Lanvin for H&M

The big shopping bag is by far my favorite part of the collection. It's cute enough to cut out, frame, and hang on the wall.

Alber Elbaz's new limited collection for H&M  hit stores today amidst wild anticipation from fierce fashionistas all over the metro, and dare I say, the world. The curious thing about this is that I don't consider myself an avid follower of fashion, as I tend to be "French" in my choices—as in keeping key pieces in heavy rotation and purchasing trendy pick-uppers and wardrobe boosters every season or so—and, I'm not exactly a fan of either brand. Lanvin, for obvious practical reasons; H&M, because of how items in the store seem to have dwindled in quality and overall Wow! that was so ubiquitous and unique of the brand back in 2006. [Afterthought: Well, Lanvin is French after all. So maybe eventually, when I can afford couture et. al., I'd have a better appreciation for the brand.]

Promising. (And yes, you do get a hanger when you buy a piece from the limited edition line.)

At a brand identity seminar I'd attended at my old job, words that came up to describe the store were "low quality," "cheap," with the speaker brazenly declaring that if it weren't for China, H&M wouldn't even be possible. In recent years, the store has cultivated such a bad reputation as witnessed by run-of-the-mill frocks so close to being actual designer knockoffs...or at least that's what people in New York have been saying, more or less. I for one, used to really like the store, up until maybe 2007, when I noticed that the items were, indeed, not so great anymore, and had a "cheap" and "plastic" feel to them, especially with the accessories. Gone was that whole Swedish-Euro vibe that first drew me in when I initially got to know the store on my first trip to London and a succeeding trip to Milan (I still have and wear H&M accessories purchased from back then).

You also get a cute canvas garment bag with your purchase of a dress, or in my case, a t-shirt.
(Or, you can politely ask the cashier for one, which I did.)

By the looks of it, Elbaz's new line promises to bring back that sense of quality and quirky-but-accessible fashion it seems to have lost amidst the mass production and plasticky neon accessories. But then, by all means do not take my word for it; I am no official authority in fashhh...ion. Plus, walking to where the Lanvin pieces were, I caught a glimpse of the regular accessories section and things seem to be looking up. I may just go back for that ballet-slipper pink floral statement necklace.

All that said, I hadn't seriously planned on being at the store to witness the hooplah surrounding the Lanvin for H&M collection. Yet, I do have "fierce fashionista" friends—former/current fashion editors, fashion students, etc.—who keep track of these things, and as if by osmosis, I am easily and automatically updated because if it were entirely up to me, I would only concern myself with food and home-related accoutrements, such as Giada de Laurentiis's collection for Target, you know...those kinds of things.

The smaller paperbag for the smaller pieces in the collection.

So, this morning, I discovered how the folks at H&M figured out a way to manage excited crowds by issuing color-coded wristbands that corresponded to specific timeslots. You had to be there early to get a wristband, along with some freebies. Well, I wasn't there that early; my friend/cousin-in-law, Happy David, gave me an extra wristband, and I had about 10 minutes to look at everything by the time it was my turn. I'm not kidding, I'd barely browsed the merchandise—which by noon had dwindled to a skeletal few—when someone announced, "four minutes." I got a cute embellished t-shirt and that was it. I'd originally wanted the yellow dress my other friend Kat Dy blogged about here but upon closer inspection, it didn't feel worth the splurge (plus, I'm still technically jobhunting, so $199 for a dress is a major no-no at this point). The shirt was a reasonable $39.95, considering the whole Lanvin thing, the embellishments, and the handmade feel to it.

I didn't have time to admire this embellished tee at the store, but when I tried it on at home, I found it to be quite fab. It can be dressed up or down; worn both in cold and warm weather. Now, how to wash it...

A Surge of Splurge

When it comes to big-ticket purchases, handbags ever so rarely make the cut for me. I do own a Longchamp canvas tote that my husband (then boyfriend) got for me two years ago on our first official shopping trip...I say 'first' because at the time, we'd been together for four years and have never gone somewhere to "just shop" for items that do not necessarily fall under the "need" category.

Rebecca Minkoff M.A.B. Mini

This year, the closest I've come to actually forking over a decent amount of cash for a designer bag was when I had briefly considered a Rebecca Minkoff handbag, the Morning After Bag Mini in particular, a.k.a. the M.A.B. Mini back when I was still working at Avon. I first heard of the brand from one of the mark. interns who had actually met the New York-based designer. (Minkoff, by the way, also writes a cute blog, aptly named, Minkette: a streamlined space that also reminds me of Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop).

So, anyway, the special shopping session mentioned above is why my Longchamp tote is dear to me. But, Prada handbags, Marc Jacobs handbags...really, they don't mean much to me. And knockoffs are an obvious no-no. Maybe I would reconsider a Minkoff bag someday. (There's a cute yellow version over at Bluefly.com, and the classic black one at the designer's own shopping website.)


What I did spend money on today were prescription glasses by Vesterby Denmark. I just call them "Scandinavians" because that seemed to be the nickname du jour back at the optical shop. I had actually already stopped wearing my old glasses over the past year or so because last I had my eyes checked, they were fine. But over the last couple of days, I started getting headaches again. Hence, the random splurge.

I'm loving my new "Scandinavian" frames. And, they have a "Brooklyn" feel to them.

He got new frames too!

Circa 2004.

Hope

Earlier at mass, the priest talked about the emotion of hope—the kind that lets you and I say, "I hope I get that job," or "I hope I pass that class." That versus the virtue of hope, centered on the will; the kind that gets marathon runners to cross the finish line.

He told the story of the 350 people who heard mass three weeks ago on Halloween weekend, the Sunday of which was the feast of All Saints. What was striking, according to the priest, that this wasn't even an official holy day. Yet, these people heard mass in the only Catholic church... IN BAGHDAD.

Needless to say, armed men came in and killed more than 50 of them, including the three priests who celebrated the mass. More than 80 were wounded, and from Vatican came the Pope's plea to fly them via cargo plane to Rome to get these people proper medical care.

The following week, more than 600 people went back to hear mass.

Chidingly, the priest said (I paraphrase), "I don't know about you, but if I were in Baghdad, I wouldn't want to hear mass, or say mass. Clearly, the story above is a manifestation of the virtue hope."

It's this kind of hope that lets us live for something bigger than ourselves; that which gives us strength and perseverance to make it to our own finish lines.

More French Goodness

Over the summer I had picked up a copy of Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire by Mireille Guiliano, author of the best-selling French Women Don't Get Fat books (a cookbook version is now available).

Reading the first few chapters, I'd typed up some quotes on my desktop and I'd like to share them with you. I would also recommend getting the book since it packs in more notable insights from the author not included in this blog post. Cathie Black's Basic Black actually comes to mind, in terms of the kind of book one could go back to from time to time for sensible musings coming from experts and leading women in the field. Black is Hearst Magazine's former president and current chairman; and Guiliano is the former CEO of Cliquot Inc, under the prestigious LVMH umbrella. Guiliano has managed to make that mustard yellow champagne label so ubiquitous and the marker of fancy celebrations that it is now. And, in her business tome, Guiliano takes on a tongue-in-chic approach to women and the workplace, along with lifestyle advice you won't find in business books written by men. That,

p9 - 10
"So much for planning, in business or in life. Lesson learned. Things happen. Opportunities are often unpredictable."

p 23
"Yes, but with talent, hard work, and being in the right place you can help make your own luck. By my late twenties I had something of a vision of myself in some sort of management position that permitted me to eat at all the top restaurants on someone else's dollar."

p26
"Concluding such stages in life presents opportunities and invitations to relaunch or reinvigorate a career or professional life. They are also times when you can make your own luck or at least put yourself in a position to be receptive to "lucky breaks." So again, think opportunity. Whether these are sad or happy times emotionally, remember not to think failure. (Where does that get you, anyway?)"

p30
"...I believe that life is lived in episodes and stages, and it is clear that some passions can fade while new ones emerge over time. Indeed, our first loves and passions can be overrated and it would be unwise to pursue them. Others are pursued earnestly for a time, then discarded. C'est la vie."

p53
"Life's too short to worry about the past. And after a while, believe me, you can't even remember the details of the past that were once so consuming. Move on. We all have made mistakes or think we have; living is about the moment and the future. Look ahead."

Image courtesy of http://prettysavvy.ca.

Gadgeteering

My latest 'tech-quisitions.'

I am most inclined to leave the gadget-speak to former T3 Magazine EIC Vince Sales who now writes the blog, Third World Nerd. He also happens to be the husband of my very good friend Frances of Topaz Horizon and MORE (by that I mean author of two other popular blogs and EIC of entertainment mag, Ok!).

So, for you techies out there, the disclaimer for this post is simply, you won't find technical specifications here; Google and Amazon would be better for that.

Anyway, the two above are my latest 'tech-quisitions': a Nokia C5-00—a gift from my husband who knows me too well to not have gotten me a QWERTY phone, as I am old school that way—and a Western Digital My Passport Essential Ultra-portable Hard Drive, Robot Limited Edition (isn't it so cute?).

Two things:

1) If you regularly read this blog, you'd know that I'm not once to switch up or buy gadgets very frequently. But, since my Acer netbook has been with me for close to two years now (time flies!) I've started to get that nagging feeling to back up. Up until today, I've never owned an external hard drive, unless you'd count my old iPod, the one with the black-and-white screen. The Western Digital My Passport 'Robot' actually feels like a wider white iPod. Again, very cute. It's plug-and-play meaning I have to get used to not manually dragging and dropping files for back up.

2) I've had the same Nokia 6300 phone (photo here) since 2007—it still works great, is mega-sturdy, and reliable. Hence, it will be a little bit of a challenge to transition to the new C5-00, as I've come to rely on my 6300 for many things, which includes cooking and baking (for the countdown timer), notes (for blog ideas), calculating, etc. It will now house my Smart SIM card for roaming. That's all for now. I wanted to write about an aborted iPad purchase, but the details are kind of boring, so I'll save the iPad talk until I actually own one; which, by the looks of it, won't be until January.

Cute little things.