Nautical, naturally

A Cup of Joe posted today about new Etsy store Oh, Leoluca from Berlin artist Teresa Hu. And once again I am feeling the need for something nautical, preferably in these bright reds and blues.
Hu also provides a strong case for the importance of good photography when selling vintage.

Alice McCall for Topshop

Cowboy Pants favorite Alice McCall's collection for TopShop has finally arrived. The dresses and skirts are cute and wearable, much like McCall's own collections.
My favorite is the What Goes Round dress.

Etsy Seller- Cocotte

While Etsy seems a great venue for young designers and vintage sellers alike, the user interface makes it hard to find the great pieces that must be on there somewhere. The search mechanism is just not quite right to find clothing. I always end up finding fewer hits than misses.
Search no further though, Etsy store Cocotte Couture is a definite hit. My favorite is the Miranda African wax mini dress. The ethnic print is perfect for spring and the fitted bodice with bustier seaming details makes it perfect for going from work out to dinner or drinks.
Check out the entire store- each piece is unique, special, and well worth the price- you will be sure to treasure them for a long time.

Shop Watch- The Urban Collection

The Urban Collection will be updating their stock tomorrow 5/29. Log on early before their great vintage picks sell out.

What's your bag, baby?

The other day I was in the car listening to the radio (one of the many perks of visiting home) and amidst the call-in prizes of free gas for a year and concert tickets was one that caught my attention. One selected caller will win their dream bag filled with $10,000 cash. Did I hear that right?
Forget the $10,000 cash- What is my dream bag? My mind went blank. If I were to call in would the only name that came to mind really be Birkin?
This was actually two full days ago and I still can't decide what my dream bag would be. Is it something sensible, a status bag, or just the most expensive one I can find.
After some brief browsing I've settled on this Balenciaga from their Spring 08 collection because when you have something just handed to you like that, you might as well not take it too seriously. And seriously, how great is this clutch- a little vintage, a little sophisticated, and a lot of fun.
What is your dream bag?

Impulse Buy

Someone beat me to it and her name is Jill Wenger. First, she styled the outfit above for her Seattle boutique Impulse to pure perfection. Her refined eye and point of view are at once elegant, creative, and playful. The highly edited collection includes Acne, Junya Watanabe for CdG, A.P.C., and Mayle.
She also just recently launched Totokaelo, the online counterpart to Impulse. It features both a retail component that boasts a convenient return policy that allows you to test new designers with low risk and a community aspect where the group of members can tag favorite pieces, comment on the pieces, and interact between their personal profiles.
I joined last night and am ready to start tagging favorites. Join and show us what you like.

Art on a Budget

20x200

Keep Calm Gallery

I recently came into possession of some extra wall space. NEW APARTMENT! SHARED WITH MICHELLE!
Empty walls are sad and who knew cool art could be cheap. Check out even more $20 options over at Charming Wall.

Going Bare

Nail polish has had a great year and why not. You can change colors to fit your mood, its a cheap and easy fashion statement, and there are more options out there now than ever before.
As someone who thinks far too much about topics like nail color I am acutely aware of the subtle associations of Lincoln Park After Dark versus Ballet Slippers. Black was once anti-establishment. It became fashion forward, then fashion everywhere, and we were on to blue then grey now green(?).
Thursday Styles recently did a piece on the trend towards embracing chipped nails.
I say it has gone too far. I am going bare for the summer.
I do not mean to suggest I'll be giving up my all-too regular mani-pedi's. What it means is that for the summer I'll be giving up color. Who knows how long this will last, I will probably miss the pops of Big Apple Red on my toes and deciding between Limo-scene and Mod Hatter for my fingers. On the plus side, this is another way to stay toxin free.

Time for Tani

My favorite shoe store in NY has finally gone online. Tani is well known by the ladies of the Upper West Side for their constantly updated stock of a wide range of American and foreign brands including Rachel Comey, Chie Mihara, Spring Court, F-Troupe, Keep, and Jeffrey Campbell. They always have a great selection of party-ready heels, cool sneakers, and interesting flats (my favorite). Their e-commerce site isn't up yet, but hopefully we won't have to wait long.

Trend: Zip-a-dee-do-da

Zipper details are all over shoes at the moment. Go subtle and sophisticated with Matt Bernson 'Swain' sandals or have a punk-rock edge in these Maud 'Patti' heels from Pixie Market's newly launched site. Leave it to Gwen Stefani to take this trend to the glam extreme with the L.A.M.B. 'Shauna' platform.
I love how each shoe's name suits the shoe scarily well.

Feel it out

I love to say I told you so. Back in 10th grade I had this awesome idea for a line of jewelry and clothes decorated with words in braille. I think I only ever BeDazzled one shirt, but I still have my mock-ups and drawings.
It looks like jewelry brand Fetty has beaten me to it (and done it much better as well).
You can buy Fetty online at Barney's.