jacket up!

i hate being cold.  HATE it.  so i love anything that offers me warmth when it gets that way.  socks, the perfect down coat, cashmere hats and scarves, leather gloves and silk long underwear.  those are the necessities to get through NYC winter.  fireplace would be great, but we can't.  c'est la vie...  then there are the dress-essities, which is where you get to play a bit, which is what i love so much.  i've always been a cardigan girl, and that will probably never fully change - but i am easing into being a jacket girl as well.  slowly amassing a small collection - pieces i love...  and these three new jackets from Winter Kate (in various states of perfect slouch and structure that are JUST RIGHT for yours truly) are LOVERS.   every 5 minutes i change my mind as to which one i love the most, so it's making it a bit difficult to make any sort of decision if i am going to buy... unless of course i would buy them all...sigh.   not the wisest choice, so back to thinking...

while we're on the topic...

yep still here in la-la land.  i love it here.  and i LOVE this Alexander McQueen get-up.  the blazer is drop dead gorge - but it's the jaquard leggings that put me over the edge.  silk and merino wool perfection.  i mean come on - i could even wear them with the Louboutin boots!!  fantasy friday.  loves it.

blaze(r) of glory

the go-to jacket of the season is the military/utility jacket.  and i am lovin' on it big time, without a doubt.  however - what if a girl needs or wants to look just a bit more dressed up?  oh conundrum! for years i avoided the blazer.  it caused an echoing cry of "uncomfortable office job" in my head...  but the siren call has lured me now...  it helps immensely that designers have worked on making this piece of clothing infinitely more wearable for daily life in or out of an office.  it's no longer just part of a suit - it's a fun topper to an outfit.   and what better than white or off white for the hot times we're in?  so cute over a jeans& tank, a shift dress, sundress, black jumpsuit.. i could go on.  this baby can go the distance.   i'm really diggin on this Elizabeth&James number, but there are also some great and affordable blazers at Zara, Express, and Banana Republic. sure it's hot as blazes.  but you can still look hot in a blazer! 

one good thing about cooler weather to come...but no rush!

during his resort presentation yesterday, Alexander Wang had a couple of exciting cards to play...  one is that he will be doing a line of "essentials" (for yours truly, the T line is my "essential" - but that's just me) which will include some more tailored pieces, namely 2 jackets, 3 styles of pants and one shirt.  streamlined, of course, in the way he does.  the other - and for myself, infinitely most exciting (and dangerous) is that he will be opening up a shop in NYC later on this year.  no exact date or location was revealed, but my brain has begun it's little spinning routine...  perhaps it will open right about the time of year that i may need to add one of these jackets to my collection??? 

i am going on the Lam

just when i think i'm over fashion week - just when i think i have hit the wall - i find out how wrong i am - and how bendy my thresh-hold is when it comes to all things beautifully styled. now we know i'm a leather junkie. if you can make a beautiful piece of clothing out of leather - that just bends my noodle in the best possible way. and the leather in Derek Lam's collection knocked my cashmere socks off. LOVE. IT. and the hats? beyond. i went on a major fedora kick last year - and this has now reignited my flame. burn baby burn. there isn't much to say - these pieces are absolutely GORGE. it's a modern urban cowgirl dream. i am completely and utterly obsessed with that fringe belt, and the short sleeved leather jacket over the grey suede is so perfect i feel like i'm hallucinating. (as a side note, i have never in my life felt the need for thigh high boots more than i do at this moment...)

i am feeling a major fashion crush...

Photos: Marcio Madeira / FirstView.com

captain - i surrender!

as you may or may not recall, i have not been a huge fan of the whole "military jacket" trend. just not my cup of tea. looks adorable on some people, but i have just not been feeling it... but like water torture, they keep on comin - and lo and behold, today is the day i caved.

tuesday morning, reading Vogue (it's research now. who would have thought - i am required to read these mags for my job. heaven) it's a thin month, but a rather delightful one i must say... possibly because the focus has gone off winter, and we're seeing Spring '10 clothes. ahhhh spring!! i cannot possibly be happier to be seeing these things. i am a bit over 2009, and completely over winter. so even the glimpse of warmer weather clothing makes me happy. (not Resort - that always bothers me, because, quite frankly, i am not wintering in Palm Beach. or Bali. or Bora Bora. or anywhere but here. so i do not care to see the swimsuits thank you. i'm wearing my uggs and down coat)

ok - sorry - i'll get back on track... paging through and i happen upon a little blurb about designers who are of the moment. always love that. and i will indeed be blogging about a couple more of them... but for today what grabbed me, against my will, but with full force - this Balmain jacket. i am OBSESSED with this jacket. oh. my. god. (please read as Janice from Friends) it is amazing and i cannot stop staring at it. and throw in the leather pants too, Santa. i'll take them.... oh and the belt... and for good measure, these Balmain boots i found while doing a bit more research...

and thus my new love began... welcome Balmain, to the mental closet of the-e-stylist...

ok...a bit obsessed lately

seems i have developed a wee bit of an obsession with Halle Berry. she just looks so damn cute and cool all the time. and she's gorgeous - but that's another story for another day. the two things i am loving about this get up? the jacket - "OH M GEEEEE" do i want that jacket. i saw a cute little jacket in a similar style the other day, and i have been on the olde interwebs hunt ever since to find one that i can actually afford. this one makes me even further crazed to get my hands on it...

part deux of get-up-love: the belt. now i do love me some accessories. as you may have realized by now. and i am really diggin the way Mz. Berry does the off-center buckle. it doesn't look contived - and i've seen her do it a few times, and each time i nod and say "yes" in my head. (my secret stylie obsession inside voice.... it haunts me like a happy ghost)

proof again - play with the accessories and the whole outfit can rock.