animalistic pleasures

Belief #109: Every guy should own an article of clothing with leopard print all over it.



I'm being completely serious, by the way.

thinking of diys

I feel a DIY coming soon. I've been flirting with some jewelry making and possibility of soldering, researching some materials, and collecting some vintage pieces for this project. I'm waiting for my plate to clear up a bit before I can jump into this project, but here are some hints and materials I'll be using:

plain silver cuff
+

vintage silver skull beads
&



vintage Kramer rhinestone earrings

In the meantime, I'll be researching soldering a bit more!

please-make-winter-go-by-faster retail therapy

Sometimes I have no idea why I live in Boston. Sometimes the cold is so unbearable that I think anyone who lives here, including myself, are just a bunch of masochists who believe full body parasthesia from just 5 minutes outside qualifies as a dandy good time. Sometimes Florida, Hawaii, or So-Cal sound like heavenly permanent vacations. But then I re-gain my senses and realize...I hate the sun, I probably will never understand tanning, and I only like beaches when they're blue and gloomy. So how does this Bostonian get through these winters? Coffee, scarves, hot tea, creative endeavors (indoors though), lots of food, great indoor lighting, fresh flowers, and RETAIL THERAPY. Today was a good day for the latter (-2 degrees outside today!).

Pour moi

Crazy fierce lace up and buckle riding boots

...Et pour mon petit ami

Crazy fierce Balenciaga fur trim military jacket

shoe in hand

I've never been too good with math, but even for the terribly number-challenged, this has got to be right: flat leather boots + leather foldover clutch =

Inventive, funky, fugly, whatever adjective you'd like to choose to describe this A'N'D Flat Heel Clutch, you can find it at Creatures of Comfort.

those boots

No. Just no.

Apparently, 'tis the season to be pinching wallets and living frugally. Here are some recent developments:

• Remember 16-year old Kira Plastinina's, daughter of Russian millionaire Sergei Plastinin, amibitious plans of opening several U.S. stores? Well, they're no more. Not only are a dozen of her U.S. stores in the process of closing, but the company's U.S. division is also filing for bankruptcy. In the meantime, be sure to check out the store's going-out-of-business 75% off clearance sale. Sunglasses for $2.50? At least they're not pink. [the Cut]

• Job cuts are hitting Condé Nast and CondéNet hard. Underperforming Details and Dominoes magazines are slated for cutbacks. Rumor has it that the company will reduce headcount and budget 5% each. [NowPublic]

• With couture season in Paris arriving in just a few weeks, how will these hard economic times make its impact? For starters, attendance levels at these shows appear shaky with planned no-shows from Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Glamour, Marie-Claire, and some uncertainty from Saks and Barneys. The question now: How will the couture shows themselves be affected this year around? [the Cut]