Coquette

Tout Le Laptop

I am constantly in search of cute laptop bags (and other gadget holding accessories) for the ladies. Why is everything out there so "heavy" and just seems way too techie... too MALE??? I'm surprised there aren't more brands out there creating cool hip things for us working women. Thankfully, I came across the Tote Le Monde web site, a company famous for its french-style plastic tote bags. I had no idea their product range was so much larger now and I found so many fresh new modern things. What caught my eye was the Geneva Computer Bag. A messenger style bag that had the cutest colors that just felt fresh to me as I imagined myself jetsetting across town to that important meeting. Nice leather straps and an adjustable laptop protector, all with an affordable price range was just my cup of tea. What I loved was this line in the description "When your ready to trade in your laptop bag for a baby bag, just switch the laptop protector for a diaper changing pad and your bag is all set to go. " Not that my clock is ticking or anything, but the thought that I'd have this laptop bag for long enough until I have a baby AND that I'd have the option to use it for a baby bag was kinda ingenious! I'm all about mulitpurpose.

For sure I am going to get the aptly named Hollywood Cell Phone Pouch. At 14 bucks it's a steal and you can clip it onto the zipper of your purse so that you aren't digging in your bag for your phone.

I also like the Phoenix Cases, a set of 3 nested bags that have a clear strip in the front so you can see the contents inside. I use cosmetic bags like these when I travel to hold my cellphone, digital camera, and all the respective chargers and accessories so I have everything in one place. Its amazing what these little bags can do besides hold makeup.

For a more luxe budget there's a new line of bags out from Marka. I caught a small article on the 2 women featured in this October's Lucky magazine. All the bags are really, really stylish for the sophisticated city girl. The color combinations are so beautiful and sleek. If I could get anything, I'd go for the Denyn Sleeve from the Fall/Winter 2005 Collection. It seems to be sturdy and you can put a lot of items in the case along with your laptop.

So there you have it. Lots of different options to carry around your tech gear without losing your girly-ness.

Keepin' Your Screens Pretty

I have been so busy that I didn't realize how drab my computer desktop was until I ventured onto Veer's site. Veer is a stock photography and illustration house and I happened upon their section of free desktop wallpaper. Decorating my screen now is "Grassiness" -- perhaps a yearning for some sunshine on a cloudy San Francisco day. There are plenty of designs available from simple color and typography to intricately layered pieces, most with a sense of whimsy and humor. The first one "Home Improvement" is cool with a sleek and subtle calendar for the month of September. Whatever your style is, I am sure after you see these pretty things, you'll never go back to the default screens provided on your Mac or PC.

I grabbed a few and made a folder for them called "Desktop". I placed it in my "Pictures" folder on my Mac. Then through the Apple Menu --> System Preferences --> Desktop & Screen Saver icon, I was able to choose the folder from which the desktop images could be pooled from and selected the image I wanted. I also took it up a notch by selecting the preference at the bottom to randomly rotate the images everyday for a nice surprise. Just a little something to make the workday more enjoyable.

A Cup of Coffee and NY Fashion Week

As Fashion Week is in full swing in New York, I couldn't miss the chance to check out all the Spring 2006 shows online. (Even though I still haven't finished reading my 100 lbs. Fall issue of Vogue.) Style.com has done a great job in the last year of having tons of content for fashion week coverage. Every morning a new list of yesterday's shows await me. This morning, as I sip my morning coffee listening to "Je Reviens" by Autour de Lucie on my iTunes, I proceed to the Marc Jacobs show, checking out what all the top fashion editors and celebrities in the audience have already seen the day before. Marc Jacobs is by far my favorite fashion designer, and I tend to get inspiration from him in terms of colors and textures that I use in my own digital design work. This spring collection is filled with rich colors -- cream, navy, red, grey and black, most with a silk or metalic sheen . The coats in his collection are simply flawless. If I could afford it, I'd probably get the dress and the coat pictured here.

If you can't even wait Getty Images Editorial has updates constantly during the day. What's great is that there are tons of photos of not just the runway show itself, but press events, set up, backstage, and what I like to call, the peeps in the seats. Fashion/Press shows like this Sony PSP Accessory Fashion Show which featured a runway show highlighting custom accessories made for the Sony PSP by top fashion designers. A glimpse of a model with a hot Sony PSP bag is pictured left.

It seems that every day there are new fashion blogs popping up and most are covering all things relating to fashion week. If you don't have time and could only check out one of them, my favorite is Blogdorf Goodman. First, props to her for having great style and a knack for editorial. She highlights the best outfits from the shows and also shows their vintage inspiration. Its not enough to get the full story of how Imitation of Christ is trying to bring back high-waisted jeans with actress Scarlett Johannsen vamping down the runway channelling Marilyn Monroe. Actually seeing the 50's B&W shot of Marilyn Monore in her high-waisted jeans next to Scarlett reminds us all that fashion is a circle where the past always comes back. Don't be afraid, high-waisted jeans could indeed become a reality in our closets in the near future! :)

Hot Off the Virtual Press

Not enough time in the day to read the newspaper? Want to find a more intuitive way to read the latest headlines? Marumushi's Newsmap lets you get a birds-eye view of the latest headlines fed through Google News. Top stories are portrayed in larger boxes and stories of lesser importance are in smaller, tiny boxes. Rollover the boxes to get the full headline and a quick glimpse at the first few lines. What's also great is that you can handpick which subjects are of interest to you (i.e. deselect the Sports news), as well as be able to see the latest and important headlines by country. Bookmark the site as your browser homepage and always be up to date on current events.

Tokyo-A-Gucci

So I know technically we should be talking about the new launches from Apple this week but quite frankly aside from the cute compact iPod Nano, the new iTunes mobile phone is quite a bore. Its Friday (almost the weekend, thankfully), and perhaps a fall shopping weekend lies ahead for you. Lets turn to the streets to see what’s trends are going on. That is, the streets of Tokyo…

I’ve always admired the hip coquette style of Japanese women. Not only are they savvy in the high-tech mobile world, they really do define their own notions of fashions sense. One trend that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon is the love Japanese women have for high-end designer handbags. From Louis Vuitton to Christian Dior, no ensemble is complete without a two thousand dollar bag. Hmm…is this why they are so petite and skinny? One recent Japan transplant noticed this and decided to explore this social phenomenon on the new blog Handbags and J-Girls. Who knew that handbags could fuel so much content and discussion just by observing a cultural obsession?

Custom Ease

If you want to take your knitting or your crochet projects to the next level, knitPro can let you add some personal touches through this online web application. Just upload a JPG of a pattern, image, type, or logo and instantly the application will generate a PDF graph that you can apply to your crafts project.

I tried it and its definitely simple. Using a simple JPG of the letter "C" for Coquette, I uploaded my file into the system. You’ll want to make sure your image is clear (if you have a pattern or image) and also less than 1MB in file size.

The resulting PDF is this graph aligned with numbers for easy calculation to bring into my knitting. (This is also super for making your own Needlepoint or Cross-Stitch canvas designs.)

Think about how fun it will be to design your own custom knitted iPod cases. Perfect, personalized fast Christmas gifts!

Note: If you are in need of yarn, this week at WEBS’s yarn.com site 10% of all purchases from now until Saturday, September 10th will go to the American Red Cross Hurricane Katrina Fund.

Next Stop, iPod

If you are like me, you always have your iPod handy for any situation, from long lines at the post office to crowded waiting rooms. Now, some great folks over at iPodSubwayMaps.com have done us all an extra favor of putting up maps to all the top subway/metro systems. From Paris, France to Boston, Mass, these maps will work with your iPod Photo or iPod Minis. Download the Milan, Italy map for your future vacation plans. Stay on track with the NYC metro map. The site is updated pretty consistently so new maps are always popping up.