I have been trying to clean out my personal closet,  and as this means literally years and years of vintage collecting, my ‘what to keep and what to get rid of rules’ are centered around ‘will you have this forever and is it amazing’, otherwise I would never get rid of a single darn thing.

Case in point; I am not normally driven by designer labels. My feeling is if an item is well made it will stand the test of time. I get the obsession with new designer stuff, I am just not into it myself that much. However, there is some fun in the juxtaposition of high/low dressing - you know, your thrift store sweater worn with your Hermes scarf. My personal take is that I want the classic vintage version of whatever that designer thing is. Hence, I must say I know I scored when I unearthed this real Gucci logo satchel bag from about the 70s or so.  (I’ll never tell where) If you are gonna have one, then get the iconic version, right? This logo lovely needed some serious TLC, and I spent real time cleaning and polishing it and if the truth be told it is a teensy bit long in the tooth if you got real picky about it, but I don’t mind that touch of ‘ruined elegance’ it gives. I did find online this company in NY that restores these bags, and at some point I might send in mine to get her up to speed, but I’ll have to save up for the investment. Until I do that, it’s kinda of fun to wear this w/my Converse and vintage redlines, or when I had it downtown and walked thru the Gucci section @ Nordstrom where I was immediately accosted and interrogated about the bag. It seems Gucci itself knows a good thing and is reissuing the logo print this season - they know the classics like I am talking ’bout. … I laughed when they offered me the matching reissue wallet to this bag for a mere $425.00 to go with my bag that cost me the price of teriyaki for 2. And mine’s the original.

So, yes I Covet my own bag… Do you have any of these ‘classics’ you Covet?

So, its been a blizzard here now for days, and essentially the only way to get anything or go anywhere is to bundle up to a ridiculous degree and literally drag back your necessities on a sled behind you. I kid you not. However, intrepid CovetGirl has had experience with this sort of thing living for years in Alaska, where they do not mess around with the snow and ice and I laugh in the face of an arctic blast! (Ok, so I mutter and complain under my scarf into the cold as I trudge…)

In any event, its an excuse to break out some of the fun winter stuff I have and make people stare and snicker at me…My inspiration:

(And yes, I know its real fur they are wearing above, ahem - let’s just not go there, OK?)

My version: My hat is shearling, so I was toasty warm! (excuse the cell phone camera, you get the idea.)

Me = Russian Princess. Coat & hat, thrifted

Ok, I admit it. I come back to these rich socialite hippie looks time and again. This vintage Lurex rayon gauze top astounds me; its so ’70s ‘I-am-at-my-incredible-rock-star-encrusted-party-at-my-fabulous-house-on-the beach-in-Malibu-or-the-Greek-Isles-sitting-in-my-wide-leg-jeans-with-a-glass-of-Chardonnay-in-my-hand’ vibe to it. Personally, that sounds good sometimes… In the eBay store this week - EZPickinz Vintage.

70s Gauze Batwing Top | EZPickinz on eBay starts @ $19.99

So I have some vintage coats I wear for fall and winter, but have not worn the 3/4 sleeve style ones so much due to the cold hand & arm factor. Last year I wanted some longer leather gloves to add some panache and a much needed layer of warmth to these coats for the season, but I just couldn’t justify the prices of the ones I saw ($150 - ack!). Leave it to Tar-jay to solve my problem eventually. Amazingly, these are leather, lined and are the perfect length (about 14″ long). They come in black (which I sprang for) and now I am eyeing the fancier metallic leather ones. They really are nice quality for the price and they are even on sale this week! Now I need to just make sure I bust them out with my coats without feeling ‘overdressed’ …

Long Leather Gloves | Target $17.99

Metallic Grey Long Leather Gloves | Target $17.99

Wow! We found a vintage couture piece that PROVES classic investments are so worth it! This 90s era Christian Lacroix Pret-a-Porter coat dress is an amazing example! The fit and flare shape is so sexy and looks like it just walked down the runway at the RTW 2008 show!… and its in the hot color of the season - a rich vivid royal purple! Can’t get any better! Check it out! In our eBay store now!

...just add a belt an you're set!

Dress: Gap, on sale: $32.99 , Ankle strap platform sandals: Born last year $89, Cuff: Vintage Taxco Mexican silver, thrifted last year $35 (ouch - but I had to have it!), Necklace: I made this, long sterling silver chain - Alexander’s Jewelry supply, about $5 charms; a skeleton key from the BF’s grandmothers house that STILL WORKS to open her front door, and a 70s turquoise star and moon pendant, thrifted about $2

Dear Coveters,

Recently we were lucky enough to have a lovely Emilio Pucci for Formfit Rogers bell sleeve beauty in an AMAZING shade of coral! Well, we are pleased to say this rare Pucci has found a new home! An avid and obviously elegant collector was very happy to be the one to snap it up! She shared with us a lovely story about the meaning and milestones that clothing can mark in our lives…

She writes “…it is a rare print to find indeed. My grandparents owned a winter home in Palm Springs from 1975-1986. It was my favorite place to visit and I have always adopted my Grandmother’s style and taste in clothes and furniture. (Mid-Century Modern)

…and waiting and waiting here. I actually had to break out a cashmere sweater today. IT IS JUNE, people! How can this be? Well, ok, I am known to have hands straight from the morguedrawer even on an 80 degree day, I run a bit chill all the time, and a small breeze makes me run for a scarf no matter what, but still!

In any event, there’s a tag-party going ’round some of my fav blogrs where you list your own wardrobe basics. This cashmere sweater would be one. I always try to stock up on larger size slouchy vintage men’s cashmere V-necks at the thrift store. You’d be surprised what decent quality ones I have found, older vintage ones from the 60s are great. They are usually so reasonably priced I end up using them in place of the ubiquitous sweatshirt everyone else wears. And they can be washed in cold water and layed out to dry like any other sweater, I find. I like to pair them with some dark bootcut jeans, a bit of silver jewelry and some interesting boots. No, not earth-shattering, but super comfy and just a bit slouchy-cool…

Ok, so I still am trying to find the all-useful basic neutral-color comfortable (i.e. stomping around all day on my rounds and not crying when I finally take them off) espadrilles out there that are not a million $. So I just got these:

Right, I know…RED is not what I had in mind. AND I got them at Payless, which is a rare occurance as their shoes are usually very cheap looking, and all the ‘man made’ makes my skin crawl. These however, actually are comfortable, and don’t seem to give me a blister (ok, one tiny one, but it was the first sandal wear of the year - it’s to be expected). Anyway, I took the lower 2 shots of them myself as they are not nearly as cheap and tacky looking as they look online ( I think). The uppers are canvas, and the jute covered heel is a nice touch, and as I paid $20 for them, I think they’ll work.

The other issue at hand here is they only had red at the store, and altho they have them in black on the website, trying on + Payless shoes = REQUIREMENT. They are usually not good shoes for anyone’s feet in general.  Oh, and I have red shoes. More than one pair. In fact, 3 already that I can think of. But these were comfortable, damm them!

Oh and the style is called ‘Tomcat’…as in Cruise??? weird. I ‘ll just ignore that.

On the same line as yesterday, all I can think about is lounging by the non-existant pool, umbrella-tini in hand, soaking up the rays…with the weather still just about winter here, all I can do in reality is enjoy one of my favorite all-time thrift finds (forgive the pics):

This is a genuine Emilio Pucci from my collection; its from the 60s when Pucci did a line for Formfit Rogers Lingerie Company. His extravagant signature prints were used in a line of beautiful lingerie, slips and loungewear. This lovely number is done is a very silky nylon, and the front has a full length zipper. It was meant originally to be for lounging, or as a cover-up however I suppose it could easily translate to a smashing hostess gown. In any event, this was a rare heart-stopping find and one I love imagining wearing by that darn pool…where IS that cabana boy with my drink?!