The Shopping Bag Chronicles

The Play's the Thing-It's Kid Stuff!

2009-12-18T19:15:00.032-05:00

When it comes to the Holidays no gifts are more important than the ones we wrap up for kids. We all remember special holiday presents, some of us even still have them. My most memorable gifts--- an Easy Bake Oven-who knew a light bulb could burn brownies, Makeit Bakeit and Malibu Barbie-she didn't use sunscreen either!

It's not easy shopping for kids- there is always the "must have" toy and so much out there -who can keep up with the "cool" factor.

V and A Shop

We all know kids who have too much in their toy boxes, and who would often rather play with the box than the toy inside...maybe because a box can become anything an imagination can create...this is why I take the less trendy road for the kids on the list.

V and A Shop

I love the search for gifts with no wires, no noise,...just simple ideas that spark imagination, creative play,quiet time and fun! Toys and gifts that kids will come back and pick up time and again. I usually stay away from traditional toy retailers-those can all be scary places time of year! I love to scout out specialty shops and museum stores, shops with buyers that think about the merchandise they put out there for kids...Come PLAY! and see some favorites that are all about creative imaginative play and that just maybe 20 years from now your favorite kid will remember receiving...most under $100!!

Cooper Hewitt

Good Buddies

A + R

Anthropologie

Monet started somewhere...

MOMA
Chalkboard Placemat Paper Source
Crayon Rocks

Doodle Doll Anthropologie
Freestyle Etch-a Sketch MOMA

Walker Art

Imagine!
Play with Cheerios MOMA

Smithsonian

A+R
Paper Source

V and A Shop

Walker Art
Explore!

Bug Magnifier New York Botanical Gardens Shop

FairyTale Gardens

Potting Shed Creations

Exploratorium

Window Shopping-Holiday Windows 2009

2009-12-14T22:44:00.013-05:00

Bergdorf Goodman

Presents are not the only boxes we open this time of year. I think everyone has boxes filled with memories that sit on the shelves in our heads waiting for us to reach for them during this season.

Lord and Taylor

Sometimes a house all lit and twinkling will open the boxes, or the smell of cookies cooling on a rack or the sound of a favorite carol. For me, no surprise, it is the decoration, style and design of the holidays-- frosty white ornaments, white branches and teeny white lights on everything! Some of my favorite memories that arrive special delivery this time of year are the sights and sounds of holiday store windows.

Bergdorf Goodman

Perhaps because I was fortunate to grow up in a time without the consistent barrage of noise and texting and video games and get it now technology, that I treasure the memory of the joy and wonder of seeing a simple window come to life in a magical way...probably no big deal to kids of the new millennium but I hope they still can still be enchanted.

Macy's

Holiday windows of course are not just for kids, especially in New York where the "competition" between stores can get serious! with each store taking on a theme or story for its Holiday Display-Here are some worth peering into... Happy Window Shopping!

For Holiday 2009 Barneys Celebrates 35 years of Saturday Night Live with its "Have a Witty Christmas" Windows

At Bergdorfs, always my favorite! the mood is all about an Elegant Fantasy

The windows at Bloomingdale's present Dynamic Duos-The Claus Couple, the Obamas, Batman and Robin...

Lord and Taylor's windows show off Sparkle with some Frosting from Swarovski

Of course everyone waits for the Windows at Macys -the Grandaddy of holiday windows wants you to Believe! as it displays the magic behind the scenes at the North Pole

For the Frill of it! Beyond Bridesmaid-Reasons to Get Ruffled

2009-10-24T17:11:00.042-04:00

Fendi

Chloe

With Halloween only a week away I am noticing a lot of costume looking pieces hanging on main line store racks---

leaving me to wonder what designers are thinking...
what are buyers and merchandisers thinking???

Net a Porter

Does everything need a ruffle on it??? In all fairness to Seventh Avenue though it could be that I am just still haunted by BAD Bridesmaid memories. Once upon a time I was forced to be seen in public looking like a blueberry with ruffles and since then I break out in hives whenever I am within 100 yards of anything polyester/acetate and ruffly.

I am not alone on this one, on a recent episode of Project Runway Heidi Klum declared that she was "not a big fan" of ruffles either. Even if you have been scared by one too many bridesmaid dresses you cannot help but notice that ruffles are having their day! Wherever you look you can see that designers are incorporating ruffles on necklines,
Tory Burch
hemlines
Anthropologie

scarves, hats, gloves , boots, Anthropologie
shoes...Moschino Anthropologie

Coats Anthropologie

Anthropologie

The Runways and Red Carpets are All-a-Ruffle as is The First Lady

I may never walk out in public, short of October 31, in a lot of the be-ruffled wear of the season but even this former bridesmaid admits that ruffles done well can be...
Feminine

Valentino

Flirty

Zac Posen Celine

Fun!

Anthropologie

Classic

HalstonMarc Jacobs

St. John

and Yes! Elegant

Valentino

Chloe

Valentino

So if in fact I am letting ruffles into my closet then f course my eye roams over to the knit world...ruffles are adorning scarves and jackets and sweater coats and ...

Anthropologie

Jean Paul Gaultier

Anthropologie

Come Visit Winding Yarn and let's play with Ruffles from the needles...

Oh So Pretty! Sara Campbell Style

2009-09-02T08:27:00.014-04:00

Most days pulling yourself together to get out the door means less about how you want to look and more about how fast you can get ready to go. There are days,however, that you just need to feel pretty...for those days I go straight for the pieces in my closet that say Sara Campbell.

Sara's clothes are all about feeling special, clothes that go anywhere, totally wearable,timeless...and just simply pretty. Whether for dress up or work days or heading out for fun, Sara's clothes fit in everywhere. The pieces in the collection are tailored not just for great style but also to be worn in a real life--not only do you feel pretty you are comfortable being pretty....

Always flirty, feminine,colorful, and classic.

I love visiting Sara's stores,located in the South End of Boston and recently opened Wellesley. Sara's clothes can also be found at specialty stores nationally. When I shop there it is like playing in a wonderful closet filled with pieces that I want to wear. Maybe it was the black and white stripes with hot pink accents that made me feel at home in the new Wellesley store (just the colors of my dressing closet) but I walked in and felt instantly at home. I scooped up armloads and hit the dressing room . I have always loved to play Dress Up but at Sara Campbell I can make those play days real.

The line is meticulously tailored so the clothes fit beautifully. I am five foot 1 on a good day, yet the recent afternoon I was there there were women of all heights, sizes and ages each trying on pieces and we all looked good in Sara Campbell.

Sara in her workroom

You notice right off that there are a lot of dresses in the collections, skirts, coordinating jackets and coats...hearkening to Betty Draper's days but with an updated style for women who do more than pose in their lives. Yes, you can be a Lady and rule the world.

Sara Campbell's clothes are all designed with beautiful fabrics and there is always a perfect element as they are adorned with special details-ribbons, buttons, applique, ruffles, pleating... that catch attention!

I think no matter what your life is all about, no matter how nuts your days can get, feeling pretty in an effortless way is what we all deserve---simply pretty, simply Sara Campbell.

"At Sara Campbell, we believe in always feeling pretty. We want you to flaunt your femininity. We love to celebrate all of life's pleasures - no matter how big or small..." Sara Campbell

Lipstick on His Collar-Dressing Well is the Best Revenge! MAD about the Style, Betty Draper's Closet

2009-08-16T10:26:00.002-04:00

Close the laptop, shut off the cell phone, cancel all plans...Tonight the third season of arguably the best series on television, Mad Men, premiers. The series is graced with pitch perfect writing that is filled with carefully and slowly revealed characters, characters that individually and collectively portray and explore the extraordinary period of change that was the late 50s and 60s. These are characters you care about, love to hate and are amazed by. Mad Men keeps you wanting more. The show is exquisitely crafted with sets that stage the era, which is truly the central point of Mad Men, to every detail. The story line captures the extraordinary shift in lifestyle and culture this country would undergo in those years. The performances pull you into that world of smoke filled rooms and Mad Men is flawless in its representation of the most fascinating time in the twentieth century, a time of revolutionary societal change. Watching Mad men,however, you stop and wonder how much has really changed!

Mad Men is a reason to sit and watch TV at a time when there is not much reason to do so,this is appointment viewing! I love to re-watch Mad Men to look at , yes John Hamm, but also the clothes, the styling, the jewelry... The fashion and the "look" of Mad Men is meticulously selected to not only define the characters but also reflect the changes that they experience and that the country was experiencing. The fashions of the series tell so much of the story, especially about women and their role---and it is a powerful one.

The wardrobes are to envy and sitting in flip flops and cut off shorts I wonder how my Mother did it ...and I want everything in Betty Draper's closet!

Betty's closet is filled with the clothes, shoes, bags and jewelry that work forever-the look of Dior, Hermes, Bonnie Cashen,Givenchy...

Betty is married to the mysterious, enigmatic, habitually unfaithful and totally delicious ad man Don Draper. Their life, a portrait of what the magazine's sold in the late 50s and early 60s, one of suburban bliss...which rarely was....

Betty Draper's style is perfectly coiffed and adorned. Madmen costume designer Janie Bryant describes Betty's look as "... quite simple but so gorgeous. And you know, you still see women like this. That beautiful classic style from the period that they've carried on for their entire lives..."

Bryant defines Betty's wardrobe to reveal the character her role as wife and mother and her reality "...its about having that image and maintaining that sense of perfection, so it's sort of how everyone sees her from the outside and not so much what's on the inside."

Beautifully played by January Jones, Betty Draper carries a cool serene exterior that hides to perfection the fragility that lies under the cashmere and pearls.

She is part Donna Reed

part Grace Kelley

part Jackie Kennedy

and a little Marilyn...

Of course to go with all the wonderful clothes, bags, shoes and jewelry...Betty also has The Best accessory...John Hamm!

Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair

Clutch Player

2009-08-02T12:50:00.030-04:00

Everything Baseball

The Major League Baseball Trading deadline has come and gone but the need for a Clutch Player (or if you are from Boston- Play-ah) goes on...The Red Sox clearly need one-NOW! Maybe these can help???? Doubtful, but I think they're great no matter if you are running the bases or just playing the field...

1. The Utility Player-The Cell, The Blackberry, The Lip Gloss, The Credit Card...all fit!

All in One, Vera Bradley

Ambroise, Tory Burch

2. The Base Runner-For when you are Running into the market, the dry cleaner, the bank...

Wristlet, Vera Bradley

SWAK, Vera Bradley

Clutch wallet, Vera Bradley
Balenciaga, Barneys

3. The Designated Hitter-When you need a HIT of color or that one piece that clears the bases.

Woven Wicker, Vivre

Hard to Get, Lily Pulitzer

Purple Python, Vivre

Kate Spade

Palm Beach Club, Barneys

4. The Slugger-This is the Player you can always count on to get the job done!

Classic Gold Python, Vivre

Hand Painted Clutch, Vivre

Tiki, Vera Bradley

Tassel Clutch, Vivre

Ipanema, Vivre

5. The Starter-This is the Player that you take along for a Day Game-A day Out, Lunch Date, an Afternoon Tea...

Shell Shocked, Lily Pulitzer

Shagreen Clutch, Vivre

Python Clutch, Vivre

Hadley, Tory Burch

6. The Closer-The Player who Finishes the Night!

Celestina, Barneys

Celestina, Barneys

Marano, Vivre

Come Visit Winding Yarn for In the Clutch and On the Needles

Shell Seekers, Champagne Maker The Stitch Poet

Rain, Rain, Go Away!...Shopping for Summer Color

2009-06-28T15:31:00.036-04:00

La Vie Claire

For tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun

I have spent a lot of time in the water so far this summer...No, not at the beach but in the puddles. We have had nothing but Wellies Weather this June and I am finding I need the real thing..sun and
ocean...so I went looking for colors that will at least make me feel that summer is really here!

I need to think Sunshine, Yellow can help. and for a Day at the Beach mood, Turquoise.

So grab an umbrella, click your wellies three times and let's pretend the weather matches the calendar with great accessories and looks in the colors of a summer day!

First ...Let the Sun Shine...

Tory Burch

Tejani
Lily Pulitzer

Kate Spade

J Crew
Tory Burch

Kate Spade

Now for the color water should be...not grey but Turquoise...Enjoy!

Tejani

Lily Pulitzer

Vivre

Vivre
Lily Pulitzer

Lily Pulitzer

Angela Moore

Lily Pulitzer

Service with a Smile??-Make ME Happy!

2009-05-25T10:48:00.001-04:00

“Give the lady what she wants!” Marshall Fields

I think we all have stories of waiting endlessly on hold for someone to give us an answer to a question about our phone service, airline reservation, credit card bill, misplaced order...or standing in line only to have the person waiting on us not know what the price was or where to find what we want, or worse yet not caring... I simply don't get it!

There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
- Sam Walton

In the current economic climate how much sense does it make to do your job poorly? Can you tell I have had some customer service issues of late! As a Marketing Professional the first rule I play by is that the customer is ALWAYS right-even if they are Wrong!

Nothing but nothing keeps me coming back to a store, a service or a contractor than how I am treated by their representatives. I believe you don't get second chances with any customer and the impression you leave reflects back on the entire organization or company.

In the past two weeks I have dealt with truly BAD customer service on all levels of the consumer chain-a credit card company that was rude, a phone service provider that did not have a clue how to fix an issue and declared there was nothing to be done, a major retailer with not one but two on-floor sales people that refused to take the extra step to help, a contractor who could not be bothered to call me back, a contractor whose office representative made no effort to work with my schedule to set an appointment, an auto repair shop that did a bad job and would not take responsibility...trust me, the list goes on! Why don't people care?? Now more than ever Customer Service is the single most important marketing tool any company can have.

The customer is why you go to work. If they go away, you do, too.

David Haverford

As consumers we have a choice of where to spend our money and who we hire to do work for us. Somewhere somehow our standards for service have been severely lowered and we almost anticipate that we are going to be treated poorly or receive no right answers-that doesn't work for me! Perhaps because of the business I am in I expect to be treated the way I treat my clients-if they are not happy then I cannot pay my mortgage--it is really simple!

Winning customers, and more importantly keeping customers, has never been so critical and that is why when I walk through a Department store and see merchandise strewn all over and cannot find a sales person who knows even where the shoe department I walk out. No wonder stores are shutting their doors-they did it all wrong!

When it comes to customer service the rule I live by is if you don't like the answer you are getting call back and find someone who will give you the right answer! Go talk to someone else! It shouldn't be that way, however, every representative should know the right answer, every representative should go the extra step and every representative should care!!

On a recent trip to purchase a new Television(get ready for the digital age!) I first went on line to search for what I was looking for and check to see if the location near me had them in stock. I went over on a mid-week night, not too busy to say the least in the store, and first attempted to return a gift. The returns desk refused to take it back or give me a store credit because I did not have a slip-Strike One. Next I made my way to the Television department, no sign on the floor of the White TV I saw on line and no sales person volunteering to help me despite my wandering around for ten minutes through the same aisles-at this point I was testing to see how long it would be before anyone bothered to talk to me-Strike Two. When I finally did get waited on I was told with no further research beyond looking at the same shelf I had been looking at that they did not carry the television I saw on line, this despite their website telling me that store had stock-Strike Three!

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.
Bill Gates

At this point this major retailer has a very unhappy customer in their midst, and more importantly a customer who knows how this truly should be done. I grew up in retailing and now I consult for small start up companies and the first thing I do is make sure their representatives are trained to help! It isn't expensive, it is a simple thing to do and it builds a business that has staying power---Five easy steps:

1. Be Nice and treat the customer in the same manner you want to be treated. CARE! about what you are doing and who you are helping-they sign your paycheck!

2. Know your stuff. Be sure you understand the product/service you represent. If you do not have the answer, go find the answer and get back to your customer quickly-not sometime next week!

3. Go the extra mile. Make an effort to do whatever it takes to help and satisfy the customer.

4. You cannot please everyone, but whatever issue your customer has be creative of about resolving it so they leave happy and they remember you tried.

5. ALWAYS be sure to ask what else you can do to help and leave the customer with a reason to come back.

Today ALL companies are small companies---the retail and service worlds are shrinking very quickly and getting and keeping customer loyalty I believe is the key to survival. One, just one, bad experience can send a customer away forever and more importantly in this age of social networking send them off to tell the planet about what happened.

The Happy Ending to my TV saga is a clue into how easy it is to build loyalty and build a good business. As I was walking out, car keys in hand, disgruntled expression on my face, I was approached and asked for the first time the correct a question-"Did I find everything I needed" GOTYA! "NO!," I declared, "I did NOT!" I explained that I came looking for something that their website said this store had and that I was told they did not carry and I explained that I attempted to return a gift and was turned away with no store credit. Turns out I was taking to the manager. He went to his computer, saw that the store had 6 in stock, went out back and brought me my television. He then walked me over to the service desk and saw to it that I got my store credit. He knew how to do it...but why didn't his staff? I will go back to that store, only if really necessary though, and that store representative saved their reputation for me.

Here are some Be Nice stories that have kept me loyal and will keep me coming back and demonstrate that this isn't brain surgery but simple, easy and effective---this is how to survive in a bad economy:

1. My movie service made an error on their website, when I called because I wasn't receiving something, they caught the error and gave me three free movies for my "trouble"-not that re watching Project Runway is critical to my life but they went an extra step and that makes me loyal to them

2. My local fun food shop did not have an ingredient I needed on their shelf. The trucks were just being unloaded and a "crew" member went out onto the truck and retrieved it for me-my first stop for groceries.

3. I saw a pair of slacks and jacket on line- I called the company to see if the colors worked, the representative went and found both pieces to check them for me. She then made suggestions of other pieces I might like that were on sale!

4. A HVAC contractor stopped at my house in the off chance that I would be home to check a problem I was having. He gets all the heat and a/c issues at Camp MP from now on!

5. A new auto body shop fixed the bad work from the old body shop at no charge and gave me his cost on another repair I needed to have done-That is where I go first for gas and repairs from now on

6. After being on hold and talking to all the wrong people for well over three hours at my phone/Internet provider I called back and spoke with someone who knew within two minutes that all I needed was a software patch and how to get it done for me. He even called me back to be sure it downloaded properly and that I was back on line.

7. An airline told me that despite sever weather forecasts if I wanted to change my airline ticket to avoid the weather, weather that would definitely cancel my original flight, I would have to pay $650. I did that so I did not get stuck and when I called from my warm destination and discovered that original flight had indeed been cancelled due to the Nor'easter the representative I spoke with refunded my money!

These folks "get it" and maybe if all companies showed the same respect for their customers the American economy might just have a shot again!

Losing their Stripes-Henri Bendel Closes their Closet Door

2009-05-03T16:12:00.001-04:00

Of all the indicators of the economic times we are living through perhaps the most interesting to observe is what is happening in retailing. As the stock markets begins to rebound ever so slowly we all know there is a long way to go, but to think we will ever return to "normal" is foolish. The "norm" was never healthy and it is time to change how we spend and how we shop...Did the world really need a Gap on ever block? To see Mall stores fold is sad for the people who lose their jobs,but for those of us who have a romantic notion of retailing there is no loss in store after store after store of "the same".

Shopping was once a joy, a special time shared with good friends or your Mom. We all have memories of shopping for our first party dress, our first pair of heels, our grown-up occasion outfit, our first love of a handbag. Shopping is no longer a collection of special memories but a blur of shopping bags filled with things we don't remember buying.

It is sad to watch the great stores, the stores that invented American retailing and that have been a part of building special memories for generations disappear. In Boston they are all gone. This week yet another retail legend Henri Bendel added to the shift that retailing is going through by their announcement that they will no longer carry luxury clothing and instead will focus on accessories and cosmetics. Henri Bendel owned by the Limited Group is not what it once was, the store that offered hats and gowns and was the first to introduce Coco Chanel to America. The name,however, still has a place of style and to see a 114 year old retail brand dilute its history is another door shut. What would Mr. Bendel think about all of this?

With the decision to no longer sell clothes but to focus on accessories and cosmetics while opening accessory only stores, Bendel's is making a move that feels like the beginning of the end for the 114 year old department store, but is it? Certainly the change in business model is symptomatic of what every retailer is facing. The move however is an interesting one and tells us more about this economy and the dramatic change in spending ---while aisles of designer wardrobes are quiet and you can roll a bowling ball up the rows of Prada and Missoni accessory sales and cosmetic sales are up, significantly. Women may not spend thousands on Prada but they will buy barrettes and headbands and a new lipstick-easy purchases that can add up to as much as that St. John skirt but have more mileage.

Bendel's, a name as well known for its brown and white stripes has its iconic place amongst the best in retail department stores-alongside Saks,Bergdorf Goodman and Harvey Nichols. The new path for Bendel's ,however, is about trends not tradition...dressing up what you already own or what you bought for a lot less at stores like H&M and Target.

The change may shock some but Bendel's has been moving toward a young Bendel Girl focus for some time...their website is all about bangles and Bendel bags. Bendel's is branding itself as a "Girl's Playground for Trendsetting Young Women Around the World". Bendel's barrettes and bangles are featured on Gossip Girls and they have teamed with Elle to sell a line of young and trendy accessories.

It is sad to think that the name Henri Bendel will no longer mean a glamorous age and that the brand will be diluted along with its name and its history- now just a bangle and a headband. Promise me Henri Bendel that you will not lose all your stripes...the brown and white stripe travel bags that Mr. Bendel created over 100 years ago for his ocean liner traveling clients would be missed by this girl for her row boat rides!

Facing It!-My Annual Search for a Whole NEW Me!

2009-03-15T15:39:00.008-04:00

There is an annual journey I take each year. Determined that This will be the year that I find flawless skin. No more blotchiness, no more breakouts, no more spots,bumps,flakes,pores you can plant potatoes in...no more lines and creases before their time! Is that too much to ask?
I really am not a product junkie..but somehow with each passing year I find more and more jars,bottles,brushes,glosses,STUFF living in my bathroom and still I am back out there on the trail.

Off I go in search of the Dream moisturizer that doesn't make me look older!... A spot concealer that doesn't peel my whole face off.... a mascara that doesn't give me eyelashes that look like One BIG Lash! How about a gloss that actually stays on my lips? I also go on a fragrance safari-sniffing my way around the globe trying to find body lotion that doesn't make me smell like a fruit stand or a fragrance that doesn't put me to bed with a migraine.

It is now March...I am exhausted! and so is my credit card...

I have explored every skincare line known to womankind. Walked my feet off from one end of too many malls to the other- from boutiques, to department stores to specialty shops to independent lines to salons and spas to...I have Camped out at Sephora for days!, Read Every magazine article(PLEASE publication world STOP writing about Getting Great Skin at Any Age-it ain't happening!) Torn ads out of magazines, done on-line skin analysis surveys, printing off the results and carrying them with me-I need how many products???!!

I have poured over reviews on line, hopped into every Beauty Blog, researched every new natural/organic idea. I have stopped at every department store counter, flitting from one to the other-$475.00 for an eetsy bitsy jar of I don't know what-who are they kidding in this economy? I have looked at what the famous faces are using. I have roamed the aisles of Ulta and CVS and Bath and Body Works and The Body Shop. I have spritzed and sniffed and shmeared and dabbed and buffed and brushed and been made up and put down. ENOUGH!

It is overwhelming out there! If you read everything there is you will be spinning into beauty product oblivion before too long. Here's what I learned from this year's odyssey along with some products that I think are worth checking into,obviously everyone's skin care needs and likes are different but hopefully it will help you on your next "I Hate My...."day.

1. DO NOT try to solve everything at once. There is NO Beauty Fairy GodMother who can make you a Cover Girl in one swing of her wand.

2. Make a list and stick to it-You need a new mascara then go in search of THAT -don't be distracted by the new lip gloss colors for spring -that is UNTIL you have resolved the mascara issue.

3. Don't get caught up in specials and sales that are selling you something you do not need-you will spend more on more things that you may not really need and still not solve what you went looking for. Yes, once you find a product you want to try by all means find it on sale and take advantage of on-line coupons-go to the manufacturer's website and sign yourself up for email specials.

4. Do some research--Totalbeauty.com is a good place to check out reviews-of course what works for one person may not work for you but if you read through enough comments you can get a good view as to whether something is worth the money and whether it actually works. Reviews are fun to read too as some people will cheer while others trash a product. No one is trying to sell you on the review side so a good place to get some insight and perspective.

5. TRY, and this hard, to find a sales consultant who is honest. This was the most interesting part of the journey for me. Here I was ready to Spend and I expected some help. Have you been to a mall recently? You can roll a bowling ball up the aisles without hitting anyone! You would think sales people would trip over themselves to help. One of the reasons department stores are not the first place to go is because of the people who staff these counters...they are over made-up, over perfumed and could care less about my skin! I also discovered that I knew more about their lines than they did. They would just grab a product and say "this is good"...Hello I have combination skin and you are selling me a moisturizer for my Mother's Dry as a bone skin! Of course there are some really helpful and knowledgeable sales people out there, but department stores were not working for me! Even when I knew what I wanted and went right to the counter, try to find someone to wait on you! I had more help at CVS than I did at most department stores! Another interesting thing I found was I could go to the the same line at 3 different stores and be told three different things about what to use!! So be your OWN beauty consultant and do your research. IF you do find a consultant you like and trust to be honest and one who knows their stuff, get their card and go back to them with your results.

6. After doing your research if you find a line or product you want to try see if they have their own stores-away from the counters again! I found going to a Kiehl's shop was much more helpful than trying the line at a counter in a department store. Generally product knowledge,service and attention is better at specialty stores. Also, scoop up samples -Sephora is great about offering samples and most specialty stores will give you a smidge to try first before you buy.

7. Salons-you may love your salon but they only try to sell the limited lines they are shelving-doesn't mean you have to buy it there or that their products are the last word! If you do love what they have try Ulta for better prices.

8. Drugstore Lines-OK, confession time. I have been using drugstore mascara forever! Yes, I have drawer filled with expensive mascaras but I keep going back to my $6.99 Rimmel. There are places in your routine to be a beauty snob for sure but is any mascara worth $125! CVS , Ulta, and yes Target, are good places to test out colors and creams...if you want more organic and natural then head to Whole Foods-lots of small lines that do it well with quality ingredients.

9. Again...put the Beauty snob aside and try Shopping on-line and on TV. You don't get a shopping bag but you did get a lot of information and more often than not no risk! I know it is hard to imagine buying skin care make up and certainly fragrance from TV! Try it! QVC is probably one of the largest beauty retailers in the world and they carry so many lines and brands that you will find at Sephora and in better stores. There are so many pluses to trying lines this way. First of all you can watch demonstrations both on line and of course during a product show. The explanations of a product are thorough and more often than not you get to learn about the product from the actual company representative. If you don't like it-send it back! QVC is how I discovered Bare Escentuals long before anyone was carrying the line. It is also where I found Lather, Smashbox, Urban Decay, Bobbi Brown,Kate Gilbert, Philosophy, Vincent Longo, LOrac......

10. Be honest with yourself! How old are you? There is nothing that will give you the skin you had. If you lower your expectations, as with most things in life ,you may discover you actually like what you are using or better yet that you like your own face!

Results so far-still sniffing and creaming.

You may see a trend here as I found many things within established Pharmacy/Apothecary lines-CO Bigleow, Kiehls-both around since the 1800s, certainly not fly by night cosmetic companies! Then there is my favorite-maybe because I have to travel to Italy to buy it! Located in a not too terrific area of Florence within the walls of a 1600s era church the Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella -dark and elegant in history, just walk in and inhale...some of the loveliest scents, soaps, talcs,creams, candles...ever! and yes they have remedies for whatever might ail you too!

These are some products that came home with me:

Skincare-Know that your skin changes with your mood, the weather,the season and of course the years. If you have been using the same products forever you may be fine but you may see it not working. With me I literally use different products for different days-my skin is that nuts! Sometimes oily, sometimes, breakout, sometimes dry and flaky---I'll spare you the gory details but I have found that combining different products from different lines rather than buying into a whole product line regime works best for me:-Liz Earle-I love this line,but most especially I love her approach to skincare-simple and natural. I don't often react well to natural lines but Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish is wonderful, takes off everything and leaves your skin soft and clear. Also love the Smoothing Eye Serum-it works on fine lines too!-Kiehl's- I always wanted to try Kiehl's-They have been around since 1851 so you have to feel they are doing something right. I have used their Lip Balm for years. Going to an actual Kiehl's shop made all the difference. I was shown their Sodium PCA oil free moisturizer-no sign of oil slicks yet!-Be Fine-this was a find! Ironically they are based in my own backyard! They take a food based approach-you are what you eat! I have tried the Daily Cleanser, Toner, Daily Moisturizer, Exfoliating Cleanser and Night Moisture and I have enjoyed them all- they are light and natural-almond, coconut,mint,rosemary,beet, fragrance free. I think I am sticking with the Night Moisturizer-Rice Bran for elasticity and , Cocoa's caffeine for circulation
-I get Lazy-we all do and I need to be sure to get all the day off my face when I get home. I have tried many different Cleansing Cloths and I like Neutrogena's for my skin.

-I follow the cloths with Caudalie Cleansing Water-I am a fan of Caudalie-especially their eye and lip serum and Sauvignon Scrub

-Clarins One Step Cleansing Water works for me in the a.m.

-Estee Lauder Splash Away Cleanser-a pea sized drop of this will take everything away!

-Philosophy-good science combined with great packaging-/I wouldn't be without Hope in a Tube for eyes and lip and their When Hope is Not Enough Firming and Lifting Serum Also,Philosophy does the best In Home Peels, I use the Oxyen Peel every few weeks. Philosophy pioneered the lunchtime peel so they know how to do this.

-Neutrogena Pore Refining Toner-I should not use any alcohol based product but this is like a vacuum for my pores and does not dry me out.

-Kate Somerville, Yet another Skin care guru but ExfoliKate works!

Makeup-I love Barbara Streisand's line from The Mirror has Two Faces. She tells Lauren Bacall(her Mother in the film) that there is no point to her wearing makeup because she will look just the same-only in color! I like a natural face-I don't like to look like I have makeup on which is tough to do most days when there is a lot of damage control to be done. Laura Geller is the place to go for primers!

-Mascara-Lancome's Definicils and Rimmel Lash Maxx has a comb that actually works.

-Foundation-There are Lots of imitators but Bare Escentuals is still the best. Mineral foundation takes some learning how to use but once you get the "swirl tap buff" you can do anything! and control how much coverage and color. Could not be without Mineral Veil n the summer, the only thing I have ever used that really controls the shine.

Lips-I am a gloss girl! I love a nude lip and Kiehl's does the trick but I am in love with C O Bigelow's-minty,fresh,clean,tints and no gloopys. Bare Escentuals does wonderful glosses for the days I want a dressier lip and at night it's Smashbox and Bobbi Brown -just wish Bobbi would change her brush on her lip glosses.

-Eyeliner-Smashbox! stays where you put it and is easy to place.

Bath and Body-The most indulgent part of any day is when you are in he tub/shower and can wash the day away. I need a cleanser that doesn't dry me out but that also won't break me out! Neutrogena makes a Pink grapefruit wash and CO Bigelow's Lemon Cream Body wash is nice as is the whole Lemon line, good hand cream too. I am a Big fan of Lather, founded by a woman with sever allergies this line is clean and fresh and natural! I will not be without their AHA Hand Cream-the best I have ever used! Philosophy does some of the best body wash/shampoos-just for the packaging alone and the yummy fragrances-you won't smell like chocolate fudge cake but you can enjoy without the calories-!

Fragrance-ugghh,this is the tough one! I love scent and I love a scent for different moods and events and times of the year. In the winter I want warm-vanilla, chocolate,, in summer fresh, clean citrus and green. This is still the hardest category and one I will forever be hunting. I cannot even walk through the perfume area in a store without reacting. I get headaches from even the lines designed for people who cannot wear fragrance. So I do rely on soaps and body lotions to deliver a scent without knocking me out. I do love Jo Malone! Her Nectar and Honey and grapefruit work for me. I discovered Ligne St. Barth on a recent trip and love what I found. Also discovered Tocca recently at Anthropologie and Barneys -very Mediterranean and sexy!

Happy Birthday Doll-Barbie in Bryant Park

2009-02-22T09:31:00.019-05:00

Barbie and I don't speak. We haven't in years! She used to live with me, her clothes and pumps everywhere. My dog would grab her by her hair or swallow her little pink heels, which was often a source of great upset at our house...me for Barbie and her missing shoes which were essential to her "Look", the rest of the family for the dog.

A special day involved a trip to the toy store to buy a new outfit or a new accessory.

Robert Best, Mattel
I designed clothes for her, I dressed her and her friends in only the best and most recent styles and hung them all carefully in her closet on teeny plastic hangers. She traveled with me, packed in her own travel case with the appropriate wardrobe for the trip. She had a life filled with ball gowns, great hair, sunglasses, shoes!! - at 9 years old I could only dream about such a life, and did. Looking back on all those hours buttoning itsy bitsy buttons, I think I have to give Barbie a lot of the credit for inspiring my life long love of fashion, elegant style and beautiful clothes. She was, and is again, every little girl's fashion muse. We did had a lot of fun together,but...

...then I grew up. I became a student of women's history and the impact of popular culture on girl's self image and the development of their self esteem. Barbie became the negative poster girl for the damage that a skinny youth based culture can impose on not only little girls but women of all ages. Playing with Barbies became something that enlightened Moms did not allow their little girls to do despite growing up with her themselves. She became a target and lost her cache. The ideal of perfection, long legs, skinny frame, perfect eyelashes and lips could be seen going hand in hand with the rise in eating disorders, demand for plastic surgery and low self esteem and achievement for girls. Can a toy cause such emotional impact...maybe, but I am ready to make peace with Barbie. Yes, she has in her "life" embodied the "ideal" and that is a dangerous goal for little girls to attempt to achieve. Barbie,however, is a cultural icon whose "life" has reflected our history as women and the changes we have been through and the lives we live today...

Tory Burch

as she went from white gloves to motorcycle jackets... Nicole Miller
from prim and proper to living her own style,

Monique Lhuillier

exciting and elegant Vera Wang

Adventurous and very much her own woman

Diane Von Furstenberg
and still with the same guy!. Kenneth Cole(who else!)

Quite a load to pin on a 9" piece of plastic, but somehow Barbie has weathered it all and shows no signs of sitting back on her pink sofa and kicking back her pointy heels...and on March 9 Barbara Millicent Roberts(who knew?) turns 50.!

To celebrate this milestone what did Barbie do???-Botox, Lip injections, Lipo...??? NO, instead Barbie hit the runway at New York Fashion Week with her own show in Bryant Park. Many reviewers in fact have said that this show was The show to see and be seen and there can be no doubt that Barbie's presence injected some much needed pink enthusaism to a troubled fashion market. An American icon who at 50 is coming into her own-if Calvin Klein and Badgley Mischka dress you ...then you must be doing something right.

Koi Suwannagate

Fifty of the fashion world's most influential designers from Reem Acra to Vera Wang created looks that celebrated Barbie's past, Rachel Roy

her present ...

Twinkle

and a look to her future Badgley Mischka

Complete with LOTS of BIG hair, sunglasses, great shoes and a fantasy world of the best in style, Barbie once again lived every little, and not so little, girl's dreams-being dressed by the best! With her own Website, facebook page, Blog , endorsements with Sephora and Bloomingdales-all in Barbie Pink of course, she is at 50 inspiration for women who have survived it all and looks amazing doing it

She isn't fading into her late mid-life, well maybe she'll write her memoirs? Barbie honey, you may not look like any 50 year old I know but let's face it girl...you wear it well!

What's Today?-Turning the Page, 2009 Calendars

2008-12-27T13:12:00.057-05:00

"What day is it? - 'It's today' - squeaked Piglet. 'My favourite day' - said Pooh."
- A.A. Milne

I am not a fan of New Year's as a holiday. Honestly I feel the same way about New Year's as I do about Birthdays-Do I need to celebrate that another year of my life has flown by?

What I do love about New Year's is that it gives us all a clean slate. Turn the page and you have 12 brand spanking new months to get it right. That is probably why I love calendar shopping. I live in a deadline driven world so a calendar is essential. I have them everywhere and I still never know what day it is!

Vickerey

fredflare

Searching out the calendars that will surround me for 12 months is something I look forward to doing every year. If I have to look at it everyday, I want to love it!

I collect calendars* that bring to me places I adore and places I want to explore...

Cavallini Papers

I hang calendars that take me outside into the Garden... Cavallini Papers

Cavallini Papers

Nantucket Hospital

...Calendars that Celebrate Style -

...Calendars that bring the Arts I love in to grace my office-

...Calendars that make me smile on any of "those days"-

fredflare

...and calendars that take me out of the moment and remind me to breathe!

MOMA

Of course,I cannot let 2009 start without something from Etsy!

inkdrop design

everyday grace

delphine press

be happy now

lizard press

wooden doll

*Calendars from Calendars.com and Amazon unless otherwise indicated.

With all that I still will ask "What's Today?" but I will have plenty of references to tell me where I am supposed to be and when!

May 2009 be filled with Joy and Peace and Many Dates To Remember!

Knit One...Give One-A Few of My Favorite Things

2008-12-20T22:41:00.001-05:00

Knitting is truly THE Giving Art. The joy from watching something tangible, useful and beautiful appear from my needles always surprises me. I admit that I am a selfish knitter but I am not selfish in sharing my love of knitting. I try to convert every non-knitter I meet and I love spending time with other knitters, sharing our projects and ideas. For the knitters I love and the non-knitters I love that I drive nuts trying to push yarn and needles on...here are a Few of My Favorite Things!

Meet my new best friend Irene. Irene and her BFF,designer, artist and knitter Barbara Benjamin Haines have created my favorite new treasure KnitBliss from A to Z starring Irene of course.

Barbara and Irene have also created a precious mitten kit. Visit their Etsy shop

Lantern Moon does the only tape measures you will ever want, tie one on a package, build a knitter's kit with a pattern, yarn and their needles
around it-you may want to use one of their fabulous baskets to fill.

I think that one of the nicest knitter's indulgences is a beautiful case to carry and keep needles. Lantern Moon has beautiful silk cases for sets, individual needles and projects

Finding your gauge is never fun...until now. This is too cute from Karatstix

I collect skeins of yarn. I fill baskets and drape them and really decorate with luscious fibers, mixed and handpainted and soft and...Wrap up a skein of yarn that maybe your knitter wouldn't splurge on for themselves..can you say Cashmere!! Love Be Sweet and any gift from them would be a hit!
This is Magic Ball...it could change your life!

Of course a great knitting bag is essential!!! Treat them to Orla Kiely
I think one of the BEST gifts you can give is your knowledge. Create a fun Gift Certificate for Knitting Lessons and wrap it with some needles, yarn and a cute tape measure. Create a new knitter!

Give a subscription to Vogue Knitting or to the new Twist Collective. Support your local yarn shop and give a gift certificate wrapped with the latest Rowan book.

Remember to donate anything from your stash to local nursing homes or to Sue Manning's Knitting Connection
The best Knitting Bassket you can give comes from Heifer International-four wool producing animals to help a family toward self sufficiency.

Some of my favorite new books would finish your gifting to inspire!

Pages of Gifts-Treats for Book Lovers and Beautiful Books to Adore and Adorn

2008-12-21T13:00:00.014-05:00

Levenger

Just wrap a beautiful book-I'm Happy!
One problem, where to put them all?... but I stack and shelve and place them in spots of honor...and I give them! Here are some Display Books that I love, want, share and adorn my world.

But first, Gifts I love for Book Lovers from Levenger

and Bernard Maisner

Brown Paper Packages...Blue Satin Sashes-Bags, accessories and Simply Lovely-a Few of My Favorite Things

2008-12-21T10:43:00.030-05:00

THIS is the category where I get into trouble! One for you, two for me!

I am a BagLady! I think a bag that reflects someone's style and essence and is also something they can carry with them to think of you is perfect. Here are some special options for gifting in Bags, Accessories, Lovelies and Indulgences from creative companies with unique style and products.

Be Sweet

Lantern Moon

Orla Kiely

Wisteria

Viva Terra

Just Lovely
Viva Terra

Lantern Moon
Anthropologie

Mackenzie-Childs

Indulge!

Cashmere Slippers WS Home
Diva Pashmina Mackenzie-Childs

Be Sweet

Such a Guy-A Few of My Favorite Things

2008-12-21T10:11:00.008-05:00

In the world of shopping for gifts, Guy-Gifts are hard to do wonderfully. Do it with thought, is he a reader, a golfer, a sportsman, a movie nut?? Build the gift around his favorite thing to do...football fiend...give him a day with the remote and a bucket of gourmet popcorn, wrap up a pair of tickets to a game next summer, knit him a scarf so you will always be close, fill a digital frame with favorite pics...Here are some fun ideas to wrap as well from Restoration Hardware

Amazon.com Widgets

Cream Colored Ponies, It's ALL About Kids-A Few of My Favorite Things

2008-12-21T08:23:00.027-05:00

In my opinion Every Day is about Kids, but the Holidays are built for Kids, ALL Kids which we all become every year at this time. I believe that gifts for kids should be ideas that are not only fun but also help them learn, grow, think, care and Smile!

I brought a friend along for the ride on this one-Elmo is such a Good Buddy and Elmo Live is on My List too! So come join Elmo and take a look at A Few of My Favorite Things for ALL Kids!

Mackenzie-Childs

Creative Kids!

Potter's Wheel, Car Designer Set,Create a Quilt and My Art Gallery all from HearthSong

Imagination!

Connectagons and Frog Play Tent from HearthSong

Explore!

Sea-Scope from HearthSong

Play!

Beginner's Golf,Hopscotch mat from HearthSong.
Felt Playhouse from Wisteria. Snake Bike Lock from Garnet Hill

KidsStyle

Princess felt Slippers, Barrettes, Critter Backpack,Felt Purse from Garnet Hill

Slippers and Socks from Mackenzie-Childs

The BEST Gift you can give any child is the gift of reading...Here are some new and old favorites and please share the joy of reading by making a donation to First Book

Fisher-Price Elmo Live

No Crumby Gifts-a Few of My Favorite Things

2008-12-20T15:40:00.002-05:00

I am a Cookbook addict. For whatever reason I find reading a wonderful cookbook comforting and satisfying...no calories when you look at the pictures. These make perfect additions to any kitchen and your favorite Foodie will thank you!

Blooming Perfect Presents-A few of My Favorite Things

2008-12-20T15:14:00.002-05:00

Kinsman

They play in dirt throughout the year to make the world more beautiful, give them something special!...and Do not forget the Birds in the gardens!

If you play in the mud..do it with color. Hunter Wellies from Smith and Hawken

These are a big smile...animal watering cans from Smith and Hawken...I would plant mine!

Forcing Bulbs is THE cure for Winter! Smith and Hawken has great bulb gifts,bulbs and kits.

I love these...gorgeous gifts come in a variety of "garden" options-Butterfly, Wildflower, cutting, hummingbird... and include 5' of seed tape-"Happiness held is the seed, Happiness shared is the Flowers" from Charleston Gardens

Watch the rain rise, it helps to know how much water fell and I love it as an ornament in the garden. This one from Charleston Gardens

For the Birds...and their Watchers. You don't have to be watching for spots and tails and chirps to wear this out and about from Charleston Gardens

Feed those Birds! These Yummy ideas from Duncraft

Also, from Duncraft the ultimate bird bath-it's heated so Open the Spa!

Pawfect Presents-A Few of My favorite Things-Woof!

2008-12-14T19:17:00.014-05:00

Who jumps in your lap and kisses your face after a long day? Of course your puppy doesn't have a clue its the Holidays...but they do know there are a lot more things to play with this time of year. Wrap up something special for your favorite cold wet nose or for their owner!

My favorite idea -a gift certificate for a Pet Portrait from Martha Bannon. Martha's wonderful and whimsical portraits will be treasured forever!

Keep them warm and dry with stylin' jackets from Chilly Buddy

and In the Company of Dogs

and in the toasty and cool! category, Show Sweaters from Mackenzie-Childs.

Also from the dog lovers at Mackenzie-Childs, the perfect Paw Pad. Be sure to check out their Dinner Dishes!

Knit this very special place to snooze away the day, The Bark-a-Lounger is designed by The Stitch Poet -pattern available Knitty

...and a pillow to dress the chair they are not supposed to be sitting on from Williams Sonoma Home

Please remember the puppies and kitties without a warm home this season, make a donation to your local shelter or animal rescue league.

Window Shopping

2008-12-07T15:36:00.003-05:00

Santa too is in search of Holiday Spirit..Selfridge's London

Oh how I love to window shop! If you don't go into the store you have a better chance of not spending anything! OK you can go on-line but ... This Holiday Season perhaps more than any other in many years we are all simply Window Shoppers. If you "need a little Christmas, right this very minute" but you know that your credit card has been locked in the deep freeze why not just press your nose against the glass and soak in some Holiday style.

If you are a Shopper then beautiful store windows are your museum exhibits-no entrance fee required! Holiday store windows are probably how many of us became SHOPPERS. We bundled up and strolled mitten to mitten along downtown streets sparkling with lights and animated dolls, teddy bears and trains. The windows captured our imagination and filled our heads with dreams. Visiting department store window displays also became a tradition of family holidays and a signature of American retailing.

Our memories may have made those windows more special than perhaps they were but it seems as if window designers have tried each season to capture the nostalgia and reach for our heartstrings. Window displays I feel are an art. You need to grab passersby, make them stop and most especially entice them to want to visit inside and shop! all while creating an expression of style.

Bergdorf Goodman

Shopping has changed so much, there are fewer and fewer downtown areas and "click and ship" is the way we cross off our lists. I know it is not very "green" but I still love shopping bags!!

So many stores we relied on, stores that were part of our lives forever, stores that we marked special occasions with, are now gone and of course there is the very real fear that so many more will go in 2009. In Boston we don't have a downtown shopping district to show off any longer...the cornerstones of Boston retailing are no longer. Filene's and Jordan Marsh have been replaced with Macys and that sadly is it. You need to travel along Boylston, Newbury and Charles streets,where the stores are wonderful, to find some fun window shopping, but there is no longer a Department Store with a capital D that you get celebrate the season with...Saks and Lord and Taylor and Neiman's and even Nordstrom's and Bloomingdales are close by but they are anchor stores or are encased in malls. Not a lot of windows to admire-elegant,snowflakes, ornaments, white and silver...but nothing really new, fun or imaginative and nothing that I would consider an Event to go and visit.

Saks NYC

That leaves the capital of American shopping, New York City, to show off a shopper's Christmas. For this year anyway some of the pillars of traditional department store retailing are still there to comfort us...we don't know who will be here to brighten the holidays next year, though I cannot imagine Christmas without Saks, Lord and Taylor, Macys, Bendel's, Bergdorfs, Tiffanys...Let's not think about it!

Bendel's

This year Macy's, the Granddaddy of holiday windows as they have been doing it since 1862 so they should know how, has tried once again to out do them all while celebrating the Wonder of the season. For 2008 Macy's goes "behind the scenes" to find how all that Christmas Magic is created...
Where do the snowflakes come from??...It is a busy scene with touch screen technology to find how the Wonderosity happens .

Lord and Taylor has gone once again for the warm and fuzzy. Traditional Christmas, ice skates and hot chocolate and scenes of Christmas in the moment,
albeit a Victorian moment, with favorites like the Nutcracker and snow globes and A Christmas Carol in the mix.

Bloomingdale's has designed simply wonderful windows reminiscent of pop-up books and nostalgic greeting cards reflecting the 1950's and 60's almost a "Dick and Jane" style.

Inspired by Tony Bennett's new holiday CD A Swingin' Christmas
the windows are a bit kitchy but filled with fabulous detail...
I cannot help but think of Mad Menand am reminded how truly different America "looks" today.

On to Saks Fifth Avenue...love Christmas at Saks... along with their fashion windows celebrating Swarovski

Saks has windows featuring their new children's holiday book by Mike Reiss, A Flake like Mike, with proceeds going to St. Jude's Hospital.

Bergdorf Goodman, often the first store I run to in NY, obviously isn't reading the newspapers or watching CNN this year. Their windows miss the warm and cheer but are each a work of art. Although they may in fact be my favorites there isn't a Teddy Bear or Ice Skate in view. Inspired by a Calendar Girl theme where each window depicts a seasonal muse with a Winter White reflection.

Bergdorf's windows makes you stop, look and think as they feature gorgeous white fashion ...Stunning! but Holiday 2008 is ushering in a new world and though I love these windows I am not sure they are not in touch with the mood... but maybe Bergdorf's is staying above all the bad news this year!

Barney's on the other hand goes back to maybe not simpler time but certainly another era of change, the 60s. They also chose to look back with the 50th anniversary of the peace symbol
(see Political Woman) for its theme-Have a Hippie Holiday!

Put your mittens on, take a stroll and Window Shop!!!

Designer's Choice-Politics Hit the Runway

2008-09-27T11:20:00.000-04:00

Narciso Rodriguez

The first Presidential Debate of this fleeting campaign season is in the books...who won?? Depends upon where you sit. My guess is there was not much movement in position coming out of last night's (almost didn't happen) debate. The issues are extraordinarily complex and there will never be a simple answer to resolve the magnitude of a mess this nation is in...you have to ask, why would anyone want that job?? It is a frightening time but if you love the political game it is a great ride.

This has indeed been an historic campaign and for years and years to come the 2008 Election will be studied and analyzed. Maybe with all we face, with all that is at stake in this election we need to step back from the political attacks, strategic games, well placed insinuations and very tall tales of accomplishments, and ask "What Do You Wear to the most important election of our time??

Tory Burch

It is not unusual in any campaign for celebrity endorsements, Frank Sinatra for Kennedy, Barbra Streisand for Clinton...The 2008 election has certainly had its share of show biz glitz,it was after all Oprah who rallied her troops for Barack Obama. What this election has been lacking to this point, other than a few appearances by Michelle and Cindy(NO Sarah doesn't enter into this discussion), was Style. Enter the Designer's Choice. (for fairness by the way I looked on the McCain site and there is nothing there to compare)

Charles Nolan

Tracy Reese Zac Posen

The Obama for America campaign has enlisted some of the country's most successful and emulated design eyes to create Runway to Change, a collection of apparel and accessories to encourage voter registration and of course support the candidate.

Nanette Lepore

I love and collect campaign memorabilia, buttons, pennants, bumper stickers... but this campaign goes a long way from the silly hats and yard signs with its own designer collection. No matter where your politics lean you have to take notice when politics meet the runway. http://www.barackobama.com/

Vera Wang

Derek Lam Diane Von Furstenburg

Tina Lutz and Marcia Patmos

Playing in a Jewel Box-Bendel's and The House of Lavande

2008-09-24T23:21:00.018-04:00

Wall St. is imploding on a roller coaster ride like we have never seen; portfolios, pensions and financial security are teetering without anyone giving answers that make sense; the election is just weeks away and there is no clear view to the finish line; hurricanes have tossed homes and lives adrift;the cost of even getting out of bed is insane and polar bears are losing their ice pads...what are we supposed to do??? Change the station!..at least for a few minutes, not a lot we can do anyway and if we keep watching CNN we really will never get out of bed!

In the midst of all the gloom I found a sunny sign...OK so it was in WWD not the WSJ but we all need our diversions. Two of my favorite passions are together---Henri Bendel is launching a new department to spotlight the House of Lavande .This amazing collection of vintage jewelry from Tracy Smith's Palm Beach jewel box. Haskell, Schiaperelli,Kenneth Jay Lane, Chanel,Hattie Carnegie...I have been collecting these names since I walked into my first flea market...but no one does it better or has the breathtaking collection than Tracy Smith has... and it is now showcased at the store that has seen it all,remembers what style was and still is..Henri Bendel.

I have loved Henri Bendel's from the moment I first stepped inside the

Fifth Avenue flagship store-I wanted to live there!...I still do! The store was everything I hoped and more. I am not a NY girl but I am a Bendel's Girl and head straight for Bendel's when I visit. We did briefly have a mini Bendel's in Boston which spoiled me and helped fill the void that Bonwit's left but sadly it did not stay long...I do have all my chocolate striped and polka dotted bags and ribbons and never travel without my Bendel cases.

Originally three residential townhouse,Bendel"s was the first retailer to move into a residential neighborhood,albeit an elegant one.
The original Lalique art glass windows face Fifth Avenue,the same windows that helped to make the Bendel's store an historic landmark.

So yes, the world may be upside down,inside out,and spinning like a crazy top, but its nice to know that we can open an elegant door and walk into a Jewel box and now... play in one!

Fall in Bloom-The Runway Gardens

2008-08-31T09:07:00.033-04:00

Oscar De La Renta Silk Faille Dress -Saks

So what if its Labor Day!

The Roses and Hydrangeas at Camp MP are still going strong!
I'm not ready to leave the Garden and apparently the Designer Collections agree. Here are some bouquets from the fall runways via Bergdorf Goodman and Saks
Keep Blooming!

Versace Silk Dress-SAKS

Oscar De La Renta Floral Brocade Jacket Saks

Oscar De La Renta Silk Mandarin Collar Dress-Saks

Alice and Olivia- Saks

Roberto Cavalli Belted Tunic -Bergdorf Goodman

Roberto Cavalli Sweater Coat -Bergdorf Goodman

Thakoon Quilted Coat -Saks

Roberto Cavalli Dress -Bergdorf Goodman

Carmen Marc Valo Strapless Gown -Bergdorf Goodman

Moschino Felt Coat

Missoni Dress -Bergdorf Goodman

Milly Floral Dress -Bergdorf Goodman

Marchesa Floral Dress -Bergdorf Goodman

Etro Turtleneck -Bergdorf Goodman

Elie tahari Dress -Bergdorf Goodman

Carolina Herrera Silk Dress -Bergdorf Goodman

Armani Printed Zip Front Jacket -Bergdorf Goodman

The Polyvore Playground

2008-08-24T11:43:00.001-04:00

When I was growing up my favorite after school activity was art class. In camp it was always arts and crafts... that got me through archery! One of the projects I loved working on were collages, pulling bits and scraps and cutting pictures out of magazines. Later I went on to decoupage and took the images and covered anything that didn't move with everything from the cover of Vogue to greeting cards to strips from the funny pages. So you can imagine how excited I am about this site...Polyvore is the playground I have been waiting for but could never have imagined. If you love design, shopping, style, trends, art,color... GO! but don't say I didn't warn you... this could get addictive.

Here's the idea...type in a search word or phrase and up pops an image library pulled from sources all over the web -from shopping site to blogs. You can narrow your search by site or color scheme, pull the image and then decide where it goes on your set, and play with each image you add. For example, I typed in..you got it... Strands of Pearls and this is what I did

Next I started playing with some vintage Vogue covers, a work in progress but so much fun...

...there are some amazing sets posted to inspire your work-

You can design an outfit, like playing with paper dolls only better, a room or a piece of art. Of course this is also a very cool way to shop.

Let's say you want a new sweater...type in sweater, narrow the sites you like to shop on, pick your sweater. Now you need jeans...then boots...maybe a scarf..hello earings...bracelet..belt..outfit! and you can click on any of the images to get to the sites to buy what you put together.

I thought why not a few things for the season ahead???
So... I went shopping...first the shoes,how much fun is this!..Manolos anyone? Next a coat...Burberry works for me. Need a bag or 6...Gucci, Valentino, Tory Burch,Hermes??? Stopped in at Netaporter.com,Neimans,Gucci.com,Burberry.com...all in my bunny slippers and look what I got without once taking out the plastic!!

For room design, I love that I can move furniture around...add in fabric wallpaper, lamps, tables,accessories, a rug...and here's a room. I clicked around with two of my favorite room elements-chairs and wallpaper...I could have played all day!!

Go have fun...you may be up all night!!