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Well, I'm excited......I actually get to write this October newsletter sometime before November arrives!!!!! ....but it was worth waiting for our new things, most of which arrived yesterday and today.........
Giselle Shepatin's foray into knits has been a wonderful surprise. When she first brought them in several months ago, "just to SHOW us", she was amazed that we bought enough to use all but a few yards of her first fabric order.....and so were we. We got our first shipment in the summer.....the month that we had no newsletter. Well, those pieces marched right out of here!!! So now we have brought in a whole new order, this time with matching accessories. Giselle has a special flair for giving whatever she creates that extra special twist.....this time her jackets and vests are detailed with these wonderful texturey knit pockets that are put on with snap tape. I adore snap tape!!! If you want the jacket or vest to be more casual, you just gently unsnap the pocket, and the tape is really a fun trim in itself.....The oversized brass snap closure with its colored ribbon accent looks especially good undone so that you can really see it too. We are featuring some of our Teresa Goodall necklaces in these photos because we love a punch of color, but we also love Giselle's three new scarves....the one-of-a-kind random knits....the cotton knit with the tiny pockets....and the knit with the spiral flowers. These scarves make great accessories for other things too.....We have one on display with our Barbara de Jounge pin sweater in the front of the gallery.
Wow! It's going to be hard to make this newsletter not be all about black, BUT...........
MoKoshji is one of my BIG indulgences. I always give Siga credit for finding this collection....and now I blame him for my addiction to it!!! You are getting to see all of our new pieces with the exception of the pants, which have not yet been shipped. These clothes just take my breath away every time I see them. The fabrics are luxurious but wearable, and the styling is..........SO FABULOUS. Yes, it is hideously expensive, and yes, it often is REALLY small, but who cares when it's this amazing????? I try to fit into and keep just one piece each season, and I do wear them enough that they owe me nothing after a year. They are the perfect combination of sophistication and whimsy that make you feel special each time you wear them. What more can I say????.........
Krista Larson has added a couple of new fabrics to her fall collection that I especially like for their contemporary feel. This black outfit combines some of them. The stiffness of the cotton organdy is a stand-out as the bottom layer in this Extreme Spring Skirt. The striped taffeta Bubble Skirt layers nicely over it, followed by an organza Parachute Slip. Over the Double Layer Net Tee, we have the other fabric that has a more edgy feel.....striped linen/cotton/metal that almost feels like a soft black denim, shown here in our ever-popular Venetian Cami. You will notice, too, that we have used a lot of accessories........
I have talked about our charm collection once before....how my friend Kat got me hooked on them when she started to buy me some fabulous ones, and now.....we have charms from Sally Jean -– the ones Kat collected for me. She makes all sorts of different shapes and sizes...... in all sorts of wonderful themes from jewelry and shoes to chocolate and cats to cleavage and Paris . Her initials are available in several different series. AND her "party girls" (like the one shown on the MoKoshji outfit) are a must-have.....broken little dolls from the 1800's, dug up from a landfill in Germany, with Sally's touch of whimsy -- the tall silver party hat!!! Our other collection of charms comes from a lovely group of women from New Mexico who have a wonderfully raucous sense of humor......our collection from them is huge right now because they will no longer be producing their jewelry in the US, but rather you-know-where, so we bought as much domestic production as we dared. You WILL have a lot of fun collecting these and wearing them in multiples on several chains. My friend Joan put together three rather fabulous necklaces that were all about her....and she came back saying she could have sold them right off of her neck as she was going about town! Maybe the best part of this is finding the charms that say who you are???..........
Our terra cotta outfit is a wild mixture of a lot of things.....I really love doing this (Aline and Julie, remember???). A Krista Larson linen/cotton/metal Emma Jacket is layered over her checked taffeta Short Wavey Slip.....and then we have used the silk Petal Skirt and the wool Fiesta Skirt from Robin Kaplan underneath. The layering of these skirts makes it work if you are 5 foot 12....or 5 foot 2, if you take off the bottom layer. The accessories we have chosen are a Giselle Shepatin scarf that incorporates all of the shading from cranberry to rust that you see in the different fabrics......
Remember the crazy polka dot sundress from Barbara de Jounge that we had this spring and summer? Here is a sort of black knit version.....a great shape in a jumper with a really BIG pocket to wear over leggings or boots this fall. Do we like the drama of the bold bead necklace from Oska with it? We have a really nice collection of Barbara's best sweaters, including the new black version of her multi-colored button sweater. And for those of you who are familiar with her felted wool coats and jackets, we have a few of those as well....
A few months ago, my friend Neetu was here visiting in the store (we buy a lot of great stuff from her ... like Kedem Sasson and Barbara de Jounge and Robin Kaplan and ItemZ....), and we were discussing what it is that is missing from the marketplace as some designers have decide to pursue other interests. Did I mention that before she had any lines that we could really use in the store, we tried to buy things from her just because we liked her so much??? In almost no time, she has brought us a new line of accessory jackets called M 2 . The jackets are made of the softest, comfiest fabric, and the details are equally good in the back as in the front...we appreciate that. It will be interesting to see this new line expand and .........
Since we are enjoying mixing it up....and showing you the new directions that Teresa Goodall has taken her necklaces.....here we have one of Catherine Bacon's fabulous flower skirts, this one in a navy/gray/black/white plaid, with Giselle Shepatin's random stripe sweater and a navy necklace of ribbons and beads.......
Two ever-popular items are back.....
There is a whole new selection of our Nancy Lucia leather passport bags with a variety of themes and wild new colors in our reversible hand-warmers (they don't turn inside-out or anything....the patterns are different when you change hands!). I am so proud of resisting where else I could have gone explaining that one!!!
You have seen Susan Lewis's dog and cat potholders for about sixteen years now (really!). Always looking for something new, here are her new African animals!
You do know that I am willing to accost anyone, anywhere to track down something new and interesting??? You will see our new dog pins borne from this method soon.....
The other day my friend Lydia stopped by to say "Hello" on her way to a sales call. Hmmmmm.....always curious..... So now we are selling the Kor One Hydration Vessel. It is a fancy drinking thing that the company does not want us to call a "water bottle". We can't show you pictures of it because the images crashed our web designer's computer, but they are pretty nifty. They are made of material that doesn't contain any of those nasty poisonous chemicals, they are guaranteed to last the lifetime of the original purchaser....but mostly they are functional and PRETTY. They come in acid green or blue or red. You can even put ice cubes in them, and they have a gripper bottom so that they stand up securely.....but mostly they are functional and PRETTY. But not so pretty that guys won't use them too......you better know Siga has the first one.
In the coming weeks, thanks also to Lydia , we will be getting gingerbread or chocolate-flavored caramels from Sweden , Star of David Kosher soaps in two fragrances, and soaps with messages -- Peace, Vote, and Save Water....Shower with a Friend.
OK, enough already....even I am beginning to think I'm crazy. What a great life!!!!
We are well and hope that you are too. We are hoping that we will get to see you soon. If you can't stop by, you can always call or e-mail to catch up on what's happening with you.
Have a SCARY Halloween!!!!!!........
Cheers!
kati
415.362.3437
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