A Pearl Girl-Portia Clark

I must go seek some dew-drops here,

And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.

Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream

No surprise here..I am a Pearl Girl!  Inspired by great women of style whose iconic images are "strung" through their strands of pearls...

Pearls may be  classic but they do not have to be traditional and boring-

I have found a new Pearl Girl who gets that!

Portia Clark has set out to "...take the stuffiness out of pearls."

By incorporating the many shapes,sizes and colors of Freshwater Pearls in her designs Portia has lent a new "twist" to my favorite jewelry box staple.  Portia's designs are meant to worn ...everyday! not just weddings and funerals...

I toss on pearls with everything, sometimes at my neck,

sometimes in my ears

or on my wrist

but I don't think there is are many days that I leave the house without pearls which is why finding Portia Clark's designs is so exciting...

Portia designs for "real life" and her you can feel comfortable from cut offs to ball gowns in her wonderful designs.

One of my favorite aspects about her line is the ability to make it your own...
 Portia Clark offers lovely silk cords in so many colors

and you can choose the color and length of the cords, the size,color and shape of the pearls, along with the number of strands and the style of knotting...so truly no two necklaces/bracelets/earrings are alike and they express you and your style in a very special way.

"From jeans and a t-shirt to a couture gown, a backyard BBQ to your best friend’s wedding"... Portia wants you to wear her pearls not just keep them wrapped up in their lovely pouches...

Portia Clark understands that "Life is just too short to “save them for later”, so go ahead, wear them often and feel fabulous."

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

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

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

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!

SummerTIME

Oh! Do not attack me with your watch. A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch.
Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

I would be very happy living my life never wearing a watch, or shoes for that matter-particularly in summer. So why do I own so many watches(not to mention so many pairs of shoes!!)?? Summer of all seasons really should be the time of year when we can walk around not caring what time it is. The days are long and schedules are relaxed or tossed all together. I may not care what time it is but I do love the "look" of a great watch. Watches are an essential accessory and gone are the days of owning just one, or one for day and one for dress. Summer watches are fun, as they should be, light, bright or white! Acrylic, resin, ceramic, leather strapped, grosgrain,bracelet... here are some favorites...

White Hot...THE watch of the season comes from Chanel...

(Chanel)

The The J12 White ceramic diamond dial chronograph watch has the look but $10,000 for a summer watch...

I like the ToyWatch Ceramic with diamonds as a "less expensive" option $1500 (ToyWatch)

A White strap against summer skin is a sign that you are summer ready...

David Yurman Thoroughbred(Nordstom)

Brighton (Brighton)
TOKYO Bay Oversized (Garnet Hill)
Honora Mother of Pearl

Ceramic, Rubber, Resin,Acrylic and Plastic are all a twist on the Chanel. Surrounded with diamonds or crystals...your choice all mimick with good style...
Michael Kors Chronograph Resin (Bloomingdales)

Michele Tahitian Chronograph Diamond and Ceramic Bracelet (Michele)
IKE Gommato (Nordstroms)

ToyWatch Oversized Acrylic (Toywatch)


(Elyse Ryan)
My summer watch this year comes from Elyse Ryan. Her lemonade watch is a part of her collection to support Alex's Lemonade Stand

COLOR It!!...

Toy Watch Neon Plasteramic (Toywatch)

SWATCH Plastic (SWATCH)




Kiss and Tell Skagen (Sundance)

TOKYO Bay Boyfriend Watch (Garnet Hill)

Zodiac Round Face Rubber Band (Nordstroms)

FUN! !!!!!

Hello Kitty Ceramic and Diamond (Neiman Marcus)

Kenneth Jay Lane Animal Covered Face Bangle Watch(Nordstroms)




Hello Kitty Patent Strap(Neiman Marcus)



Hang this Gossip watch off your tote(QVC)



Tracey Porter style...Tracey Porter

Nautical Charm(QVC)





"Tortoise" of course(Pedre)





I love Ribbon watches...all year round but with shorts or a sundress they are perfect-this has an actual Burberry Ribbon (Girly Twirly)


(Three Chickadees )