Vintage Coach bags

Lately I have been up at all hours trolling ebay for vintage Coach bags, some the same ones I used to covet as a pre-teen. I still remember pouring over the Coach catalog and wondering: why does every style come in British tan? Well, now is the time for them again apparently. I've seen them around on some hipsters but didn't think it was a for-everyone kind of look. Now it seems less vintage hipster and just plain hip '90s throwback. Not to mention the Made-in-the-USA construction and the matte finish leather.

So how funny that A Cup of Jo (one of my favorite blogs, by the way, and a friend of a friend) ran a feature today on how to style a winter hat where the girl is walking around NYC with a tiny vintage Coach bag in none other than British Tan.

It's a sign that I must have one of these in my life! Or at the very least, go through my mother's closet to find the old ones I know she has stashed in there. (Thanks for being a packrat, Mom!)

the binocular bag

the lunchbox bag

Red Wayfarers

Diane Kruger seen in Red Wayfarers over the weekend in Cabo and last week arriving in France. Normally I go for basic black or tortoise in sunglasses or even a nice white but I surprised myself by loving these red Ray-Bans on Diane Kruger. I mean, she looks good in nearly everything but these would be a nice pop of color even in the winter months. Or on a beach getaway....

street style: Kirsten Dunst in London

Kiki was spotted in London on Sunday night walking around with bf Garrett Hedlund. What a great look she had going on. Long, navy peacoat (now I'm on the hunt for one this length), skintight black jeans, leather Isabel Marant Dicker boots, burgundy beret and completed with a LV Sofia Coppola bag in oxblood, the color of the season.

End of an era: Ghesquiere leaves Balenciaga

Amidst all the other news of this eventful week, Nicolas Ghesquiere announced he is leaving Balenciaga after 15 years with the brand. Memories spring to mind of a party at the Hudson hotel in NYC, lusting after one of those bags in 2001 and of course the clothes, the clothes, the clothes. I have so many favorite collections: the bubble dresses, the drummer boy hats, the naval collection and have shown a few below. The announcement of his departure this past week coincided with one of his best red carpet looks by far. Just this past weekend, Kristen Stewart wore this pantsuit to the On the Road premiere, which is a piece of fashion art if I've ever seen it.

SS 2010

SS 2008

AW 2006

SS 2005

AW 2004

SS 2003

And the items that will forever be Ghesquiere's Balenciaga:

The Lariat bag, first worn by Kate Moss, then by everyone else.

The shoes:

And of course, the motorcycle jacket:

Swedish raincoats from Stutterheim

To go with the Rachel Comey rain boots from yesterday, I have been in search of a great rain jacket. Not too shiny, not too tech-y, not too short and most importantly, no Velcro!

On my first year in Portland, my rain jacket was actually a ski jacket shell that was covered in Velcro and wreaked havoc on all my beautiful knit scarves and even the sweaters I had on underneath. After that year, I upgraded to a Gore-tex zip up that while great in rain felt like I was wearing a plastic bag the rest of the time and it only went to my waist, which was a major problem. Last year I found a great fishtail jacket with a hood, generous length and no Velcro. Problem is if it's really really raining, it's only a coated cotton, so it doesn't always hold up so well. And I always wish it had a little bit of lining, a shell isn't always so warm.

Fortunately, I recently found the perfect raincoat. Unfortunately, it is close to $700.

Stutterheim raincoats are handmade in Borås, Sweden (birthplace of my one and only) and even bear the signature of the seamstress sewing them together.  Alexander Stutterheim started making raincoats out of his apartment after he found his grandfather's old one and decided to replicate it with a better fit...or so the story goes. He insists there is
"no Gore-tex. no Velcro. no mass production. no straps or strings dangling from every seam."

He even goes so far as to bill it as
"the last raincoat you will ever need."

Their tagline is "melancholy at its driest" and he means it, all seams are taped and it is wind and waterproof, yet so streamlined in its design.  I guess Stutterheim decided the only way to live with all the rain in Scandinavia is to embrace it.

Out in the elements

The good news is that the unlined version, the Stockholm, is $295 (only!) while the Arholma, the one with lining, is $695 on the American site. Prices in Swedish kronor aren't much lower: $200 and $600 respectively. Guess that's the price of being made in Sweden versus made in China; it's true. And from what I can tell the shipping to the US is free.

They also have a boutique in Stockholm called Regn (rain in Swedish), which sounds amazing. Word is that Stutterheim is working on a rain boot prototype, again with the highest quality in mind. Haven't seen photos yet but will be sure to share them once I have. Stutterheim raincoats can be found here. And be sure to read his story too, he's quite a quirky guy.

Stutterheim couple

Piedmont rain boots by Rachel Comey

So on this very rainy day in the Pacific Northwest and on the heels of  Sandy the "superstorm" (this tag is laughable, by the way. thank you Weather Channel), here are some great all rubber rain boots by Rachel Comey. I have been admiring them for a while. They are a fresh update to the ubiquitous tall Hunter-esque ones that have become so humdrum.

Rachel Comey introduced this lace-up rain boot style last season as the Baxter boot but they had a functioning buckle at the ankle over the laces that I can only imagine is quite annoying unless you have a spare 10 minutes to put on your boots. The Baxter is cheaper (only $196) and it is still available in limited sizes from Totokaelo.

the Baxter boot from last year

There is a laceless version called the Colfax, also by Rachel Comey, that is shorter and for sure easier to get on and off.  Color-wise, both the black/brown with hunter green sole and the black/navy with cream sole are nice. The green accent is much more earthy and would look great with black skinny jeans and a flannel shirt. I like the black/navy though the cream sole will get dirty; it's true but it is a more fresh color combination to have black and navy together with off-white.

The Piedmont and the Colfax are both $230. The Piedmont in black/cream is available at Totokaelo and Rachel Comey. The Piedmont in black/green is available at Totokaelo, Bird, and Steven Alan. The Colfax can be found at Totokaelo.

The Colfax boot - slip on version of the Piedmont

Style Inspiration: Jessa from GIRLS

Lately I've been re-watching the first season of Girls and have been inspired all over again by Jessa's miss-mash boho/hooligan style. I mean, who wears a bathrobe out? And makes it look good? A couple of pictures below of her different looks, the clothes are great but I also like the hair style and make up combinations with the outfits. Sometimes, lots of makeup and simple bun. Sometimes no makeup but hair in fishtails. And of course her season-ending wedding look, which was very rock star in my opinion.

Jemima Kirke, who plays Jessa, was recently "featured" in Vice. If you somehow missed the, um, interesting photos of her eight months pregnant, then follow this link. 

The second season of Girls premieres January 13th on HBO.