Happy birthday to me.. Happy birthday to me… I’m a year older this week! That makes me a Virgo in case you didn’t know. A perfectionistic, obsessive, and sometimes overly emotional Virgo that is. I had a wonderful birthday this year with the people I love most. I also realize how great taking the day off on your birthday actually is. It’s a crime that we don’t automatically get the day off on our birthdays.

Now that I’m a year older, I’m challenging myself to add a new accessory to my repertoire. I think every woman should break the ice of some kind of accessory every few years and eventually they will master the art of it. I’ve dabbled with belts over the last couple years, handbags and shoes
don’t even count, sunglass shapes these days haven’t been doing much
for my rounded face, and jewelery is always there –but challenging
nonetheless. So what’s next on my list? Scarves! Summer scarves that is.

Over the past few years I’ve let a lot/more than enough black creep into my wardrobe so I’m hoping my whole scarf movement will bring back some color to the darkness. Also, summer scarves were so big this summer I’m hoping to catch some of the action before it cools down. I love that the summer scarf dresses you up and dresses you down all in one. It adds interest and an edgy not snobbish sophistication to your look. And lastly, it can be so versatile since there’s endless colors, patterns, shapes, sizes, and textures to choose from.

If you’re interested in a summer scarf for yourself, here’s a few places to try…

BUT FIRST a quick video on a few ways of tying the scarf.

Shopbop

Madison Los Angeles

Anthropologie

Luxe for Less Options

Urban Outfitters

Forever21

Look Book

I’m so happy but sad right now because I had this same idea… use the Internet to capture the feedback/input of the fashion community to rate designs which then get turned into actual detail products. Ok.. so I got the idea first from www.threadless.com.. but still… I wanted to do something like this for us!

If you haven’t heard about the contest yet… for those of you who have always wanted to design a handbag — here’s your chance. Submit your designs in sketch format to Glam.com and the public will either love you or hate you and you may very well end up getting your design selected to be created and then sold to the masses. Welcome to Fashion 2.0.

Find out more

Hey iRobot… the SHOE design content has got to be next. You just may reach shoe cobbler status sooner than you think!

YSL / Yves Sain Laurent Downtown Bag at Neiman Marcus.com

It’s so luxe… yet also so edgy — almost Matrix-like (the movie, Keanu, black leather…) And it’s mine! I know I was considering more white and light colored hand bags for my Summer 2007 "IT" bag, but how could I resist when walking through the mall this weekend I fell smack dab into this hotness of a bag? I had been on my feet for hours at the mall on Sunday evening and I decided to just "check things out" at Nordstrom. A year ago I would have been safe but now Nordstrom carries all the luxury designer bags and now no one is safe — even in South Bay!

Buy Cheap, then Upgrade!

I first learned about the YSL Downtown bag at SassyBella’s Blog. Thanks girl. You had a part in this When Sassy Bella mentioned this purse on her blog I posted a comment asking whether it came in Silver. She quickly found it for me. I’d been on the hunt for a big silver bag ever since I’d bought this $27 oversize hobo from Forever21. I wore that thing to the bone. I used to get compliments on it daily.. until the faux leather started to peel down to the inner synthetic lining. The bag is still tucked away in my closet… I just can’t let go. Someday i will re-manufacture that bag. It’s the greatest thing I ever bought for $27. That’s a good approach to buying handbags BTW. Spend less than $50 on a discount fashion handbag and wear it for a bit until you know you love it — then go out and buy a good quality version.

Other blog mentions:

The Purse Blog — Jessica Biel

The Purse Blog — Selma Hayek

Hnadbag Designer 101 — Madonna

Handbag Designer 101 — Gisele Bundchen

And let me tell you… pictures do not justice to this bag. In real life, the silver coloring of this bag looks much nicer than in the photos.
 

What I LOVE about this Bag

1. It’s big
2. It’s comfy to carry
3. It’s convenient in that the zipper zip up half way and leave a nice opening to grab things out quickly.
4. The exterior pocket for my cell phone and keys.
5. The straps are just long and thin enough to carry over the shoulder, w/o the bag slipping down again and again.
6. The leather is top quality, supple to the touch
7. The bag is ultra lightweight, can hold it with my finger tip when empty!
8. Silver goes with anything – almost. Some days I don’t care and I’ll try to get away with anything.

Thank you to my hubby for hookin’ it up PHAT!

And lastly, I’m trying to sell my White YSL Muse Bag if anyone is interested. It’s a bit small for me since I’m into oversize these days. Email me your best offer.

My husband has decided it’s time for a little post-wedding treat… so like a good wife I’m on the hunt for my "IT" bag of the year! It’s actually our 6 month anniversary this Friday

I was surprised to see this design from Chloe. It’s much softer and feminine than previous bags.
I can’t say that this Chloe Bag is "IT"… It’s rather mature for my liking. But then again, her bags always grow on me after a few sightings. Those zipper pull tags seem a bit large and the straps don’t look long enough to wear over the shoulder… looks more like a handbag to me. The size fits what I’m looking for… deep enough for all the junk I tote around. I also like the extra outer pockets — a must for the cell phone and/or keys. It’s all about easy access!

Chloe Quilted Bay Shoulder Bag — $1780.00 from Neiman Marcus.com

My husband just looked over my shoulder and took a look at the price tag on this — he says "Is that how much bags cost these days??" Guess I’ll keep looking…

The first time I heard about these they seemed kind of gimmicky but so incredibly useful. How many times have you sat at a restaurant clutching your bag in your lap or had it hanging precariously off the back of a chair and have some clumsy waiter knock it off — 3 times. Well I have. Handbag holders are meant to hang off a table and provide a hook for you to hang your bag on so it doesn’t have to be demoted to laying on the nasty ground. Eww. There are icky germs on your Gucci.

Don’t restaurants realize most women have a handbag or purse they came in with that will need to be stowed somewhere? I’ve considered buying a handbag hook/holder for some time now but held off since most of them were not very portable. I swore I would resist and wait until restaurants had the courtesy to provide these for the ladies.

But then… the other day I came upon the "Luxe Link Purse Holder".

"Instead of a cumbersome traditional purse hook, the Luxe Link has a stylish chain that wraps around a swanky circular top, and the shiny metal surface works as a mirror so you can always look Reese Witherspoon ready."

First off it’s gotta rock because it’s called the "Luxe Link" Purse Holder Then when I saw the picture of it I realized they had finally come up with a version that was portable that could easily and discreetly remain tucked away somewhere in the dark folds of your Jimmy Choo until needed.  At $40 It’s also cheaper than the rest on the market. The rest of the time it serves as a mirror so it’s doubly useful and space saving. Ingenious.

Here’s what the original styles look like. Like something you could jab someone’s eye out with.

If you prefer this ornate design and perhaps run out of mace, you can get hooked up with one of these bad boys at Purse-Pal for $59.99.