i heart orange ...

... and this super bright handbag by Marc Jacobs. It's available at Neiman Marcus.

dear santa ...

cashmere hoodie from j.crew

I work mostly from home. I look mostly like a slob. However I could be a slightly stylish slob in this cashmere hoodie, right, Santa??? Please???

fall chic

to catch a thief

top left and bottom two images: ralph lauren; brown leather tote: cole haan

Ever since I was a little girl I have always been fascinated by the uber-chic, super-sophisticated socialite. You know, the women you see in head to toe winter-white cashmere, lunching at the department store café with her girlfriends; the women who can eat a croissant in said winter-white outfit and not get a single crumb on themselves. My mom is one of those women (Hermés scarf and all ... though decidedly not a socialite), while, alas, I am more of a jeans & t-shirt kind of girl.

The Cole Haan bag is actually a men's briefcase/bag, but I think it would make a chic tote bag and would be pretty convenient for carting around files & magazines & sketchbooks.

And you must check out the short film "Notorious" on Ralph Lauren website. Stunning.

bridesmaid dress fun

photos by Colleen Sherman

One of my coolest clients ever, Tiffani, had a lot of fun with the whole bridesmaids dress issue ... she had a "27 Dresses" themed bridal shower. Everyone wore a real live bm dress from their closet (including Tiffani!). Colleen Sherman took photos ... you can see them on her blog here.

fall fashion wish list

I'm a sucker for green handbags and I have a few too many already. This one, however, would make the rest of the purses in my closet bow with humility and grace.

Purse by Renaud Pellegrino, available on Vivre.com. The shoes are boho-chic done right (by YSL). And the adorable ring (only $45!) would be a fantastic every-day OR fancy cocktail ring. (Note to Santa ... my giant man hands take size 8).

black & more black

In sad fashion times like this (think electric blue tights, fuchia suede boots, plaid, neck-kerchiefs, and, horrifically, plaid neck-kerchiefs), I fall back on basic, elegant, sexy BLACK classics. Black is the new black? Let's hope.

Black silk ruffly dress: Banana Republic; Black quartz & sterling cocktail necklace: Béatrice Firm for delphine; Sweet tulip vintage handkerchief: Ebay; Stunning black evening bag with slinky gold snake: Cesare Paciotti; Sexy (yet comfy) black undies: Legaby ... and the best for last: knockout black satin "very croise platform slingback" heels by the master himself, Christian Louboutin.

Note to self... save every cent to get these shoes in black and trés chic shell pink.

still loving yellow

shoes: Bruno Frisoni

Yellow "Daisy" letterpress note card by delphine

The September 2008 issue of Vogue magazine did a piece on a hot (and new to me) shoe designer named Bruno Frisoni. The photo in the magazine reminded me of the scene in Marie Antoinette (the movie by Sofia Coppola) when Antoinette and her girlfriends are shoe shopping. Frisoni's shoes are unapologetically sexy, feminine, and girly! Like candy! Yum.

The pair shown above are my favorites... I can see them with a pair of black trousers, a plain white shirt and black cardigan ... the only color being the hints of yellow peeking out when you walk confidently into your meeting.

Our yellow daisy letterpress note cards use the same shade of yellow, I think. We're currently out of stock of these cards (thanks, everyone, for buying them all!) but we are reprinting this month. Just let us know if you'd like to pre-order.

1982

I have to say I am truly disappointed with the new fall fashions. This weekend I did a little shopping ... and came home with nothing because everything looked like 1982. 1982 fashion was ugly in 1982, people! I feel like designers are being slightly lazy and are just checking out old yearbooks to get "new" ideas. What is with the horrible color palette: dark magentas, teals, marigold??!? Even green, my favorite color, is looking icky in the current "emerald" incarnation. Yuck. I'm happy that brown is on its way out (I like brown, but am tired of it), and there was lots of greys, slates, and other neutrals. But for the most part, the mall was a sad, sad place.

if only i had somewhere to go ...

dress: anthropologie

If only I still lived in the South, where my wardrobe consisted of shift dresses and bathing suits, I would buy this dress in a heartbeat. I love the folded details around the collar.

bridal chic: lela rose

photos taken from www.lelarose.com

Because I am in the wedding (invitation) industry, I have a legitimate excuse for reading all the lovely bridal magazines. I am in love with Lela Rose. The graphic designer in me cannot get over how fantastic her logo is: the repeating lines of the delicate script perfectly echo the look and feel of her bridal gowns. It's her logo and the texture of her gowns that attracted me in the first place. [btw, visit the site to see the logo better...the screenshot is a little blurry].

I was happy when I visited her website to find that she also designs ready to wear/non-bridal. I see that she has incorporated some of my favorite "trends" into her Spring collection: navy, grey and dull metallics--all together, no less.

cuff me

photo/bracelet: J. Crew

Lately I've been noticing a "ladies who lunch by the pool in Palm Springs" trend in fashion and jewelry. Sort of retro-chic. Sort of Tory Burch. Sort of Kelly Wearstler. Sort of double martini & lobster salad lunch. Sort of fabulous. Loving it, but not sure if I have the guts, the alcohol tolerance, or the smoker's cough, to quite pull it off.

spring skirt

skirt & photo: j. jill

Saw this skirt from J. Jill in the South Coast Plaza promo catalog. Love it. I wish I spent more time in public so I could justify a new skirt, but since I spend most of the day in the studio, where nobody except the UPS guy and my family see me, I don't see the point :(