Stylish with Substance

This Prada Straw Tote screams not only fun summer color, but "shape, shape, shape!" The pocket alignment, the angles, the wide buckled strap, and the cute heart-esque top curve all mark this bag top-notch in design.

Additionally, the sizable straw body (10 1/5"H x 13"W x 5 1/10"D) makes it the perfect upscale bag to bring on picnics and trips to the beach.

It all makes it the best bag for this summer, and now it's marked way down to just under $800, from $1,140!

It's the Summer Solstice, and I'm away on vacation. No posts this week other than this one, so enjoy, I hope.

Celebrate the summer by going out in sandals, tanks & capris. But be careful and wary of the sun's harmful rays. Afraid of bare white legs, but more afraid of wrinkles or even cancer? Sunless tanning lotion is seriously the only way to go. My preference is an even, subtle tan that gets gradually darker. It's just like a natural tan, but completely safe. Try Coppertone's Endless Summer Sunless Tanning Gradual Tan Moisturizing Lotion.

Now that I have my camera phone,
I can show you great products that are only available in-store and can't even be found in a jpeg on the web. Express is one great brand that has quality clothes - even handbags! - but has a bare-minimum-gallery-only website. One can't even view the handbags on its online presence.
Tsk Tsk.

My camera - and thus this post - came late, Express's Spring collection stock is dwindling, as Summer officially approaches, and their big sale is booming. But now you'll know to check out the soft leather bags and luxe evening clutches. So fabu!

The bags shown are the matching (how nifty) brown paisley tote and clutch. Click the image for a larger view in the same window.

I got a new cell phone (more details below), so I was searching for a cover. You'd be surprised by what is available. It's not all tacky or hot pink, well, it's mostly tacky.

But I really like the look, maybe not the infringement, of designer print faceplates. The manufacturers have Louis Vuitton down pat. (There are also really bad Coach imitations, and I saw one "Gucci" cell phone case.) They come in rainbow or pretty brown/pink, but the styles vary for each phone.

They cost about $12 online, but if you pay $20 at a mall, the person working can quickly "slap" the cover on for you, which might be worth it, but there are also, of course, less colors available. I had to settle for dark purple, instead of maybe a light, shiny one. I wanted my cover quickly, since I'm traveling this week.

If you want to browse cell phone covers, search Froogle; replace my phone type with your own brand and number, or just try designer cell phone cover or case. Better yet, try eBay.

Here's my cell phone. It's a Motorola V551 with a purple faceplate and battery cover. The wallpaper I downloaded, "Shoe Therapy," is next to its picture. (My ring tone is "Linus and Lucy.")

It's a flip/camera phone with many other neat features, but I won't brag any further. I am obsessed with my shiny new gadget, it's sad.

Unless your father is gay (oh, how lucky you would be!!), your dad definitely needs some sprucing up and grooming this Father's Day. Mine? I noticed a gaping hole in his loafer when he came home from a casual, yet social event. Mon dieu! O, presque faible! Oiii!!!

Excuse me, I'm back. K & G Superstore has great fashions for men at reasonable prices, far lower than fine department stores, but the style is still upscale. They only have a peek of their merchandise online, but one can see the quality.

Locate a store near you, then rush out! We can't miss the opportunity to turn our dear olds into dashing kings.

So, Michael Jackson was acquitted. Doesn't your poor mind need time to let that sink in? No, I'm sure we'd rather not think about it. There's definitely something wrong with him, no matter what the truth really is. For a while, I proclaimed he was an alien. That nose is not human.

Something has seriously changed in him since his "Bad" days. Can you believe Peter-Pan-Wannabe even sang that song? No, I can't.

It's as if whatever damages his skin got to his brain and melted portions away, leaving him a defenseless pup of a man. This poor person has been damaged by something. He wears strange navy-type suits (as in a General on a ship). Now he wears pajamas out in public! There's nothing worse than that ... oh, yeah, and he has some kind of strange relations with young children in his bed. That's bad, too.

...

I kid! I kid! We are a fashion blog, so I focus on the fashion crime. Seriously, adults touching the children is heinous. I watch SVU.

Jessica Simpson shows off just how wholesome she is in her new video, "These Boots were Made for Walkin'." Her values include giving men a girly show while serving booze, punching pervs who smack her hot-pant-clad ass, and bringing people together to line dance after barroom brawls! She has high fashion guidelines, too, such as not gettin' clothes wet while washing her car (she wears a bikini, duh!), but keeping her
heels on at all times, because she's still got to
look hot!

(Big TSK to getting the shoes wet, though. Then there's the sheer gratuitousness of the sexy scene in which she doesn't wear the titular boots.)

I'm sure her small-town fans are so proud.

Bottom line, all jokes aside, cowboy boots, even hot red ones with high heels, have a chunky, unfortunate shape, and are not modern chic.

A woman needs fabulous shoes, oh yes, whether she knows it or not. Some women embody this more than others, the heel fiend is one. She stands for her right to wear heels to and back, there and fro. She fights and walks through the pain in her toes.

Other women have the issue of not being able to afford great shoes. Some women are so unfortunate, that they would cringe at paying but $60 for a pair of quite necessary shoes.

I know, I know. But I do also know a few women such as these.

Heel lovers and flat safety-girls alike, though, should all be able to get a hold of at least one pair of Manolos. Blahniks embody everything in a quality shoe. (Just read my past entries.)

If only life were like Sex and the City; every woman would be strong in her single-hood, find a guy in the end, and retain her girl power. Every woman would have a tight-nit group of fabulous friends, which is equally important. But there is a secret behind the show's appeal to females everywhere, each character is dressed head to toe in designer apparel, in each episode. No, it's not just Carrie, even in Manolos!

But it was Carrie who had a devotion to the designer, more than any other shoe maker, and it was that character who had an obsession with fashion, and focused on it more than the other girls, more than marriage, sex, babies, and even the necessities in life, like rent. (Bah.) I am a Carrie.

Many women are Carries, and when the series was in the middle of running, she brought the designer Manolo Blahnik into the spotlight. Today, he is the most famous shoe designer, not just because of the media, but for obvious good reason. Quality. Precious Style. Teetering Heels. And Timelessness.

The Manolo is a Super Fantastic fashion journalist, I say. But in his shop of apparel, etc. featuring his well-known expressions, he attempts to sell very un-fantastic, plain manila, ill-shaped tote bags. They feature sayings like, "Manolo Says, Manolo Loves the Shoes! Super Fantastic!" I am sorry to The Manolo, I love The Manolo! but I want to point this out to the public, for he is treading (uphill) against my world of fashionable handbags.

I partially blame the Café Press. Just look at the floating look of the text on the back image. At least the self-design-and-sell service doesn't offer shoes with text or images on them.

Sometimes, we like to show our obsessive love for bags and shoes on our apparel and accessories. (I've even created my own product line based around that! LaFashionista t*s.) Illustrated purses on our handbags might just be too much (as in too much print or cutesy). And in these bags, note the too little design in shape. But a handbag or a pump on a t-shirt is a great way to dress up when dressed down!

This Purse Print Novelty Tee by Liz Claiborne is adorable and so accurate, saying "addict."

This top is available in Misses and Petites and just went on sale for $23.99!