What I'm loving right now

Quick post about a few things I'm currently obsessing over:

Got this chain mesh necklace from Ann Taylor today



I don't usually shop at Ann Taylor (actually I never do), but I was at the mall with my Mom and she wanted to look inside, where I stumbled upon the necklace, marked down to $15 from $80! It's got this chain mail look to it, which ties in nicely with my whole fashion-forward-meets-history-nerd thing. I'm picturing it with a basic v-neck t-shirt and a high waisted skirt...

Second, and sadly I don't own these yet (in fact the skirt is sold out it's so popular) because they are a bit more than $15, are two pieces from J Crew:




(The skirt and the shorts)
The skirt looks like woven straw but then it's got these amazing neon pink stripes. I don't care for how they styled it in the catalog with the sweater tied at the waist, but in person it is CUUUUUUUUTE. And also about $158. So I must now forget it.
And the shorts are so chic and summery. Mmm.

I also returned the orange shoes and purchased some new ones which I will post a picture of as soon as they come back from being dyed (yes, people still do that apparently). They are very cute and I'm fairly certain will be comfortable.

Later.

The dress is good to go!

Finally picked out my bridesmaid's dress:



(But in "platinum").

Pretty, right? It has kind of a 50's flair with the full skirt and the sweetheart bust. I'm working on shedding some poundage so I can really look snazzy (as my grandfather would have said). I even found the shoes! I'm about 90% sure these are the ones, so I went ahead and bought them (but they can be returned)




The heel height is perfect: tall enough to make them chic and to my taste, but still comfortable to stand/walk/dance in. I knew I wanted a color, and while I had in mind something in navy, burgundy or dark green, I like the orange too. Kind of different with the silver dress, right?

In other news, I'm back from NYC for the summer and trying desperately to find work so I can afford to move back up to NY this fall. But the job market basically sucks right now, so I'm not having much luck.

Fingers crossed!
Vic

Absolut Limited Edition city flavors

I was over at a friend's apartment last night to get ready to go out and do some pregaming, and I was lucky enough to try one of Absolut vodka's limited edition flavors: New Orleans. The flavor is mango and black pepper, and it's AMAZING how much you can taste both. The mango is sweet and subtle, and then the pepper kicks with a bit of a burn. Upon checking out the wikipedia page on Absolut I found out that they also have a limited edition Los Angelos flavor too: Acai, Acerola, Pomegranate, and Blueberry. Yum! Pour me some of that on the rocks with any fruit jucie and I know it'd be a hit. Also, I'm a sucker for glass bottles and both limited editions come in pretty packaging. I just might have to order some LA Vod through the mail.

Danny Roberts

I hope that you've all trickled over to Danny Roberts' blog Igor and Andre' (http://igorandandre.blogspot.com/) by now, but if you haven't YOU MUST. I read multiple blogs that have talked about his work, especially since he did beautiful drawings of bloggers like Camille from Childhood Flames and Jane from Sea of Shoes. He also does fashion drawings and other imaginative illustrations, and they are so evocative and gorgeous.

Take a look...







Aren't they just IT? All of the above images are available for purchase on his etsy page, and while he has $100+ paintings, the ones above are all around $20! I definitely plan on purchasing some and putting them up in my new apartment (when I finally get one). They are the perfect mix of whimsical and haunting. God I just think they are great.

Vic

Hate to say it, but...

I was browsing the Jessica Simpson shoe collection this evening after reading this (http://daddylikey.blogspot.com/2009/04/five-mens-fashion-first-impressions.html) post on Daddy Likey and I gotta say, I'm definitely liking some stuff on there. It's all fun and flirty, and most of the heels are sky high of course, but for what it is (another celebrity designed fashion line) I gotta give it some props.

Here are my picks:



(clockwise from top left they are: geneviv, grace, scilla and delanco)

Now, none of them are so fabulous I'm gonna shell out $80+ for them, but still...I was a tad impressed...

Vic

The Great Bridesmaid Dress Search of '09

Ok, so my sister is getting married in October (WOOOOOT), and I'm the Maid of Honor! She's decided that instead of picking one dress for everyone to get, she's chosen a color and letting everyone pick their own dress. She picked gray as her color (which is oddly fitting since that's her middle name; the name of our father's father's mother), and since filling the order and tailoring the dress will take 3-4 months, my mom and I went to look for dresses this weekend when I was at home for Easter. We hit up two bridal boutiques, one of which is the one my sister's dress comes from, and also Macy's, Nordstrom and Jessica McClintock.

Here are (at the moment) the contenders. They're all available in some shade of gray, though not all the pictures are shown in gray.

From J Crew:


From Dessy:



(the navy one comes in a middle shade gray, and it's kind of hard to see the really pretty cross pleating on the bust, but it's there)

From Alvina Valenta:



(it comes in gunmetal, which is a kind of dark gray, and I love the chic cut and the pleated collar. I think it's so different!)

And finally from Adrianna Papell:




So that's it so far, but new dresses come out everday! I'll try and find a picture of my sister's dress to put up here; it's so lovely.

Vic

Heaven, thy name is Tord Boonjte

While gazing at the other lovely (and expensive) items for sale at the Museum of Modern Art design store with a friend the other day, I not only came across these adorable rings by Soop:

(which are meant to be stacked to create cute little farmyard scenes), but also the most amazing ceiling light I've ever seen. Even the name is perfection.

Behold: the Midsummer Light by Tord Boonjte



It's made of durable paper in all sorts of flowery, forest-y shapes and comes in yellow/green, red/white, purple/white, and just white. It's whimsical and delicate and so different. I think when I finally get a permanent apt. this is gonna have to be hanging over my dining room table.

Oh, here's another thing: The MOMA store has it priced at ~$100, but I found another site that has it for only $56: http://www.unicahome.com/catalog/item.asp?id=13772

I think Titania would approve of it.