a bit of moto, darling

Sadly, the Sergio Rossi heels have been returned. It was a bit of an ordeal and involved repeated craming of foot into shoe while crying and maybe uttering things like "christmas is ruined"-- think that may be enough said. The Loefflers are here to stay and I did successfully teeter around on those babies all day long.

Given the weather and the reality that I will likely wear boots for the next 3-4 months, I decided to purchase the Frye Engineer boots 12r in black. I have coveted these boots for some time now. I wear my brown riding boots constantly but I needed a black boot with a bit of edge and these seem to have a cult- like following with baby louis vuitton elephants. Very important.

I can think of at least 3 things I have which I can wear them with: jeans, black skinny pants and black/white mini. (New rule: Must own 3 things I can appropriately pair with item before purchase, courtesy Nina Garcia, The Style Strategy) The boots were sold out everywhere in black but I did manage to find them on the Frye website.

These boots will get me through the winter in a bit of style.

behavior unbecoming to a lady

The juicy couture velour tracksuit is forever associated in mind with the HMH (hot mess hangover). Having some experience with HMH but never owning said tracksuit, this association has been reinforced mainly by my sisters and friends. The defining moment which solidified the juicy tracksuit/HMH association occurred several years ago when my very good friend went MIA for several days following a particularly bad-- slightly drunken date (think how to lose a guy in 2.2 seconds). She rolled up to work for a minute looking like HMH in her brand new juicy suit, double parked her car in the middle of a loading zone and after recalling a few snippets from the date asked: So he's not going to call, right? Correct.

At any rate, I was thinking of this the day after Christmas when I realized I was in the midst of a baby HMH. Now, I just can not rock the juicy suit. Fortunately, this is the year of sweatpants re-visited. I am obsessed with these See by Chloé Harem Sweatpants. Could I wear these? Am I just drinking this season's kool aid? Perhaps, hoping these pants will turn me into Hannah McGibbon? Really, just not sure.

merry christmas

the last shopper...

The countdown for Christmas has begun and with two days left the desperation has set in to find the perfect bag for the wife/girlfriend/lady friend. I first see him breeze by my floor a few times-- making no eye contact with me. After a few paces through the department he approaches me: "I am looking for..." Let me stop you right here gentlemen: if you come to a Handbag department we already know what you are looking for. For a few minutes we engage in banter about his wife/ girlfriend where I quickly come to a realization that he knows nothing about his leading lady's style. In the end, we settle on a Burberry or a Coach-- a name he knows and feels safe with. While this customer leaves my floor feeling content, I am shaking in my ballet flats. Let's hope his lady and all the other ladies likes Nova Check or Signature Coach--if they don't this January paycheck is not financing my new present under the tree.

I have been a very good girl this year (debatable) and for Christmas I am feeling a little Chloe. For months I have been soul searching for the bag to fit my current needs-- casual and compact for running about the town and having a few drinks. Now, lets get this straight, I have two different styles-- one for work and one for play. My sisters don't understand this because it means I do double the shopping and have double the wardrobe. The Heliose Hobo in Ruby is the perfect play bag for any city girl who loves to shop the boutiques of Hanover Street (successful sale talk).

Let this be a lesson to you ladies: If you are lucky to have a man in your life buy you a Handbag, please for your own happiness choose the bag, email him the link, tell him where to get it, make sure he knows the price and send him my way!

the last shop girl

She is a shopping diva, goddess of all things bags related, and one very well dressed little lady. And after much cajoling she has agreed to post on a weekly basis for lady in the bean. She runs the handbag department of one of my favorite shops in the Boston area and she is amazing at spotting innovative and intelligent bags. The last shop girl will bring us an update from the floor on a weekly basis.

Really, she rocks the fanny and you know what I mean.

Talk about it.

just throw it in the bag

I am apparently late in the game. Very late. Last weekend I walked into Holiday on Charles Street and "discovered" my new obsession. It only took me like 3 years to "discover" this wonderful bag-- SJP carried it in the sex & the city movie and apparently it's been selling out at bendel for months. I was feeling a bit peeved with Erin for not pointing this out to me earlier, really, Erin. The beirn bags are made by mother/daughter team out of authentic watersnake (which according to the SA at Holiday are abundant and really who likes a watersnake) inspired by their travels through Indonesia. They are spectacular: colorful, metallic luster with an exotic edge. And they are very functional-- lightweight perfect for carrying all my items to and from work. The price I find to be reasonable for a bag this fabulous and functional-- the Jenna bag of which I covet is priced at $320-$350. I was very close to making a purchase but the color I wanted was snatched up by my friend and now that I know they carry an emerald green, I'm glad I waited. Seriously, they are perfect and they also do weekenders and shoes, check them out.

On a side note, I had not been to Holiday in years and I was VERY impressed with their stock.

gold, frankincense, and the pantsuit

I am a big supporter of thematic dressing. Today, for instance, I am feeling a bit edgy so am wearing my snakeskin dress. Keeping this in mind, imagine my distress when I found myself trimming our christmas tree in tragic leggings, sweatshirt and slippers. Very disappointed. In my mind, the perfect tree trimming outfit is a dark pantsuit, with a ruffle Edwardian like shirt, perhaps a painted broach and definitely includes hair slicked back in large velvet bow. Basically, I am Karl Lagerfeld. I dart around the room (which is strikingly similar to the drawing room in the opening act of the Nutcracker) placing ornaments on the tree. I feel very strongly about lights on tree-- they must be adequately nestled to give the appearance of a tree lighted from within. Nothing says cheap christmas trash more than lights perched precariously on the tips of branches. I digress.

This morning I decided to pick out my ideal tree trimming outfit-- with an effort targetted on updating my imaginary outfit. I start with black satin pants from Vanessa Bruno, to add a bit of practical sex appeal I add an Alexander Wang T and then for festivity a sequin tux jacket by Phillip Lim. And of course I must wear my new Loeffler Mary Jane's, they are here for good (see post below).

more than a pretty dress

Recently, Cintra Wilson of the NY Times biweekly "Critical Shopper" column found herself in a bit of a situation involving Penny, some obese mannequins and a few hundred irate readers. Putting the recent controversy aside, I find her to be fabulous. Cintra's writing on retail and fashion is insightful, witty and wait for it...critical. And her work is more meaningful because she does this as a quasi outsider. I read the recent interview in Elle with Cintra and wanted to deliver highlighted copies to several people. Before I start posting about fashion and the politics of gender, let's just say it deeply resonated with me and you should read it.

"I don’t see fashion as separate from the rest of society; it’s a very eloquent voice in the cultural dialogue and a really strong indicator of what direction the socio-politico-economic winds are blowing. All of our most immediate feelings about the world we live in are reflected in fashion, so yes, I do think it’s important."

gilded age

I took a wonderful trip to Newport, RI this weekend and visited Alva Vanderbilt Belmont's temple of the arts- Marble House. It is magnificent. I left Marble House house sure of two things 1) heels were created to walk on marble, that click-click imparts a sense of urgency and secrecy that I find highly appealing and 2) I would have been a fabulous Lady of Newport.

Consider the desired attributes: 1) She must create and uphold the image of beauty and opulence through management of house staff, 2) She must be the ultimate hostess-- throwing huge balls at which she will successfully arrange suitable matches for the girls in part to advance her own pedigree (Alva forced her daughter Consuelo into a love-less marriage that made her the Duchess of Marlborough) and 3) She must use her wealth to support social causes for the advancement of women (Alva was a supporter of the suffrage movement).

Really, I could do this. The only question is what to wear to the opening ball (of my summer "cottage" of course). Originally, my mind screamed ricci, ricci ricci dress but I was underwhelmed with the spring show. I need volume but done in a sleek and modern way--possibly not a dress. It just might be this Lanvin.

tis the season

Every Christmas I start off with the best intentions. Now I am not talking about gift giving-- I seem to have no issues in this area. Mostly I shop for the girls by asking them directly what they want/need and then either get that or something I think they want/need more. Done and done. MJP tends to require a bit more thought. This year it was actually really easy because he sent me emails with what he wanted and then we just went to Nordstrom and bought shoes, which brings me back to the main point of this post. The problem is me and my gifts-- specifically the gifts from my parents and MJP. Early on (say September) I begin to think about what I want for Christmas and I promise myself this will be the year when I tell my Mom and MJP-- I need nothing, surprise me... or maybe just a glossy book on fashion photography and a candle from Diptyque. Then November comes and inevitably I find that I desperately can not live without several items-- this year it's the sweater I will wear every day, a very tight bondage like black dress and some fabulous lady heels. I end up sending my Mom a detailed email with exactly what to get me, complete with a coupon code for said items. She doesn't really love this. MJP has no illusions of how this will all go down. He understands that I will likely a) buy my own present or b) drag him with me as I have him "pick-out" my Christmas present. Yes, I am a horrible and shallow wife but put that aside for a moment because somehow (Nordstrom, Nordstrom again and then Cusp) I have ended up with 3 Christmas presents! Clearly, this will not work for him. Now one of the purchases (sapphire Miss. Dior Pump-- which I got on sale) are just not going to work for me but I am really, really in love with the other two. The black Loeffler snap pump could go with so many, many things but I have been lusting over the Sergio Rossi for months.

float like a butterfly, sting like a bee

The options are endless.
Recently, I find myself thinking slightly inappropriate thoughts about the bootie. Do I go for tall, hot and sleek or am I better served with tough, sporty and fun? Perhaps, something square would be more practical. I am paralyzed by this decision and just can't seem to find the right bootie. I could go for two (one hot-- one tough) but that would inevitably get me less bootie. I am thinking these babies may be with us for a while.

An investment may be in order.