I heart lizard sunglasses

Let me just start by saying that before I lived in LA, sunglasses were not a big part of my wardrobe. Here however, it is sunny almost every single day and so you wear sunglasses almost every single day. In my grown-up-ness, I've discovered that I can't do the the cheapies anymore. I'll spend money on them and appreciate them like the little pieces of fashion that they are.

Which is why I devote an entire blog entry as to how I ended up with the most killer vintage lizard shades. As I mentioned in my last entry, mon mari gave me, among other things, a lovely gift of sunglasses for my birthday (as I was convinced that airport security stole my new pair of Oliver Peoples glasses from their case in my suitcase coming home from holiday, but that's another story.) That was nice of him, but actually I haven't needed an excuse for buying sunglasses of late, they seem to have become a bit like shoes for me. Meaning, I just can't get enough. In addition to the Dita aviators, there's the 2 Wayfarers I got in France this summer, the Philip Lim's I got at the NY boutique, new pair of Peoples (which are gone, thank god kinda), a pair of Lanvin's I got just because they were priced so low, how could I refuse?

And, so the gift from mon mari, it was sweet, but it turned into a wee drama. He has a favorite optical store in Silverlake - Gogosha Optique. (which their website says is "a high end, service and design driven eyewear and sunglass boutique" but is really just a super geekified glasses store at which I feel immediately inadequate for not knowing the difference of frames made in France over frames made in Japan - all the best are made in either country and no where else. I wear contacts which is not so cool in this boutique. But do I appreciate the expertise and old school service here. Don't expect to find any Diors or Guccis at this place. Those glasses may be expensive, but Julia, the store's owner eschews any logos on any of her glasses saying, "if you have to advertise your logo, your design wasn't strong enough to sell itself." Meow.) So he presents me with a wrapped, empty box from the store and accompanies me to pick something out.

First, I choose a pair of Salt sunglasses, the Carly model, to be exact. I have them for a day when I look at myself in the mirror and think 'who are you?' That's not a good thing to think when you know le mari may presumably want to actually see me wearing his gift every once and a while. SO I call the boutique and ask if I could come exchange them for another pair. Yes, they say, come in. I exchange them for the "Audrey" Oliver Goldsmith's which you see in the previous entry. I wear them for a day or 2 and then realize that they give me a terrible headache. I call the store again - seriously this is uncharacteristic - ask if I could come back and either exchange or have them adjusted. They say yes, true to their service-oriented-selves. I crawl back in and assure them that I don't normally do things like this. After trying on every pair in the store and staying longer than my one hour meter allows, I am going to leave empty handed when I see them open one of the drawers and spy an entire field of sunglasses I'd never seen. What are those, I ask? They're our vintage collection, they respond. May I take a look? Sure. Standing over the drawer the skin coated frames are the 2nd ones I try on and when they illicit ooohs and aaahs from the staff I have to take a look. I love them. I take them. I will not return them.

And the fashion mags all proclaiming skin to be in, I don't care, I just love these glasses. Could they be hotter?


And how about the vintage printing? I'm such a sucker for that: GENUINE LIZARD.

What's in your bag?

It was Christmas then a week later New Year's and then a week later my birthday, so I realize that this Happy New Year entry is a little late, but this one will be a bit of a catch up. First, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Done. Now, I've been meaning to post a version of one of my favorite features in magazines - the What's is Your Bag piece. This is my bag and the current things in it. Click on the picture to see bigger pic with item list.

Here's a game - there's one thing in the bag which I actually never carry. Guess what it is? Answer at the end of this post.

But about the other contents of the bag - some are gifts from my bday, like the Marni items which come from Simone,

(how my presy from Simone arrived at the Vivier headquarters.)

and the sunglasses from mon mari; the iPhone, make-up no girl can live without, yeah yeah yeah, but the star is really that bag, no? Get out! That's lace leather, how beautiful is that?! And it's remnant leather - so it's in limited supply. It's not available on website yet - only special order for now. Call Vivier to place order - number's on website.




Here are some of the other lovely and inspiring things I got for mes fêtes.

1. an Orchid from HBT; 2. a "Bocage" vintage Hermes scarf from my sister; 3. a snakeskin wallet from my brother from Ghana; 4. a gray patent bank bag from Vivier; 5. a leather bowl from Mohawk General Store (from Greta for bday); 6. visor from Ghana soccer game (from brother)


A: The comb. For my hair? Come on now, you know I could never use a comb without deliberately wanting to look like a sheet of Bounce just unstuck from an angora sock.

Winter!

Living in LA, there are some things the wonderful weather doesn't allow us to do - like buy and wear a variety of lovely winter coats. I went to my favorite vintage store in St. Paul, MN while visiting my family for the holidays and tried on a bunch. I could not justify, reminded my mother, buying another one. Although the one I wanted is not even pictured here. It was an amazing flawless black wool, double breasted coat with rhinestone buttons. And, now that I've written about it, I may have to make a quick trip back to the store today before our flight to get it. (To be photographed later.)
The one thing I did get was in the picture on the far left - the scarf. It's vintage shearling, made in Italy. It reminded me of the fur scarf I'd seen at Maison Martin Margiela last month. I tried it on with my outfit, it was amazing - so chic, it didn't matter what you'd wear with it. But it was somewhere around thousand and it was made out of raccoon tails. Somehow when I learned that it just lost its appeal. I mean, I wear fur, but everyone draws their own line. Raccoon? No thanks. So this one made of shearling, perfect.
Here's me Christmas shopping. I photographed as a version of WAYWT? winter-style. Green Rihanna jeans (see previous entry), North Face boots bought in Aspen on the Viceroy Snowmass photoshoot. Warmest boots EVA. (I brought two very heavy suitcases on this trip for me and Oscar and there was nothing I thought I could take out. I brought 4 pairs of shoes and never wore anything but these boots. When will I learn how to pack?) Vintage rabbit fur (I know, I know but it's vintage!) coat which is the warmest thing I've ever owned, but is now perhaps seeing it's last days as I've seen a few "brown mouses" left in my tracks. So sad.

Here's me in a J Crew jacket I think is pretty cute - come on, the boucle is adorable.

Here's me in the purple bathroom at my dad's in my trusted fur and cashmere scarf, the outfit I pretty much never took off while I was here. I really don't know why my suitcase was so heavy.

This is a cape my sister just gave to me. It's navy wool with a beautiful red silk lining. She also just gave me the mink (I know, I know but it's vintage!) stole. This is why we love big sisters and why my luggage will be heavier going home today.

In the Clutches

I just got a call from Max Padilla from the LA Times and he may include these bags in the holiday gift guide next Sunday. I hope he does, of course, and he was pretty sharp. He totally called the design. As I made them yesterday, I was thinking they were like bank bags - you know they type stores bring cash and checks to the bank in? Max told me that's what they reminded him of, too. So I went down to the store and took a pic of them on display. Right next to my shoes of an earlier post!

I've been playing around with zippers. There're so pretty really - all golden teeth and pretty colors around. So I made up these clutches with some remnant leather I got from my source - which makes them oh my god, even better they're ECO. I'm not harming the earth by creating more stuff, only making pretty things out of potential landfill, right? They're for sale at my fav store I mentioned in earlier post - Mohawk General Store. They had opening party last night and I was all ready to take pictures of the beautiful owner, Bo, and pics of the styly attendees, like April from Satine, and pics of my bags merchandised by MGS. But I left my camera at home! Sorry.

Sparkle

or The Maker got Scooped
There has been a lot going on lately with the first of the trifecta holidays passing; with all the speculation on whether black Friday or today's online black Monday were going to prove prescient for the rest of shopping season and the economy as a whole; with Obama picking his cabinet and the blahdiblah like. But me, I've been reading the news and finding out a few things pertaining to the Vivier blog: 1. I'm a Maker. According to the LA Times coverage on the craft fairs which have been gaining momentum lately - people who make things are no longer called "crafters" which I guess was too closely linked to making dream catchers and scrapbooks, even "DIYers" has been retired. Nowadays, people who make things themselves to sell are called Makers. I make things, bags and bracelets and collages and coming soon jeweled neckpieces (to be an entry very soon) and I kind of like the ridiculous way it sounds - you know they thought of Creators, but thought better of it and settled on Makers. But anyway, that leads me to what else I've been reading about in the press which was going to be this very entry, but I got sidetracked by life and holidays and this entry didn't happen when I thought it would, (which makes me think of another article I read recently and is another thing I can call myself: I'm also a "slow-blogger") and that is number 2: the SPARKLE JACKET. I think I've now seen pieces on it in Garance Dore's blog, Refinery 29 and also the NY Times Style section. Those 3 right there should mean that I ought to scrap my idea to blog about my finds from my fav thrift store Luxe de Ville, but they're just so good, I've decided to write about them anyway. Recently I found this vintage I. Magnin number:

I've worn it one time so far, out to a comedy show and you really really have to dress it down and even still you you get a LOT of attention. People find it hard to pass without a word about how "shiny" you are or that it's like a discoball...But my advice for wearing something like this, besides being sure to dress down whatever else you're wearing with it, is to ASSUME the sparkle. You really have to be prepared for the looks and say to yourself as people watch you go by "Yeah, I sparkle, damn it and it looks cute."

And there's this vintage Norma Kamali paillette, cashmere-lined number which I got last year and really is still an all-star winner:

I mean, come on, that is sooo cute. It is like wearing my own little Margiela store on my back. And, look at Miu Miu's version for sale right now at net-a-porter:

I'd rather have mine, no?

Collection Collage

I'm about to post a new front page for seevivier.com with this "polaroid" collage I made with the pictures I had taken last week of the new collection. It's cute, right? On the site all the pics will be links. I may have to move a few of the images around, but it'll be generally something like this. I love it.

WAYWT?

Part of the segment I'll call What Are you Wearing Today? If you want to send me pics, I'll post them of you too.
So this is what I'm wearing today. Comptoir des Cotonniers short sleeve coat which I bought this summer in Paris. I never knew how perfect it'd be for LA fall weather. Dark gray t-shirt dress, I made this summer when it was consistantly 100 degrees and we wanted to wear nothing at all. Knee highs, I can't remember from where. VIVIER iPhone pouch which I wear everyday, don't you? The iPhone is in my hand of course b'c I'm taking the pic and the headphones are in my ears b'c I'm talking to Simone (see below) at the same time. Talk about multitasking!! And the star of the outfit - my new shoes, from my new favorite store! Off-white cotton canvas "Slow and Steady Wins the Race" shoes from Mohawk General Store (1102 Mohawk St), right down the street from my house. They come in black too and I think I may have to get them as well. I was in Satine boutique yesterday with my friend Greta (more about her stylishness in a future post) in pretty much the same outfit, as you see when I get into an outfit it kind of turns into a jag of sorts - different under garments and variations on it of course but usually the look stays the same for a few days. (Read yellow skirt entry.) Anyway, I'm at Satine - a bastion of all things lovely and hip in LA, and the shoplady says, "I love your shoes. I have them in black. And I love that line SASWTR. I love the story behind it." Yes, I say, having no idea what she was talking about - story? So I shall google pronto and get back to you.
http://www.slowandsteadywinstherace.com/#1_ABOUT
Okay, I googled it and it is a great story and a very cool line. I LOVE my shoes more now.