Name That Shoe

I love these shoes!  I love how they wrap around my feet like they're cradling them.  I'm not sure if they qualify as booties, sandal booties, or sandals, but I think of them as booties.  These shoes are about two years old.  They came in this style and a flat.  The prize, once again, is the pair of earrings below.  Winner will be drawn from correct entries.  Name the designer of these shoes!

Studded shoes

Side view (notice the kitty showing off his leg, too.)

Prize earrings 

Do Do Birds & Baubles

I love Pomellato's Do Do line of charms and all the fun combinations that can be made in bracelets, necklaces and earrings.  The charms, mostly of animals, each have a meaning, like totems, and when strung on a cord with small beads in silver, yellow and rose gold create a very trendy, cool style.  A little bohemian, but the tri colored gold and silver combinations are also very Caribbean-Euro and remind me of winter break in St. Martin with my dad when all the French jewelry stores showcased tri colored gold. 

I stumbled on the Do Do line a number of years ago in Bergdorf's and ended up getting a parrot necklace for myself and a horse necklace for my mom since those are our passions (or money pits, however you choose to look at it).  Then, as fate would have it, a couple years ago I attended a charity event at the Pomellato store and purchased an octopus necklace.  I love octopei and part of the purchase price went to the charity--double bonus!  Bloomingdale's also has a Do Do counter and for the past couple of years, every time I passed by I stopped to look at the charms, but resisted the lure of the glittering gold.  One day they were stringing a bracelet for a customer and I loved the look.  The temptation proved too great so I recently designed three bracelets using animals that have special meaning for me:  cat, dog, horse, chick and owl.  They look great worn next to my two tone watch.  The coolest part is that no one in the whole world will have exactly the same ones, because I put together the combination of charms and beads myself.  And, if I ever tire of them I can have them restrung on another color cord or turned into a necklace or earrings to be worn in a new and different way.

Do Do bracelets

Stylin' Styling

I did a costume jewelry styling for a friend in media yesterday.  She sometimes makes tv appearances and wanted to update her look with some bold, colorful pieces.  I took her to one of my secret sources for inexpensive costume jewelry.  We had so much fun and she got some fabulous statement pieces.  They look amazing on her, I can't wait to see her wearing them, hopefully on tv!

And, while I was shopping for her, of course I pulled some pieces for the 'Minton collection.'  Lol...

Stunning necklace in goldtone with burnt orange stones

Art Deco style black enamel and rhinestone bracelet

Color me beautiful fun, flirty bead necklace

Trendy earrings in fuschia

Kaleidoscope earrings in shades of pink and purple

Contest Time!

Time to test our readers' shoe IQ!  In the late '90's a top design house designed these shoes.  I was inspired to buy them when I saw a megastar singer wearing a pair of similar ones adorned with butterflies on the pages of In Style magazine.  When I got to the store the butterfly ones were sold out, so I bought this pair with dragonflies.

Dragonfly shoes

Swarovski crystal dragonfly detail

To win this contest, and the pretty costume earrings below, you must name the design house.  In the event there is more than one correct entry I will place the winning names in a hat and have a drawing.  If you can also name the singer who wore the butterfly version your name will be placed in the hat twice, thus increasing your odds of winning.  Naming the singer and not the designer does not count as a winning answer.  Naming the designer and getting the singer's name incorrect will not eliminate you.  The contest will end on Friday, March 23, 2012 at 5 pm.  Good luck!

Contest prize!

Cuckoo for Cockatoos

I got these earrings at a small boutique in Katonah a few years ago.  When I saw them I had to have them for obvious reasons.  Aside from the cockatoos, I also love that they look like vintage bakelite.  Granted I don't have many occasions to wear them, but if I ever feel like channeling Carmen Miranda these are perfect! 

Faux bakelite Cockatoo earrings

Tony Duquette Collection for Coach

Coach has teamed up with late designer Tony Duquette's former business partner to create an exquisite line of limited edition jewelry that is currently available in Coach stores.  Tony Duquette was an iconic American designer of the 20th century.  Based out of Los Angeles he designed clothing, costumes and sets for the movie industy, interiors and jewelry.  His fine jewelry line is still sold in stores today, but the collection at Coach is mainly Swarovski crystal studded whimsical costume jewelry inspired by his signature designs, including sunbursts, flowers and insects,

There are four rings in the collection that are not costume.  They are gold plated sterling silver with semi-precious stones.  The four rings are:  rose quartz, clear quartz, malachite and amethyst which, in my opinion, is the most stunning.  There is also a grasshopper stick pin made with lapis.

My advice is get yourself a piece while it's still in stores and on line.  The prices are very reasonable and the pieces are definitely collectible.  Each piece is marked 'Coach' and comes with a felt pouch with a sunburst design and the names of Coach and Tony Duquette.  There is also a book about the collection for sale.  My top picks are the sunburst pendant necklace and the sunburst amethyst ring.  I have been drooling over sunburst wall mirrors for a long time and now I can wear a fabulous miniature replica of one around my neck (sans the mirror--the center is open)!

Tony Duquette for Coach Sunburst pendant necklace 

Tony Duquette for Coach cage pear pendant

Tony Duquette for Coach bouquet ring



Alternate view of the ring

Tony Duquette for Coach flower charm bracelet

Tony Duquette for Coach Amethyst Sunburst ring

Protective felt pouch says Coach on one side and Tony Duquette on the other

Hermes Petit h collection

No brand is perhaps more synonymous with luxury and exclusivity than Hermes.  Famous for their iconic colorful silk scarves and elusive Birkin bags Hermes introduced a new line called Petit h in 2011.   The Petit h line features several thousand pieces crafted from items intended for their regular line that were imperfect and thus did not pass muster to go into the retail stores.  For example, a scarf with the tiniest mark of ink on the silk can not be sold, so those scarves have been redesigned into accordian necklaces for the Petit h line.  Another example is scraps of leather leftover from making bags have been turned into Petit h charms. 

Two views of one of the Petit h scarf necklaces

Because the Petit h line is currently crafted from discarded and leftover material from Hermes' regular line, Petit h items will be constantly changing.  The line is making the rounds of various Hermes stores around the world and was in New York at the Madison Avenue boutique in November.  Sure to be collectors' items, I hope you were able to scoop up a piece or two at the time.  If not, look for the line in Hermes boutiques around the globe and hopefully a return to New York in the future. 

A fun twist of Petit h, is that when you buy a piece you can choose a small leather disk charm to be added to your package.  I chose one in traditional Hermes orange because it's their signature color.  The saleswoman was wearing one as a bracelet and suggested I could wear mine that way as well, using the attached Hermes ribbon.  For now mine is still on the box.  I want to keep it in pristine condition, because for me the entire Petit h item with all its accoutrements is a collectible investment.

Petit h leather charm

Below are two articles about the Petit h line if you are interested in learning more about it.  If anyone would like pdfs of the articles let me know and I can email to you.

Article 1

Article 2, page 1

Article 2, page 2

Article 2, page 3