps; last year it was a bright blue medium B Bag; this year I've repeatedly nagged my boyfriend for this amazingly beautiful Multicolor Convertible "To You" Bag. (I've even told him that "to you" means it's perfect for a gift!) The bag is ultra spacious, and can be used as a shoulder bag, or converted into a clutch.

You can snatch this bag up from eLuxury.com for a somewhat reasobable $1300.00 (well, reasonable for a gorgeous leather bag from Fendi.)

daria. for. h&m.

I love/love Daria Werbowy. In fact, if I could be anyone else, Daria Werbowy would be near, if not at, the top of my list. I also love/love H&M - they have uber cute clothes for not much money. I do not, however, love the new Daria for H&M ad campaign. She far.far.far outshines the clothes. The ads just look like photos of Daria in a puddle of gray fabric. Blah.

love. your. kitchen.

I've always felt (even though it's not likely true) that the perfect house = the perfect life. So a portion of each week is given over to imagining what my future dream house will be like (can we all safely agree to blame Barbie for this?).

I have very specific ideas of what my bedroom and kitchen will look like. A lot of my inspiration for these rooms comes from magazines like Cottage Living, where photos of the most adorable houses in the world go to live. And while I love each and every cottage house, I cringe when I hear things like, "We had to spend an extra $10,000 to get the room how we wanted it...." The room??? That would be my budget for redoing whatever house I end up buying!

So here's an idea to help get "the perfect kitchen" that won't add $$$$ to your decorating budget: rather than refinishing kitchen cabinets (which cost a pretty penny), rip off the cabinet doors entirely, and wallpaper the backs (or bottoms and tops too if you like) with the prettiest wallpaper you can find. Or if you want to spend a bit extra, fit the cabinets with glass doors (this will let the paper show through, and cut down on the dusting a bit).

Pretty Little World loves the coral wallpaper below from Thibautdesign.com. (And they have loads of other lovely papers).

a. little. bird. told. me.

While there are definitely some trends that are seasonal - i.e. jeweled sandals don't work as well in two feet of snow - there are some things that Pretty Little World loves/loves to see all year round. Cute little bird jewelry is just such a thing. These pieces always seem classic and will add the right amount of cheer to any outfit, no matter how many layers you have on to stay warm.

Any of the lovely little pieces below would fit the bill. Clockwise from left: (1) Owl earrings from Patinastores.com for $9.00; (2) Bird on a Ring Ring from Madamebijoux at ETSY.com for $11.50; (3) Silver Bird ring also at Patinastores.com for $28.00; and (4) Bird necklace in black imogene at Imogene.org for $49.00.

Fab for Fall: Scarves

I've never been a "scarf person" before. I tried. I always wanted to be chic enough to just throw on a scarf and have it be the perfect end to my outfit. But that never worked out. Whenever I used to put a scarf on, I either looked: (a) like my grandmother; or (b) like there was some weird, leftover fabric from my shirt hanging near my neck. Neither of these was the look I was going for.

But this fall, that's all changed. I've found scarves - and a way of wearing them - that's seems effortlessly cool and classic. (Yay!!) And while scarves are everywhere this fall - and showed up in nearly every designer's collection - there are Yea! scarves and Nay! scarves.

Below is an uber-cute punky scarf from Balenciaga. Pretty Little World loves scarves with unusual detailing, like the stitched in coins below, or thin metal chains, or metallic threading.
An example of something that would never work in the real world, and barely works on the runway in RTW collections: scarves that weigh twice as much as you do. I can't even imagine finding the room to store one of these knit pieces, let alone imagine myself wearing one to the nearest Starbucks for my morning latte. (How would I even raise my arms, or get the cup near my mouth?)

Need a couple of ideas for lovely-but-practical scarves? Try these two below: The left is a houndstooth cashmere scarf from Bajra, and is available at Saks.com for $425.00. If you need to be a bit more budget conscious, try the equally appealing shredded scarf from Urbanoutfitters.com for $20.00.

I love YSL too, but enough already!

Don't get me wrong, I love/love YSL - I fawn over the design house's shoes every season - but while last year's Muse Bag was nice (not my favorite), people need to stop copying. This includes EVERYONE who has since come out with a nearly identical bag.

The original Muse from YSL:

Forever 21's take: And this fall Banana Republic has jumped on board:

Shouldn't a muse be inspirational? Shouldn't you want to go out and create your own "of-the-moment-$1000-bag?"

Pretty Little Decorating Tips: Part 2

While there's a decorator inside all of us, most of us would need help, help, help when it comes to actually putting together a room that's "together." Thinking of a cohesive color scheme is something that's particularly troublesome (I speak for myself, at least). One super cute idea is to let someone else do the work for you...and no, I don't mean hire a professional.

A great way to get inspiration for a room (or any project) is to look in places where you already have a great, coordinated color palette that you know you love. Eye shadow palettes will do just this trick. Find a color combo that you think is to die for, and then do your room accordingly.

Take the compact in your hot little hand, and run to the fabric store, Pier 1 Imports, the craft store, etc. and get things for your room in the colors that are in your shadow palette. Voila! You're a professional interior designer!

Pretty Little World's favorite: The shadow below (Teal Cake) from Pop! Eye Cake Shadows (this and more colors available at Sephora.com).

Pretty Little Decorating Ideas

Everyone suffers from compulsive decorating syndrome, i.e. the need to change the way your house looks once a week/month/year. Yet for those of us on a budget, often our only way to satisfy this craving is to rearrange the furniture and buy a new lamp.

Want to totally transform your room and not completely empty your wallet? Consider hanging a pretty curtain on a bare wall that has no windows. This is ten times easier than repainting, and if you get sick of it? Take it down and buy a different curtain! If you've got the wall space, try letting about a foot of the wall near the ceiling show - it will make the room look larger by elongating the wall.

Also make sure that you don't have any furniture directly against the wall/curtain - you don't want ordinary jostling to keep tugging at your pretty new wall.

One place where the curtain will look especially lovely - the bedroom! Try getting a tufted headboard, then put the curtain on the wall behind your bed.

Consider the curtain/headboard combo shown below (from UrbanOutfitters.com):

Happy decorating!