Drool. From Dior.

Shopped out from Christmas?  I certainly was.  My bank account reeling by December 19, I was convinced I would be shopped out for many weeks to come.  And, well, I am, still.  Kind of.  I’m not feeling the urge to actually BUY any grossly expensive additions to my wardrobe, but it’s not keeping me from ogling the hottest of the resort shoes.  It is nothing like strappy sandal weather out there, but here’s a little eye candy for the winter months anyway!

read more »

Winter white from Kenneth Cole Reaction.

No white after Labor Day?  Please.  One of my favorite trends of recent years is the white or cream-colored winter coat.  Living in an urban area where I go everywhere on foot, they’re 100% impractical.  Which is probably why I love them so much.  There are few things as gorgeous on an awful winter day as a woman chicly bundled in a winter-white coat, defying the elements and the gray street slush.  Sure, they require a little extra effort to keep clean, but they’re that little bit of luxury and cheer in the most depressing of seasons.

I, um, already own one (a long Soia & Kyo coat from a couple of years ago), but that has not kept me from desperately lusting after this great number from Royal Underground.  (The chevron detailing on the sleeves?  Shoot me now.)  After the jump, the results of my vicarious romp through the online stores in search of this season’s best.

read more »

Nothing like a bright tartan print to perk up your winter!

We, um, won’t count the number of winter jackets I own.  But suffice it to say that after filling wardrobe holes over the course of the last several years, I don’t have a reason to buy winter coats this year.  This has of course not kept me from shopping for them.  What I don’t have, aside from an excuse to buy more coats, is a coat in one of this season’s great plaids.  Admittedly, there are a lot of ways that plaid can go bad.  But some of these coats are gorgeous, rich, and interesting — just the little something different your winter wardrobe needs.  After the jump, some of the best of this season’s offerings.

read more »

Curses, foiled again!

I know I’ve mentioned I’ve been trying to get some sequins into my wardrobe for several seasons now.  I finally psyched myself to up actually purchase the Gryphon lovely at top (with a fabulous 25% discount code thanks to Retail Me Not!) last week.  And after all that?   Turns out it doesn’t work on me in the size I ordered. ARGH!  After two seasons?  What to do? Order it in an XS and hope it will fit across my shoulders?  Get something else entirely?  I still haven’t figured that out, but I came across a few possibilities that I thought I’d share with you. More sequins after the jump!

read more »

Is anyone else fascinated/staggered/terrified by the proliferation of membership only online sale sites lately?  There’s been a lot of talk in the media about the crises faced by the fashion industry in the “new economy” — is this going to end up being one of them?   Back when we did our membership only sale site roundup, I had experience with only four fashion-oriented sale sites.  Now?   Gilt alone has four different sale sites, including one for vacations, and I’m a member of at least seven other sale sites, specializing in items from beauty products to home goods.   Even one of our perennial favorite stores, Revolve Clothing, has started its own members-only sale site (Reverse). Several of these sites have launched only within the last few months.

read more »

I have a problem, I’m willing to admit that.  I looooove Adam.  Love it.  I’m perfectly aware that in seasons when I’m trying to save money (like now), I would probably be better off just not looking at the latest round.  Do I have that much self control?  Come on, now.  Since when was self-control any fun?

The ensemble at top is the current object of my desperate lust.  The top by itself, totally cute.  But with the skirt?  The combination of deep colors is just what I need to convince myself that I can survive another winter.  Both pieces come in other colors, but I am in love with the deep purple and blue, serious and sophisticated.

Adam, Adam, Adam.  I might be able to afford that one outfit, but all of the stuff I want?  No way.  Here’s the rest of the haul: read more »

Yowza! From Herve Leger.

As I mentioned in my fall closet update post, I am allowing myself the frivolity of picking up one sequined piece.  Sequins have been in to varying degrees for several seasons now.  I’ve been drooling over them in concept, but somehow I’ve managed to make it to this fall without ever getting my fix.  Lucky for me, sequins are more fashionable than ever this fall, and the stores are bursting with pieces for every budget.  I still haven’t figured out which piece to add to my wardrobe, but my shopping has shown me that there is a lot of really great stuff out there.  After the jump, some of this fall’s best options for glitz.

read more »

A silken touch of luxury. $58 at J. Crew.

Whooh!  The weather has turned crisp out there; I might even have to turn on the heat at some point.  In honor of our gorgeous fall weather, here’s a feature on scarves.  They’ve been in style all summer, but frankly, given some of the summer weather we had, there was no way I was putting anything around my neck that hadn’t just come out of the freezer.  Now?  They’re the perfect accessory.

The “new” thing, of course, seems to be snoods and infinity scarves (if you can bring yourself to call an item of clothing as old-fashioned as a snood “new” without snickering), but they for the most part look more warm and less pretty, so I’ll leave those for later in the season.  (Snoods?  Really?  Does anyone else feel like they might have to don a corset and several petticoats to wear one?)  I myself have christened the fall season by picking up the lovely at top, a long ombre scarf in soft, slightly crinkled sandwashed silk.  It’s worth noting that the scarf is available in different colors in stores than it is online; I fixed my orange craving by picking it up on Fifth Avenue in a gorgeous hue starting at peach and deepening to a dark burnt orange.  Could it be more fall?

The stores are full of scarves in ombre, tie-die, and perfect fall prints.  After the jump, a few of my favorites!

read more »

Pair this with hard-core ankle boots, and... Get in my way. I dare you.

One of the (relatively) new kids on the block, Alexander Wang.  Wang, who won the CDFA/Vogue Fashion Fund award last year, put out his first full collection of women’s wear in 2007 and has been roaring through the fashion scene since.  His line so far?  These are clothes for the tough girl.  Wang himself has been quoted as saying that he designs for the “model, off-duty.”  Okay, I have to admit that strikes me as a bit much — it reminds me of some of the things I like least about high-end fashion — but it’s hard to argue with the clothes themselves.  They are hot — or alternatively cool, depending on which piece you pick.

read more »

This one isn’t flashy.  It’s just exquisitely tasteful. It’s Carolina Herrera, after all.  Click through and take a close look at the gorgeous combination of sequins and embroidery — the flattering crossed seaming at the waist.  Perfection.