spring. baubles.

A lot of the clothing that was seen on the spring runways was ornate - either the fabric was bright and had bold patterns (lots of florals) or there was a lot of beading/detail work on the garments. When you're wearing pieces such as these, you need to keep your accessories to a minimum - the garment does all of the work for you.

But I'm also a fan of minimalism when it comes to clothing; simple dresses in muted colors. An easy way to dress up pieces of this kind is to add one piece of statement jewelry. The following aren't creations that you'd wear every day - they're special, a little pricey, and perfect for spring.

Justin Giunta makes some of my favorite jewelry. His pieces are chunky, glamorous, and you won't find anything else like them. One of his loveliest gems is his Floral Hermitage Necklace ($1600.00, www.subversivejewelry.com):


Michal Negrin is an Israeli born designer and each piece of hers - necklaces, cuff bracelets, rings, earrings - is a fantasy. The bracelet below wraps around the wrist, and then extends to a ring. You can take a peek at this at www.michalnegrin.com.


I have one Negrin's cuff bracelets, and it was worth every penny. I love how intricate (and sparkly!) it is, and so do others - the first time I wore it out, a women (literally) dropped what she was doing and ran across the room to look at the bracelet up close.

we ♥ Phillip Lim...a lot

There are a number of designers whom I adore, but none so much as Phillip Lim. He's been the head of his eponymous label since 2004, and not one of his collections - in fact, not one garment - has been a let down. Each piece looks meticulously crafted, elegant, and utterly wearable.

The 2008 Resort Collection has some amazing looks; a particular favorite is the pleat front black maxi gown ($788.00, available at www.bleuclothing.com), shown below with a simple cardigan - such a chic combination!


Lim's Fall 2008 collection (though I hate to be thinking about fall in February) was nothing less than spectacular. While Marc Jacobs (see post below) sent a slew of shapeless garments down the runway, Lim sent out a combo of billowy and structured pieces.


The pieces are all perfect for layering, give you a bit of extra room, and yet you can still see the woman in the garments - these clothes are feminine, edgy, and flattering.

Phillip Lim - Pretty Little World loves you!!

jovovich-hawk....for Target!!!

There's a possibility that I'm the last person to know this, but I'll share anyways.

This morning as I was finishing up putting some new items in the store, I sat down with my coffee and my March issue of Vogue. When I got roughly a quarter of the way through, my eyes nearly popped out of my head - I was so excited I could hardly finish the promo blurb: Jovovich-Hawk is the newest label to design for Target's GO International Collection!!

Now I'm not always a fan of what designers do for their Target collections - I've worn my Proenza Schouler striped cotton tee to death, but all I could think when I saw Erin Featherston's pieces up close was, "really?" - but I would crawl across a parking lot of broken glass to get my hands on some of the Jovovich-Hawk pieces. (Well, maybe safety glass.)

This shirt/culottes combo below is polished, yet still has their typical hippie vibe to it:


And I can only hope that this gorgeous slouchy bag will be available come March 2nd (when their collection debuts):


UPDATE: So Jovovich-Hawk is at only one of my four local Targets, and now that Target has even less! I snapped up way more than I should have, but the pieces are even prettier in person! Here are just a few of the things I bought:

lovely. little. spring. dreams

One lovely little feature of ETSY is that you can create Treasuries. A treasury is a collection of some of your favorite items on ETSY, and once created, others can take a peek. Here's a snapshot of my newest treasury:


It can be found By Clicking Here

fendi. fendi. fendi.

When I first saw them, I wasn't sure what to make of the Fendi B Bag - it was trendy, obvious, and came in lots of gawdy colors/patterns. And then last year I saw one at Saks and it was just so shiny. And then I saw one in the brightest blue ever, and so I bought it. And I LoVe it.


Fendi seems to be sticking with the style (while introducing some lovely.lovely others), and new colors are introduced each season. This spring I'm particularly attracted to a patent one in Papaya...


It just sounds and looks so yummy!

happy. sunday. morning.

my day (thus far):

woke up
showered, etc.
put on my favorite cashmere scarf (from Banana Republic)
lavished my kitties (Gerdie, Ivy, Nico) with attention
read the news online
went to breakfast with the fiance
went to CompUSA (didn't find anything)
made coffee at home
took photos/listed new items in my ETSY Boutique
thrifted
went to Barnes & Noble
tried to read Kant's Critique of Pure Reason
gave up
tried to read Kant's Critique of Judgment
gave up, but not as quickly
came home and had hummus
blogged

my day (later):

have dinner (likely a salad and pasta)
read more of Choke, by Chuck Palahniuk
watch the Oscars
sleep

spring. fashion. inspired. by...

Nateasa, one of my dear friends. She now lives very far away in Iowa, but when she was wandering about in Michigan, she always had the cutest personal style. So I thought that I might introduce some cute.lovely spring fashion that reminds me of her!

One of the best places to get adorable dresses and cropped cardigans.jackets for spring is Anthropologie. Thankfully the Anthro store closest to me is over an hour a way, or I'd be tempted to to make a little visit each week.

Some things that are particularly cute this spring (and so Nateasa-esque) are:

1. This little cropped jacket with Peter Pan collar and whimsical bird design ($118.00)


2. Dresses from Anthro are always particularly fun (though not necessarily cheap). Two standouts from this season are the Dinette Dress ($148.00)


and what I'm going to call the Lace Garden Dress (beacuse their name - the lay of the land dress - is horrid)($298.00)


Finally, no spring clothes are complete without jewelry (as it's finally not covered up by layers of scarves, mittens, and coats). The perfect accent is this delicate bird ring by Linda and Jen Ackerman (www.dillondesigns.etsy.com) for only $7.50!!


Happy "thinking ahead to spring day!"

oh. my. marc!

I understand that Marc Jacobs is busy. Really busy. He now has roughly 10,000 different labels that he's designing for. Yet when you're that in demand, I guess I kind of hope there's a reason for it.

Now, I love.love Mr. Jacobs - my wardrobe is all the better for my Marc by Marc cherry red mary janes - but after looking at his Marc Jacobs Spring and Fall 08 collections, some doubt (teeny doubt) has slipped in.

There were some truly stunning dresses in the spring collection, such as the best.most wonderful fantasy floral dress ever:



but there were also...um, pieces that he let his team's children glue things to?



After 30 seconds of wearing this skirt IRL, you would have tripped three people and been dragged down by a car.bicycle.any moving thing that you just got stuck to.

He didn't do any better with the fall pieces, and perhaps did much worse, as there really were no gems. Most of the models were covered in these sack/pod-like things:



Help! Where is the Marc Jacobs I know and love? Please come back! My closet needs you!

All images from style.com

blah. old. navy

I wrote off Old Navy some time ago. Then I saw their most recent ad campaign, which contained models running about in these cute little safari style rompers. So today I made my way to the nearest O.N. store, only to discover that these rompers only come in khaki.



Other pieces from this same collection come in a rich burgundy and basic black - why do the romper in only one color, and the worst color at that? Safari looks for real life should only have a hint of actual safari - if you were to wear the romper in khaki, people might start pointing you to the zoo.

louis. vuitton. richard. prince.

I'm on the fence about the newest Louis Vuitton collaboration. Their first go-round with Takashi Murakami was a smashing success, and I must admit I still love the candy-colored bags.

Of the newest collab with artist Richard Prince, the watercolor bags (below) interest me the most - I adore.adore the mix of high-end craftsmanship/structure and handmade craft project - but the white Speedy starts at $1850.00, money that might be better spent on a classic bag, like a Chanel Jumbo Caviar Flap.

little. {and practical!} works. of. art.

I sell vintage clothes on ETSY, and one hazard of this website/marketplace is all of the wonderful.amazing stuff that you come across. Most recently I stumbled upon Beth Eaton's shop, EATonPottery. All of her pieces are handmade, stamped, and painted. Each design is such a magnificent work of art, and 100% functional as well. Below are just two examples of her work:






The platter is available in her shop (www.eatonpottery.etsy.com), but sorry girls, but the mug is mine!

You can also keep up with Beth at her website/blog: www.eatonpottery.com.

oh. my. prada.

I must say that I have yet to meet a Prada collection that I don't like. Their fall and spring collection (accessories included) are to die for. But this year I think that the 08 Resort collection was above and beyond. The collection was filled with demure floral dresses and 50s-style cardigans that are so feminine and not a bit dated.

love.love.love.

I've been terribly.terribly.terribly neglecting this blog lately, due to a train trip out to New York and then a week-long bout with the flu. But there's been big.huge.wonderful news and I thought I'd share a bit of it!

Just after Christmas, my significant other proposed!! He gave me this amazing.lovely. diamond and platinum ring from Tiffany for the engagement:

Since then I've been over the moon, and while I'm not really wedding obsessed (eloping would actually be my preference), I've found this pretty china from Lenox that I think would be AMAZING gracing the guest tables at our reception:




Unfortunately it's a wee on the pricey side, but a girl can dream, right?