Styling for Early Fall with Edit by Lauren and Harman Ebner Finery

Remember Christmas morning as a kid, when you woke up early to run to the tree and spy the goodies peeking beneath the branches?  I felt like that this morning as I checked my Instagram feed to find a gem of a link from Lauren Lefevre of the beautiful blog Edit by Lauren.  A prolific stylist and all-around super person, Lauren created four different looks around three Harman Ebner Finery clutches from the most recent collection...and I had goosebumps when I saw them.  Goose. Bumps.

My goal when designing HEF clutches is for them to be endlessly stylish and practical while toting your necessities.  I'm absolutely over-the-moon about how Lauren styled the clutches to show just that.  I especially love how she incorporated pieces just right for our early Fall days still filled with sunshine, but tempered with a bit of crisp breeze.  Longer length sleeves and hemlines, as well as close-toed shoes, lend a hand in prepping for Fall.

I encourage you to wander over to the Edit by Lauren blog and check out her amazing photos and advice.  (*Readers will also receive a 25% discount on all HEF clutches with the coupon code LAUREN!)

Thank you for your inspiration, lovely Lauren!!

Renewal (and Fashion Friday)

Hello friends...it's me, your long-lost/fair-weather blogger.  Good grief, four months is quite an absence and yet I feel like it's gone by in a flash.  Like a shooting star with a tremendous arch.  These past four months have seen some ups and downs.  I'm immensely excited that it's the first day of March, though.  Spring is the ideal time for a fresh perspective.  Since the beginning of January though, I've known this was to be my year of renewal...to re-focus my lens and start fresh from a new vantage point.  And while I've been aiming for the right shot (to continue with my "camera" analogy), I've simply forgot to post.  Until now.

Without trivializing the marvelous complexities of personal renewal, my inspiration was tapped after a fashion project...namely a pair of heels in need of a second chance.  Last January (2012), while in Las Vegas for the Miss America Pageant, I wore a brand new pair of blue suede heels to a luncheon.  Every heel-wearer worth her salt has taken the opportunity to slip said pair of heels off while dining, as the tablecloth typically provides the perfect shade for a brief tootsie respite.  When I sat down to dine, I shed one of my heels to stretch my toes.  To my dismay, I felt a patch of liquid beneath my foot and slight panic set in.  Sure enough, the restaurant's carpet had been freshly cleaned that morning, meaning dampness was inevitable.  Upon closer inspection of my new shoes, the liquid had stained the suede.  Double disappointment at my carelessness and the ruin of a pair of heels that would have made Elvis proud.

I suddenly wondered if I could replace the heels.  And just like that, 6pm.com (the sister outlet site of Zappos.com) answered the call.  Amazingly, I was able to snag the last pair in my size of the beloved blue suede heels...for 70% off what I originally paid.  The heavens parted and the angels sang.

But what to do with the identical pair of perfectly wearable, but hopelessly stained heels?  They couldn't be consigned and I wouldn't dare pawn them off on a friend.  Perhaps I could repurpose them?  And then I spied these Chanel beauties on the feet of a celebrity...

Eureka!!!

My quest to repurpose the blue suede babies started with my own supply of leather paint (check out the painted leather handbags I have for sale in my shop), a bottle of black suede dye and painters tape.  I set forth armed with this tutorial from one of my favorite blogs (recall this necklace project from the same blog).  It turned out to be a messy endeavor (expected), but WELL worth it.  I got exactly the result I had hoped for...and a newer pair of new heels.

Amazing what a little renewal can do for your soul and your soles.