Kamis, 05 Februari 2009

Stylish Winter Coats to See You Through to Spring

With all of the cold , slushy snow and icy pavements, it is easy to let the weather have an impact on your style. The most common style choice for cold weather is the ubiquitous black coat. I am getting slightly bored with the black winter coat lately. Whilst it is certainly versatile and goes with everything, it is kind of lacking in imagination in the style stakes.

But there are some alternatives which are much brighter and happier than a plain black winter coat. I love the bright juicy coloured coats, which look even better when teamed with some equally bright hats, gloves and scarves. Try clashing and contrasting colours for a really cool eclectic look.

pink double breasted coat

Pink double breasted coat

funnel neck coat

Yellow Funnel Neck Coat
yellow funnel neck coat



Green Double Breasted Tweed Coat




tartan vivi coat


Tartan Vivi Coat




Orange French Connection Jacket
Oversized Beanie Hat

The Floral Dress

Florals are pretty much a sure fire bet for spring summer trends every year. This year the floral trend has been around all winter and looks to move effortlessly into spring and summer. There are lots of different variations on the floral trend for the next season including the over sized floral, the pixellated floral, the retro style floral and the sketched floral. I love them all for their bright feminine appeal. There is no better pattern to make you feel happy. The floral dress is a modern classic that can be worn in so many ways and for so many occasions. Here are just a few of my favourites.

Big Flower Print Tie Dress


If you can't wait until the warmer weather to make the most of this floral trend, you can add a bit of floral charm to your winter coat with this handcrafted leather orchid brooch.

Selasa, 03 Februari 2009

Forget Me Not Friendship/Autograph Book

{Collaged page with what looks like a fantasy grained painted background }

Last night while I was searching for groundhog and woodchuck imagery, I came upon this lovely handmade friendship album from the early 19th century. The owner of the book was Anne Wagner ~ she and her circle of friends must have been well schooled in the arts of illustration, design and penmanship. The diminutive book is chock full of a combination of naively painted illustrations, collage work, wonderful graphic layouts and beautiful calligraphy ~ there are entries dated from 1795 to 1834.

Below is a good selection of pages from the book ~ all of the images are from the New York Public Library Digital Gallery ~ make sure to visit ~ you won't be sorry! What a treasure ~ wouldn't it just make your day to find something like this?!

{beribboned lock of hair}

{charming and romantic watercolors}

{patriotic? illustration}

{doodles from 1804}

{doesn't everyone have at least one friend who is a Viscountess?}

{interesting variety of graphic treatments ~ borders and layout}

{paper cuts and embossed foils collaged on painted background}

identizifiers[x]->{dissasociate.M(sub.U[return])}

Am I a person.. or a cat.. or what is it when some thing posts to a blog? Has I become a new entity while writing to a blog? Are we a groupentity writing insipidity to the globoblogosphere? Is there a collective blogidentity marking societydeath with big blogHeadStone? Is thehawaiianpunchcrashingwavedestructingall?

Is the society wave destructing lovingwill at will?

Isare questions answers or questions or nothinganswers nothing?

Are the picturesmy saving pictures place eliminating lonliness?

Will internetdeath delay lifedelays death?

What sweetnesskiss destructsnow the momentend?

When dowemakemore sense than notsense?

!.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.! !.!

Keeping warm and looking stylish

While we are anxiously looking forward to spring and reviewing spring/summer fashion collections, in comes the snow and we are jolted into the realization that it is still winter. The snow, over the last two days, literally put a freeze on most things. Schools have been closed, trains and buses were not running in some parts of the country and more of this is expected later in the week.

On the bright side it does seem to be getting darker later so we know that spring is on its way. But for now we need to wrap up warm. The key to keeping warm is layering up and keeping your points warm i.e. head, hands and feet. So hats, scarves, gloves and boots are a must in this weather.

Of course we want to achieve warmth and still look fabulously special and stylish.



These AIGLE Leather boots are just what you need to plough through the snow and still keep your feet dry and warm. This is a classic style boot that's always in vogue! It is made of full grain leather cuff and rubber uppers with a rubber sole and 1.5 cm heel. It looks stylish, it looks fierce and most importantly it will keep your feet dry and on the ground.


For a truly unique style this ... loose-tying Lavalière-style scarf adds a romantic touch with it's embellished lace, crepon and fishnet.



This supersoft Chunky Knit Hat will keep heads warm.



These long cashmere gloves are the must-have accessory for style and warmth from your arm right to your fingertips! Great length and extra softness... Jersey knit on the hand, ribbed knit on the arm.

Senin, 02 Februari 2009

How Much Wood Can a Woodchuck Chuck?

Happy Groundhog/Woodchuck Day! I thought I would peruse my old book collection and do a posting of a variety of lovely illustrations of the groundhog ~ or woodchuck. Alas, I could find none worth posting in any of the books I have ~ either the animal wasn't even mentioned or no illustration had been commissioned of the creature. I even checked children's books I had, but no luck there either. I feel sorry for the ignored groundhog ~ sure, maybe he isn't the most popular of the rodent family, but why not a Groundhog George or a Woodchuck Willie ~ he could have been just as well liked as Mickey Mouse, if only given the chance!

Groundhogs are also good genetic models for studying the human hepatitus B virus ~ I found that out here. The lovely illustrations I was able to find are from the New York Public Library Digital Collection.
At least the lowly groundhog has been given a day of honor ~ Hail to the Groundhog!

Six more weeks of winter for us ~ right about now I'm wishing I was a groundhog so I could hibernate until spring!