Turn On The Bright Lights...

We're only one week into January, but of course all my fashion emails are hurtling me straight into Spring with their resort collections, swimwear and other frocks I can't wear for another 4 months.  One of the trends I've been seeing lately is a return to neon.  Holy cow.  I'm having flashbacks, and it has nothing to do with the vibrancy of the hues.  It's like I've been zapped back to, ahem, junior high.  Call me nuts, but I can clearly recall my neon yellow earrings from Claire's, and those socks with neon patterns (that'd I'd pair with my mom's shoes - don't ask, my fashion skills were highly questionable in those days).  Back when my life revolved around geography, 7AM band practice and homeroom, my friends and I used to exchange said earrings and such items as Christmas gifts.  Oh, and does anyone else remember the tiny, stackable neon jelly bracelets?  I think I bought mine at Express, but my senility isn't sure about that.

A number of designers and retailers must also be reliving their youth - or at least allowing those of us of a certain generation to do so.

I just checked into Revolve this morning and saw this:

Shopbop also has plenty to jog the memory:

In fact, they have a section dedicated to all things insanely orange, yellow and blue:

And don't exclude Hervé Léger, designer of those ridiculously slinky (and pricey) dresses:

Another freshly opened email, this time from Piperlime.  Not quite as eye-vexing, but still plenty loud:

So, are you going to jump on the neon bandwagon?  Maybe, like the purse with the pink lining, you'd prefer it as an accent piece.  Or perhaps you just want to go all out and watch people don shades to keep from being blinded by your awesomeness?  Is this sending you back to study hall, or is it merely the latest trend you find mildly interesting?

I'm still on the fence, but I bet I'll end up succumbing and buying something neon by the beginning of summer.  Now I'm off to trawl eBay for some neon jelly bracelets...



Images:

#1 - Revolve
#2-6 - Shopbop
#7 - Herve Leger/BCBG
#8 - Piperlime

An Ode to a Swirling Good Site

After a week of all sorts of "blowout sales," I should have known one e-tail site in particular was closing its virtual doors.  I logged onto swirl.com today, the former retail arm of fashion newsletter Daily Candy, only to be greeted with this screen:

OK, so Swirl really just moved down the block; it hasn't ceased to exist.  Still, I enjoyed the site and its daily dose of cute stuff at flash-sale prices.  I've ordered from them as well.  In fact, I just got some great holiday cards and a present for a dear friend, thanks to these gals and guys.  One of the things I truly enjoyed was their copywriting.  Somewhat similar to my casual style (but much better and wittier), Swirl's writing and editing team introduced each designer with a cute blurb, lending both information and sparkle to what could have been a textbook, boring paragraph.  They had lovely illustrations to boot.  Ones that were cute without being over-sugary.  Here are a few images:

I'll be sure to check out their new location.  In the meantime, I'll leave you with some of their past sales that tempted me enough to save them in a folder for further wishing and drooling.

A luscious bag from Rebecca Minkoff...

An adorable Orla Kiely dress...

Some sweet kicks from Gola...

Who doesn't love penguin ornaments?

And horse pillows!  Horses are the new owls, by the way...

A bad-ass ballerina, courtesy of Veda...

If only my entire to-do list involved shopping...

And, aw heck, more Rebecca Minkoff...

Sniff.  Just looking at all these great sales makes me a little teary.  It's like looking at photos in your old high school yearbook.  OK, not really.  Hmm...  fine, not at all.  But, instead of weeping into my empty margarita glass, I need to check out the Daily Candy site and have a look around.  I'll do that in the next few days and report back on my findings.

All images:  Swirl.com

FABulous Finds

So, you're telling me those dresses the length of a dress shirt aren't doin' it for ya, eh?  Fretting more about the perfect gift instead of the perfectly hoochified frock?  Please allow me to help replace images of the "Oops, I Forgot My Pants" girlie with something less sketchy.  Thank you, Fab.com!  I've mentioned this flash-sale site before.  Yep, it's a members-only deal, but I believe you can sign up to get on the wait-list for a spot.  Once granted the golden ticket, you can push through the virtual gates into a land of all sorts of treasures.  Though I suspect the site caters to those steeped in mid-century modern, indie rock bands, letterpress and ironic mustaches, the array of items should appeal to anyone.

This week, Fab offered a lot of tempting treats, starting with some gorgeous jewelry by Michelle Chang:

The very fantastic Mr. Fox:

This was my favorite of her collection:

Sticking with the creatures theme but wandering over to a different medium.  Go, Speed Racer!

Oh, these would be great fun to pin on my coworkers...

Into retro typewriters?  Feast your eyes on these refurbished beauties, distributed by Kasbah Mod.  The first one is adorned with artist Takashi Murakami's sunny characters (via artist Luis "Zimad" Lamboy, I guess**).  I'd buy it for the panda alone:

For the purist:

This one looks suspiciously like my old friend from high school (yeah, I also used to gab to my friends on something called a rotary phone...  which had a nice curly, cord):

Such a dreamy print, taken from the cover of a Conde Nast fashion book, the name of which I can't retrieve as the link seems to be, um, broken:

And...  for the person on your list who has everything...

Because who doesn't love Dolly?  This particular version was created by Kii Arens.


As Christmas begins to creep ever closer, we'll be inundated with every retailer throwing their own gifting ideas at us from all sides.  Like a relentless game of commercial dodgeball, you'll get pelted with images of the latest electronic gizmos, fur coats, precious ornaments, and bling, bling, BLING!  And I'm not even going to bring up all that stuff marketed for kids.  (One of the highlights at work is the annual trotting out of children's toys.  I swear, by the time I've left that meeting, I've got visions of remote-control dinosaurs, Barbie's, plastic rocket-launchers and whatnot dancing in my head for a good week - and I don't even have kids.).

Is there something on your wishlist that you're hoping Santa will leave under the tree?  An iPhone 4S, perhaps?  Or something in a blue box (aka Tiffany's)?  Or maybe just tickets to the year's hottest concert?  Do tell.  And I'll be sure to put in a good word for you with the man in the red suit.






**Nitpicker's note on this one:  while it appears that Lamboy is channeling Murakami, I wish Fab would credit the original source instead of simply mentioning Lamboy.  The actual characters are Murakami's, and props should be given accordingly.  OK, I'm done venting.

Photo credits:  all via Fab.com

Green Thoughts on a Grey Day

As I sit inside my house today, recovering from a 3-day trip to Cold & Sinus Hell, I'm not even sure what to think about tonight's prediction of another 2-4" of snow.  Part of me wants to say, "Are you !@*$% kidding me?"  This is the same part of me that hasn't left the house since Friday night, thanks to being sick.  I'm starting to go a little cuckoo for cocoa puffs in here.  Then again, part of me wants to say, "Meh.  We live in the Upper Midwest.  It snows in May.  Getoverit."  This is the same part of me that figures I might as well enjoy being house-bound if the flakes are gonna start fallin'.  The fridge is stocked, I've got a surplus of Pier 1 candles, and there's a wonderful thing called pizza delivery.

The impending snow and overall crappy, cold weather does make me think about the climate in general.  Which then makes me think about the Earth.  And Earth Day.  Which is on the 22nd.  How timely.

If I'd forgotten about Earth Day, a hazy memory rolled into the college experience of years past, then retailers have definitely made sure I remember it this year.  From promotions to "go green," to offering "upcycled goods," to simply asking what you might do this year to make the Earth a little more healthy, stores are making sure to participate.  I guess selling green = seeing green (and, on a slight tangent, it feels like countless retailers are attaching themselves to all sorts of causes, the Japan tsunami/earthquake being the latest example).

OK, without further ado...

Daily Candy's limited-sale site Swirl offers an Earth Day-themed pop-up boutique this week (I can't guarantee how long this sale runs, so check it soon!).  Among the brands on sale are vegan bags by Matt & Nat, a great handbag line I ran across years ago in Chicago.  Glad to see they are still going strong.  Here are a few of their items for sale:

Poketo, a fun and quirky retailer known for collaborating with artists, sent me an email today about their upcycled leather accessories.  Fun, cute and salvaged!  Take a look:

The second image is a bag that was created from a leather sofa - the vintage (as in Brady Bunch-era) fan in me got a kick out of it.  I even spied some bags that look like they're crafted from suits - you'll have to check it out.

Anthropologie tells me it's hosting Earth Day events at many store locations with this crafty email:

Click here to see if there are any events at your local store.  Weirdly, they don't seem to have anything here in Minnesota.  Odd, since this state prides itself on green initiatives.  Their email also says:

Mega-retailer Target spread its word on Facebook today, asking:

Over 600 people liked this question, but man, over 1200 had something to say about it!  Personally, I always hold on to their bags.  If it's paper, we use them for recycling day (the city of Minneapolis has a  nice program which I really appreciate...  from plastic bags to junk mail to, um, cardboard boxes from Nordstrom and Zappos, they haul it all).  If it's plastic, well, I do this:

Why, NO, that's not a big bag of...  shoes.  

Hey, I wrap 'em up in my TGT bags and throw a pair in my purse to take to work.  They're also great for stuffing wet umbrellas into while on the bus.

Kate Spade's "color of the month" is a very kelly green for April, but I have no idea if that anything to do with Earth Day.  It seems to have more to do with lush lawns and the general celebration of the return of all things green and summery.  Sure is purty to look at, though:

While we're on the subject of green-colored treasures, you might want to glance at my earlier post dedicated to such finds here.

And finally, Threadless has a great little Earth Day shirt for sale on their site:

I wuv.  If you do, too, check it out here.  They're also promoting tree-planting and other nature-friendly wares.

"Green retailing" aside, Earth Day does compel you to give serious pause about the state of the environment today.  While the forecast snowfall for tonight is fairly benign and mostly scoffable, other areas of the US have had far more serious weather:  wildfires burning in Texas and tornadoes that marched a lethal path through the South.  You do have to wonder how much is linked to climate change and how much we've contributed to that.  And whether Mother Nature is giving us a stern warning to clean up our act.

On that didn't-mean-to-be-so-somber note, are you celebrating Earth Day?  Do you try and incorporate sustainability or recycling in your daily life (like my shoe bags)?  Is there an event you're attending in your state or country?  Or, simply, is there a favorite retailer of yours that's promoting Earth Day themed awareness?

Cheers (til the snow starts to fall anyway),

Maggie

Image credits:

Matt & Nat purses - Swirl.com

Upcycled leather clutches and "sofa" purse - Poketo.com

Anthropologie email excerpt - Anthropologie.com

Target Facebook status - Facebook

Shoe mountain images - my own
Kate Spade bags - Kate Spade

"Let's Plant" t-shirt by Chow Hon Lam - Threadless.com

Apparently It IS Easy Being Green (Kermit, You Lie)

You know what Monday means, of course.  A fairly short but sweet post!  Today, it's about some beautiful green pieces I've spotted recently.

To start with, I spied this Treesje purse on one of my sample sale sites today:

I looove the rich, green hue.  It's the color of those perfectly manicured lawns in summer (which, by the way, if you live in the desert, isn't so "green," I guess).  Also, the tote's amply sized for all the crap we women oft tend to carry.  Wallet, cell phone and glasses aren't enough for me.  Oh-ho, no!  I will totally cram in my 4" heels, a scarf, water bottle (uh, also not green but needed for random coughing spells), iPod, plastic baggie full of random cosmetics, and maybe a cardigan.

They also offered a different style in the same color:

Tory Burch has a pretty sweet purse, too:

There's a bit more blue in this green (sorry, Miles Davis, I'm sure women's accessories weren't what you had in mind, heh heh).  Still, I wouldn't kick it out of my closet.


Here's a gorgeous image from a Neiman Marcus emailer this week:

More of a late-summer green...


And here's a gorgeous image of some pants on a Shopbop email that, when you see the actual product page...  well, I just thought, "Oh."  Like, oh damn you, deceptive draping!

Yeah, same pants.  The green seems more washed out in the second picture, most likely thanks to different lighting.  Well, four outta five ain't too shabby.

Even though it feels like we're barreling through February, I know Spring isn't exactly around the corner up here (yes, it's not unusual for us to get snow in April or even May...  and no, I don't live in the mountains).  So I'm thanking retailers for providing me with plenty of greenery to try and cheer up my winter blahs of exhaust-fumed dirty white.

And guess what?  It's easier than I thought :)

P.S.  Though I am a Chicago Bears fan, I will tip my Bears cap to my many friends who bleed green (and cheesehead yellow) for last night's Green Bay Packer's Superbowl victory.  It's very easy being Green for them right now - congrats, you guys.


Images:

Treesje purses:  Hautelook (private sample sales site)
Tory Burch purse:  toryburch.com
Michael Kors email:  neimanmarcus.com
Willow pants:  shopbop.com




**Note to self and you guys:  Since I receive so many retailer emails - and since some of them have very pretty images, I plan to start including select said images to share with you.  Heck, I might try and dedicate a monthly post to them, stay tuned...