Shoe of the Week: Nina Ricci platforms

Whenever I look at these shoes, the song "#1 Crush" by Garbage enters my head:

I would love a pair of these. Preferably in black but beggars can't be choosers -- a pair of these and I could die happy. How tragic that the first collection for Nina Ricci that I really, absolutely went head-over-heels for was Olivier Theyskens' last at that house...

Come On-a My House: Kitchen and Entertaining

I love to think about what I will have in my house when I finally get to decorate such a place. I warn you though, I have frivolous tastes -- I don't do minimalism. More is More, Faux-Baroque, Rococo is delightful. I saw this place with black walls and black floors and black carpets and chairs, working so hard to be chic, and it just looked so affected to me -- not edgy. If you are going to be affected you might as well be balls-out about it. That is where I come from, anyway.

1. Druggist jars by Jonathan Adler ($65 at Charles and Marie) -- flour sugar oats for the countertop

2. Blaue Blume tea set by Tina Tsang (cup, creamer $59 each, teapot $128, dessert stand $249 at supermarkethq) -- sweet and creepy. I have been lemming this tea set for several years. I am obsessed with serving tea, it's such a WASP-y hostess kind of activity that it makes me feel like a Stepford wife. These teacups might throw some guests for a loop...

3. Billie candle holders by Jean Pelle ($40 at supermarkethq) -- these would look lovely clustered on the dining room table, or perhaps a cluster beside each place setting..

4. Skull hand towels by Kathy Steig ($20 at shanalogic) -- for the teenage girl lurking inside me... these would be nice in a guest bathroom or as hand towels in the kitchen.

More next time...

Etsy Trawl: Qu'ils mangeant de la brioche!

"Qu'ils mangeant de la brioche!" -- Let them eat cake! -- the famous line attributed to Marie Antoinette (probably apocryphally) is the starting point of this set. Innocent, decadent, and blindingly ignorant, right up until the chopping block.

1. Marie is Queen earrings by justbedesigns ($12.00 at Etsy)

2. Sweet Cake creme fraiche moisturizing body scrub by Savor ($11.oo on Etsy)

3. Rose Garden headband by samanthasultana ($199.99 on Etsy) -- Marie Antoinette was famed for her elaborate and often costly hairstyles, as well as for her love of her 'country house', Petit Trianon. 

4. Victorian Black Moire Cockade brooch by houseofninesdesign ($190.00 on Etsy) -- Marie Antoinette's adamant refusal to wear the revolutionaries' tricolor cockade stirred up further bad feeling against her, even as other members of the aristocracy caved in to political pressure and wore the badge. This black moire cockade is a symbol of mourning for the ancien regime.

5. Let Them Eat Cake tie by toybreaker, a.k.a. Cyberoptix ($40.00 on Etsy)

Beautiful Things: Ridiculous and Lovely

The new Agent Provocateur collection is scheduled for release on September 8th. I've heard rumours that there will be a re-issue of Manuela, my favourite set from the Witches collection three seasons ago, in blue brocade as opposed to red. Teasers for the new collection here.

Today's Beautiful Things collection is brought to you with LOVE, in all its fortunate or unfortunate forms:

Fleathers Bunny Love ring ($205, via Etsy):

Vintage From Russia with Love coat ($248 via Nasty Gal):

Maison Michel Dentelle Rabbit Ears (E295 via Colette): you can think of this as 'bunny love' or something rather different.. it looks like it would be very pretty worn with lingerie.

Juliette Has a Gun, Miss Charming ($80-110 at Luckyscent): Moroccan rose, musk, and wild fruits -- the scent Juliet might have worn before she met Romeo.

Shoe of the Week: Marie Antoinette

Love these ridiculous shoes from Moschino Cheap and Chic, available at The Outnet: