Friday, September 14, 2018

Vintage Louis Vuitton Drawstring Bucket Bag

I have been obsessed with Louis Vuitton lately.  There are two styles I'm loving and want:  the Neverfull tote and the Pallas bag.   Everywhere I go I see women carrying LV bags which fuels my desire even more.  I think there's a chance I may end up with a new bag before the year is over, but in the meantime I realized that I should dig my vintage LV bucket bag out of the closet and use it again.  The vachetta leather is stained and the drawstring (easily replaceable) has seen better days, but there's nothing wrong with the coated canvas or interior and the shoulder strap is still in good condition.

Vintage LV bucket bag

I bought this bag to celebrate a new job in 2000 and carried it to work every day for at least a year, maybe more.  I always think of it as a work bag, but that's silly, so this Louie and I are going to get reacquainted!

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Saying Goodbye to My Louis Vuitton Takashi Murakami Bag Collection

Back in the early to mid 2000's I bought three of the LV Murakami bags:  Monogram Multicolore, Cherry Blossoms, and Cherry.  My friend even brought the Cherry Blossom pouchette back from Paris for me because they were almost impossible to get here in NYC. 



LV Multicolore pouchette

LV Cherry Blossoms pouchette

LV Cherry Bucket bag

I used the two pouchettes a few times each, but decided to sell them last year.  They were in pristine condition and I didn't think I'd use them again so I sold them on Ebay.  I never used the Cherry bucket bag and it is in brand new, pristine condition so I've decided to sell it as well.  As much as I love all of them I feel like I would get more use out of an LV Neverfull, so I think a trip to my local LV may be in order soon.

Here's the link to my LV Cherry bag on Ebay in case anyone is interested:  







Saturday, September 1, 2018

Transitioning A Bag Into the Fall Season

I love bags and I have a lot of them, but for everyday use I usually keep two fully packed with all my essentials (ie mini umbrella, hand sanitizer, handcream, lip balm, mints, etc) so when I'm in a rush and just running for routine appointments or errands I can quickly grab a bag and go.  I rotate my less expensive designer bags as "everyday bags" because they do tend to get more wear and tear.

This past Spring and Summer I've been using a light blue Michael Kors bag as one of my everyday bags frequently.  I love the color and it fits a lot and has a shoulder strap as well as handles.  I bought it at Marshall's (if I recall correctly) a number of years ago.  I think it was retailing for $298 but it was about $100 at Marshall's. I'm going to put it away for winter because the color is very light, but I want to keep using it in early Fall.

Michael Kors bag

I have so many small scarves that are pefect for tying onto a bag to jazz it up and that's how I'm transitioning this bag into Fall.  In the Spring I tied on a beautiful floral Liberty of London scarf my friend brought me back from London.

...with Liberty of London scarf

Today I put on a Roberto Cavalli leopard print scarf I got as a party favor (nice gift!).  The scarf has gold stitching on the edges that perfectly complements the gold hardware on the bag.  The warm gold tones are perfect for early Fall and the Indian Summer I think we're going to have this season in the Northeast.

...with Roberto Cavalli scarf

Now my bag and I are ready for the new season!




Saturday, August 11, 2018

Whimsical Coin Purses From Kohl's

I'm a sucker for anything animal themed, so when I took my mom to Kohl's to look for a new vacuum this week and I spotted these at mega reduced clearance I had to buy them.  I know the first one is a donkey pinata, but I can't decide if the second one is a cat or a fox.....maybe you can?

Donkey pinata coin purse

A cat or a fox? coin purse




Thursday, August 2, 2018

I'm Finally On Instagram!

Hi Guys!  Just a note that I'm finally on Instagram.  I've actually had an account for a while, but just recently started posting.  Here's the link:  https://www.instagram.com/accessorygirlnyc/  so please follow me to see more fun accessories!

Monday, July 23, 2018

Boy Chanel Coin Purse

About a year ago the zipper on my beloved, well used Louis Vuitton wallet started to malfunction, likely because I ovrestuff my wallet and the coins seem to be a major factor, so I decided I needed a seperate coin purse.  Of course, it took me an entire year to find what I wanted (and to take the wallet to LV for repair).  I live within a very short walk to two Chanel boutiques in NYC, not to mention the in-store boutiques at several department stores, and I should have just visited any of them and bought the coin purse, but I was upstate and thought I'd order it over the phone and have it shipped.  Ha ha.....Long story short, unless you have a relationship with a sales associate you can call personally, don't attempt a phone order with Chanel and, call your credit card company in advance of trying to make any Chanel purchase.  For some crazy reason my credit card company thought it was a fraudulent transaction and it necessitated a visit to my bank in person.  I have to say, the staff at Chanel were very nice and said this happens all the time and many customers have to call their cc companies in advance.  If I were Chanel I'd figure out why and fix that because never in my life has my card been flagged for fraud when making a purchase and I've done a LOT of luxury shopping and way more expensive than this coin purse.....but all's well that ends well.  The store I was on the phone with shipped it to one of my local stores and I picked it up there last week.  (And, wouldn't you know it, a SA I've used before, and should have contacted this time, ended up being the one to help me.)  I love it and am using it for my business cards at the moment, but there's room for some coins and a bill or two as well.  Here's the unboxing in photos:

Something good always comes in these bags

Beautifully wrapped box

Protective pouch...

Love the decorative camellias....

My brand new navy Chanel coin purse!

This color, navy, is new for Fall.  On line I had seen it in pink but they were out and then there was a wedgwood blue on line, but when they sent me a photo it looked more gray.  Then the SA on the phone mentioned navy and sent me a photo of this one which was not on the site yet and I loved it.  The combination of the gold hardware and the navy looks very rich and luxurious.  So happy with my purchase.  Now I'm just waiting 4-6 weeks for my LV wallet to return and my handbag life can get back to normal.


Sunday, July 22, 2018

Hermes Petit h Purse Charms Galloping This Way

Last month I posted two Hermes boxes and wrioe about the ribbon charms attached....well....I thought you'd like to see what was inside those two boxes:   Petit h purse charms!!!  My mom is a horse lover and she bought them for me for my birthday.  Unfortunately, Hermes doesn't let you chose the color of the charms, which can be a bit problematic, but lucky the two they sent match well with my bags. 

Hermes petit h horse purse charm in light blue

This one looks great on my navy Birkin.  The silk attachment also matches very well.

Hermes petit h horse purse charm in tan

This one creates a subtle  tone on tone effect on my gold Birkin with a bright pink silk attachment.

Each charm has a different color on the back.  I didn't take photos of the back, but the light blue is dark olive green on the back and the tan one is sort of a mocha color.  You can use them on either side which is nice and makes them more versatile.  

Such a fun birthday gift!  Thanks Mom :-)

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Hermes petit h Ribbon Charms

I love the petit h ribbon charms.  If you don't know what they are:  the ribbon charms are small pieces of leather in various shapes, mostly critters, that Hermes attaches to the ribbons on the petit h products.

Heart & monkey ribbon charms

I now have four of them from various petit h items, including the two on these birthday gifts above.  In addition to the heart and monkey above, I also have a turtle and a round one.  I feel like it's such a waste to not be able to do something with these charms, so I searched You Tube to see if anyone had posted a video of ideas, but amazingly I couldn't find any.   (I did find that people sell them for at least $50 each, but that's another story.)  Since I couldn't find any suggestions of how to wear them I came up with a few ideas of my own.

Mini Kelly pochette with twilly & ribbon charm

First I took my mini Kelly pochette and wrapped the handle with a beautiful twilly a friend gave me a few years ago for Christmas.  Then I slid the heart ribbon charm on one side.  I think it looks adorable!

A close up


Second, I experimented with sliding the monkey charm on a small Hermes scarf, which was also a gift a number of years ago.  The monkey ribbon charm worked like a scarf ring or even just a decoration. 

Monkey ribbon charm to hold a scarf together

So cute!

A unique decoration

Whether adorning a bag or a scarf (Hermes, of course) around the neck or wrist, I think these are great ways to utilize the ribbon charms.  If you have any other ideas I'd love to see them!

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Hermes Is In the House!

An early birthday present arrived last week.....I love the ribbon charms on the petit h boxes!  I can't wait to open them on the big day :-)

Hermes gifts!

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Going in Circles with Thelma Deutsch

I love looking at other people's jewelry collections.  One of the fun parts about writing a column about accessories was getting to see and learn about other people's favorite jewelry and jewelry designers.  One such designer is Thelma Deutsch.  Deutsch designed costume jewelry from about 1980 - 1995, which makes all of her creations vintage at this point.  I especially love her earrings, which are oversized and blinged out with lots of crystals.  One particular style is a circular design and those are the ones I've started collecting.  Unlike some designers there aren't as many pieces by Deutsch available on the marketplace and even fewer with the circular design I like.  I've only managed to find three pairs of them so far, but I'm hopeful to find more.  I have my eye out for a pair in red.  I can't even find much information on Thelma Deutsch, but I intend to do more research.


My small collection of Thelma Deutsch vintage earrings

I wore the multicolored pair a few days ago and got so many compliments.  I think they're my favorite now.

Multicolored Thelma Deutsch vintage earrings

The crystals are gorgeous

I also have clear crystals and black.

Stunning and sparkly

You can never go wrong with basic black

A tip for anyone who has these earrings or other oversized ones:  a little eyelash glue will help keep them on your earlobes all night long!

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Green is my favorite color, which means I'm always ready for St. Patrick's Day.  My picks this year were a green beret my father got for me in Paris and a t-shirt with a bedazzled shamrock.  


Beret & shamrock tee

A little sparkle is good for the soul


I hope everyone has a safe St. Patty's day!

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Target-ing Chanel

Whenever I go shopping at Target I take a stroll through the handbags & jewelry, just to see what's there.  In general, I like buying better quality accessories, but occasionally Target has something fun that looks better than what it is.  A couple years ago In Style Magazine even featured Merona wallets that could double as cute summer clutch bags.  I bought a few and gave some to friends and everyone loves them.  So, last week I went to Target with my Mom to look at vacuums and was pleasantly surpised to find the most adorable Chanel style quilted velour mini-bag.  It is a beautiful shade of fuschia with gold tone hardware. 

Chanel style quilted bag from Target

There was only one left in fuschia and there was one in black.   I almost bought the black one, too, but I have enough black bags.  Both can be purchased on Target's web site and it actually looks better in person.  Link to bag .  The brand is "A New Day" and they had a few styles that looked like they were modeled after Chanel bags.  Not saying you can pass these off as genuine Chanel, but you can "get the look for less", a lot less!