Being a color fanatic myself, I particularly identify with how bright Miss Kate keeps her company. It is definitely one of her major trademarks, aside from the very clever spade logo.
Having chosen a career in the fashion industry has lent me to having the privilege of enjoying some very incredible collections. From school to industry publications to runway shows, I’ve seen my fair share of talented designers, up-and-coming and tried-and-true. While I can appreciate the more artistically inclined (think Jean Paul Gaultier or Alexander McQueen) I, personally, revere lifestyle designers. I uphold myself to a “livable” design standard and am in complete awe of people who have been able to build up their brands around a particular look and way of life. My top favorites are J.Crew (unsurprisingly), Ralph Lauren, Tory Burch and, the very colorful, Kate Spade.
All that being said, I had some time to kill yesterday so I spent part of my evening perusing my beloved Nordstrom.com looking for an iPad case. (I gave in and purchased it last weekend and am so glad I did!) My favorite one I found happened to be by Kate Spade which sent me on a whole new shopping tangent. Here is what I found:
1.) Composition Notebook.
As I said before, I gave in and finally purchased an iPad. I fully admit that my decision to get the iPad (over the Kindle Fire or Google Nexus) was heavily weighted on the style side of things. I mean, yeah, Apple products are easy and aesthetic — blah blah blah but they also have the most stylish accessories! Finding a case that is not only practical (one that actually protects my new toy and isn’t super bulky) but fashionable was very important to me. I have since settled on this particular case. It made me smirk when I saw it, making me reminisce of high school days, and I appreciated that it was simple in it’s design — a keeper for sure. (Complete with “This Belongs To…” and a red sharpie heart on the cover!)
2.) Grove Court Abela Shoulder BagAfter finalizing my new tech accessory, I hopped on over to the bag section. I’ve been in the market for a new one and, now with the added purse-content-necessity, the need for upgraded space is more prominent. I was drawn to this particular shoulder bag for several reasons: it’s a fun spring color in a supple-yet-sturdy textured leather, the medium size isn’t overwhelming for my frame and great for everyday use, the straps are long enough for me to single-armedly slide it onto my shoulder (I hate it when it catches on your elbow when you’re trying to put it on!) and, being the detail-oriented technical designer that I am, the polka dot interior design was the icing on the cake! Now to save up a pretty penny for this stunner since it’s a whopping $398.
3.) Terry Flat
Since I was on a roll, I thought, “Why stop at bags? What might I find over in shoes?” so, *click click click* I went — over to the wonderful world of women’s shoes. It wasn’t long before I laid my wondering eyes on these puppies (or, more appropriately, kitties!) I’ve said it before and I know I’ll say it again: Leopard goes with everything! Toss in a pink toe and you add that extra bit of flirty pop that any fabulous flat would walk to the ends of the earth for.
4.) Skyline Bracelet Watch
By this point, I realized I was on an undefined accessory hunt. I had covered the ground of tech accessories, bags and shoes but needed to look at one more section to fully cover my ground. I have always appreciated the concept of the watch and with me being perpetually ten minutes late, I like to at least look like I’m keeping track of time. I commandeered my first watch years ago from my mom’s jewelry chest (a Minnie Mouse watch my dad bought her when they first started dating — complete with delicately thin alligator strap) and have been on the search for eye catching timepieces ever since. I clicked across this pretty thing on my digital shopping trip and found that it has many of the qualities I like in female watches but, primarily, it very perfectly takes a masculine frame and feminizes it with hot pink polycarbonate and shiny polished gold.
By the time I discovered the watch, my time had been killed and so I went on my merry way to dinner.
On a parting note:
Seeing as I am now on a bag hunt, do you have any favorite designers/shapes/stores I should keep a lookout for??
& don’t forget…