Purple Reign

I think that purple is going to be huge for fall (at least, I hope purple is huge for fall), so I just posted all my purple vintage finds on eBay (look for blue tomorrow). In the spirit of relentless capitalism, I'm sharing my favorite purple piece with you:

The color is really much better than you'd guess from the picture--it's sort of a warm plum. Long live the 70's! Check out the rest of my auctions here if you're interested, and, of course, if you have any friends who need adorable vintage. . . you know where to refer them! What can I say? I'm a college student.

Breaking free of backpacks

After years of imprisonment by heavy bags (this is less of an exaggeration than you'd think--in seventh grade, there were a few times when I had so much homework, all for classes with ridiculously large textbooks, that I couldn't make it three blocks home without sitting down. I broke three backpacks that year), I am FINALLY, in the fall, entering into a practical coursework program (unfortunately, just for the semester), and I'm hoping and praying and actually pretty sure that all I'm going to need with me at any given time is a notebook and a pencil (and possibly a copy of To The Actor--God, I love that book). So, what does this mean for my style? I'm no longer tied to backpacks that are made out of industrial-strength plastic-coated nylon, complete with zippers made out of reinforced steel so that they can carry 40 lbs. of books. For the first time, I won't have to look like a bag lady with a backpack that could hold multiple bodies as well as my purse! Of course, I don't have any purses that could hold a notebook (I like small), so this means that I have to do some shopping (oh, damn. . .). Since I'm going to be ordering some tops and earrings from them anyway, Urban Outfitters was my first stop:

I love, love, love the color of the first one, and the bow is sweet without being too precious. I'm attracted to the second one because it would go with a lot of stuff, and it's nicely simple. Readers know that Delia*s is my friend, so I checked them out, too:

Again, I like the simplicity of the first one. I think the clean lines look very sophisticated. The second is just plain cute, but I'm afraid that it wouldn't hold quite as much as I'd need it to. I don't normally buy clothing on Amazon, but I wanted to see a lot of tote bags at once, so I decided to check them out, too:

I like the first bag because it's easy and it would hold a lot. It's a simple design, but the print makes it interesting. The second one is definitely much busier, but I there are so many colors in the print, plus, the base color is so neutral, that I think it would hold quite a lot. Finding a Loop Design bag made me think to go check out KarmaLoop, too:

I was way impressed with their selection, and I ADORE the Andy Warhol tote. I think it's absolutely delightful, but I'm not sure how much of my wardrobe it would match easily (I'm a big fan of cool tones). The second, I chose for abnormally practical reasons: it'd be hard to get dirty (by which I mean that the dirty wouldn't show), and it'd hold a lot. Still, it's cute.

Decision time. Opinions are welcome!

Quick Update

Even though it makes me miss Paris so much that it hurts, I've added Face Hunter to my link list. It is, as the first sentence implies, a street style site in Paris. Check it out!

Pretty!

And discounted!

Dresses on Bluefly.com are discounted an 15% until Wednesday. Sweet succor! This one's by Nicole Miller, down from $375 to $191.25. Still out of my budget, but that's juts because I'd rather have some cute Built by Wendy tops for fall. Still, people who have opportunities to dress up in their lives (jealousy) should jump on this.

A little shameless self-promotion

Aaaaand. . . I'm an eBay seller! Don't worry, I'm not going to start using the blog just as a way to promote myself (but I'm not going to resist a little shameless self-promotion either. . .), I still have quite a lot to say about fashion. Still, it's been fun trolling my hometown for vintage treasure, and I've found a LOT to sell (though there's a slight problem in that I want to keep it all). Because I'm picky, spacy, fussy, and forgetful, it took me quite a long time to get items up and listed, but after much retooling of item descriptions and whining to my father, two items are up and ready to sell, and quite a few more will be ready to go tomorrow. I chose these two because I love them both, and they'd go really well together for fall, too.


Don't you think that'd be a cute outfit? I think they're adorable together, but damn, I want to keep those pumps. They're grey and they have shoe clips and they show toe cleavage and I adore them, but I really don't need pumps for fall. Still, if they don't sell within the week, I'm going to take it as a sign and keep them. I mean, come on, vintage shoe clips!

If anyone out there in readerland wants to see details, here is the link for the dress, and here is the link for the shoes. Feel free to drop me an email and let me know what you think!

Remember that poll that you thought I forgot about?

Yeah. So, I've decided that I will try my hand at selling vintage clothing on eBay, because I really do find a lot of vintage in fine quality when I'm here in the midwest. Might as well put it out there! Plus, I no longer reallky have storage space for more clothing for myself. Pictures and links to follow, but in the meantime, one more question:

Should La Principessa foray into men's vintage as well?
	Naw. There's no market for it, and no evidence that you have good taste in men's clothes either.
	Yeah. Share the love!
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Many thanks for the opinions. All I have are dresses right now, but stay tuned!

Urban Revival

For the past week, Urban Outfitters' website has refused to load on my computer. I finally had a stroke of genius and reset the router (I have NO idea why it worked, or even why I thought to do it--I'm not exactly tech-savvy), and I was so relieved when the website started loading again that I kind of wanted to cry. Ok, that's an exaggeration, but I am planning on doing a fair amount of my fall shopping from Urban, so I was pretty relieved. I don't know if it was just the relief, but when the website started working again, everything looked better than ever! I've always liked Urban Outfitters, but this fall's picks quite seriously just looked sublime, and in general, far more expensive than everything actually is. It's strange, because as far as I know, their profits are down, but I think their merch is looking better than ever. Of course everyone knows I'm a shoe junkie, and I must say that their selection is luminous as always:

The jeans from their in-house Lux line look posh:

Thanks to global warming, I'm actually really looking forward to needing jackets again, especially when they're this cute:

Same goes for sweaters--I'm loving the slouchy, forgiving fit:

And in general, there are just tons of really sweet, cute pieces:

I wish I had more money.

It would have been better if the theatre wasn't out of peanut butter M&Ms

Dear Fashion Blog,

I saw The Devil Wears Prada tonight. I was not blown away by the fashion. What does this mean? Am I unstylish? Am I unable to appreciate the subtle brilliance of head-to-toe designer looks? Oh God, Fashion Blog, I'm really worried now. Like, I'm so proud of myself for picking up on the fact that Runway is Vogue and Jaqueline is Carine Roitfeld and Nigel is maybe Andre Leon Talley and if Runway is Vogue and Vogue is the most powerful fashion magazine and I found the fashion in the film kind of unexciting and uninspired, am I not cool? But then, it's just like, why were all the outfits so damn boring? Thank God I have you, Fashion Blog. I know you won't tell anyone.

-La Principessa

P. S. At least the movie was better than the book.

Jumping on the bandwagon

. . . I love Marc by Marc Jacobs watches, too! Once again, well done Marc!

Who called it for fall?

If you ask me, the designers with the most foresight (or sway) in the last round of shows were Marc Jacobs (both lines), Miu Miu, and Balenciaga.

Balenciaga's modest shapes and equestrian details are getting so overplayed that I'm guessing the most staying power will lie with Marc Jacobs' revisited grunge looks and Miu Miu's slouchy knits and sky-high heels.


Go figure that I'm about to cave and buy my first pair of skinny jeans.

Still, with such floaty tops, I should get some wear out of them.

So then, maybe I should have some faith in the staying power of platforms. . .

Naw. I really do like these.

Twice the Fun

I've already given my opinion on fall catalogues, so you probably don't want to hear more, but that's too bad because it's my blog. Until the Urban Outfitters catalogue comes, Delia*s and Anthropologie are definitely my favorites. They both have a surprising amount of grace for such a low, unexciting rung of shopping (though God knows I'd rather sit at home with my catalogues than go to a mall), and even more surprisingly, they have some similarities. Obviously, they're devoted to two entirely different age groups, and two even more different income groups, but some of their looks are refreshingly alike. They're both pushing blouson tops:

Delia*s: $29; Anthropologie: $128
And some gorgeous jumpers:

Delia*s: $40; Anthropologie: $198
There's no shortage of printed tees:

Delia*s: $24; Anthropologie: $88
And you can't have enough rich-toned boots for fall:

Delia*s: $79; Anthropologie: $598

Obviously, Delia*s is always the better buy, and in the case of the t-shirts, I actually think that the Delia*s one is just plain better. There's no contest between the jumpers; the Anthropologie one is pure elegance, while Delia*s take is a little kitschy. I'm still going for the Delia*s one though, A) because I'm too sick to make money and B) because I have no idea how long jumpers are going to be a la mode, and C) it's still really cute!

I'm sure there's a quality difference, but for the price difference, the pieces are surprisingly similar in cuteness.

American Apparel has done it again

Sexy, sexy, sexy. Check out the back on that dress! I don't care that it's unapologetically 90's. I love it. I'm not going to link it because American Apparel is on my links list, and if you can't float your mouse three inches to the right, then you're LAZY, but you should all buy it. 'Cause yeah, it's that sexy.

Warm Welcome

Everyone should check out the newest addition to What I Wore's link list, Says the Asian Leprechaun. Expect fashion and witticisms enough to tide you over while I'm too busy to blog because I'm sleeping because I have mono. Yeah. Seriously, check her out, she's caustically funny, and probably a hell of a lot more honest than I am.

A shot at redemption

It's never gonna be as good as Paris. Still, I would feel a lot better about what's become of my summer if I had an occasion to wear this dress:

Decision making has never been my forte. Like, for real.

Ok. I've reconsidered (because lying on the couch with mono gives you a lot of time to consider things) and I've come to the conclusion that platforms won't quite have the trend longevity of wedges (even if Manolo doesn't like them), and I'm going to go with these cute Mary-jane wedges from Delia*s instead of either pair of Target platforms.

Unless I change my mind again sometime within the next ten minutes. It's not unlikely.

The first wave of fall catalogues

. . . is here. Since, courtesy of mono, I'm back in the midwest for the summer (why, universe, why?), catalogues and the internet will once again be playing a big role in my fall shopping. Of course, I did spend way too much money in Paris, but a lot of what I found will have to be layered or just worn when it's hot, which leaves me with a few necessities (or so I'll tell my parents) yet to find. My first reactions to the catalogues are:

Anthropologie: Lovely as always. Perfect color palette. Perfect realisation of an elegant, uncluttered-but-slightly-kitschy look. My ideal version of sophistication, if I was ready to be ideally sophisticated.

La Redoute: Plain, but well cut and good for the money. Same as always.

Swell: A few standout pieces amongst things that are mostly directed to only one demographic. Same as always.

Delia*s: As usual, there are some surprisingly sophisticated and stylish pieces in this teen-oriented catalogue. Everything is a good buy. I've been getting this catalogue since sixth grade (gasp!) and I'm not planning on stopping any time soon.

Now for the fun part. Here are the best things from each catalogue. Of course my opinion is correct.

Anthropologie: I couldn't pick just one. Both the hoodie and the dress are les meillures.


La Redoute: This sweater is sophisticated and sexy. It reminds me of Vanessa Bruno.

Swell: Their Hurley Movement jeans look a lot more expensive than they are, and I think it's tough to do skinny jeans well in light colors. Unfortunately, they have yet to get a picture up online, so you're gonna have to take my word for this one. Or not. Your choice.

Delias: Another tough choice. The top is lovely and relaxed, and these shoes could either be a $3.99 Goodwill score, or a $399 Loeffler Randall-esque pair, but they're not! They're Delia*s!


You didn't think I wouldn't leave you links, did you? Sweater dress, hoodie, sweater, crewneck, ballet flats.

Clothing to match my mood (and, ok, my style)

It's convenient for me to say that I love Eventide because my summer has been ruined and it's so gothy, but to be entirely honest and un-dramatic, I'm pretty damn sure I'd love it anyway. Eventide is a young line of beautiful, simple, Edwardian-yet-perfectly-modern pieces, and their style (think high hems, babydoll dresses, and wide sleeves) is quite seriously right up my alley. I love classic but quirky, conservative but sexy, dark but beautiful, and all the other contradictions that I probably overdiscuss. Plus, it's amazingly bold and honest of the designers, Christian Stroble and Sarah Spratt to outrightly share that their look was influenced by the fact that they ". . . were so depressed after Bush won reeclection that we couldn't think of working with bright, happy colors." (quoted from Elle) I love it! Well, unhappy as I was too over the reelection, I must say, they work awfully well in black.