6 Must-Have Spring & Early Summer Looks, 2009

Here are 6 looks I'm loving for Spring/Summer, based around my 6 favorite *dream shoes* right now [and named according to 6 songs that remind me of summer...can you guess the artists?]. What shoes have been catching your eye this season??

Mexican Moon by Nothing Elegant featuring French Connection clutches

Ice Cream by Nothing Elegant featuring Chloé heels

Black Snake Moan by Nothing Elegant featuring Sam Edelman heels

California Love by Nothing Elegant featuring See by Chloé shoulder bags

Girl from Ipanema by Nothing Elegant featuring Givenchy flat shoes

Borderline by Nothing Elegant featuring French Connection clothing

More Art for Poor Collectors

I recently discovered two new resources for inexpensive, original art prints. Little Paper Planes is an amazing online community of artists, and they offer prints by featured artists starting around $30. Check out their shop or their blog to stay updated on their stock. POVeditions is a curated limited editions project from POVevolving and they also feature art prints by up-and-coming artists starting in the $20 price range.

Now, I just need more wall space...

Artist: Alexis Mackenzie. POVeditions. I love her mix of Victorian women with natural/botanical motifs.

Artist: Justin Richel. Little Paper Planes. I adore his sweet food prints -- how lovely would these look in a kitchen or dining area?

Artist: Iris Schwarz. Little Paper Planes. Her simple, yet striking renditions of women seem to have a bit of a dark side.

Artist: Sarah McNeil. Little Paper Planes. Sarah's soft, lovely, dreamy prints are both sweet and strange.

New Items in the Etsy Shop: A Single Charm Vintage

It seems like I skipped Monday this week! I think from now on, I will just ignore all of my responsibilities on Monday...it makes the week so much more bearable! Despite my seeming absence, I have photographed and listed some more items in my Etsy shop [with many more to come this week!]. I finally purchased a dress form, too -- I named her Veronica, and she looks really great in everything, so she will be modeling for me regularly...here is her premiere:

Have a Diabolical Weekend...

I have the theme song from "Danger Diabolik" in my head today -- if you have seen this movie, you know what I mean. If you haven't seen it, and you don't mind a bit of tongue-in-cheek campiness, you really must check it out! It is sexy and funny, has great costumes, sets, and music...and the two leads [John Phillip Law and the gorgeous Marisa Mell] are adorable. Plus, there is a sexy scene with a rotating bed covered in money [yes, before 007].

Have a Diabolical weekend darlings!!!

Bookshelf Envy: Hogarth Press Book Covers

Below is a picture of the new addition to my apartment: new bookshelves... big, tall, wood, grown-up bookshelves! No more books piled around on the floor and on chairs for me! My boyfriend and I put these together over a two-day span, and it was quite possibly the most difficult thing we've ever done [we are horrible at instructions]. I shouldn't complain though, because I'm happy with how they've turned out, and now they will begin to fill up over the next year with books for our dissertation research...I will probably end up needing more shelves!

I kind of wish I could just fill the entire bookshelf with beautiful vintage books. I have to admit, I DO tend to judge books by their cover, and I've been known to buy pretty books, but then never bother to read what's inside...very bad for an English student! One exception to that bad habit would be getting my hands on an original copy of a Hogarth Press book. Hogarth Press was founded in 1917 and run by Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard Woolf from their home in England. The press is most famous for their publication of many works by members of the Bloomsbury Group, as well as original printings of many of Viginia's books. Several of the books' covers were designed by Woolf's sister Vanessa Bell, and they have such a wonderfully child-like, handmade quaility about them:

These would look just lovely on my new shelves!!

A New Spot to Spend All of Your Money: The Outnet

If you're a fan of the sales on Net-a-porter, then you're going to squeal with joy over their new venture: The Outnet. com. It features designer items at super-discounted sale prices, plus there are "flash-sales," which are short-term sales that offer even further discounts for a limited time. You can search by price, color, theme, trend, or designer. They have AMAZING dream dresses right now from 3.1 Phillip Lim, Chloe, Derek Lam, and Victor and Rolf [I can fantasize, right?], but they also have gorgeous options under or around $200 [which is definitely splurging for me!]. Here are a few of my favorites...

Tibi lace collar top. Originally $200, now $120.

Burberry skinny black pants. Originally $450, now $135.

Anna Sui bird print blouse. Was $293, now $146.

Christian Lacroix bow shoe boots. Originally $520, now $208.

Kenneth Jay Lane butterfly pendant. Originally $150, now $55.