Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Fashion & Flair Continued

Maybe I decided to write a blog, because I just had...

 
Last week, somewhere between: “hide and go seek” & “out of sight out of mind” I suddenly realized that my scarves had been lost & forgotten for years. I pulled them out of drawers, closets and shelves and built a wall-o-scarves. I simply nailed $2.00 curtain rods on a wall behind a door and slipped tons of scarves, pashminas and shawls on to the 3 rods. I re-memorized every trick, knot and; fold in my little orange Hermes: “How to Tie a Scarf” book... and now I'm excited to tie one on!
















To get a LEG UP and; fill out your Fall 2011 wardrobe... here's a tip: this year, Retro and Vintage (R and V) is the LEAD DOG over second hand & resale finds. Most of the top houses here and in Europe, have R and V styles in their collections. Long, lean, classic silhouettes slimmed down and center stage. In order to look like you've just slid off a page of Vogue rather than fallen out of your grandmother's closet, only one or maybe two pieces of R and V can be worn at the same time. From head to toe, I'm already “copycatting” from my favorite designers lines. I haven't bothered changing the timeless clips into pierced backs, because rather large, yet light weight earrings sit best on my ears as clips,. I feel like Cinderella when I slip my elegant size 10 feet into a pair of heavenly fitting R and V shoes. It's not even Spring 2011 , and now... I can't wait for Fall 2011. 




It's Hardly a Harley. But here's a deja vu for you. Grand kids, grand parents and all kids in the middle generations will love this “oldest trick in the book”. All you need is a clothes pin and a playing card. I recommend stealing the joker card out of a deck... so that you can still play: 52 PICK UP. Simply clip the card on to a stationary part of a bicycle, making sure that the card SNAPS the spokes as the wheel rotates. The faster the wheel spins, the more “Harley” it sounds. It's way cool to be the first kid on the block to have... well really anything. 

 

I couldn't resist buying this flirty little cocktail top...that's the good news. The bad news... it only had one strap...so I made another one out of ribbons, feathers, leaves and beads. I strung a matchie match necklace and sewed a Vintage pocket on the back of the skirt for my camera.









 
It seems that all of my dark colored pants... crammed into the closet, look alike. In the past, whenever I was running late....LIKE ALWAYS .... the “rifling though the pants” process of locating the pair that I needed... used to drive me crazy. Today, that particular stressed out process is fini. I simply labeled KEY TAGS with INFO for each pair of pants and hung the tags on the corresponding hangers. OMG, this idea is the best ever and now I'm finding and wearing all of my pants.




Inspired, inspired and inspired by nature. Last week after a bitter storm, tiny crystal raindrops danced on our Japanese maple tree as they glisten in sun. Yup, nature at it's best... there isn't a better inspiration. After nearly being blinded by the tender magnificence of these branches of liquid wonder , these necklaces nearly strung themselves.





I'll never outgrow sleeping over at a friend's house. Although I still pack a few girl scout necessities, I'm beyond spending the night on the floor in a sleeping bag. Anytime, anywhere, and at any age, a tiny flashlight, an alarm clock and a night mask are essentials for sleepovers. Because make up isn't what I want to leave in the bathroom on a guest towel, I also pack a little brown washcloth. Last, but not least, a “thank you” note-card to tuck under my friend's pillow. And, for romantic hotel sleepovers, I pack a few tea lites into my make-up bag, They are 100% safe , when set in a shallow glass of water.




I just can't wear turtlenecks any more. They nearly strangle me. So I cut the turtle part of this sweater off, made a hat out of it (notice the 30 year old I Magnin label sitting proud like red Prada label) and sewed the bottom of another sweater around the neck. How cool: cashmere doesn't ravel. This little project took about 20 minutes.





Sometimes, I purchase some things just for their timeless beauty. I call them my “hafta haves”. Each treasure has a sense of history, mystery and intrigue. Our house is brimming over with “hafta haves”. Last month, as I passed by our little city museum, this tureen caught my eye. I bought it the next week. The Madonna & Child, painted with a pin on a delicate piece of ivory, took my breath away and part of my allowance as well. Life is too short not to surround it with beauty. 





This month, I'm sort of trying to keep “sort of” out of my conversation. I've sort of found that I sort of say sort of too much. Then there's “amazing”... isn't it amazing how everything is amazing these days... even if it isn't really amazing at all, it's still amazing and I find that---------amazing!