Recently in Fashion Category

Sign up for Shopbop's $5000 Shopping Spree giveaway thru Dec. 31st. No need to buy anything, just go and enter your email address, I already entered, it's very easy and fun to think of what you can spend it on. They are also having a fabulous Designer Brands Sale. I found 2 dresses that are great for New Year's, as you can see I picked 2 very different personalities depending on which way you plan on spending your night. Personally, I am doing the innocent house party (boring yes, but safe, comfortable, no crowds and no loud music. Oh my god, I am officially a crotchety old lady). The Marie Marie Fresh Dress is only $346.50 on Sale and the McQ by Alexander McQueen Assymetrical dress is a mere $180.60 on Sale. Free ground shipping with any order, hurry and you'll get it by year's end.

As much as we dislike Fendi bags of late, I remain a die hard Fendi RTW fan. Every season I find multiple dresses, tops and skirts that are just too hard to resist! Like this little brown beauty. With my lavender cashmere scarf and flat riding boots, I'll be warm and chic when back home in LA for Thanksgiving. LA is the only place I feel truly comfortable and am able to dress as I please. I have lived all over the world; LA, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, New York, Washington DC and now Dallas but it is LA that I will always think of as my home. My family is there and it is in the City of Angels that I spent most of my youth, high school through college (USC- go Trojans!) Fendi Cotton tank dress- $1,480, check it out here for more details.

Fendi Cowl neck jersey dress- Here is another favorite dress from this season that I bought in New York and wear all the time. Fendi just makes it so easy to get dressed! Now if we can just get the bags up to snobulous par again...

Not sure what to wear this weekend? Look no further than Bottega Veneta! I am accused of favoring black and I have to say I am totally guilty. I am also a lover of bold color, don't get me wrong but nothing beats a great LBD. The brilliance of Tomas Maier of Bottega Veneta is creating gorgeous ready to wear, bags and shoes across the board. Not many other lines bridge so many elements as seamlessly. You can walk in to a Bottega boutique and scoop up everything you need without wasting time running around. So here are my picks for the weekend, a cowl neck little black dress with an unexpected and flirty ruffle in the back and a fabulous black patent snakeskin clutch. I just adore this clutch, the patent snakeskin is divine and the three small strips of woven snakeskin gives it the unmistakable Bottega touch. It's 9" x 5" which is a generous size and the interior is also roomy with three compartments, a rarity in clutches. Both pieces are classics that will defy time and season.

Bottega Veneta Ayers snakeskin clutch is $1,640 at NAP
Bottega Veneta Bustle detail dress is $1,380 at NAP

Original Chanel jacket from 1954 Haute Couture collection. Every meticulous stitch is still as it was the day Coco Chanel herself put the finishing touches on it.

Regardless of how one prefers to wear their CHANEL jacket, we all agree that there is no other piece of clothing that transcends time, style and age as gracefully. I wear mine with jeans for lunch and shopping dates, wide legged trousers for cocktails and a full length multi tiered silk chiffon Chanel skirt for black tie. My CHANEL jackets are my secret weapon, the pull it out and be fabulous no matter how much I weigh or feel at the moment kind. Nothing in my closet is as glamorous or versatile, I own dozens of CHANEL jackets and do not plan to part with any of them! Some I have had for 13 years, since I first started collecting in my 20's, and some are new additions from this season. I keep each and every single one in a cedar lined closet in its original Chanel garment bag with a photo on the outside for ease of dressing. Call me obsessive but those of you who own these amazing creations know what I am talking about, the ones who don't, you need to go and try one on. Just for the experience. And you'll most likely leave with one.

A totally lovable bag from Fendi (finally!) this little mama is sure to please young hipsters. Even the logo is updated in a MTV graphic kind of way where older people (yes, like me) have a hard time figuring out. I can't watch things like the MTV Music Awards where the editing and graphic design is confusing to me and make my eyes twitch. Anyway, I'd like to think I can still appreciate what is "hip and happening" even though it is not for me. The chunky chain, the patent leather and size definitely appeal to those born after 1985, even the name is fun and cheeky. Pair this with the Fendi Babydoll style coat ($1630) and you will be hip and sophisticated. I love this coat with Peter Pan collars, it looks like a dress so you are not covering up but instead have a complete look with the coat on. I love coats, but we still wait for a warm moment to reveal the something fabulous we have underneath. Fendi Mini Mamma at Net a Porter for $750.

I am going to attend a private exhibit featuring Chanel jackets dating back to the early 1900's!!! Oui, tres exciting! The exhibit is from the Paris archives and will be shown only in two US cities, Dallas (11/7-11/9) and Chicago. I was invited to the cocktail event on Wednesday night but I plan on skipping that (not that I don't enjoy socializing at cocktail parties, but putting my son to bed and reading him his favorite books is just a bit more important to me :). I plan on attending the next day when there will not be so many distractions so I can properly focus on the once in a lifetime chance to see these pieces. Those of you who own Chanel jackets will be able to understand why I am so excited, every detail of the Chanel jacket is exquisite. From the weighted chains hidden in the interior to ensure the jacket will hang properly to the delicate silk lining that mold the jacket to your body, there is nothing like a Chanel jacket.

If you did not know, I have more Chanel jackets than Hermes birkins. I bought my first Chanel jacket in my mid 20's (it was a very young and hip cropped tweed version trimmed in chocolate leather) and I have been addicted ever since (and by the way, I was 25, not 17 so I felt it was very age appropriate!). Back in 1995 they were sold in sets but I would convince the SA to sell me only the jacket as I planned on wearing them with jeans or mini skirts of my own. Now they are mostly sold as separates although I do own one complete set (in a soft shimmering pale champagne color) that I wear for weddings. Other than that, I avoid skirt suits like the plague! For more info or to schedule a viewing of the exhibition call 214-520-1055 and ask for Alexis or Pilar.

A reader sent this picture to us and we just had to share. How fabulous is this little girl going to be? I bet her mommy's got some nice bags, including a few of the 2.55.

Don't forget to sign up for the Smythson giveaway, today is the last day. We will have a new giveaway tomorrow so make sure to check back for that.

We wish everyone a fun and safe Halloween!

Left: Crocodile Birkin in 35cm/ Center: HAC in 32cm/ Right: Indigo ostrich HAC in 28cm

Check out the crocodile birkins and HAC bags on the Hermes Spring 2008 runway, can you tell which is which? For those of you who are not Hermes aficionados, HAC (Haut a Courrois) was the original "birkin" before Jane Birkin complained it was too tall to fit under her airplane seat and the handles too small to properly tote on her arm. They shortened and elongated the bag, made the handles longer and called it a Birkin et voila, an instant icon. Here is how you can tell the difference, the HAC handles are tiny and the body is long as opposed to wide, all very subtle differences but a trained eye can spot them a mile a way. They also cost less than the birkin and are much easier to come by.

This is my favorite bag from the Paris runways for Spring 2008! As expected, exotic skin continues strong as does the big bag but this one is not just another big ol' crocodile bag, it's a big ol' crocodile bag from the original bad boy himself, Alexander McQueen! This is one serious bag with McQueen attitude all over it, notice how the placement of contrasting scales are used to show off the beauty of croc skin, pure genius. I love the pale gray shade of the croc but it's the overall design of the bag that I am enamored with. Everything about this bag works, it's as if all the stars were aligned when it was designed! The large outer pocket is in perfect sync with all the small subtle details (a little pocket here, a small zippered compartment there) that make up this fabulous bag and is balanced by the two contrasting upper corners. Plus the zipper goes around the entire upper half of the bag so you will actually be able to see your things inside the bag! Yes, it's beyond huge and made for giants (or for weekend getaways) but I expect they will offer more human friendly sizes come Spring. More grown up and polished than the Novak bag, this is on top of my must have list for Spring 2008- look for it in leather versions as well!

So my birthday was back in August and Christmas is still two months away, but that doesn't mean I can't start planning gifts now! Check out what I crave from Vivre, the fabulous web boutique that delivers luxury goods to your home so you can stay in bed, eat bons bons and sip champagne while you shop online! So what are you waiting for? Crack open that bottle of Cristal Rose you've got chilled... you've been saving for the right occasion and this is it my darlings! Go shopping!