Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Lovelies!

The above card is by Bella Pilar, whom I first discovered through Papyrus, the stationery store. Her work is whimsical, girly, and fun, and I especially enjoy this Christmas card, called "Peppermint Girl."

Enjoy and Happy Christmas to you!

Handbag Wednesday: Hermès Trim II

There is an article in the January 2011 issue of Vanity Fair on Jackie Kennedy Onassis's life as an editor in New York. Knowing how much she adored clothes (and how much I love bags) I was immediately drawn to the handbag Jackie's wearing in the above photo but didn't know the origin. Gucci, perhaps? But something about it seemed really familiar, something I've come across lately as I've been researching Hermès handbags. And what I believe Jackie is toting around New York is the Hermès Trim bag, which has to be one of the best bags ever designed. So simple, so chic, a bag you would get so much use out of because it's made for every day.



This 31cm tan leather and toile Hermès Trim II (looks like an almost exact match to Jackie's) I found on Yoogi's Closet, a site I read about on Purse Forum, which listed them as a reputable dealer if you are in the market for a vintage or gently-used handbag, either Hermès or any other luxury brand.

I know the Kelly and the Birkin have the most ardent followers, and I've certainly fallen under their spell myself, but I wouldn't say no to a Trim II either and, unlike its better-known sisters, I bet there's no wait list for this beauty. If you've got the money, I'm sure you can walk in and buy it.

Anybody wanna venture to Hermès with me to find out?

The Yoogi's Closet bag, by the way, is $1,650, so I can imagine just how much money I'd have to carry into Hermès if I wanted a new one.

A Fashion Journey through the Decades

I was researching vintage YSL and Chanel jewelry when I came across the Decades blog. Decades is the high-end vintage boutique in Los Angeles owned by Cameron Silver. I had read about Decades in both Rachel Zoe's book, Style A to Zoe: The Art of Fashion, Beauty, & Everything Glamour, and in a March 2007 article in The New Yorker, and have seen it on episodes of The Rachel Zoe Project.

The blog is wonderful. I was hooked from the very first post I read on Chanel jewelry. They do a nice write-up of each piece they are offering, including the designer and the year the article of clothing or accessory was made, so it's a fun way to get a hit of vintage fashion as well as a way to learn something of fashion history. I highly recommend it!

In some of their recent posts they listed a glamorous Chantal Thomass feather capelet from the 1980's, a lovely cream and gold Jacques Fath dress from 1954, and a fantastic bubblegum pink ruched one-shoulder Halston gown from 1982. Visiting the Decades blog is like going to a couture museum, but the difference is these pieces are for sale!

The above picture is of a Halston silk caftan, circa 1975, actually featured in the exhibit American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection, held earlier this year at Brooklyn Museum, but it seems like the kind of dress Decades would offer on their site.

Photo by my mom!

Handbag Wednesday: Longchamp Roseau Tote

For this week's Handbag Wednesday post, I'm featuring my friend Juliet's lovely new Longchamp Roseau tote bag in Petrole, which is a dark green infused with gray. It's made of croc-stamped leather and has double straps, a silver bamboo fastener, and jacquard lining with the Longchamp logo. The sides have snaps in order to adjust the size of the bag, which I have shown in the second and third pictures.

Longchamp has really grown on me in the past few months with their beautiful, well-made bags at more affordable prices than other brands. This Roseau tote normally sells for $460 but I believe Juliet got it for more than half off on sale. What a bargain!

www.longchamp.com

The Fashion File

On a trip to Barnes & Noble yesterday I came across a new book titled The Fashion File: Advice, Tips, and Inspiration from the Costume Designer of Mad Men. It's by Janie Bryant (with Monica Corcoran Harel), the Emmy-winning costume designer, whose work I love. The book is, of course, heavy on the early 60's references, and talking of the costumes worn by Christina Hendricks (Joan Holloway) and January Jones (Betty Draper), but from my quick perusal it looks like she also writes about what to look for when buying vintage and how to incorporate those pieces into a modern wardrobe. There is also a section on infusing your man's look with some Don Draper flair. Mama like! A big reason I watch Mad Men is to see how Janie has dressed the characters, both the women and the men.

Janie is shown here in the last picture. She is so cute! I think of her like a modern-day Edith Head and I imagine her work makes it easy for the actors to inhabit the characters they play completely.

I don't know how I missed Janie's book in my past few trips to the bookstore but now it's going straight to the top of my Christmas wish list.

Handbag Wednesday: Leather Wallet with Vintage Button

My very talented friend Juliet showed me this gorgeous wallet she made out of leather, featuring a vintage gold, white and orange button that once belonged on a sweater of her mother's. The minute she showed it to me--in a casual Did-you-see-the-wallet-I-made? way--I knew I wanted it to be the subject of this week's handbag post.

I love the combination of making something new and incorporating something not only vintage but personal into the design. If Juliet decides to produce a small batch of these, I will be the first in line to buy!

Dior vs. Revlon

I'm pretty picky when it comes to mascara and when I find a brand I like I stick with it, though I am willing to try something new from time to time, especially when forced to because a company pushes a new product and it's hard to find the old standby (Revlon's Luxurious Lengths, I'm thinking of you!). I know Great Lash by Maybelline is a mascara so many women love but it doesn't do anything for me. It comes out kind of thin, and while it defines my lashes, it doesn't plump them up at all. I'd read some good things about Dior DiorShow Mascara and thought I'd give it a try. It has a huge brush and I love how it goes on, really lengthening and defining my lashes while also giving them volume. There is, too, its famous rose scent, which is wonderful. The only downside for me is its price. It retails for $24 a tube and I use a lot of mascara, nearly every day, so I can't see buying this over and over, strictly because of cost.

I went back to a drugstore mascara and tried Grow Luscious by Revlon. It's about $8.99 and so much of it reminds me of DiorShow--huge brush, fat tube, similar application. When you put them next to each other I can absolutely see the Revlon people were going after Dior when they created this new mascara. It doesn't smell as good as the DiorShow (that rose scent really is lovely), but it's not bad for a lower-priced mascara so I can save my pennies for a big-ticket item that will last much longer (Chanel jacket, I am thinking of you!).

Worth Getting Older For: CHANEL

Well, Dear Reader, I spent a little time in fashion heaven a week ago. At Saks Fifth Avenue I was drawn inside the Chanel Boutique as if being sucked into a force field. I meant to just look at the jackets, definitely on my list of Things I Must Own Before I Die. But then the fabulous Luba, one of the sales associates there, said, "Why don't you try on a few?"

I stripped off my coat and sweater faster than you can say, "Coco!"

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera so the pictures here are the jackets I tried on, but shown on the "runway" for the Chanel Cruise Saint-Tropez collection, and on Katy Perry, featured in the December 2010 Harper's Bazaar. I also tried on one made of the navy tweed comprising the top and bottom of the dress shown in the Chanel ad featuring Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger's daughter, Georgia May, above. In all, I tried on five different jackets, two black, one black and white, one black and red, and the navy tweed. The workmanship was divine and Luba taught me a couple of things, which I will share with you:

1) The buttons change with every collection and their designs are not repeated. The jackets I tried on had buttons with interlocking C's within a braided circle, but others have featured four-leaf clovers, lions' heads (Gabrielle's star sign was Leo), the No. 5 bottle, and ears of wheat, to name a few.

2) The sleeves are a little short, it's a design feature on many of the jackets. "See how it opens up your skin and we can see your watch?" Luba pointed out.

I couldn't believe how good I looked in those jackets, with just a pair of jeans and ankle boots to go with them! My favorite part of this escapade might have been knowing that this is not fashion for twenty-year-olds. These jackets seem to look better on women who have lived a little. Or maybe that's just me projecting.

(Katy Perry, you are too young for that jacket! Hand it over!)

I've read in Chanel: Collections and Creations by Daniele Bott that the fabric for Chanel jackets comes from Lesage, an atelier the company owns, which makes the fabrics that are used in both the pret-a-porter and haute couture Chanel collections. If you get a chance to go to a Chanel Boutique, check out the tweeds used in the jackets because they will blow your mind with their beauty. All different, all stunning.

After I tried on the first jacket, which cost $4,200 (ouch, ouch, ouch), I didn't bother to look at any more price tags. I just let waves of Chanel wash over me. How could I say no to Luba bringing out yet another gorgeous jacket and saying, "Here, try this one on, it just came in." A brand new fresh-from-France Chanel jacket? Pour moi? Mais, oui!

(The tweed in the top and bottom third of this dress, same as above on Georgia May, made up one of the jackets I tried on, with beautiful bits of white woven into the navy.)

As much as I'd like to have a complete accident and buy a Chanel jacket from Luba, if I get one it will definitely be vintage.

Side note: My son was with me and like an 8-year-old boy (or any male, for that matter) he hightailed it to the leather sofa where he watched models from the Fall/Winter 2010 show march down the runway on the endless video loop projected on the wall. He even slouched, took his shoes off (!) and said, "How long is this going to take?"

To which I wanted to say one of two things:

"Forever, son, it's going to take forever, because I'm not leaving, so scoot over, that's the sofa I will sleep on when I become a nun here at Chanel."

Either that or,

"Sit up straight, put those shoes back on, and show some respect! This is the house that Coco built!"

Handbag Wednesday: The $25 Sequined Special

In an effort to keep myself posting through the crazy holiday season, I am starting Handbag Wednesday this month and will feature a different handbag every week.

This week's bag is one I bought about eleven years ago from Daffy's, a New York City/New Jersey chain of stores which offers, as the company cheekily calls it, "Clothing Bargains for Millionaires." They sell designer clothes for less, and while I own a few things from them, my husband has had way more success with Daffy's than I ever have. This bag is one of the exceptions.

I love luxury handbags of course, they are a passion of mine and something I collect, but I also adore the pretty bag that doesn't average in the mid-four figures (and up). For one, the cost-per-wear is low. Beyond that, as my friend Sarah over at Cloud of Secrets has noted, the high-end bag makes you want to take an insurance policy out on it. I know exactly what she means.

This clutch, by a brand named Sasha, was about $25 and seems the perfect bag to usher in the holidays with its silvery sateen fabric and charcoal gray sequins and beading, all done by hand.