POT OF GOLD – lulu’s sunshine set

I’m not a very beachy person until the sun starts to set and everyone goes home. Last summer, moseyman and I fell into a wonderful habit of coming home from a long day of work, throwing our bathing suits on and sprinting 10 minutes down to the beach before it got dark. Once there, we’d flop around in the Mediterranean Sea as the gold set behind us. I realized the other day that we hadn’t done it this summer yet and it’s certainly hot enough to! Perhaps this flirty sunshine set I discovered via fantastic blog, i am a greedy girl, will inspire us (and perhaps you also) to restart this summer trend! If this beach wear is cute enough to summon a spare hour for fun at the end of a week day, then it’s surely a pot of gold! Yeah, I know it’s only Monday but I’m confident I won’t find a better pot than this for the rest of the week.

Check out all my POTS OF GOLD

heart shatteringly good

Karen Walker’s S/S 09, “She’s Cracked” collection is absolutely fabulous! I especially love the shattered-like pieces of fabric on top of a clean and structured back drop. I mean,  I’m positively drooling as I type. Take note everyone, Maximillia is accepting pre-orders for parts of this collection now, which will be arriving in their shop next month.

pretty in print

Bloomies is carrying a huge quantity of beautiful, printed, summer, party dresses that seem perfect for an outdoor garden wedding. Here are just a few goodies from their selection.

mara hoffman

alice + olivia

bcbg maxazria

laundry by shelli segal

marc by marc jacobs

michael stars

see by chloe

nanette lepore

voom by joy han

bird takes flight

I’m really loving the new bunch that was brought in over at bird! I mean, just when you thought 3.1 Phillip Lim couldn’t get any better, he goes and bangs out another round of hits, filled with lemons, stars, ruffles and pleats. How can you go wrong with a set like that? And Mina Perhonen, who also likes stars, oh what sweet, sweet pieces of fun! Props to Katy Rodriguez… you really know how to do a batwing! And I can’t leave out Generra, who was once the 80’s brainchild behind Technicolor tees! Thank you for the summer tanks! Phew, I’m exhausted. Just take a look.

generra stripe tank

mina perhonen hiko-ki blouse

katy rodriguez batwing tee

phillip lim star tank

phillip lim tank dress

cut. it. out.

My friend in the States asked me if I would write a post covering hairstyles. Both she and I are getting a bit tired of our current looks and have been thinking about making the chop. I, myself, will most likely take it up around my chin, leaving my bangs as is. But, I will only allow my Brooklyn hairstylist at Skinnydip to do this to me, and since I’m not there yet my hair will have to wait. In the mean time, here are the hair cuts/colors/styles that I prefer. What’s your hairstyle at the moment and what do you think you’ll do next with it?

long brown and bangy, short bangy bobs, pixies, long blonde bangy

pill or pollock?

Once again, I feel as though I’m looking at beautiful paintings when browsing the Spring/Summer 09 collections. This time, they are the works of Cathy Pill. Her runway models look as though they were wrapped in chiffon, shipped off to the beach, rolled around in sand and splattered with paint and bleach. In a good way!  I love the light, airy, delicacy of the fabric but the seriousness of the images projected. Pill is a Belgian born newbie. She burst onto the scene three years ago in Paris and her works continuously reflect an Art Nouveau influence.

Shop Pill clothes on Browns.com.

jumelle’s my jam

Lately, I’ve been looking around, not for clothing, but for clothing inspiration. Since I’m jobless, I’ve been banging around on my sewing machine, creating a few key pieces for my own spring/summer wardrobe. Today I checked back on a shop I always liked, called Jumelle and was happy to come across their new “spring in bloom” selections. Here are my faves (I love that crazy belt and the casual, slingy shape of the marble romper).

brodee belt – heimstone (love that shirt too!)

pink lace leggings – future classics

house print tank – stine goya

marble romper – alexander wang

navajo shirt – jam jam

vendor shorts – rachel comey

FIELD TRIP PICKS ~ reserved for nature

So this weekend called for another breather from city life. This time we chose to drive a few hours north to a beautiful nature reserve. We brought the dog with us as usual, but were told once we got there that she wasn’t allowed to come on the trails with us. Feeling terrible about leaving her stuck in the car, we didn’t linger too long while we were there. But guilt aside, this was one of my favorite field trips we’ve taken so far. It wasn’t that the reserve was huge and empty of people, it was actually quite small and fairly populated. It was the weather that played a huge part in this great day. Dark clouds hovered over powerful sun rays which made for a dramatic back drop. Then after the clouds eventually burst, the colors were fantastic! Like after every great storm, the greens were greener, the yellows were yellower, etc… The highlight of the trip though, which turned us into a couple of gross camera happy tourists, was the herd of wild water buffalo, just roaming about oh 50 feet away. So… this week’s trip picks theme is “nature tourist nerd caught in rain storm.”

squirrel wood necklace need supply ~ katoh bag modcloth ~ frill umbrella topshop ~ unis jumper bird ~ fisheye camera urban outfitters ~ fendi rain boots bluefly.

Hi! Like the FIELD TRIP PICKS? Check out previous installments: field trip picks

top of the tops

I was fishing around for simple summer tops that are easy to throw on with whatever, because I’m lazy like that, and found 9 nifty nuggets of affordables. I shopped around the obvious, cheaper, but cooly sites. These are my faves: 80spurple, Modcloth, Urban Outfitters, Pixiemarket, ASOS and Topshop. I also scanned just a couple of the more expensive (top notch) shops because it sort of felt necessary: Frances May, Farfetch and Bird. I tried to keep them under $50 but couple of them went over. Sorry. Here are my picks:

waistcoat tee ASOS $46

pup FRANCIS MAY $58

s&n ruffle URBN $42

check top FCUK $88

gymnast FARFETCH $49

daisy chain 80SPURPRLE $32

zip tunic TOPSHOP $55

zip vest TOPSHOP $44

giraffe tee BIRD $45

Waistcoat tee (Ben Sherman) ASOS ~ Pup tee (Fox in Mociun) Francis May ~ S & N (silence and noise) ruffle Urban Outfitters ~ Check top FCUK ~ Gymnast tee Farfetch ~ Daisy chain tee 80spurple ~ Giraffe tee Bird ~ Zip tunic Topshop ~ Zip vest Topshop.

the nature of branquinho

Veronique Branquinho’s S/S 09 collection is a mastering of the luxurious, nature inspired, paperbag dress. This Belgian designer created a few beautiful summer looks with draping hooded fabric, that reminded me a bit of Bedouin wear… a look I’ve been more interested in since I just returned from the desert. But what I’m really fascinated with, are the pieces printed with nature murals.

The bottom row are my two favorites, which are available at farfetch.com. I love the detail of the front zipper and the canvas loop belt!