Coquette

Goodbye Kate?

FWD reports that Kate and Andy Spade, the creative team behind Kate Spade and Jack Spade, are stepping down -- he as CEO and she as head designer. Even though they will both be on the board still, I'm sad to see this amazing woman step back from designing. I got my first Kate Spade bag, you know the classic black nylon one, at her botique on Robertson Blvd in LA in the late 90's. You can also read more about Kate Spade from the Vogue article pictured above from August 2004.

These days, the brand covers almost everything under the sun from handbags to china. Here's some cute goodies available at Kate Spade that's worth a look at:

brookline small coal ($495)

montserrat small connolly ($465)

sydney jocelyn ($275)

gladys sunglasses ($195)

devon ($192 on sale)

gabrielle ($325)

Back from BlogHer in Chicago

I'm back from BlogHer in Chicago and just trying to catch up with everything today. A proper write up and all my photos will be going up soon. On the fashion front, I got to spend an evening with Project Runway Season 2 winner Chloe Dao of Lot 8 Saturday night. She was nice enough to let us ride in her limo from the conference party to the Omni Hotel where we had a bottle of champagne (oh la la!) to celebrate the end of the conference. Look for a Coquette interview with her soon. She's an inspiration and an amazing designer. I loved talking fashion and crafting with her!

If you're visiting now for the first time since I met you at the conference, I just wanted to say that I had so much fun meeting everyone and also speaking on the craft panel or as Amy calls us "The Panels". Here we are at the booksigning event (L to R): Leah Peterson, Amy Sedaris, myself, Kristin Roach and Kathy Cano Murillo. Please feel free to comment on here and add your blog link on here so I can check it out if I didn't get your card.

Read my BlogHer Highlights on the CRAFT Blog.

Web Snob Weekly Roundup

• Second City Style is gearing up for our favorite fashion season. First on the fall fashion radar? Femme-fatale for one and all.


• FabSugar brings us the edgy jewelry of Gemma Redux.


• You can be nicer to animals than Vick, and rock a boss Stella McCartney bag, says Kristopher.


• Time to go shopping! Fashiontribes picks the top 10 fall fashion must-haves.


• No need to pack away your favorite summer pieces once the temperature drops, StyleBakery.com tells us 10 summer pieces to wear into fall.


• Shop Fall trends with Bag Snob, 5 tips to update your Bag Wardrobe!


• Gotta Getaway: Stylehive says you gotta getaway to Rayavadee Hotel in Thailand, a luxury seaside resort flanked by majestic cliffs, beautiful white sands, and clear blue waters of the Andaman Sea.


• Nichelle at 55 Secret Street weighs in on the mystery and the magic of The Dominican Blowout.


• Does the amazing variety of "It" jeans have you all confused about what's right for you? Stiletto Jungle has a helpful video that spills the who - what - wear of 5 super hot, must-have denim styles.


• Bag Bliss reveals the war between Forever21 and Gwen’s Harajuku Purses.


• Beauty Snob- asks: Can you really walk your way to lean legs with the "Fit Flop"?


• Girlawhirl thinks Stella McCartney’s Glastonbury tank is the epitome of summer cool.


• LA-Story rocks the mod, edgy, "old-world" vibe of the hot jewelry from Soffer Ari.


• Those high waist jeans have well and truly comeback! My Fashion Life gives readers a heads up on how to win a pair from Earnest Sewn.


• New dress code rules at the White House piques Papierblog's interest.


• Just because it's hot it doesn't mean you can dress like a freak. Check-out SheFinds' Top Five Summer Fashion Pet Peeves


• Mariah and Beyoncé say "yes" to jewelry at the beach, but The Jewelry Weblog has to think twice about this fashion jewelry trend. Is it in or out?

Top It with Tunics

The loose-fitting tunic look for tops continues to the fall and I can't get enough of stripes + cashmere with this Joie Tunic ($220 at Neiman Marcus). It looks perfectly cozy to pair with jeans while you head out to your local cafe for a cup of coffee in the morning. Don't ask me why I am in the mood for Fall lately, as I'm about to leave tomorrow for hot Chicago. I think because in San Francisco, sweaters and tops like these are layering staples which you can practically wear all year round.

Here's more great tunics perfect for hot or cold weather, depending on where you are:

Vince Color-Block Top ($120 at Neiman Marcus)

Velvet Knit V Tunic ($54 on sale at Shopbop)

Theory Bain Tunic ($95 at Shopbop)

Catherine Malandrino Pointelle Tunic ($275 at Shopbop)

Marc by Marc Jacobs Wool Thermal Tunic ($198 at Shopbop)

The View from the Bay: How live TV can keep you on your toes

The reason it's been hard to post lately on Coquette is all the stuff that is happening in my day job. I promise when I'm back from Chicago after BlogHer things will be back to normal. Last Thursday, I went on the local Bay Area TV show, The View from the Bay to help promote the Stitch N' Pitch event at the SF Giants that is happening tonight. It was my third time on the show and in addition to showing off our recent entries from our Stitch N' Pitch Contest, I showed the hosts how to make fun drink cozies from felt that showed our SF Giants team spirit.

It was a lot of fun to get a chance to experience live TV again and this time, I learned how to improvise and "go with the flow". We realized in the beginning of our segment that one of the scarfs I had set up on the table, must have fallen off while a stage hand was moving it onto the set. Ah, good times. Inside my heart was racing and I had no idea how it was going to magically appear again. Thankfully the hosts, Spencer and Janelle are seasoned pros and just went for it. We had used the scarf in rehearsal and they didn't want to miss it from being on the show. Everyone thought that was fun/exciting while inside I had a mini-heart attack since i'm pretty anal about setting things up and got there early to strategically place everything correctly. But I learned you can't control everything, especially on live TV, and that everything works out in the end. Yay!


A huge thanks to the following people who sent me their contest entries to go on the TV show: Liecel Tverli Scully, Karen Agen, Janice Ogata, Katie Startzman, Christine Schwartz, Alicia Kachmar, Caitlin Walsh, and Barbara Bergsten. I have some fun behind the scenes pictures here on my Flickr. You can watch the video of segment online and see the how-to of the project I made on the show on our special page on craftzine.com. If you are coming tonight, please come by and say hi to myself and my colleagues Katie and Arwen while we are at the CRAFT magazine table.

Kris Nations Owl Pendant on Delight.com

My favorite jewelry designer and friend, Kris Nations has her Darling Owl Pendant is for sale on Delight.com for only $42. We've seen owls all over the place but Kris adds the classy and stylish touch to this icon with her 14K gold plate owl charm over a blue amazonite disc. The 14K gold plate chain is also adjustable from 16-19 inches.

Louis Vuitton iPhone Cases

Louis Vuitton seems to be the first luxury fashion house to roll with the pace of technology launching their new line of iPhone cases this week in four classic LV styles: monogram canvas, taiga leather, epi leather and alligator skin. The prices range for $225 for the monogram canvas or up to $1120 for the alligator skin. Right now, the cases are only available at the Louis Vuitton Fifth Avenue flagship store in Manhattan. Then later in October, they'll be available to the masses.

Source and Source

Web Snob Weekly Roundup

• FabSugar's trend alert is all over the classsic shirtdress.


• Fashiontribes suggests adding some Chanel-inspired spats add spice to summer's gladiator sandals, and later, on your fall booties.


• Stylehive Hive5: Whether your tot is the diva-in-a-diaper type or the king of the sandbox, we give you our top 5 celebrity baby fashion.


• Nichelle is up and running again at 55 Secret Street with a Q&A with Novelist Min Jin Lee.


• Kristopher Dukes shows you where to buy Victoria Beckham's sneaker wedges. And where to buy a bosser alt.


• Get the lux look of croc without breaking the bank with Miu Miu St. Cocca Bugatti from Bag Snob!


• Miracle product that makes even the highest heels comfy, or just a bunch of hype? Stiletto Jungle's Girl Talk Panel test drives Insolia-- the revolutionary, biomechanically engineered shoe insert-- and tells all.


• Bag Bliss doesn’t want you to forget about the Marc Jacobs Stam Purse and Apple iPhone Giveaway!!


• L'Oreal France is racist - Cosmetic Giant found guilty of racial discrimination in landmark case from Beauty Snob.


• Fall 07 fashion collage - Girlawhirl’s thoughts turn to fall fashion.


• Check out Haystack.com's satirical profile on Lindsay Lohan's first sober birthday with some jabs at other celebs in the tabloids suggests LA-Story.


• Looking for a lipgloss that does more than make your lips glossy? Check out the review of Rimmel Underground's new Light beam lipgloss at My Fashion Life.


• Papierblog interviews up and coming singer Leah Renee on her recent fashion shoot and her debut album.


• Don't miss Second City Style's snob's guide to shopping Overstock.com. Hey, we are not cheap, just savvy!


• Are Trapeze Dresses Hot or Not? SheFinds' Jen is not a fan....


• Not sure what to wear today? Check out StyleBakery.com's 8 Rules of Summer Style for tips on how to look cool when the temperature soars.


• Styleaholic Najwa Moses takes us on a photo journey right into the heart of Kelly Rowland's album launch party with Lifebeat!


• The Jewelry Weblog asks, What's black and white and fashionable all the time? Answer: silver, onyx, and white agate jewelry.


• eBeautyDaily talks Amy Winehouse beauty and demos how to make a gorgeous cat eye.

Vogue's Weekly Top 10 Best Dressed

Now each week on Style.com, Vogue's Alexandra Kotur does the top10 best dressed of the week. I love just getting a quick glance of what's happening in the fashion world and I am happy to see one of my favorite indie gals, Sofia Coppola as #1. She always manages to look different from the rest with her own style and presence. I love the red shoes!

Boots No7 "Miracle Serum" Comes to NY this Wed at CVS/pharmacy

I'm not one to push skincare products so much on this blog but I haven't stopped thinking about this Boots No7 Restore & Renew Serum that is now finally coming to the U.S. I caught a segment about this "miracle serum" on the Today show (you can see the video below) one morning and have been trying to get my hands on it ever since. I figure I'm probably still young enough in my mid-thirties to start a good skincare routine to avoid wrinkles, right? So far, UK Women have been standing in crazy long lines at Boots to get their hands on this affordable cream that actually starts to regenerate and perfect your skin. This same cream here in the U.S. is called "Restore & Renew" instead of "Protect & Perfect" in the UK -- not sure what they needed to change the name, but they are the same thing.

If you are lucky enough to be in NYC, on Wednesday July 18th head on over to CVS/pharmacy at 630 Lexington Ave (at 53rd Street) at 8am to pick up your own tube of No7 for only $21.99! There's a limit for only one tube per customer but hey, at $21.99 it's worth a try, no? Plus if you're one of the first 50 people in line, you'll get a free Boots gift bag (worth $50), filled with tons of beauty products!

The No7 Restore and Renew is also posted up for sale on their web site, but is currently not available until late July. So don't forget to check back later this month!

Here's a great video of the Today show segment I watched -- the "Fountain of Youth" in a bottle.