Saturday, September 29, 2012

Flower Power

Simon Tu necklace

Every time I wear this Simon Tu necklace I get tons of compliments.  Friends and strangers alike will ask where I got it so I wanted to post it and give everyone the scoop on this beautiful piece.  It is from Simon Tu on Lexington Ave and the low East 60's in Manhattan.  Simon, the designer, is in there a lot and he really gets involved in helping the patrons pick out the jewelry which is nice.  Simon Tu jewelry is used a lot on tv and in photo shoots.  The pieces are made from natural stones and are statement pieces.  This necklace is African jade and agate.  Pieces are not inexpensive, but they are not prohibitive either.  I first became aware of Simon Tu jewelry while watching the show Lipstick Jungle that starred Brooke Shields and Kim Raver.  They wore his pieces in almost every episode and I loved the look so I tracked them down.

I love this piece with yellow or beige.  I wore it the other day while shooting a reality show/documentary for Nat Geo with the cockatoo.  I had on a beige dress and the crew wanted me to add something colorful, so my friend Christine loaned me the really cute yellow jacket above, which I now covet!  Later that night I went to an event and traded in the jacket for a long light beige sweater jacket and everyone started asking about the necklace which inspired this post.

Here's a closer look at the flowers:

Semi precious stone flowers

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Greener With Envy

Green is the hot color for Fall, specifically dark green shades like hunter and emerald.  Every store I visit has a beautiful, dark green suede purse for sale.  Green is my favorite color so I am very tempted every time I see one of those luxurious purses, but I already have a dark green suede purse that my mother gave me for Christmas a few years ago.  We think she got it from Bloomingdales, possible Neiman Marcus, we just remember that it was from one of the major department stores and it came in a few colors, but she picked green because she knows I love the color.

Dark green suede purse

The hobo shape of this purse isn't what I normally carry:  I like a more structured bag, but I really like this purse and I love the lighter sea foam green stitching.  

Stitching detail around handle

Green purses are not as common as some other colors, but this Fall they abound, so if you like green this is the time to get one.  Dark green looks great with tan, brown, black, yellow, navy, and so many other colors, it would be great addition to any wardrobe.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Super Swag

Swag isn't just for celebrities on Academy Awards night.  Swag bags (aka goody bags) are given out at many charity events as a little 'thank you' to ticket buyers/guests.  Sometimes, depending upon the event sponsors, the swag is stellar, ie:  a silver David Yurman necklace at MoMA, a CH by Carolina Herrera purse at the Frick, and Tiffany & Co. perfume at AMNH in the past.   Usually, swag is an accessory of some sort like a nice umbrella or a tote bag.   Make up, skincare products, nail polish, sunglasses and fragrance are also popular goodies.  I end up giving a lot of it away to friends or my manicurist (for her daughters) or even to charity.  Sometimes I save up a bunch of the toiletries and donate them to charity when I donate clothes.  I assume that people who need new clothes will also appreciate free shampoo and soap.

Today I attended FIT's Couture Council luncheon honoring designer Oscar de la Renta.  The luncheon was fabulous, with many well known fashion faces and celebrities like:  Sarah Jessica Parker, Anna Wintour, Judith Ripka, Real Housewife Caroline Manzo, Diane Von Furstenburg, Nina Garcia, the Bush Twins, Martha Stewart.....On the way out everyone received an Oscar carrier bag including either a beautiful scarf or a pair of earrings, and a sample pack of six of Oscar's fragrances.  Very generous of Oscar I must say.  I was lucky enough to snag both a scarf and earrings because I was one of the last people to leave and there were only a few bags left and the people manning the table had a couple pairs of extra earrings.  Sometimes the best accessories are free accessories!

Oscar de la Renta earrings and scarf


Fragrance sampler




Saturday, September 1, 2012

Accessories for the Accessories

A few months ago a friend loaned me a cool cow print bag.  When I looked inside there was a small pillow in it still in a sealed plastic bag.  I emailed her and told her she must have left one of her kids' pillows in her bag.  As it turned out she had just come up with an ingenous way to keep the shape of her bags.  Instead of keeping all that annoying paper stuffing inside of bags she had purchased small pillows from Pottery Barn Teen and was using them in all her bags.  They come in a variety of sizes and start at about $10 each.  Totally worth it to keep an expensive bag worth hundreds or even thousands in perfect shape.  I orderd a bunch and stuffed all my bags.  Now I don't have to pull out wads of paper stuffing every time I use a bag. Tip:  leave the plastic wrap on them.

Pottery Barn Teen mini pillow



Also important in keeping bags and shoes in good condition are the pouches (usually felt, sometimes other soft fabric) that most quality ones come with, especially if you store them where dust can reach them.  I keep my shoes in shoes cabinets, but I still leave them in the pouches because somehow in NYC dust and soot seem to be able to reach everywhere.  The pouches are also great for protecting shoes and bags when traveling.   A while back my mother ordered me a few personalized pouches for my bags and shoes.  They are so cute and I use them for the shoes & bags that didn't come with pouches of their own.  They are extra roomy and made of a soft canvas.

Personalized shoe bag

My mother thinks she ordered them from a company called American Stationery.  I think they make nice gifts and would be great for kids going off to camp or college!