Fashion Friday: Skirts/Dresses with Pockets

Being the practical girl that I am, I think dresses and skirts with pockets are just brilliant.  I am certainly not the first girl to think this, and I hope I won't be the last.  

Pockets on skirts and dresses instantly take the edge off a piece of clothing, they have a way of making themselves incredibly useful, they make your handbag optional, and you look extra jaunty swinging down the street with your hands in them!

These examples prove that practicality need not be dowdy.  What's not to love?


and...
  • Pockets on dresses used to be common, a thing of necessity.  At what point did someone decide to do away with pockets on dresses?

Roster Update: Jena

My name is Jena, and I plan to write here. I confess that I funnel all of my web research powers into finding new and interesting design things. My future home will look like it's inhabited by both Sherlock Holmes and Dieter from Sprockets.

I'm so happy to be contributing! Hooray!

Fashion Friday: Whatever happened to World According to Jess?

Yes, more bags.  I remember this label being huge about 5-7 years ago, though I can't recall where I first heard of it.  Back then, there were a few pieces in her line I thought were adorable, fun and playful, but a bit too much to pay for vinyl.  Curious, I checked back to see if she had anything new going on.

I was surprised to see that there were pretty much no new items added in the last few years, and every item is on sale.  When I saw the prices though, I was shocked.  $30 for what used to be a $200 weekend bag?  You can bet I'm going to snap me up a couple, but more than that, I wonder what ever happened to the designer.  Did she give up?  Move on?  Decide to focus on being a new mommy? Why didn't she ever release new designs? 

So mysterious.  Anyway, there aren't many left - check them out on the World According to Jess website.

Dilemmas: Never spent more than $35 on a purse...is now the time to start?

I probably need a more grown-up bag.  The one I've been carrying with the cracked handles is, how you say, ghetto.  I've been on the lookout (i.e. gilt.com) for something in the $100 - $300 range that I can use daily, but nothing's really caught my eye, or if it did, then I didn't get to it in time or I was never sure if it was the one.

I feel pretty strongly against the mass-market so-called "luxury" brands (e.g. Coach) and so began poking around etsy.com - clicked "buy," chose the bag category and typed in "leather" as a search.  It returned some 314 pages and I just spent two hours going through about 200 of those pages.  Who knew there were so many talented leather artists?  I like the idea of a) supporting artisans and b) having someting somewhat personalized.  I culled the best of my favorites here.  Yeah, I can't decide.

Hot or Not? Expensive Designer Jellies

I can't quite decide if Tory Burch et al has created the most brilliant-nostalgic throwback to our little-girl days of carefree sunshine and outdoor frolicking, or if it should join the ranks of absurdly unnecessary things designed with one thing in mind: to rob us blind.

I'm guessing the latter.  Who out there's gonna pay $90 for plastic shoes, however cute (and some of them really aren't)?

Feeling a bit of consumer's guilt (already!)

I don't know if any of you partook in the insanity that was Gilt Groupe's final sale (parts 1 and 2), but I got suckered in.  Yup.  I was so thrilled to have something to actually put in my shopping cart that I just went ahead and bought it: a strapless black floral silk jersey dress by Shoshanna.  Original price: $340.  Sale price: $78.  Price I paid after the credit I had in my account: $40.  

A great price, I know, but then I saw that tomorrow they are having a final accessories sale, and it's a handbag that I really need to replace the $35 Guess minibag I have that has a strap that is cracking.  I could have applied my credit to that, so I feel guilty for buying something I really don't need and probably won't wear until the next wedding.

I didn't have the presence of mind to capture a picture of the dress, but it's in the print below, along w/ another strapless Shoshanna dress of a similar shape.

Dilemmas: Which boot/shoe should I buy?

I've been eyeing these Frye boots since they first appeared on the Urban Outfitters site last fall.  Now they are on major sale. (Hooray!) Question is, do I get the Ava Button boots or the Adrienne lace-ups (and if those, then in brown or in plum?).  I threw a pair of "fancy" Uggs and Charlotte Ronson's black booties for comparison.  I also like the Miss Sixty black flats and white Via Spiga sandals but probably won't get them.