Featured Purchase: Lalouka Nautical Pinstripe Skirt

I recently stumbled upon Lara's Etsy stores - Lalouka (handmade goodies) and The Crumpet Closet (vintage finds) and went nuts for her stuff.

Think retro casual cool meets smart garden tea parties (Lara's originally from England).

I promptly ordered the Nautical Pinstripe Skirt and I LOVE IT! Lara tailor-made it to my size and I've worn it twice since picking it up on Friday. The fabric is a nice mix of strong and stretch and I love the highwasit - it's very flattering. My favourite touch is the contrasting horizontal stripes in the pocket. And as Lara put it, it's "very nice in the bum".

She's gearing up for her fall line so I'll let y'all know when it's ready. In the meantime, head over to her shop and pick up this skirt or a pair of bloomers - it's gonna be a hot september!

Diamond in the rough: HKR

You've probably walked by the many HKRs in this city without giving them a second glance, unless you were grimacing at the neon stretchy baby tops on the models in the window. But next time you walk by and have 5 minutes to spare, take a look around the store and take a good look at the label on anything that catches your fancy. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that it's Made in Canada. And cheap. I spotted a translucent zebra print shirt for $30 that was Made in Canada, though the drop crotch pants underneath were sadly manufactured in China...

Check out the awesomely cheasy HKR website for a 25% discount! Though they make it seem like all their stuff is manufactured here, it's not or not any longer at least. But they are still a homegrown Montreal business located right here in the city.

Shopping in NYC.

I went to New York City for New Year’s Eve - my friends’ appartment in Brooklyn was empty for the holidays, and I had heard about this fantastic happening that occurs on Pratt University’s campus on New Year’s Eve.
[ Check out http://jeffsharlet.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html for a taste of what happens there. If you can, go - it was amazing. ]

Because 2007 was a major spending year ( I started my business and upgraded lots of clothes and home things), my resolution for 2008 is to not shop at all for a year, so of course I went nuts in the days leading up to the end of 2007. Well, I shouldn’t say nuts - normally I go crazy for the dirt cheap couture knock offs, well priced shoes and Chinatown handbags. This time, however, my shopping companion and I were much more refined and stuck to the SoHo boutiques. I purchased only four items but they were all super high quality, unique and impossible to say no to.

1. Sweater of a life-time from Nicholas K: Oatmeal Merino Wool, long, cable knit, zipper and double-breasted leather buttons, satin lining, bunchy neck, can be worn as dress.

2. Limited Edition Suede Boots from Te Casan: This store in SoHo works with 7 shoe designers to create limited edition lines of incredible shoes - I went ga-ga. I couldn’t afford most of them, but lucky for me, a pair of made-in-Spain, knee-high, wine-red, suede boots with a 2 inch wooden heel were down from $650 to $250. The clincher: they came with a detachable 2 foot long suede fringe. With the fringe: ridiculous, Cher-inspired, once a year wear. Without: incredible high quality and comfortable heeled boot that goes with both fancy dresses and jeans.

3. Soft Cotton Turtleneck, made in the U.S. Can be worn as a dress.

4. Marc Jacob Toque: sauntered into a Marc Jacob Blowout Sale in Greenwhich village and found a grey cashmere men’s toque for $40 that holds all my hair (and I have a lot of that). I haven’t taken it off since. Ew, maybe it is time for a wash!

Happy New Year

So, in the debaucherous chaos of having three weeks off work, travelling, catching up on sleep, etc, I took a major break from Things that go Bling. But now I’m back! Welcome to 2008. I have a good feeling about this year. My resolution is to watch my finances, so I will have lots of frugal-minded accessorizing tips!

Accessorizing Tip of the Year: One Chunky Bracelet.

Something everyone needs in their accessory bowl (well, yours probably isn’t a bowl but mine is so let’s go with my frame of reference) is a big bracelet. I’m talking about a wide chunky bangle made of ceramic or wood or plastic, that slips easily over your wrist. Let me tell you why it’s the ultimate versatily accessory:

1. It can be worn year round and looks just as good over a long sleeved knit as it does on a bare wrist.

2. It can be worn around your wrist bone, just barely held on your arm by the width of your hand, or pushed up close to the elbow.

3. It dresses up any outfit. If you dislike wearing jewellery, a chunky bracelet is easy to wear and eye catching enough to allow you to bypass the traditional earrings/necklace/ring sets.

4. They can also be your most affordable and conscientious accessory purchase: second hand stores are practically littered with them, and usually in the 0.99$ bowl at that.

Recommendations: I think the classiest way to go is wood. it’s a harder thing to find, but the treasure hunt will be well worth it. For added drama, offset the large chunky bracelet on one hand with smaller similar colored ones on the other.

Downfall: Annoying if you work at a computer all day and the bracelet hits the edge over and over, driving you closer and closer to the edge of sanity. And in regards to wood = I have hypersensitive skin so maybe this is just me but I seem to be allergic to the dark waxy woods that wooden jewellery tends to be made from. I have to wear my wooden bangles over the sleeves of my shirts, which is totally fine in this season but not very summer-conducive.

Holiday Party Gear

No need to go buy a new outfit for the office holiday party: simply pull out that packed away bag of summer clothes, grab a sundress (something sleeveless, preferably satiny) and slip it on over a pair of slim pants or stockings. Cover up with a cardigan or shawl, and put on some high boots.
For accessorizing, combine a half dozen pairs of necklaces (of similar type; fake pearls, long with charms - not different kinds), a pair of big gold or silver hoops or dangly earrings, and a big belt. If you’re feeling brazen, stack bangles on both of your wrists and sport a chunky stone ring or two.
Need a present for the host? Fashion some simple wineglass charms with wire and beads (each charm should be different so you can tell wine glasses apart) and voila!