May 11, 2009 | Fashion
As Know As de Base dress, carved quartz heart-shaped ring I bought at a gem show in Portland, silvertone watch, DIY magazine clutch, SPANX tights, Maison Gilfy peeptoe booties.I love this dress with all my heart. As Know As de Base is a teensy weensy little Japanese brand actually manufactured in Japan (!); a rarity nowadays. They make everything out of Roppongi, and it’s kind of expensive because everything’s made in small runs. (There are a number of brands under the As Know As umbrella; de Base is one of the more trendy ones.) The dress is cotton and silk, and couldn’t be more gorgeous – it has a little apron-like thing in the front, that is only anchored on one side. (I think I’ll sew down the other side since it has this tendency to pile over onto one side of the drawstring as I walk.) I took a photo to show the lovely double-front – you can cinch each separate drawstring in the bust to create a different look depending on if you want it tighter or want your whole front hanging out.;-)
The clutch I just picked up a long envelope-style white thing from Target for like $10 on sale…and then glued the front of one of my magazine covers to it. (I
could have made the magazine clutch from scratch, but I’m just too darn lazy.)
Extra points if you know which magazine I used! (I *was* searching for a vintage French Vogue on Ebay that might appeal, and then I was like “I don’t even
read French, let alone French Vogue,” so I decided to use what I do read.)
I also love Maison Gilfy to death…their stuff is the perfect blend of hard-edged, trendy, and tongue-in-cheek… I know it’s hard to tell with all the black, but the booties have this spike 4″ heel on the back, and the top folds down – you wear them permanently folded (though I guess you *could* wear them laced up the ankle if you wanted) and they have double laces. As soon as I saw a shopgirl wearing them I had to buy them – and congratulated myself on finding them for 11,000 yen ($111) on sale from 13,500 ($137)…and then after I bought them saw the knockoffs for 6192 yen ($62) from
RyuRyu, I think (but I could be wrong; it might have been
Kawaism)….
nope it was Venti Anni, and they’re still available, but they only ship to a Japanese addy.) Go fig. But check out
Maison Gilfy’s website to look out their clothes and awesome shoes anyway!
**Maison Gilfy will only ship you stuff if you have a shipping address in Japan. So buy on your trips to Tokyo!May 10, 2009 | Fashion
Woohoo! I love Karmaloop for their quirky, street-oriented, edgy fashions. This stuff is going fast, but if you can, grab it before it all goes. Here are a couple of my faves:
ALSO…$20 OFF ORDERS OF $100 OR MORE Now through May 31st, enter code JUMBO at checkout. Choose from Free Shipping on orders over $25 with code REKA09 or 15% OFF the entire order with code TASH09! Both offers are valid through December 31st, 2009. Whew! That’s a lot of promotions!
-Carly J. Cais
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May 8, 2009 | DIY
I have (just like probably every other crafter out there since the Dawn of Time) an unbelievable amount of pretty beads sitting in my arsenal with nowhere to go. Mismatched, funny shapes, unusual colors…acrylic, pearl, glass…you name it, I probably have it. So I love the idea of taking a dead-soft piece of fine jewelry wire and wrapping up all those unmatched beads into a more beautiful shape, thus recycling all of my unusable cast-offs. (I used 18 gauge wire, I think, in a silvertone, but you could definitely go higher-end with sterling or 14K gold…a gift for Mom, perhaps?) The wrapping takes awhile, since it takes some time to perfect your shape as you’re doing it…and then using two wires you wrap a little chain around the shape’s edges to secure the piece. Finally, add a jumpring on each side, cut a length of chain in half and attach each end – the chain gets a clasp. And voila! Finally, a use for all those extra mismatched beads.
I made a clover and a heart – and in using the beads, tried to choose ones in a similar color scheme. I think they turned out pretty well – and it’s funny, since I can pretty much remember where each bead came from…it’s like each piece in the shape has its own little story. That green rectangular glass bead I found on the floor of the A & P when I was 8…that gold filigree bead was from a birthday party favor bag when I was 10…that acrylic shimmer heart was from a grab bag I ordered when I was 23 and making jewelry from my tiny apartment in Philly….
I have both the clover and the heart up for sale in my Etsy Shop. They’re $16 each if you want to check them out! And definitely grab some jewelry wire and make your own – in any shape imaginable! It’s a fun project that takes about an hour or so.
-Carly J. Cais
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Apr 30, 2009 | Fashion
For all those of you who happen to live in the NYC area (or are visiting next week)…from Wed, May 6 to Sun, May 10, Rebecca Minkoff is having a huge sample sale from 10 AM – 8 PM every day!
Grab a fab bag, a cool-colored tote, maybe a breezy tunic? Get there early – because it’s sure to blow out quickly!
Check out RebeccaMinkoff.com to shop online if you can’t make it down to 33 W 17th Street for the sale.
-Carly J. Cais
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Apr 27, 2009 | Score!
Arden B. is offering you a chance to win a
Hollywood getaway for a make-over and fashion photo shoot plus a 4-night stay at the beautiful Sheraton Universal Hotel! Don’t miss out – sweepstakes ends on 5/3!
Click here to enter
-Carly J. Cais
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