Here’s my ideal outfit for summer 2008:

I’m keeping it simple for now. Clockwise, from top-left: Pagoda umbrella, dress by Miu Miu, Oxford shoes (Urban Outfitters), and bag by Marc Jacobs.

I stumbled across Kim Westad through Mirror Mirror (which is so fabulous it deserves a post of itself and will get one), and boy am I glad I did. One of those delightful internet gems that you realise you can’t possibly live without, Kim’s ceramic creations are one of a kind and have the dual benefits of being aesthetically pleasing and amazingly versatile. These are just two of her beautiful creations, and I’ll admit it internet, I’m already hooked.

Etsy Shop ¦ Website

I’ve been on a bit of a kick lately, accessories wise. I’ve been lusting after the most inappropriate of attire, chunky necklaces and unreadable watches, eye covering hats and the shiniest, sparkliest braclets and rings i can lay my grubby little hands on. So, in the spirit of sharing, here’s some of the pieces I’m loving this month:

left to right: UO Joanna Louca Clutch £279, UO Angel Wings Earrings £10, Tiffany & Co double strand figure 8 necklace £85.

l-r: topshop contrast belt £25, topshop wings charm bracelet, £8, The Carrot Box Robert Dodd Ring $70.

There are of course many more lovelies but I’m at work and by rights I should be working ;)

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arrow ring vs subway arrows

Originally uploaded by sgoralnick

available here for a bargainous $22, each ring comes in a box along with a printed Arrow Ring logo card that is uniquely numbered with a hand stamp. Neat!

Drink of choice: Miller High Life Light, Kool-aid, peach schnapps

Create the look:

Not to be a huge Urban Outfitters groupie but they have some very Lisbon girly clothes right now. A white summer dress is basically a necessity, see Figure 1-4: Lux Alameda Dress, Kimchi & Blue Dandelion dress which seems to have mysteriously disappeared from the UO website, Lux Seeing Stars Dress, Kimchi & Blue Orleans Halter, which can be finished off with 1920s oxfords or Pleated Boots.

For more inspiration: Film stills of the Lisbon girls’ bedrooms.

God bless Sofia Coppola for gracing this world with such gorgeous eye-candy. I’ll be addressing each heroine in finer detail during the next week, particularly the beautifully executed wardrobe of Marie Antoinette (sorry, no pun intended), but for the weekend I wanted to provide some food for thought. (Get it? Eye-candy?)

For your viewing pleasure (click on the images for particulars):

The Virgin Suicides

Kirsten Dunst plays Lux Lisbon, one of five hauntingly beautiful sisters, in this film adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel of the same name.

Lost in Translation

Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray play unusual companions, brought together by culture shock and loneliness in a hotel bar in Tokyo.

Marie Antoinette

LET THEM EAT CAKE! A modern spin on Coppola’s modern spin of the doomed queen of France.

I’m working on an article, a real true-blue introduction-argument-conclusion article about the styles of certain pop culture heroines, and in my research I accidentally found the new RSASKOPKF socks at American Apparel. Then my credit card spontaneously leaped out of my pocket and bought a pair in each color. Actually it’s a good deal because there are three colors per sock. That’s like three times the marshmallows in a bowl of Lucky Charms.

Also, and most significantly, the RSASKOPKF socks are totally satisfactory substitutes for the Prada tri-tone socks that I so deliriously desired in fall 2007. Way to go, American Apparel. You are totally the frozen yogurt to my Rocky Road.

Are these hilarious or am I just wildly immature?

You can buy them online exclusively from urbanoutfitters.com. “When you think about it, it’s pretty crazy that this kind of thing didn’t come around a lot sooner.”

Inbetween writing papers, building movie sets, and compiling portfolios, I’ve been spending some time on polyvore.com. These images are kind of like wishlists for me, mostly pretty little things that make me happy. I hope they make you happy, too. :)

Enjoy all the eye-candy! You can check out resources by clicking on the individual images (sorry — I wish I could include them in the entry but there doesn’t seem to be any quick/simple way to do that yet).

Bling; “a slang term that refers to elaborate jewelry and other accoutrements.”

A couple rules of thumb to keep in mind when accessorizing —

It doesn’t have to be real. Cubic zirconia is lovely and kinder on the wallet. Plastic jewelry is fun to pile on, too, as well as faux pearls.

Keep it simple. Don’t wear too much. Take one piece off before you leave the house. Or at least make sure your eyes are twinkling more than your bling, darling. It really only takes one ornate bauble (or two) to get the job done, so try to limit yourself. As the images in this post illustrate, a single piece of jewelry with simple hair, dress, and makeup can be more striking than the whole front counter of Tiffany’s.

Have fun with your jewelry and don’t let the sidewalks hog all the ice this winter! (More pictures after the jump.)

Further reading (& viewing)

• Tips for Care and Cleaning of Fine Jewelry
• Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell
• Moulin Rouge!, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor

Read the rest of this entry »

I love these “handscapes” by Zelda Beauchampet. Buy them here (available individually or in sets).

These dresses are from Unique Vintage, an online boutique that specializes in stylish vintage and designer inspired women’s clothing at affordable prices. My favorite dresses are in the 1940s to 1950s range, and many of these would be lovely stand-ins for the Little Black Dress this holiday season. I’m not too keen on designer duplicates, and luckily most of the styles available at Unique Vintage are classic post-war silhouettes that are sometimes scarce on the rack.

Clockwise from top left: Sophie Pearl satin bustier dress, Stop Staring sassy navy dress, Betsey Johnson gold cut-out taffeta dress, Grayson Sofia nude & silver sequin party dress, Betsey Johnson black satin cocktail dress, Interlude purple tulle dress.

Well-intentioned purchases… cute shoes that I knew deep down weren’t really my style, but I bought them anyway. And then I never wore them. The same goes for that sweater, and those jeans, and that jewelry box. I thought they were things I ought to have, so I bought them. I thought I was improving my style, branching out and trying new things, but in fact I was just compromising my taste, and making a poor financial decision to boot. Fortunately I have a decent grasp of finances, something I credit to the years of babysitting that allowed me to keep up with my trendy junior high counterparts (I’ve always been stubborn and perhaps a little proud; I never wanted to ask my parents for money), and I believe that many women (and men! everyone spends money) haven’t been so lucky. There’s a lot of social pressure to perform as a consumer, especially in the United States, and as the average personal debt continues to climb, the value of cultivating individual style is rapidly declining.

So how can we save style? Well… first of all, what is style? One of my professors recently defined style as “being in perfect harmony with one’s environment… Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s — THAT is style.” The tricky part is identifying what would be harmonious with your environment, and personal style is doing the identification on your own. Plenty of magazines are screaming about What You Need For Fall, This Season’s Absolute Musts, blah blah blah, and while these magazines are great resources to pool together ideas, it’s important to remember what you want… and hopefully, the last thing you want is to have the exact same wardrobe as everyone else because you all read the same magazines.

Some good tactics for defining your personal style are making mood or inspiration boards, taking daily pictures (Gala Darling is all over this, so if you’re interested, visit her site), and — what I’m focusing on today — window shopping. Go shopping (alone or with a friend, pick your poison) with the conscious decision that you will not buy anything; take only enough money for necessities like food or travel expenses, if applicable. Hit your favorite shops, try things on, and if you’re feeling sassy, take a digital camera into the dressing room with you. Keep a pad of paper and pen to note things you really like and where you can get them. And keep hydrated! Shopping is exhausting. :)

Further reading:

• “People must stop buying and buying” — Interview with Vivienne Westwood on how buying less can improve one’s style.
• The Quest for Personal Style: Inspiration and Mood Boards — Great tips from the insightful Tricia Royal.

Oh good gracious, Marc Jacobs, you’ve stolen my heart.