DVF Straight Off the Runway

New York fashion week may be over but most of the highlighted styles won't be seen off the runway for half a year. It's invigorating to contemplate the ways I plan to translate the plaids, wool and crimson for next winter's inevitably brisk onset (there will certainly be more of that later) but for now I have my eyes on the pieces that can inspire me into spring and summer. Through cut, color and fresh shapes DVF left me clinging to her vision deep into the winter, though I can't imagine a departure from her brilliance anytime in the future.

I loved to see the classic but fresh cut of this suit. With the airy fabrics but clear layering and bold, dark accessories I can see this both day to night and summer to fall. Each piece could slip easily into many outfits and could come directly off the runway and into my closet.

Here it's all about color and shape. Obviously, the simplicity is an asset to the jolts of color especially in the strength of the individual components. Long black gloves and again a very present but simple belt. I love the contrast of the simple mary jane and the deep sleek side part in each is a look I sport every season. With a deep v, you may not leave everything to the imagination but who can negate the elegance of the draping and how many colors can I order that in again? Thanks as always, Diane.

Keep Calm and Polyvore

On a "not the best of days" kind of day I find that I need to do something that feigns organization and accomplishment but requires minimal thought. Enter Polyvore. In an attempt to make my shopping fixation result in more outfits and less guilt I have called in an online specialist; Polyvore lets me take pieces I have or may consider buying and create multiple future outfits that are a guaranteed few days of clothing confidence. Along with giving me quick options on those days where I don't have the energy to make a cup of coffee much less pick an outfit, I also get the most out of my clothes. Versatility, appeal and quality have become the qualifiers for entry into my wardrobe and I am completely comfortable with the interview process. There has to be cohesion, everything has to "clique". I won't deny the appeal of a totally out-of-left-field piece that is worn in a moment of escapism from my norm but those aren't investment pieces and wearing them once is excusable. The everyday clothing requires duration, a long in-closet life expectancy and, therefore, a tete-e-tete between it and I. So thanks so Polyvore, although I haven't specifically spent less on the wardrobe desires I crave to fulfill, I have discovered the significance in quality and meaningfulness. I guess "they" are right when they said one in five relationships starts on an online source, I just didn't realize they included fashion and design boards.

The Shoes

Sometimes it's all about the shoes and with my new Asos leopard print slippers I can't help but be inspired. I am an adamant believer in the power of the simplicity of black, I would say it could be my favorite color to blend and allure in the night. However, like fireworks, I can't resist a pop of color, a subtle transparency and a clash of prints; enter lace stockings, sheer blouse, red full skirt and leopard print. With red lips and an imperfect pearl it's sexy and pretty, you can't lose.

The Shoes by paperthreadporcelain featuring lace stockings

Sheer top
$58 - stylebymarina.com

TopShop lace stocking
$24 - topshop.com

Miu Miu asymmetrical skirt
$1,195 - miumiu.com

ASOS leopard print shoes
$91 - asos.com

Marco Bicego tahitian pearl earrings
$3,530 - bloomingdales.com

Buy Newgate Knightsbridge Wall Clock online at JohnLewis.com - John...
£57 - johnlewis.com

Under the Covers

As the weather hallows out to a winter's cold, I find that heavy coats aren't the only covers I seek for warmth. I have recently realizied myself modifying my surroundings to those overtly consumed in books. Somehow, any room filled with the paper, cardboard and sometimes leathers of a selection of books always arouses in me warmth like the scent and taste of a mug of hot apple cider might. Maybe it's the influence and weight a good book has the potential to incur or maybe it's the fairy tale like response to books instilled as a little girl from one of my favorite movies, Beauty and the Beast. Belle lives romantically inside the pages of her books and ever so poetically, on a snowy day in the heart of winter, is given the most lust worthy library and she couldn't look warmer. If Belle can keep warm in a cold, gargantuan castle with the Beast via literature, certainly I should be able to do the same in a mere two bedroom Manhattan apartment.

I have no real plan on how to make it through the bitter cold winter that is sneaking less obviously through the streets every day but I do know that a future home enveloped in many many authors is imminent. Oh and of course every good book needs a steaming cup of something warm, a chunky sweater and fur lined slippers, just as accessories.

Just a few of the innumerable ways to style a book.

May flowers

For my birthday, as a treat to myself, I am honoring my favorite flower. They have such delicate, soft petals but such a strong and remarkable presence. I think they represent the perfect presence of femininity; the strength behind the beauty.

RUEmagazine

SouthernAccents

HipHipGinGin

Je t'aime

Vogue 1950

House Beautiful

Martha Stewart Living 

Mercury, Venus, Earth, etc.

Here are some of my favorite little additives, all of which I would love to have around my apartment, from Anthropologie. I have always coveted the inconsistencies in cracked glosses and mercury glass. It looks like a struggle for the crackled glass to spread before it hardens and the metallics in both bring a subtle resplendency to any room. 

"It took me four years to paint like Raphael but a lifetime to paint like a child." Picasso

The past few weeks have teased me with little tastes of spring shoved right up to unwelcome snow flurries. The balance is expected for a NE February/March but I have been all snowed out; I've reached my fill and I'm ready for spring (hint hint Mother Nature). Beyond my searing desire for warm(ish) weather, I know I'm ready for spring because the only colors I see now are bright, silky, and begging to be juxtaposed with a floral or stripe. 


Here some of my pre-school students inspired me with their art. I'm sure some of these shapes and colors will find their way into my wardrobe in the next few weeks. Only wish I could get the kids to design a nice airy blouse and I might just have a spring staple.