Oh yeah - I wear green now - with Wolford Hold Ups of course!

Every once in a while you need to step out of your comfort zone.  Today, I am wearing green. Other than on Saint Patrick's Day green is not in my normal rotation. So when Loretta gave me this beautiful underpinning that she found at the sample sale at work, I was a little nervous. Loretta is awsome by the way!! So, despite my insecurity in wearing a color other then black, purple or grey I decided to give it a shot. My decision was made even easier by donning a pair of my favorite Wolford Hold-Ups!

I get more complements on this pair of Wolford Hold-Ups then any other piece of hosiery in my collection.  I love the geometric pattern, they look like old tin ceiling tiles.

Max wanted to wear Green too!

My complete Eileen Fisher ensemble are all pieces from the various sample sales at work.

Thursday Friday's "Together Bag" and Calzedonia...Birkin Chronicles Part 1

I often get asked where the name of this Blog comes from. In my days as a Bergdorf Goodman employee many a Birkin bag, real and fake, would be plopped down in front of me usually followed by a Black American Express card. With these two ultimate symbols of status usually came a list of 20 products, many duplicates, that my customers would need for their various houses, jets and of course handbags.

It was usually easy to spot the fake bags, mostly because of the shoddy stitching and the lack of stylish owners. Occasionally, I wouldn't be able to tell and one would have to give the customer the benefit of the doubt based on whatever else they were wearing or how much they would spend.  It became a game my co-workers and I would play. I eventually became really good at it. Especially when the stakes were high, and the potential commissions! 

While reading "Who Moved my Cheese", a book my former fiancée had become obsessed with I decided to set myself some goals. It felt natural to have targets in the lead up to marriage. Among the many aims I set for myself, was to one day own a, genuine, Birkin Bag. The Hermes classic immortalized by Jane Birkin. Not because I wanted to be defined as a lady who lunched and spent my husband's money. However, while I was working at Bergdorf some of the most successful women in New York would glide through with their Birkin swinging on their arm spending the money they had worked hard for -and broke through glass ceilings to obatain. Women entrepreneurs that had started and ran a successful business.

At the time I was unaware of the cost, thinking the Birkin couldn't of cost much more then a few thousand dollars, but not totally clueless I did work at Bergdorf... My Birkin Bag aspiration was solely based on the environment that I worked in, in contrast to the world I really lived in- outer borough, skinny jeans, ironic tee shirts and taking home a "retail paycheck".  So I decided that by the time I turned 30 everything should have fallen into place. 

By the time I turned 30, I was married, but not to the Cheesy fiance- I have a 3 year old son, who I love dearly and incidentally costs far more than a real Birkin to send to Pre-School.

Then- I stumbled upon THURSDAY FRIDAYS "Together Bag" in the New York Times- SEE BELOW. The Birkin Bag for the rest of us.

Okay it isn't THE Birkin but it is MY Birkin- The Together Bag is a POP Arty version of my favorite classic. Naturally my outer borough-self jumped on the canvas Tote- Totally smothering my Madison Avenue alter ego.  Hey a real Birkin doesn't cut it for a shift at the food co-op, canvas is King in the current eco-atmosphere. I just wish I could have the real thing in my closet…some day. 

Meanwhile back to the hosiery - Today's Hold Ups are from Calzedonia, part of the GIGANTIC haul Nathan brought me home a few weeks ago. I have to resist everyday not to call Carmen at the Calzedonia Shop in London, and have her send me a pair that I am missing from the Spring 2011 catalog. The Hold-Ups are black with a small brown dots! They compliment the texture in my skirt perfectly and totally work with my new bag! 

WSJ Article-What your Legs are Saying about You

I stumbled upon this article in the WSJ today on FISHnet which is the Intranet where I work. The article "What Your Legs Say About You"is basically my blog in a nutshell, minus me. The article was totally encouraging packed with a ton of fun facts about what to expect for Spring 11 hosiery and how Fall 11 is going to be HUGE for hosiery. Not that I needed any validation from the fashion industry on this, I love all things hosiery after all. 

"What Your Legs Say About You", also discusses where to wear hosiery, and what is suitable for different types of work environments. I know one of the main reasons I started wearing funky hosiery was because of a dress code I had to wear at work. When I worked for M.A.C we were required to wear all black. So I would wear funky tights etc to jazz up my outfit and it stuck. It became my thing. I felt proud and totally indulged my habit. There was one down side which was also touched on in the article. That some hosiery styles can be labeled as "Gothic". 

I do want to point out a common misconception about hosiery being the "Goth" accessory. I honestly hate that connotation. Hosiery, yes, is worn by all sorts of people, which includes Goth's but it was once also the staple of every woman's wardrobe. I feel it pulls an outfit together that adds a layer of creativity mixed with sophistication. Also, in Europe its totally normal for someone in any sort of profession to wear a great patterned hosiery and just because you like something that happens to be different there is no reason to have to give it a label. 

I found this little matrix fun that was also in the WSJ article "What your Legs say about You"

After all of that, I would like to talk about my outfit and hosiery pick of the day. These are my absolute favorite pair of tights. They are from Wolford, the creme da la creme, at least here in the states since other great brands are not so available. I work in a fairly causal office as far as the fashion industry goes. 

I work at the Creative Center of Eileen Fisher. There we have every sort of style, which is great. You can really just be yourself and not worry about the label. Most people wear Eileen Fisher, but its not required. Eileen Fisher has had a reputation about being only for woman of a certain age, but in recent years they have crossed all barriers at least in my opinion and there current collection has something for the loyal Eileen Fisher client as well as the new Eileen Fisher client. 

These tights were a great find. Wolford has amazing quality, but patterns and styles have not been my taste the last few seasons.  I do however have a few pairs on my wish list, but at $55.00+ a pair 

I will have to wait till the end of the season... 

*as a little tip-you can sometimes find these at places like Tj Maxx. I saw these particualr tights at Bergdorf Goodman and even with my employee discount I had at the time I still had to pass them up.

 I later found them at Tj Maxx for $19.99. Which made it easier to buy them in both colors!*