“Nestle – to snuggle and be cozy”

I really loved this outfit.  It was soft, cozy and comfortable.  I always find pale blue very calming, and I love how wonderfully it combined with brown and a pop of yellow.  It was the perfect thing for a busy, unpredictable day of work.

I know I keep saying this, but I’m trying to enjoy my winter items in the last few weeks that I’m able to.  Unfortunately, Florida tends to skip Spring and go straight into Summer, so even this was a bit too warm to wear by late afternoon.  Highs have been in the 70s this week, and I know that it will be even hotter in a few weeks.

At the same time, I’m happily embracing the transition to Spring.  The air feels fresh, the sun feels warm, and it’s so nice to let my toes breathe.  I didn’t realize just how much I love to go barefoot until this long cold spell we had here this winter.  I guess you don’t always appreciate what you have until you have to go without it for awhile.

What do you love best about this time of year, as Spring is fast approaching?

Tank: Old Navy
Cardigan: Anthropologie
Trousers: Worthington
Shoes: Dansko Sally (courtesy of Dansko)
Scarf: Anthropologie
Purse: Vintage (via Advintagous)

Quote: Fancy Nancy’s Favorite Fancy Words: From Accessories to Zany, by Jane O’Connor

The eShakti Woman Contest

You may remember the beautiful purple wrap dress from eShakti that I wore last week.  I really like this company.  The quality of what they sell seems to be very good, and I love how they offer customization options.  I wanted to let you know that they now have a contest going on that could let you win a $250 gift certificate to their store!  Here’s the details, from their site:

Who is the eShakti woman?  What does she do?  Is she under 30 or over?  What would you say about her lifestyle?  Her income?  Her educational level?   Most importantly, what kind of person is she in her head?  No answer can be wrong.  But some answers can be more right than others!

eShakti offers distinctive clothes for the full size range and also offers custom clothes which can also be custom-styled.

What kind of woman would shop at eShakti?  Where else would she be shopping as well?

Who do you think is The eShakti Woman?  Enter The eShakti Woman contest and tell us!

1. Who is the eShakti woman

(describe her in less than 25 words)

1. Mention three items of clothing on eShakti today that you feel best represent eShakti for you

(in 30 words or less, say why you chose these three)

Answer the two questions above and win up to $250!

One first prize of $250!

And 25 prizes of $50 each.

And everyone wins – every entrant gets a $10 Gift Certificate from eShakti (Only one per entrant please!)

And no need to purchase anything to enter the contest!

eShatki will choose the winners based on both the quality of thought and the relevance to eShakti.

Contest valid until March 31, 2010

For any queries, write to Jennifer@eShakti.com

Click here for Contest Entry Form

Disclosure: By posting this, I am also entered in a contest they are running for bloggers.

Etsy Love: Chainmail Jewelry

Mention the words, “chainmail jewelry”, and many will conjure up images of Renaissance Festival wear and halloween costumes.  But as it turns out, chainmail jewelry can be modern and chic.  Just check out some of these from Etsy:

Blue Fun Chainmail Flower Pendant    $24

Creations by Uli

Peacock Loops Bracelet  $25

Design Repose

Ripple Necklace  $54

Raine Studios

Spiderling Necklace  $55

Crescent Maille

Freeform Japanese Weave Necklace  $75

Dear Ange

Chainmaille Bracelet in Stainless Steel  $25

Stygian Chains

“In those green-pastured mountains”

After winning a free pair of We Love Colors tights, I was eager to put together an outfit incorporating them.  Because the tights are so bright and saturated, I decided to keep the rest of the outfit to simple black and white, with an additional touch of green in the necklace.

This outfit was a lot of fun to wear.  I admit, wearing the tights made me feel just a bit 80’s, but I think since the rest of the outfit was simple, they worked fine.  These tights are insanely awesome!  These are the nylon/microfiber tights, and I can see myself by many, many pairs.  They are thick, opaque, soft, and best of all, the waist-band fits but doesn’t feel constricting.  With 51 colors to choose from, what’s not to love?

What do you think of colored tights?  Are they just a passing trend, or are they here to stay?

Dress: Express
Cardigan: Ann Taylor LOFT
Belt: Anthropologie
Necklace: Pixisette
Bangles: Jill Popowich
Tights: We Love Colors, Scout Green
Boots: Dansko Risa (via eBay)

Quote: You’re Only Old Once! A Book for Obsolete Children, by Dr. Seuss

“Painting little pictures”

On Saturday, I went to the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts in downtown Tampa.  I always love to go every year.  It’s a great place to meet up with family and friends, enjoy the fresh air and see some art.  This year, it was held at the recently renovated Curtis Hixon Park.  There were so many fantastic places to take pictures, but somehow I got distracted and this was the only shoot I got of my outfit.  I decided to dress lightly and comfortably.  The weather has started to turn warm, and my cashmere cardigan was actually a bit too hot at times.  Still, I was comfy overall, and it was great to finally wear my Keen sandals again.

La Gran Arepa

One of the things I really look forward to at the Gasparilla Art show is the food.  I always get the same two things every year.  I start with an arepa, pictured above.  These amazingly delicious things are essentially fried corn bread pancakes with mozzarella.  So. fantastically. yummy.  After I walk around for a bit, I always get some ice cream.  They have a booth that takes a frozen ice cream bar (I chose cappuchino yogurt), dips it in melted chocolate, and then covers it with sprinkles, peanuts, or crushed oreos (I chose the later).  I didn’t manage to get a picture of the ice cream, because I started eating it immediately.

I honestly wasn’t that impressed with most of the art at the festival this year, but there were several booths that caught my eye.  One was a local artist, Nested Yellow.  They sell gorgeous, nature-inspired jewelry on Etsy and at Tampa Street Market locally.  I definitely plan on buying from them soon.  There was also The Piper Sandal Company, which is a family owned small business that has been hand-crafting leather sandals since 1971.  The sandals are gorgeous and made of high quality leather, and they will replace the leather straps for free when they wear out.  At $119, they’re a pretty good deal.  I also loved Marie Pierre Collection jewelry, which had some stunning silver cuffs.

Do you like to go to local arts festivals?  What is your favorite aspect?

Cardigan: J Crew (via eBay)
Tee: Gap (via Revolve)
Jeans: Express (altered by me)
Sandals: Keen
Bag: Angry, Young and Poor
Necklace: Garage Sale
Bangles: Jill Popowich

Quote: Anatole over Paris., by Eve Titus

“I enjoy them just the same”

Sometimes, a fallback combination with a few new elements makes for the perfect, last-minute outfit.  I’ve worn this sweater, pair of jeans and boots together before.  Last week, I mixed it up a bit by layering a gray graphic tee underneath, and adding pops of dark pink in my sakura necklace and ring.  This outfit was very comfy, but still put together enough for work.

The weather has started to hit a turning point, so I’m trying to get as much wear as possible out of my cashmere sweaters and leather boots.  Soon it will be too warm to wear them (except maybe in over air-conditioned offices).  I’ve already noticed my shopping and browsing habits shifting.  There’s not a lot of point in my buying any new sweaters or boots right now, when I won’t be able to wear them regularly again until October.  I know that a lot of the best sales on winter items happen right now, but on a budget as tight as mine, I prefer to buy things I can wear sooner rather than later.

Have you already started mentally shifting into Spring?  Do you tend to purchase items that you can wear in the current season, or do you go for the off-season deals?

Sweater: J Crew (via eBay)
Tee: Style & Co (via clothing swap)
Jeans: Express
Boots: Dansko Nena (via eBay)
Necklace: Jorgensen Studio
Ring: From my mom

Quote: The OK Book, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

How to Search Effectively on Etsy

Well, okay, if you want a million bucks, you probably won’t find it on Etsy (well, actually…).  But if you want a sterling silver necklace with a cat pendant, I can pretty much guarantee you there will be something.  Ditto for a purple vintage scarf.  But how do you find these items amidst the vast collection on Etsy?  That’s what this post is here to help you with.  While there’s no guarantee that you’ll always find exactly what you’re looking for on Etsy, these tips can help you come closer to what your little heart desires.

• Embrace Treasuries and Gift Guides: I love looking at treasuries, which consist of items handpicked by an Etsian based on a specific theme, much like my Etsy Love sets.  There is always a treasury displayed on the front page, with delightfully beautiful items.  I’ve found many of my favorite sellers through treasuries.  One thing I love doing is checking out the shop of an item that I’m drawn to in a treasury.  Gift Guides are another great place to look if you’re browsing.  Showcase is a daily set created by sellers, and another place to find some good stuff.
• Try Etsy’s Various Search Tools: Etsy has many search tools to offer you, although I’ve had varied success with them.  The Colors search lets you search for items by color, but it doesn’t often find what I’m looking for.  Instead, you might want to search for items tagged with a color, such as navy.  Pounce lets you find shops that just opened or items that just sold.  Shop Local lets you find shops in a specific city.  The Time Machine lets you see items as they’re being listed.  Sometimes, I love watching the time machine slowly scroll through new items while listening to podcasts.
• Browse through your favorites:  I am favoriting items on Etsy constantly, and I always have at least 30 pages of favorites at any given time.  I love browsing through them and looking at other items sold in the shops.  Often, you might find a gorgeous gem that you favorited months ago and had completely forgotten about.  Don’t forget to look back through your favorite sellers too.
• Use Advanced Search:  Being a library science graduate, I love advanced search tools.  Etsy’s is very effective.  You can choose between the categories of Handmade, Vintage, Supplies or all three.  You can choose what section of handmade items you want to search, from jewelry to needlecraft.  You can search by tags, titles, etc.  You can set price limits.  You can change how the items are sorted.
  • So here’s an example of how I would use advance search.  Let’s say I wanted to find a handknit purple scarf in merino wool.  In the search terms box, I will type “purple merino scarf”.  I’ll be searching for handmade items in the knitting category.  I want to search tags and titles.  I’m willing to pay between $1 and $60.  This will limit my results to items that fit within these parameters, and it will be much easier to look through than a general search for “purple scarf”.
• Be willing to spend some time browsing: When I create Etsy Love sets, I usually start out with a keyword search, such as “leather clutch” and then browse through 20 + pages of hits before finding what I’m looking for.  It can be a bit tiresome to look though so  many pages, but there are lots and lots of items on Etsy, and sometimes the best way to find what you really want is browsing through many, many pages of listings.  When browsing, look for quality images, because that is often the sign of a serious seller.

What’s your favorite search tip for Etsy?

Shopping Plan: Week 5

This week marked the beginning of a new month, which meant that I had another  $125 to spend for the month of March, in keeping with my Great Shopping Plan of 2010.  I didn’t really do much shopping this week, because work kept me extremely busy.  But I did manage to get a few lovely things.

Ruffled Socks: Ozone (via Village Shoes)  $5, after coupon
Tights: We Love Colors, scout green, won on Fashionable Academics

Gaps filled: um, legwear in fun colors?

Okay, these two really don’t relate to anything on my gaps list, but I love them none the less.  Village Shoes sent me a $10 coupon for my birthday last month.  I wasn’t ready to shell out for a pair of shoes yet, so I bought these awesome ruffled socks.  I love the pale pink-purple color, and I think they’ll be a lot of fun to wear.  I won the tights over at Fashionable Academics, and I think that I am now completely sold on We Love Colors.  These tights are soft, thick and beautifully saturated.  I adore the Scout Green color, and I can’t wait to incorporate them into an outfit.

Gap  Curvy Jeans, $52 after discount

Gap filled: Dark wash jeans hemmed for flats

I began to realize this week that I really, really needed to get a pair of dark wash jeans that I could hem for flats.   I always have trouble finding denim secondhand, so I decided to go to the mall.  Gap just recently starting carrying premium denim, and they have a fantastic promotion going on right now.  If you bring in a pair of old jeans, they will take them and recycle them into insulation, and give you 30% off a new pair of jeans.  For each pair you bring in, you get another 30% off.  I had an old pair that was not longer flattering on me, so I traded them in for these Gap Curvy jeans, which fit me fantastically.  I still have to hem them, but I’m so glad that I finally have some jeans for day when I don’t feel like wearing 3″ heels.

So I spent $57 this week, leaving me with $68 for the rest of the month.  I’ve still got some birthday money left too, so I don’t think it will be too bad.

Links à la Mode : Fashion Flashback

Fashion Flashback

Edited by Debutante
As fashion weeks starting winding down, some are looking forward to the next trend in fashion. This week, I was thrilled to see so many bloggers focusing on the past -the history of fashion. An obvious passion of mine, vintage fashion has never been so influential. fête à fête reviews a gorgeous collection of vintage inspired jewelry. Fabulous Finds narrates a 1950s styled romp through Palm Springs. Oranges and Apples shares inspiring vintage Life magazine images. In politics, if you don’t learn from history, you’re destined to repeat it. In fashion, if you don’t learn from history, you won’t know you are repeating it!

Links à la Mode : March 4th

• Bobbins and Bombshells – Fashionable History: Mary Quant
• Confessions of a Fashion Editor – Couture Cakes
• Dedicated Follower of Fashion – Spring/Summer Trends 2010 – The Tourist
• Dozen Dresses – DIY Skirt – The tutorial!
• dramatis personae – B&Lu 0 Gift Certificate Giveaway!
• Fabulous Finds Gal – Come With Me On A Sunny And Dreamy Retro Holiday In Palm Springs With The Photographer Bersa
• Fashion Pulse Daily – Marchesa Fall/Winter 2010
• Fasshonaburu – Who’s Who of Fashion Week
• fête à fête – Larkspur & Hawk’s vintage inspired jewelry
• Glossary – Please meet Paula and her pretty Pink Bow!
• hello beauty! – Bobbi Brown Spring 2010: Cabana Corals and Makeup Face Lift Collections (with video)
• JewelryWhore – Interview With Corvus Noir!
• Oranges and Apples – : Vintage fashion photo inspiration from the Life magazine archives
• Out Of Order – Bonnie & Clyde
• Prom Mafia – Betsey Johnson does DC
• Retro Chick – Estethica – Ethical Design Spotlight – Tara Starlet
• Stop Getting Low-balled As A Blogger | Independent Fashion Bloggers
• Superstylin – Total Fashion Dork Status
• The Fashion Planner – YouTube Beauty Gurus
• True Queen – One Dress That Will Take You From Work To Play in 3 Different Ways
• Tweed & tea – My name is Jacqui, and I am a perfume addict..
• ventures of jenn. – ode to the maxi
• White Rabbit – The Man Behind the Lens

Link Love: March 5, 2010

I wasn’t able to catch up on my blog-reading until yesterday, but I’m so glad that I did, because there was some awesome inspiration out in the blogosphere this week.

• I am in love with this minty green coat belonging to Joann of Sidewalk Chalk.  The color and the texture are so gorgeous and unexpected, and perfect for brightening up a chilly day.
• Struggling to be Stylish offers up some great tips for getting more time out of your day.
• Basse Mode, the upcoming magazine on what real women wear, has its own site now.  I’m extremely excited about this project; everyone should check it out.
• After seeing this post by Sally at Already Pretty, I’m convinced that I must start acquring tank dresses.
• Sarah Von of Yes and Yes decided to do everything different for a day.  This seems like such a fun way to get yourself out of a rut, and could be especially good for me after such a stressful week.
• There were so many beautiful dresses out there this week.  I love this one from Bird on Your Shirt, and this one from Sidewalk Chalk. Oh, and this one from Selective Potential and this one from The Coveted too!
• I am in love with this cape on The Sartorialist.  So impractical for Florida, but I want one all the same.