remixing fashion and luxury for reality

It’s the name of the bag that had me at hello. Watch Me Work Bitches!!! It’s slightly reminiscent of an Hermes Birkin, but with a much more relaxed shape and silhouette and modern hardware.  The wide mouth of the bag would be inviting to any working woman who’s constantly reaching in and out of bag to grab her Blackberry (and now hopefully iPhone.. hello! it’s 2008).  I have yet to see the bag in-person but the real test I’m waiting to do on this one is to fill it up with all my junk, throw it up against a wall and see how it looks. If this one passes sufficiently it’s mine!

So far I’ve found the bag in the above shown beige/mocha color and a red shown below.

Available at Net-a-Porter for $2,100.

The Luxe Mix is in NYC!!!

Spent all day in the Meatpacking District of New York trudging through rain and wind, trying my best not to look as haggard and droopy as I really did (It rained ALL day today). It’s been over three years since I was here in the Big Apple and I’m still rather impressed with how much the Meatpacking District has evolved. Diane Von Furstenburg.. Stella McCartney.. to this cherished Alexander McQueen!~~ this place went from slummy to (on the verge) upscale. An interesting evolution… packing meat to packing plastic!

I read somewhere that the salespeople at this Alexander McQueen were supposed to “not judge what you’re wearing” but.. I’m not quite sure I can affirmate that statement. The minute I walked in the security guard rushed me at the door and reached for my starbucks cup. That was a first for me, not that it was rude really but kind of pretentious no? The sales people all greeted us (I think) but nothing more really… I don’t know what I expect but it was more like a museum than a shop. I guess the day I can actually afford stuff in there it will all make more sense to me. For now, I’ll admire the fine pieces of art — at least I got to touch~~ :0

I’m nervous posting about this jacket lest too many of you go out and buy it and leave me high and dry… but sharing is caring so here goes

This coat from Loeffler Randall is elegant with that touch of sass that most boring black coats fail to provide. The coat stands alone on its own. No need for high fashion accessories with this one. OK OK, maybe just some knee high black leather boots (patent or not would be gravy). The modified mandarin collar would be flattering for a lot of face shapes — especially round ones like mine! The versatility is there as well. Worn over a dress, this could make the wedding-attire cut, and thrown over some jeans it could pass for a causal day-out-look too no questions asked.

It was confirmed when I saw it on my friend’s arm… the Day Tripper bag from See by Chloe looks as good as the pictures. I’m usually 5-10% disappointed by the in-person experience from the glossy online photo experience when it comes to bags.

It’s nice to see that luxury brands are playing fair and offering comparable bags at the mid-ranges. Gives me hope that I can someday afford all the bags that I’ll ever want (ok maybe not).

The bag comes in 3 sizes as far as I’m aware, a tote, a satchel, and a clutch. I’m all about the big bad bags so would go for the tote myself.

I mentioned I’d have something to tell you about my new favorite designer GRAYDN… instead I’ll show it to you. A soft sumptuos leather jacket in the most cool but warm grey tone I’ve ever laid eyes on. It’s a relatively thin jacket but super warm and insulating. You know how people refer to leather as “butter” like? Well this is the Country Crock of leathers! I’m convinced Todd Magil (designer/creator of GRAYDN) put his all into this gray number for GRAYdn.

This pic was taken at Disctrict in San Francisco. It was LL’s birthday and the girls got together for some drinks and more drinks. That’s my best bud Snoop to the right. Love you long time Snoop!

Economic turmoil aside… let’s take a look at this hot little piece from Golden Bleu. Really, this financial crisis is miserable but I wish everyone would stop watching their stock accounts and weather the storm so that the crisis will be over sooner. Is it just me or are we worse off because we’re letting our insecurities and fears take over? What do I really know…(haha!) but just putting that out there. Deep thoughts by Luxe Mix.

Back to the hot clutch. I can just feel the slickness of the patent… tucked under my arm, doubleshot espresso in hand. While I’d normally go for black the “Burnt Rust” is too sultry smokin~ hot to pass up.

Going to take one for the team and buy it. Do good for the economy everyone spend it while we got it!

Don’t you just love the feeling of finding a piece of clothing that seems like it should cost you much much more than it really does? It’s nice that over the years the cheap n chic and luxe for less movement has helped make looking fashionable more realistic for everyone. But even so, with all these discount fashion retailers out there, it’s still challenging to find the finds.

Lately, Kitsch Couture in downtown Saratoga, CA seems to be a consistent source of these deals. Don’t be disappointed in their website.. the owner told me they are not focusing on their online presence. The boutique itself has some great stuff and tends to be quite well stocked. They carry a wide array of contemporary women’s clothing. Gentle Fawn and Kensie Girl are a few of the luxe for less brands they carry. If you haven’t heard of those you should definately check them out. They offer chic, urban styles at decent prices. Plus if you search for these brands online you’ll find a ton of cute avant garde online boutiques.

Check out this cute cropped cargo style jacket from BIZZ that my friend Jenny got. The jacket was $68! It’s cute worn both buttoned up and loosely open. The material is fairly thin so it’s more suited for the cooler summer nights, but worn over a thicker sweater or turtleneck this could definitely get you through fall and some of winter. The funnel neck (when the jacket is fully buttoned up) is super cute. Jenny you better work this when you get back to New York!
 

Plz excuse the mess (again). Trying this migration to WordPress. Note to bloggers: Don’t ever build your blog on Typepad. You’ll never get it off there. But I should have my site back up, images and all within a couple weeks.

I cut my hair!! Why? Change you can believe in! hehe. Seriously though, it was time for a change. It’s been almost 10 years since I did anything drastic to my hair other get a little nutty with some highlights. That’s just too safe (I’m telling myself). So I went to see Eddie my trustworthy hair stylist and told him to go crazy and CUT IT ALL OFF BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND! He cut it all off sho’nuff. Talk about mixed emotions.. I felt empowered and vulnerable all at once as I left the salon that day. Then I ran to the nearest Starbucks bathroom to stare at myself in the mirror. I felt some regret but strangely satisfied that I had forced myself to do it. No turning back. Today.. still feeling good. It’s just so easy… easy to wash, easy to dry, easy to style (not that there’s many options in variation!). Anyway, this is me. 2008~?