Rima Suqi

I have several guy friends who wear desert boots with shorts. They’re perfectly beaten up (the boots, not the shorts) and they look adroable. With all the wedge versions of said boot available for women this fall it’s been hard to find the right one. I take issue with a black boot with natural crepe wedge – makes me nuts. I also take issue with any suede shoe that costs $700.

I also wasn’t sure I wanted the full on neutral boot, as I’m not really a wearer of neutrals. But then, over the weekend, I wandered into J. Crew and one of the store managers was rocking this boot, loosely laced (unlike the tight laced shot online) with a cuffed skinny jean and some sweater thing – the whole look was very me. The boot was perfect. It is now in my closet – and you should think about getting it into yours. Fast.

BTW they run small, go up a size.

I have been in love with this Vivianna watch (in silver, stainless, black, whatever version) ever since I first saw it (I won’t say how many years ago) on my friend Deborah’s wrist. While perusing the Georg Jensen website today for a completely different reason, I saw it in their sale section in black. Black is a huge “color” this fall in fashion, which makes me really happy. And this watch is now $720. It was $2,400. Not that $720 is super cheap but all things considered, a bargain.

If you’ve followed this blog (and to my surprise a LOT of you do), you might notice that I travel. A lot. And while I usually have the airplane routine down, I never quite nailed the “what to wear on the plane” outfit. NYC – LA, no problem. NYC – Kilimanjaro or Cape Town or Delhi or any other 12+ hour flight – problem. As much as I love my Lulu Lemon groove pants, they get “knees.” Not cute.

My friend Pauline convinced me to buy these pants from J. Crew:

Silky Linen Slouchy Pant

At first I thought that an arab girl in a harem pant was a bit much. Then someone pointed out that technically this is not a harem pant. Phew.

BUT this is a fabulous pant to wear on the plane, even for 16+ hours because its just slouchy enough where even if it does stretch a bit around the knees it keeps the overall slim line. You arrive at destination, throw on a pair of heels, and look fabulous.

And, conveniently, they’re now on sale. I got the dark pewter. Check them out here.

I love the way J. Crew rediscovered Timex watches, pairing them with ribbon bands and celebrating them in their catalogs. If you like the look but want to find another option that not everyone is wearing, check out Smart Turnout. You get a watch and four straps for $249 – the straps (sold individually for $29 each) come in military colors and US school colors (Harvard, Brown, Princeton…you get the idea). Very preppy but pretty cool.

Some options. I like the solids (also in bright solids like orange, lime green):

but some of the stripes are great:

Don’t get me wrong, I love my Chuckie T’s but when it’s hot outside those suckers are (a) warm and (b) smelly. This plimsol by Generic Surplus (cheaper line from super-cool, every man must wear brand Generic Man) is my new dream shoe. Purchased at Undefeated in Silver Lake but available online at the GS website, here.Three colors in lace-up, more in the slip-on.

My excursion to Homenature in Southampton ended up being fortuitous on many levels. Not only did I get to test drive a chair I’ve been eyeing online, and get the scoop on a cool modern adirondack chair I also spotted a fabulously gigantic denim beach bag by Michael Kors.  And I mean, it’s huge. I was with a friend who brought along his French bulldog, and we could’ve fit 3 of those farty b-tches (as we lovingly call her) in this bag. That’s a whole lotta bag for $78.

Buy it here.

The store:

The bag:

From the release:

Cynthia Rowley has opened a shop in Montauk, at 696 Montauk Highway.

Located next to the Memory Motel, the storefront is distinguishable by only a blue neon “Shop” sign and not otherwise branded. The store’s interior and exterior design is in keeping with the relaxed, rustic atmosphere of Montauk.

Items available for sale include the entire range of items in the Cynthia Rowley collection (women’s ready-to-wear, shoes, handbags, sunglasses, legwear and more) as well as Cynthia Rowley home and garden tools, the Cynthia Rowley for Roxy collection (including wetsuits and swimwear), a Meyerhoffer surfboard customized by Cynthia, and gift-y items such as chunky geodes and driftwood bottle openers.

The Cynthia Rowley Montauk store will host a number of temporary shops this summer—with Chrissie Miller of Sophomore, Lauren Bush and FEED Projects, and a patisserie by Arden Wohl, for example—as well as a concert series at the Memory Motel.

After spending a week in Tanzania, I return to find out that a photographer friend, originally from South Africa, is making these super-cute pendants that can also be worn on a charm bracelet. Coincidence?

Available in 10 or 14k, here.

I’m not always a big fan of the Target collaborations but when they get it right, it’s pretty awesome. I think the Temple St. Clair collection, which hits stores in August, just might hit it. I haven’t seen these in person, but I’ve seen similar things at Target that were pretty good.

Charm bracelet, $39.99

ring, $29.99

necklace, $49.99

cuff, $39.99

earrings, $29.99

My friend Meg swears by nude shoes. She says they make her legs look longer. I was always “meh” about it. Being olive skinned, the nude color thing doesn’t always work. But I’m all into embracing a grey shoe, and J. Crew just introduced one at a pretty friendly price that is on-trend but not too trendy.

Knotted macrame heels, $225

I also loved these, which aren’t nude or grey. But the navy looked pretty fab and fresh….

Suede Averil, $238