Style Spy Recs

'Member these?

They arrived this weekend and I'm completely in love with them. I am going to wear these shoes to ribbons, and I'm seriously contemplating buying another pair to put aside for when these head into the Great Shoe Closet in the Sky, because my guess is that these are going to be my go-to shoe whenever I'm wearing slacks or jeans. They're still on sale, and they have tons of sizes, including several in AA widths, for you narrow-footed gals, and they go as small as a 5. I found them a little snug across the instep at first, but I wore them around the house for the afternoon and they've loosened up quickly. They're super-light and flexible. Love. I highly rec.

They also have these in their sale section, which I also highly rec:

I have a couple of pairs of these in the bright colors they had for spring & summer, but the beautiful metallics they have now are perfect for the holiday season. They have four different metallic patents, all of which are really pretty. These are great shoes that look beautiful with a party dress but aren't so high that your feet will be screaming before you've gotten your first cocktail down. (A note: I found these a wee bit narrow through the ball of the foot and had to wear them around the house to loosen them up a bit. In general I think Cole Haan shoes run on the narrow-ish side.)

So there you are -- personal recommendations from Style Spy's shoe closet -- and on sale, no less! There are lots of great shoes on sale at the Cole Haan website, so do check it out. And if that's not enough to convince you:



Aaaaaaand??? Free shipping on everything until Dec. 15. OMG!

Wooooo-hooooooo!!!

That means those adorable driving mocs? A few pennies under 63 bucks. And the slip-ons? Just under $77. BARGAINS!


So, go! Shop!!!

Wherein Style Spy Reveals the Full Extent of Her Knowledge of Sports

I don't know anything about football. Believe me, I am perfectly okay with that. There is a tiny bit of residual knowledge left over in my brain from when I was a child and my family actually did care about football and I watched it. Oh, and in high school I was on the drill team and so was required to attend football games and at least pay enough attention to know when to cheer and when to boo (although that really only requires paying attention to other people who pay attention). However, once I went away to college the sports-knowing part of my brain began to shrivel and by the time I was in my mid-twenties it was a full-on vestigial organ. Utterly useless. But. One of the few things I remember from childhood football-watching is that Tom Landry was a sharp-dressed guy. Famous for his hats.

Tom Landry

And so, for the first and probably last time in recorded history, I now compare myself to a legendary sports figure:

me, à la Tom

I think Tom would approve, don't you?

Look at this cutie-pie little houndstooth hat I found this weekend at... wait for it... Target! YES! Target! So the thing only set me back about 13 bucks, and it's absolutely adorable. I've been looking at hats -- I ongoingly look at hats -- because I want one or two others along the lines of my black felt fedora. I like this one because it's fabric so I can wear it in the winter, but it's not a heavy felt, so it will work for spring and fall as well.



Because of the shortness of the brim, I'd call this a trilby.

So cute!!

I can't find it on the Target website, but I did find this one on a great site called VillageHatShop.com. (Click for links.)




Very similar to mine -- actually probably higher quality, and under $20. Sweet.


I'm really in love with this -- it's going on The List.


Isn't that great? Here's another one made from a great fabric.



Love that.


This one I'm going to be keeping in mind for summer.

As well as this one.


Both of these are under $20, and I think that's a fantastic deal. I love hats -- they're such a great easy way to add a finishing touch to an outfit. Or solve a Bad Hair Day.


More fun:

Pace, Bob Dylan

This one's for Plumcake. It comes in several different colors, and at this price you can afford to buy 'em all! (Caftan not included.)

This site has a ton of great hats, including a lot of great women's hats -- some great cloches and berets. Check 'em out. And you, too, can look like Tom Landry!



Photos:HoustonChronicle.com, Style Spy

Cyber Monday Shopportunities

Big Cyber Monday sale at





Use the code 50OFF for 50% off most things on the site.

At endless.com save $30 off any order of $100 or more, plus free shipping & returns!

Use the code GAP15 at checkout for 15% off everything at Gap.com

Use the code MONDAY at checkout and get 20% off everything at Piperlime.

These specials are all good just for today (Dec.1), so hop to it!

Love It or Hate It?

So I was toodling around on ssense.com the other day when I found this:

Designers Remix Heart Dress

My first thought was, Oh, how fun! My second thought was, Oh, how tragic! I mean, I know people are going to shriek about emphasizing the danger areas and all that, but my feeling is that the shape of this is so very over the top that no one would ever mistake that for the wearer's actual hips. So I do think the playing with proportion is kind of fun. I loathe the color, of course, and my first instinct was to think it ought to be red (which is my usual go-to color), but I guess that would be a little obvious, wouldn't it? Heaven knows I admire a lot of risky fashion, On the other hand, this lacks the kind of intelligent wit that you find in work by people like Rei Kawakubo.

So I'll put it to you. Do you love it? Or do you hate it? Vote in the poll I've posted up in the right corner and tell me what you think.

If You Like It...

I don't usually do this, because it has next to nothing to do with fashion, but this pop culture nugget that has apparently been around for some time just now made its way into my consciousness and it has me by the throat. No waifs here -- these are ass-kickin' ladies and they are sexy as hell. Be warned if you haven't seen this yet: I'm about to give you the Earworm From Hell -- you'll never get it out of your head.

Beyoncé - New Music - More Music Videos

Dayum. I need to work on my glutes. Lots & lots of squats tomorrow...

But, gracious! That is genius choreography, and the music is dangerously infectious. If that doesn't make you want to shake the ol' booty, or at least bob your head to the beat, you might be dead. I've made fun of Beyoncé & her mother's "design" efforts here before, but I gotta give it up for this. And man oh man -- those girls' bodies are positively aspirational. I spend a good deal of my time looking at models in fashion magazines and websites, and those 6-foot 110-pound tentpoles (some of which are very beautiful, I'll grant you) are great for hanging clothes on, but these gals? Fantastic. The most beautiful thing about any woman's body, no matter what her shape or age, is the use & joy she gets out of it -- whether it's dancing or running or embracing the love of your life or just carrying your baby across the room. You have to live in your body for it to be truly beautiful, not just drape fabric on it.

Seriously. Lots & lots of squats.

Black Friday Shoppapalooza!

Various links, codes, and heads-ups about sales sales sales!

Save $15 off any order over $125 at Heels.com with code HEELQ4AFF from 10/1/08 - 12/31/08

Cole Haan:

Black Friday Cyber Monday SALE20% OFF code=AF20OFF Pink Mascara Women's Designer Fashions Expires 12/1









Thanksgiving Sale: 20% Extra Savings with Your NM Credit Card
November 28 to December 1
Starting Friday, November 28, SAVE 20% TO 40% OFF Last Call Store's regular prices on merchandise in every department. PLUS, SAVE AN EXTRA 20% OFF YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE ON TOP OF SALE DISCOUNTS WHEN YOU USE YOUR NM CREDIT CARD! Kick-off your holiday shopping in style with savings from NM Last Call Store. Call the store for details on special holiday hours.

If I stumble across more, I'll post them!

Wherein Style Spy Makes Like Baldrick

If that reference is lost on you, I provide you with this to help you out. (If the reference isn't lost on you, it's just a little extra entertainment for the day. You're welcome.)




HAH!

At any rate... I have a cunning plan. (Which I hope is less far-fetched, fraught with complication and destined for doom than Baldrick's.)

I have, and have had for a while, this dress:






It's actually quite pretty, but it is not very me. I've never worn it. I bought it in a fit of bargain fever quite a while back, so not only is it not me, it's also not fitting me anymore. I could put it on eBay or maybe take it to a re-sale shop, but the lace is nice, and we are all about the lace this season. And so? I have a cunning plan...

(So sorry -- my Photoshop skills are extremely rudimentary.)

I figure I can cut down the skirt and the lining to make it a fitted sheath, and use some of that spare fabric to make wider straps. I'll also have to dart the bodice a little to bring it in, but the waist is a pretty good fit and I think it's do-able. The zipper on this dress is on the side, so it's going to be a tiny bit tricky because I can't start bringing in the side seams until below the zip. And I think I'm going to have do do away with a layer -- there's three of them on this thing (lace, underlayer, and lining), and that's too much bulk for a shape this fitted.

Lastly, there's the matter of the Bazooka gum pinkness of the thing. No matter how sharp the silhouette of a dress, if it looks as though it was made of the frosting on a My Little Pony birthday cake, it's not sophisticated. So I plan on dying it. I've bought two boxes of Rit -- one purple & one navy. I'm hoping that the two of them together will result in a dark, dusky purple that I think would be gorgeous. The fabric of the dress is 50% cotton/30% acetate/20% nylon, and the lining is all acetate. I think this will take dye pretty well.

Oh, and by the way? The little ribbon rosette belt is going no matter what. If the purple color works the way I want it to, I'm thinking about a metallic gold belt instead.

My dilemma is -- which thing do I do first? Do I make the alterations and then dye the dress, or try to change the color first and then do the sewing? I worry that if I sew after I dye I'm going to have purple dye coming off all over me while I work with it. But I also don't want to spend all the time it's going to take to do the alterations and then not have the color work. Anyone have any advice here?