For Nelson Mandela

 The Eiffel Tower, lit in the colors and design of the South African flag.


Turns out that this was NOT, in fact, done to commemorate the life of Nelson Mandela.  But it's beautiful, and appropriate, and I am going to leave it here for us to enjoy.

Neutral Accessories: Earrings, Part 2

I love the subtle colors of some of these earrings - the brown diamonds are unexpected, and low-key, but very appealing...  And once you learn that certain semi-precious stones are perfect for your neutral color choices, your hunt for jewelry can be much more focused. 

A couple of earrings here are gold, withOUT a stone of any sort, but I chose them because they felt like they had the right... aura?.. for the neutral in question.  Some colors are just plain difficult to find!

Smoky quartz drop earrings – Zayd Makarim,  mango wood fans – Pornpimon,  smoky quartz discs – Awadhesh,  smoky quartz studs – Lord and Taylor, tiger eyes silver discs – Caterina Butero, silver and mahogany earrings – Carlos Gonzalez, mahogany obsidian balls – Carmen Anocibar,  diamond and smoky quartz drops – Frederic Sage

Stone cluster earrings – Ann Taylor,  diamond studs – Blue Nile,  cabochon cluster earrings – Alexis Bittar,  bronze stud earrings – Upper Metal Class, carved gourd earrings – Fabiana Quispe, tiger eye button earrings – Carmen Anocibar,  horn pendant earrings – Warren and Robbin,  citrine and silver round earrings – Khun Boom

Wood drop earrings – Saloukee,  crystal  drop earrings – Noemiah,  floraldrop earrings –Liz Law, flower studs – ARA,  agate drop earrings- ChenFuchs, agate bar earrings – Caipora Jewellry, silver hoops with garnets – Gede Darmawan, silver and carnelian flower earrings - Citlal Castillo

Neutral Accessories: Earrings Part 1

Readers often ask me about building an accessory wardrobe.  Something that I've recently come to appreciate is the power of neutral accessories - my recently purchased Alexis Bittar earrings have proven to be a lot more versatile than I expected. That got me to thinking about the usefulness of well-chosen accessories in neutral colors.  Usually, when I think of accessories, I think of accent colors, or a bright pop of shine or gleam or lustre.  But sometimes, these more low-key choices can be very useful.

I'm going to explore this idea more, with other jewelry, and with some neutral scarves. I've come to realize that I wear my simple white scarf, or my black crinkled scarf,  more than any others...


Yes, tasseled earrings are a brave statement, but I've seen them worn to great effect!

Silver stud earrings - Chen Fuchs, grey pearl stud earrings - Majorica,  grey star stud earrings - Esther Greville,  grey and gold studs – Samira13, blue quartz studs - Judith Ripka,  tassel earrings - jenny jenny,  lapis studs – Barbara Rybarova, silver and lapis studs - Boticca

Inverted diamond earrings – Q, squared studs – Dorothy Perkins, pearl drop earrings – Novica,  blue topaz earrings – Novica, crystal pave earrings – Loft, square earrings – Ann Taylor, spike stud earrings – Luis Morais,  pearl stud earrings - Novica

Half-moon earrings – Novica,  Olive studs – Otte NY,  green amethyst earrings – Ice.com,  tourmaline drop earrings- Ylang23,  blue topaz studs –Marco Bicego,  blue opaque studs – Alexis Bittar, floral stud earrings – Sian Bostwick,  chain earrings- Byrufina

silver and black dangle earrings- Novica, onyx rose earrings - Novica, black lever back earrings - Novica,  gold and black dangle earrings- Novica, pearl drop earrings- Tory Burch, grey diamond earrings - Lagos,  pave earrings  - David Yurman, stud earrings- Alexis Bittar

Quarterly Shopping: 4th Quarter 2013

Scarf - Art Institute of Chicago,  earrings - Alexis Bittar,  skirted leggings - Eileen Fisher,  sweater - Eileen Fisher,  grey trousers - Eileen Fisher

I discovered when I was on my seemingly endless road trip that I wore the same earrings for 11 straight days - the earrings pictured above.  I love that sort of thing - when I find something that's so perfect that I don't mind constantly wearing it...

Since the beginning of October, I bought the earrings, a striped sweater, and a new pair of grey pants to replace the pants of years gone by that collapsed from fatigue.  Belovedest bought the terribly beautiful scarf for me...  I already adore it.

I don't have the charcoal skirted leggings yet - they aren't going to be in the store for 2 weeks, but they're my last purchase for 2013.  The link for the skirted leggings takes you to the black version, which are currently marked down...

What's on your shopping list for the rest of this year?  Any fantastic gifts coming?

Chic Sightings: Floral Bags, Flashy Shoes

I''ve been asked quite a few times if a Vera Bradley bag can be part of a chic ensemble.  These women took the color scheme of their bag and built their outfit around it - clever and eye-catching!

Shopping bag – Vera Bradley, navy coat – Avelon,  scarf – Nordstrom, driving loafers – Vaneli,  overnight bag – Vera Bradley, pink infinity scarf- Nordstrom, brown parka– Uniqlo, loafers – Tod’s

Tote – Vera Bradley, scarf – Nordstrom, coat- Uniqlo, shoes – Aravon, scarf –Nordstrom, coat – Uniqlo, bag – Vera Bradley, loafers - Bass

Small Changes that Make a Big Difference

Now that my mother is living in a nice warm climate, I've repossessed some sweaters that I have given her over the years. My  favorite is this Irish cardigan, from the Blarney Woolen Mills...

But I didn't like the wood buttons.  There's nothing particularly wrong with wood buttons, I just didn't like them.  So I changed them for bone buttons.  

I'm much happier now...

Sometimes you just have to really look and think through why you're dissatisfied, and take appropriate action.  This was a $10, 20 minute fix.  I now have a cardigan that I will literally wear for the rest of my life.

Olive and Grey for a Long Weekend

Difficult colors to track down, but well worth it...

Cardigan – Paul Smith,  necklace – Novica,  pants - Hallhuber, tee shirt- Normaluisa, watch – Gucci, scarf – Lieke Van Opstal,  loafers – Vaneli,  parka – Marc by Marc Jacobs,  bag – Filson

Flannel shirt – Frank and Eileen, sweater – Avant Toi,  scarf – Hermes,  dress – Suoli,  necklace – Novica, chinos – Golden Goose, peridot bracelet – Novica,   boots – Cole Haan

Tee shirt – Nili Lotan,  sweater - Anntian