As I'm typing this blog, which was intended to be about today's shopping adventure, I'm having trouble keeping my mind focused to just that, as the UFC 109 countdown is on. As always, my interests collide, but hey mixture is good.
First a roundup of today...
After taking C. to the airport today, I headed to the rock climbing gym in attempts to get back into shape, as I've gotten a bit pudgier. The gym was overrun with screaming kids and parents, so after only 4 walls and a couple weak attempts at bouldering, me and E. packed up shop and decided we'd head to the mall to give her closet an facelift.
Bloomingdales was having it's seasonal blowout sales where you could take an additional 50% off sale items. Lots of great deals but no good finds. The one shoe I wanted, was this pointed toe Guess Clinta flat, with stud details. Usually I'd avoid Guess altogether because honestly I feel like their shoes are shoddily made, but these were at such a low price, I figured if they fell apart, I wouldn't feel bad. Sadly there was a left 6.5 shoe and a sz 7 right shoe. Not meant to be.
After Bloomies we headed over to Hermes, where I picked up an early vday gift. <3
One of the things I always ask to set first before helping to style any friend is their budget, a realistic one at that and the most they are willing to pay for any specific item. I had found some cute Cole Haan and DKNY bags for E. after establishing that she's a hobo person, but they all ranged from the $375+ range, she was hoping to stay under $300. I have to say that although my concept of what is expensive may be skewed based on things I'm willing to pay for, I'm always mindful and respect that some looks can be achieved for less as well. That's when I brought her into Henri Bendel, the colorful connoisseur of accessories. I've heard of Henri Bendel and have seen the signature brown stripes occasionally around on various things but words cannot describe my excitement of having this color bursting store in San Diego. With only 11 stores open, it's nice to love something that isn't absolutely saturated in the market yet.
Ever since my trip to the Goyard store in San Francisco a few years back, I've written about this love for the St. Honore clutch many many times. But with the price tag of $4000 (probably more now), I can't quite justify the purchase, despite my admiration for the quality and adoration of the fact that it's a trunk made into a purse.
The Henri Bendel box clutch was met by me with utter excitement! Although it's entirely different than the St. Honore trunk clutch, I do love the print, shape and girth of the chain. I stood playing with it for quite sometime figuring out what to do with the long heavy chain if I wasn't going to wear it as a crossbody, but didn't want to limit myself by removing the chain.
After a few trials and errors, the quickest and most fashionably amicable solution was to drape the chain over the handle when not in use. It gives an edgy look, while allowing the chain to still serve an accenting purpose. This bag is definitely not for those that prefer function over fashion or for something to wear everyday, but as an avid accessory lover, I love all things unique, gaudy and even a bit peculiar.
I'm such a sucker for beautiful packaging, dustbags, boxes and bags! There was no way that I was going to leave the store without a new scarf. Aside from being silk, having quality colors/printing, some of the other things I look for in a scarf is that they are hand stitched and hand rolled.
I was in an ongoing battle between this signature brown scarf and the new limited edition izak city scape scarf. Both have something utterly charming about them, but in the end I said no to the bold colors in favor of this chocolate colored medley one. I don't have a lack of colors when it comes to scarves, so it was nice to pick up something classic muted. Scarves are definitely my favorite accessory.
In other news, I'm utterly shocked that the personalization on my wallet only took two days, and once received, the gold letters spelling my name put a little smile on my face. It was about time that I finally got another wallet, as I've used the older one to the point of wear, tear and broken zipper pulls.
So after a lengthy rundown, I think I've given myself quite the collection of graduation and congrats on the job presents. Me and E had a conversation that my love for scarves is like her love for wallets in which I said "changing purses is cumbersome enough, I can't imagine moving receipts, money, cards, papers, and etc between wallets."
I'm almost done sorting through the black hole of my closet and will post soon the items I found that I can't believe I bought, forgot I owned and etc. some of my favorite jeans still include a pair of 7s that I got on sale for $50 and a pair from Gap for $10 :D I'm not all about fancy shmancy, just what works, fits good, feels good and makes me smile.
Enjoy your saturday night, I'm off to shotgun zombies on Steam.