In this Issue No. 3 - Emerald earrings

No. 3: Sometimes it's the four-page long articles in a magazine that catch my attention and change my perspective on something. Other times it can be a book review that succinctly wraps up the general idea and feel of said book that causes me to want to read an author's newest offering. But small things, such as a quote from within an interview or a piece of clothing in a trend montage, catch my attention all the time.

I'm not sure which magazine this photo came from (possibly InStyle because each issue has a jewelry page) but I know that I loved the vibrant green of these earrings. The price of the exact pair featured in the photo is probably in the ballpark of $don'teventhinkaboutit, but I became determined to find my own glittering pair.

It must have been the dry season for vert-hued jewelry, because despite my in-store searching and online scouting, I consistently came up empty-handed. Isn't there a saying that goes along the lines of, "You'll never find what your looking for once you start looking for it"? And yet, the moment you neglect to Sherlock something to death, you find the thing you were searching for around every corner.

Perhaps the gods of commerce took pity on me, because as I was meandering around a store decidedly not looking for anything in particular, I found a pair of earrings with the qualities for which I had been searching. Rich green color? Check. Dangly? Check. Dramatic? Semi-check. Not thousands of dollars? Aw yeah check.

In this Issue No. 2 - Kate Spade

No. 2: Perhaps it's the journo in me that appreciates a good marketing/advertising campaign, or just the fact that I drool over prettily packaged goods like the next girl, but I am quite a fan of Kate Spade's brand USP.

I like to think of the "Kate Spade girl" as a modern, irreverent Holly Golightly; a bon vivant who has refined tastes, but never tries too hard. Kate Spade is an aspirational brand, one that lures girls and women with the promise of attaining a luxurious, yet fun, lifestyle. I feel that Alice + Olivia is another company with a similar message.

...This is cool with me because an all-leather structured handbag in a punchy season-spanning hue replete with sturdy handles, gilt hardware accents, uplifting studs for the bottom of the bag, multiple compartments and a muted fabric lining the inner recesses more than qualifies the brand to make those promises as it's delivering on the quality of its goods.

This ad caught my eye whilst I was flipping through a magazine. Cue the girl that's impeccably dressed in something elegant (sheath dress), yet whimsical (polka dots) who is perched atop a vintage cab as to insinuate that she may have taken half a day from work to play hooky on a beach.

I dig all of that.

My eye, however, focused in on that lovely raspberry-colored bag.

'What shape it has!' 'And it's so colorful!' my mind seemed to shout to me.
I surmised that the purse was like a handbag version of a mullet in that instead of the saying, "Business in front, party in the back," it might be more fitting to say, "Business in the shape, party in the color." Seriously. The vibrancy of the tint keeps the bag from taking itself too seriously, but the sharp, reinforced lines prevent the bag from being too flashy and young.

And so the hunt for my very own Tarrytown Quinn began.

First, this orange sherbert shade caught my eye. (In the Tarrytown Quinn, though)

(image c/o katespade.com)

But then I glimpsed the bag in the shade I'll dub "freshly mown lawn on a warm June day" and I was sold.
Two years later, we're still going strong.