Bugs and Beasties

Many jewelry designers are showing insect and creature jewelry created out of diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and other precious stones. Town and Country magazine has featured examples as have many other magazines. I jumped for joy when I was at the Anthropologie store in SoHo recently and saw an entire case of these beauties. Trust me, they are stunning in person, and start at $28, instead of thousands of dollars. My favorite is the octopus ring. What's yours?

The Shopping Bag As Art

I read an interview with Karl Lagerfeld in which he said that he has always loved beautiful shopping bags and could never bear to throw one away.  This was his inspiration for the Chanel leather shopping bag totes that are all the rage this season. I'm sure he is not alone is his love for gorgeous shopping bags.

I too love beautiful shopping bags and display some in my dressing room. Among my favorites are the orange Hermes, the chocolate brown and white striped Henri Bendel, the lavender Bergdorf Goodman, the chocolate brown Louis Vuitton, the blue Tiffany, the shocking pink Betsey Johnson, the green and white striped Kate Spade, the dalmatian print Inn at Little Washington, the pink Thomas Pink, the white Chanel, the always changing but always chic Neiman Marcus. 

This top photo courtesy of Australian Better Homes and Gardens via Simply Natural shows shopping bags framed as art. I think this is a charming idea for a dressing room. And please, no comments about worshipping materialism-this is recycling! What is your favorite shopping bag? One of these iconic ones, or perhaps one from a local store of yours. I'd love to hear....

(Photos courtesy of Flickr, Simply Natural, and Australian Better Homes and Gardens)

What Were They Thinking? Fringe

I couldn't not post about these fringe thigh high stockings. I thought it would be fun as well as necessary to take on the role of fashion police and blog about fashion no-no's. These stockings are without question the ideal candidate for a first post in a series I'm calling "What Were They Thinking?" Fringe can be a great detail when it comes to rock n' roll chic, but this is a prime example of why fringe is not on everyone's list of fashion do's. Fringe can easily look tacky. I sat and pondered if there was just one way these could be styled to create a rad outfit, but predictably came up with nil. The icing on the cake is the $88 price tag! 

Cupcake Chic

It's official, I've died and gone to cupcake heaven. 

(Photos and calories courtesy of Cupcake Envy)

Is Pink by Definition Girly?

Most men say they do not like pink in decorating because it is too girly. I think men secretly love pink. Here are some wonderful examples of modern, chic, sophisticated rooms from Domino Magazine with pink-whether it's a ceiling painted pink, a fabulous pink French daybed, pale tinted pink walls, or some great accents pieces in pink. Some of my tricks for successfully using this color in your home-use some black in the room to ground it, leather and tiger rugs give it a masculine edge, pink is gorgeous with celadon green and ice blue. Read my post Pink is the New Black for some more ideas on incorporating pink in your home.