My Crush on Frances May, Continued: Silky Blouses from Vena Cava, Dusen Dusen, and Shabd

I'm on a silk blouse kick and once again, Frances May has come to my rescue. I should really just move to Portland already. With all the amazing shopping to be had there, it would surely lead to my financial ruin, so I think I'm actually safer in NYC, where I can only afford to window shop.

I adore the cutout detail on Vena Cava's Sinew Blouse. Features include a button-off collar, elastic cinch waist, and a tiny puff sleeve. $310.

I am in love with the beautiful print on Dusen Dusen's Storm Tee. The boxy shape is great for contrasting with a body-hugging pencil skirt (and it's also the most affordable of the three). $125.

The perfect dye job: Shabd's simply stunning Solaris Blouse. $310.

Photos: www.francesmay.com

From Rachel Comey Cardigans to Viva Vena Dresses, Frances May's Got the Goods

I can't get enough of Portland boutique Frances May these days. Their Fall 2010 picks are all so covetable that I'm glad I live a safe 3,000 miles away, lest I be tempted to stop in and try on these lovely wares. Some pieces I've been eyeing from afar:

Viva Vena by Vena Cava Paper Knife Dress, $187.

Rachel Comey Reversible Cardigan. Perhaps a justifiable expense, considering you get two in one. Black Ostrich on one side, Camel on the other. $364.

Love these Surface to Air Desert Grey Bat Wedges (on sale for $231 but alas, only available in a 41).

Photos: www.francesmay.com

All the Right Trimmings: More Capes from Vena Cava and Chris + Jamie

After three consecutive weekends away from New York, I'm eagerly looking forward to getting back into the groove of things. Despite deceptively warm days, there's an unmistakable chill in the air come sundown, and as depressing as it is to know what's coming, the one thing that perks me up is fall clothes. That, and the promise of hot chocolate to warm my insides as all around me turns to ice.

I like to start building my fall wardrobe with jackets, and as I'm particularly keen on finding a cape this year, I stumbled across a couple of chic jacket-cape hybrids:

There are so many good things going on in this leather trim capelet by Chris and Jamie: from the dusty peach-rose hue to the stand-up collar, plaid lining to leather piping, and a perfectly placed zip in front for when you need a little more mobility with your hands. $178 @ Le Train Bleu.

Vena Cava's Battening Cape is the perfect partner for an autumn forest walk, featuring a shawl collar, roomy hood,  leather piping (loving all this leather piping!), and skinny leather belt. $622 @FrancesMay. Sigh. A girl can dream . . . or save.

Photos:
1-2) www.letrainbleu.com
3-5) www.francesmay.com

New York Fashion Week Fall 2010: Vena Cava

The Vena Cava ladies make me swoon season after season, and their Fall 2010 collection is no exception. I think I want every single coat that paraded down their runway today, and there were several knockout ensembles I wouldn't mind taking home. Inspired by a fall weekend spent in Woodstock, Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock's pieces very much called to mind a mysterious, fashion-forward city girl who shows up as a stranger in a sleepy town and wakes it right up.

Some favorites:

 

 

  

  

 

Photos: style.com

A Tale of Two Dresses: Vena Cava Favorites

When I first moved to NYC in early 2007, Sophie Buhai of Vena Cava was nice enough to sit down over drinks with me one cold, wintry evening at Brooklyn Social to offer me advice about working in the fashion industry. She happened to be the sister of a friend of my friend Andrew, who e-introduced us and asked her if she could help me out. The fact that she took time out of her busy schedule to listen to a confused, rambling total stranger and was as sweet as can be only magnified my love for the label tenfold. Each season, there's always at least one piece I covet with every fiber of my being. These days my heart is all aflutter over two dresses from the Resort 2010 Collection. I can only pick one and have been going back and forth over it.

Mandinka Dress, $225 @ La Garconne.

Maasai Dress, $495 @ La Garconne.

I love them both, so it's really about different kinds of gratification: Instant if I choose the former, or delayed if I save and pony up for the latter.

Photo credit: www.lagarconne.com

Sunday Linkage: Gorgeous Filmspiration, Stylish Teenagers, Adorable Yogurt, and 70’s Chick Flicks

In which we take a break from shopping to gaze at pretty pictures and read about things that caught my fancy this week.

This weekend I saw and fell in love with An Education, in which Jenny, a plain sixteen-year-old, is transformed from Oxford-bound cellist at an all-girls prepatory to enviably chic girl about town, zipping around 60’s London in Peter Sarsgaard’s beautiful red Bristol and keeping company with a crew of fun-loving, fast-living, art-world dilettantes. The gorgeous period wardrobe filled me with want for everything from the decidedly unsexy school uniforms to très Parisienne cocktail dresses and coats that would make Holly Golightly weak in the knees. The interiors, covered in wallpapers that would’ve faded into loveliness by now, were positively swoonworthy. From the kitchen to the classroom, I loved it all. The acting is spot-on, with Sarsgaard’s rakishness and practiced seduction playing beautifully to Carey Mulligan‘s adolescent naivete. Rosamund Pike is delightful as a pretty but dim gadabout, convinced that academia will turn Jenny into an ugly troll, and Emma Thompson is perfect as Jenny’s tough, unempathetic headmistress.  Skip the melodramatic trailer -- the film is a lot more subtle than the preview implies -- and do download the soundtrack (Mel Tormé’s "Comin’ Home Baby" is my fave). Some stills:

 

 

 

Speaking of precocious adolescents, Dakota Fanning looks all grown up in her recent Teen Vogue editorial. Refinery29 has the scoop. Having already played muse for Marc Jacobs, the child star, now 15, is the fashion world’s latest debutante. With her delicate, still child-like face, wan complexion, transparent blue eyes, and slender limbs, I can see her gracing the pages of many a glossy.  While she looks lovely and is fully entitled to age as a normal human being, I find it a bit worrisome. Will she go the way of fallen teen actresses before her or take the Emma Watson road to likable, preternaturally chic co-ed? As intrigued as I am by her foray into the fashion world, I’m more interested in her choice of film roles. I’m hoping her career trajectory more closely resembles that of Natalie Portman than LiLo.

She's playing a cougar, already?

That's more like it.

I can’t believe I only just discovered yogurt, so late in life. My morning routine now involves La Yogurt’s strawberry flavored goodness, of which I am a steadfast consumer, but I’d be willing to switch over to this just for the lovely packaging. Via {frolic!}:

Has anyone else noticed that the Vena Cava girls have great film recs on their blog? Add these to your Netflix queue, stat.

P.S. - Yes, I’m aware that Sunday was yesterday, but I choose to view the delay as a sign of a good weekend.

Photo credit:
1-4) www.sonypictures.com
5 & 6) www.teenvogue.com

7) www.elseachelsea.typepad.com/frolic