Gemstones and Hearts!

Valentine's Day is creeping up on us, and I'm still listing jewelry pieces with hearts. I have gemstone hearts I should use, but I've lately been involved with the lampwork hearts that you see here. My favorite necklace with a heart is probably the one (close-up is above) I made with lampwork beads from Lynn Nurge, genuine rubies, and goldfilled beads and charms. The rubies are a generous size, nice and chunky, and the goldfilled components match the flecks of gold in these dichroic beads. Instead of graduating rubies until they were smaller and smaller, or keeping them all large (and thus making a very expensive necklace), I decided to make the ruby part of the necklace like a "collar" and join it to large-linked goldfilled chain.This ruby necklace will be a great Valentine's Day present for someone.
I bought several of these silvery pink Venetian hearts because I was so taken by the colour, the light pink laced with such a clear silvery shimmer. I liked the heart so much that I decided to keep it the star by hanging it from pink suede and adding only a touch of silver and a little faceted amethyst rondelle to the bottom. This lampwork pendant necklace can be found on the same page as the lampwork pendant necklace seen below, another heart pendant, this time from Annie Divelbiss. It, too, is laced with silver; the colours are different tones of blue-purple, and it hangs from a pretty imprinted sterling silver chain from the Karen Hill Tribes of Thailand. I've left most of the chain so that the buyer can wear it about 27 inches or have it shortened to wear as a choker.

Today we had the first snow of the year - or I should say the season, since we had no snow either in December or November. It was a wet, sleety snow, just enough to make driving difficult for drivers who aren't used to driving on slick roads and give shivers to the rest of us. How wonderful it would be to have about 6 inches of soft, powdery snow to look beautiful for a day or so, then melt away. How can it be winter without any snow?



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Orient Express

Today I'm just skipping the introduction, because I have amazing pieces to show you, dear readers. This week's Goodwill Good Buys of the Week are incredibly beautiful and mischievously enigmatic. Generally I try to avoid posting about garments whose provenance is unknown, but I simply couldn't resist this gold silk cheongsam dress. I can tell from the stitching and incredible attention to detail that it was hand-made.

It might be vintage, but the fabric is in such excellent condition, it's impossible to say for sure. And the fabric! Oh, it's delicious. In a deep gold hue with gold, green, and red embroidery and lighter gold lining the entire garment, this dress is a sight to behold. It has a mandarin collar and fastens asymmetrically across the top of the body with a combination of buttons and snaps.

At the side seam there is a combination of hook-and-eye closures, buttons, and snaps that secure the dress almost all the way down to the side slit, of which there is one on each side. The left side slit has torn out just a bit, probably the result of overzealously showing off the beauty of the fabric! There are no tags or marking of any kind on the dress; just a dry cleaning slip pinned to the inside collar. I'll have complete measurements listed on eBay later today. I can only imagine where this dress has been and who has worn it...

As if one great cheongsam style dress wasn't enough, the second one is authentic vintage from Hawaii. The tag states "Lauhala, Style and Made in Hawaii" and marks the dress as a size 8. It is not a true cheongsam, in that the bottom half is a more forgiving a-line style than the traditional body hugging Chinese version.

This incarnation is also in 100% Polyester, which makes machine or hand washing an option, as the care tags explains. If it's been worn, it was only a handful of times. The extra button is still attached to the care tag!

This dress, too, features a mandarin collar, but instead has a v-neck that fastens with two self-fabric buttons. It fastens with a half-zip and hook-and-eye closure in the back. Additionally, the sleeves are a bit longer on this version, as is the dress itself overall. With the greens, blues, and deep reds of the fan print fabric, this dress would look amazing with a simple, flat pair of leather sandals (I'm thinking something like these) and a clutch for a night out.

Alternatively, you could jazz it up with a wide belt in black patent leather and go for some big ol' platform sandals, a la Madonna in her Geisha incarnation. Either way, you'll be cool, comfortable, and oh-so-stylish!

So, dear readers, I would be remiss in not mentioning a very sad passing on Sunday, that of Yves Saint Laurent. He was only 71, which seems really young to me, now that my grandparents are all nearing their 90th birthdays.

And I couldn't help but think of Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche's 2004 Fall RTW collection, which evoked the spirit of the cheongsam, as worn by Daria Werbowy, right. Ford owed much to Saint Laurent, just as Saint Laurent before him had learned from Dior and taken over the latter's house upon his death in 1958.

I'll have a full retrospective of Saint Laurent's tremendous impact on fashion - and how Stefano Pilati will continue that tradition - on Monday's blog.

For now, rest in peace, YSL, and thanks for all that you gave us. Your impact continues to be felt, even on the racks of Goodwill Retail Stores!





Any purchase made at a Goodwill Retail Store or on eBay funds Goodwill's mission of training and employment programs for people with disadvantages or disabilities.

Goodwill’s fashion blog provides detailed knowledge and insight on vintage and contemporary clothing and accessories that are valuable to fashion shoppers. The facts and opinions shared present readers with entertaining, exciting and value based information on vintage and contemporary fashion and shopping trends.

Fairytales get Accessorised

I always look forward to getting my regular emails from Przemek Sobocki informing me of his work because a) I genuinely am a fan of his work and b) it makes me happy that he's getting more and more page space. His latest work for Common Sense magazine spans 32 pages. Hefty stuff for an illustrator. Yes it is all SS08 stuff but it's still okay to indulge especially when the sales are beckoning (or have already started?) and some of this stuff might be in my grasp. Based on female fantasies, fairytales, heroines and fictional characters, Sobocki has created a bit of an eye-feast, using the expected and the unexpected...

So we have the familiar fairy tales... Little Red Riding Hood (Blugirl) // Princess and the Pea (Moschino)

We are bigging up the Disney... Pocahontas (Bottega Veneta) // Mulan (Fendi)

Films get a look-in with Dorothy from Wizard of Oz (Prada)

Modern characters also get some lovin'....Catwoman (Gucci)

Historical characters such as Cleopatra (Paula Ka) and Marie Antoinette (Lanvin)

Joan of Arc with a lot of Chanel sports gear

Then Sobocki goes a bit more specific with Audrey Hepburn characters like Princess Ann from Roman Holiday (Balenciaga) and Sabrina (Givenchy...naturally...)

It even goes a little obscure with Hiyao Miyazaki film characters like Mononoke (Nina Ricci) and Nausicaa (Diesel)

My favourite though is Ophelia (Miu Miu)...

and Thumbelina sitting beneath Sergio Rossi shoes...not because of Thumbelina but because the shoes are beauticious...

LiLo has Peter Pan Legs & Man Feet

Scrolldown!

..

..

These pants go way far too beyond skinny jeans. I barely recognize them as being denim (don't they kind of resemble a blue heather fleece?) And then we get to those sneakers. Lindsay looks like her feet belong on a teenaged boy. That ensemble is an insult to her fantastic patchwork handbag.

By the way, I was out of the fashion game for a while, and now cannot find this bag anywhere after a day's research - can you name it or the designer?

Cell Platter

Have a dozen (or two) sauces you want to taste? Suddenly, trying them out is practical with this organically inspired cell platter. Or just plate your dish a little differently with this unique serving dish.

$58 ; at MOMA Design Store.

Kiehl's Limited Editon Dopp Kit

Kiehl’s founding family member Aaron Morse had a passion for motorcycles which is why you’ll often-times find vintage motorcycles on display in Kiehls stores. So, it comes as no surprise that the beauty brand decided to partner with motorcycle designer Jesse James to design a one-of-a-kind motorcycle for Kiehl’s, as well as a Limited Edition Beauty Kit for men filled with James’ favorite grooming products.
Having a father, a brother, and a boyfriend who are all totally averse to fussy beauty products, I know how challenging it can be to get the men in our lives as excited about skincare as we are! That said, Kiehl's does a great job at making products that appeal to men -- simple, easy-to-use, and no finicky packaging. Which is why I can't wait to gift this kit to the important men in my life and have them pamper themselves a little too:)

This limited edition kit, which sells online and at Kiehl's stores, retails for $66.00 and contains --
-White Eagle Ultimate Brushless Shave Cream, 5 oz.
-Facial Fuel Energizing Moisture Treatment, 2.5 oz.
-Ultimate Man Scrub Bar, 7 oz
-Facial Fuel Energizing Face Wash, 8.4.oz.
-Ultimate Strength Hand Salve, 1 oz.

Little Yellow Bird

I was eating cereal on the porch this morning and I spotted a yellow bird trying to eat out of the hummingbird feeder. Whenever I see a yellow bird out in the yard, I think of this song - Angela Landsbury singing 'Goodbye Little Yellow Bird' in the Picture of Dorian Gray.