Pre-What?

So. Let's review. Spring, Summer (as in S/S), Fall and Winter (as in F/W), right? Hmm. Actually, it's more like S/S, Pre-Fall, F/W, Resort (comes out around December/January - theoretically, for those who are going somewhere sunny).

I've been trying to build the perfect, perfect pre-fall post for you over the weekend... but then I got completely side-tracked by Monday with the update of the pre-fall shows. Oh, my dear, dear Oscar de la Renta, you have captured my heart.

(Just remember, pre-fall comes out between summer and fall... filling in the odd gap during production periods.) It looks like we're pretty much sticking to old trends, revisiting them with nostalgic fervor. There's still a lot of men's wear love, trousers, earthy-jeweled tones, over-sized jackets... and a mix of different things from different designers. We'll visit other collections later this week but let's focus on this darling pre-fall collection. *Swoon.

Photo Courtesy: Style.com

"You have to make a woman fall in love with your clothes." - Oscar de la Renta on how to get people to buy luxury goods during the recession

(I'm in love.)

This collection is so, so lovely, it's driving me crazy. I've been pretty much thinking about this pre-fall collection since I first laid my eyes on it. Oh. My. Perfect peg-leg trousers, bright tweeds, coats & jackets (admittedly, everyone's favourite part of fall, right?).

The coat with the embellishments in the second set of pictures, in the middle, is gorgeous. I have a penchant for detailed cardigans. I think it has a lot to do with it's grandma-ish style and it feels sort of vintage*... I mean, c'mon, there's a lot of good things going on for beaded and/or appliqued sweater wear. Somehow, Mr. de la Renta, has combined 2 of my favourite things and made it into one (grandma styling + details = perfection).

By "pre-fall," that coat will be hanging in my closet.
By fall, that coat will be hanging on my shoulders. Or. However you'd describe someone wearing a coat.

*I'm not a big fan of treasure hunting at local thrift stores so most vintage-looking thing I own is either: faux-vintage or stolen from my grandmother's closet.

If I Were Superman, Shoes Would Be My Kryptonite.

I was going to tell you that I’m not addicted to shoes but then that would mean lying to you. Well, that and the fact that eventually there will be more posts about my shoe lust and you’ll eventually figure me out. So. Why lie?

I've never been good at the whole left-to-right, clockwise thing so I'm not going to torture you with it either.

1. Faryl Robin Imperial Flats*
2. F-Troupe Suede Flat with Structured Bow (aka the most perfect flat ever)
2b. Side view!
3. Manimal Suede Fringe Bootie
4. Hope Sly Shoe
*Yes, I know. I spelled it "F-a-r-l-y" instead of "F-a-r-y-l". But I had to remake this image more than once already... I'm sorry. I'm lazy.

Um. No. Don't be mistaken that these 4 pairs of shoes are all I'm jonesing for. My addiction reaches far and wide, from flats to sneakers to heels. Sometimes I secretly wish my feet were bigger so I can fit into men’s shoes. But that's a whole new blog post.

I heart you, solely.

In some alternate universe, Chie Mihara and I are best friends and she sends me a pair of her shoes every month to remind me that she loves me. Unfortunately, I don't live in that universe... In the one I currently reside in, I have to buy my own Chie's.

I watched an adorable video of Chie Mihara talking about her shoes, her design philosophy, and I think she's the cutest person ever.

"It's really a man's industry so I like to take a lot of good things about men's shoes and put them in the women's shoes cos I think we deserve it" - Chie Mihara.



Honestly, CM is like a super creative podiatrist. The anatomic foot bed she talks about in her video is amazing. It's like... your feet is cushioned by a cloud. I've hiked up and down small hills, walked around for hours in 4 inch CMs and everything is fine. My feet don't hurt and I don't feel like I have to kill anyone. Sometimes, after a long day of heels that hurt me, I am the grumpiest person you'll ever meet.



High Snobette has a preview of the CM S/S 2010 collection up - it has only made my obsession worse. I also saw a preview of the collection on the Bromley Group NYC's Youtube channel. CM is bringing in some new elements: a men's line (for the uber metro-sexual man - just my opinion) and a bridal collection. The girl in the spring/summer preview video is talking about shoes in this monotoned way that makes me want to kill myself. Seriously. Let me do it. I can do a much better job.

God Save Luella.

Image Courtesy: Fashionable Earth

Everyone and their grandma are trying to save Luella. Well. If their grandmas had Facebook and/or Twitter, that is.

Always Greener On Another Side (of the world).

I know it's actually only December and winter has barely begun to hit Vancouver in any significant way... I know this. I do. But my mind has been wandering and I've been outfitting myself for warmer, drier days (only in theory, not in practice). Is that wrong? Can you really fault a girl for dreaming of sunny days and wearing shoes made of suede with abandon (especially if she lives in Vancouver... where rain pours from the sky and mud puddles are everywhere).

Don't get me wrong. I love Vancouver and the many, many drear days we have. I like indoor times, tea-sipping, and silent reading breaks. I do. I really do. But then I think to myself: somewhere else, it's sunnier, it's drier, it's warmer (although, I don't fare well in the heat - so maybe that doesn't matter so much) and some other girl is wearing shorts and sandals. Somewhere else, some faraway land, maybe.

Wait. I said faraway, not magical and make-believe. Faraway like... Australia. Like New Zealand. Yes, that sounds about right.

Hmm. MINKPINK (from Australia) is definitely a Vancouver favourite thanks to Aritzia. But no, I'm not thinking about MINKPINK right now (seems like MP is stuck in the 80s this season - no, thanks). I'm trying to piece together outfits that are more girly, more whimsical, more laid-back. I have some favourites and I wasn't going to tell you about them because I'm terrible and I'm unwilling to share. But I'm trying to change.

(Technically, it's not S/S... it's more like A/W)
Photo Courtesy: Arabella Ramsay

I'll faithfully visit the Arabella Ramsay site every 2 (or so) months to see what's new. No one in Vancouver carries AR, so I have to keep myself current by visiting the site every so often. She manages to mix the girlie and the preppy perfectly. There's a touch of French-girl ease to the collection and you know, that's my latest obsession... pretending to be a French girl. Yup.

Photo Courtesy: Style.com

I won't lie. The first time I heard/read of Karen Walker, I giggled to myself... "hehe, Karen Walker" but quickly realized it was the Karen Walker of the fashion designing fame, not the KW of Will and Grace fame. Every season, she draws from unexpected bygone pop-culture (e.g., this season was inspired by The Prisoner) that I don't quite understand (I mean that in the best possible way). Upon reviewing the new season's looks, I thought to myself, "Oh. There's that straw hat again. That's just ridiculous or... is it cute?" And then, I look through the pictures a few days later and I'm still thinking about the hat. Days after that, I'm thinking, "I could really use a very tall straw hat. WHO COULDN'T?" So maybe I will go buy myself a straw hat.

Photo Courtesy: Ruby NZ

Ruby. Oh, Ruby. You had me at your current look book. You've come a long way from 2 seasons ago, I'll tell you that much. This season full of all things cute and delicate-but-not-too-delicate. In a perfect world, I'd be wearing the first outfit (look above)... typing this. But it's not a perfect world and it's still... raining outside.