season five

spring '10: more fodder for the shoe fetish

Footwear News showcases designers’ spring ’10 sketches - look forward to bright colors, stacked wooden heels and embellishments on sandals and graphic cutouts in peep-toe booties (yeah - they stay!). Check out the entire line of sketches on WWD. Featured here: designs by Bruno Frisoni, Giuseppe Zanotti and Raphael Young (who is new to me but I think we may have a future together).

look I love: denim and killer heels

Net-a-porter's magazine recently featured a fashion spread of denim and killer heels. I love every look in this collection and will be duping them all immediately. My favorite is this look featuring a Rick Owens jacket, Alexander Wang tank, skinny jeans, a cool clutch and Givenchy stiletto sandals. This is a perfect look for San Francisco's summer nights and will carry me through fall.

thursday morning tunes - if you're out there

I received this John Legend/Raj “RajStar” Makhija song today - it is kind of like the 21st century dance version of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror." You can listen to it for free here . Or download the file off of John Legend's site here. I like it.

elegance requires ingenuity in down economy

“These days, an ingenious woman is an elegant woman.”  This fashion edict, published in the 1943 October issue of Marie Claire, is the Parisian equivalent of the Brit's "Keep Calm, Carry On." 

Women in Paris never give up on elegance during challenging times — be it 2009 or 1940. This is the inspiration behind a new exhibit held at the Mémorial du Marechal Leclerc de Hauteclocque et de la Libération de Paris – Musée Jean Moulin — twin museums dedicated to the history of the French Resistance and of the liberation of Paris. Some 300 fashion accessories and objects dating back to World War II are on display at this exhibition which pays tribute to fashion ingenuity against a backdrop of poverty and restrictions between 1940 and 1944. The exhibition showcases items ranging from the homespun to the high-end designer. Hand-crocheted hats sit next to a minimalist Hermès clutch made of panama straw, reflecting the lack of luxury materials like leather and silk during the war years.

I need a client that will send me to Paris. Anyone? The exhibition runs until November 15.

get your sparkleon! crystal inspired handbags

Crystals seem to be adorning and inspiring all types of accessories this season. We love how the natural iridescent element adds sparkle and added dimension to faceted and crystal embellished handbags. Whether the handbag is embellished with actual crystals sewn onto exotic skins and leather or inlaid with faceted mother of pearl, crystal handbags reflect and sparkle in the sunlight. These unusual and eclectic crystal studded and faceted shape handbags (Roger Vivier) are a pretty summer accessory perfectly paired with white summer shift dresses and flat gold sandals.

Roger Vivier “Tejus” faceted clutch, $850 at LuisAviaRoma
Python Clutch with crystals by Gambelle, $660 at Vivre.com
Celestina Pina oakwood clutch, $995 at Net-a-Porter
Sonia Rykiel crystal duffel tote, $2,405 at Intermix

This is a guest post from my friends at thefind.com