Rima Suqi

My friend Chip and I made our annual pilgrimage to Coney Island in the middle of winter. After walking the boardwalk we headed over to Brighton Beach Avenue, where I always go to buy smoked fish (I love a Chub, or Chubb, or however you spell it). We found ourselves in a dollar-like store called Jackie’s (130 Brighton Beach Avenue, between Ocean Parkway & Brighton 1st Street, 718-266-7314 no website). I could spend hours in stores like this – most things are very cheap, and kind of tacky. But there’s always a jewel to be found and this time it was this killer pair of desert boots. They were hidden away in a corner but did not escape our eagle eyes! And just $15. Chip is now super-stylin for the price of a glass of wine at Soho House.
(Sorry about the small picture. Hopefully you get the idea).

Last week I spent two days in Paris. On the morning of my departure, I took a quick walk over to the Tuileries to see “Maman,” a spider sculpture by Louise Bourgeois. Apparently a whole family of these 30-foot-tall wonders graced Rockefeller Center in 2001. If you missed that installation, and find yourself in Paris anytime soon, it is so worth the effort to check this one out.

A couple years ago, when in Charleston, I came upon a shockingly good store called Worthwhile (shopworthwhile.com), where I bought a pair of great sandals by a guy I’d never heard of named Matt Bernson. Back in NYC, we ran these sandals in Best Bets and just yesterday I met Matt live in the flesh for the first time and saw his spring/summer and fall ’08 collection – both rocked. Below are a few samples of shoes you’ll wear every day. And the best part is, they won’t break the bank – and your cost per wear will be pennies at best. Buy them online at mattbernson.com

I had the opportunity to check out the fall offerings from Lambertson Truex earlier this week. I love those guys and am always eager to see what’s going on, especially since they Samsonite bought a stake in the company and they’ve opened some stores.
One word for this collection – WOW. Lambertson Truex, to my mind, has been known for very structured bags. Bags with posture. Bags that are – forgive me – very Bergdorf Goodman first floor (their core customer). I have a couple LT bags and they most certainly do not fit that description – my favorite is a slouchy hobo from years ago with very Virgo-organized pockets inside.
Well, the slouch is back. That’s not to say the structured has gone away – those bags are still there – but the new items had bolder animal prints than before, and a more relaxed structure. With these looks, they’ll court a younger audience without alienating their steady customer. Very smart and super-chic.
I love these animal print on calfhair:

Prior to petting these bags, I thought “buttery soft” and “gator” were words never to be used together. But these bags are ridiculously soft. I almost don’t want to know how they got that way -

See more at lambertsontruex.com

Jonathan Adler has thrown his glue brush into the wallpaper ring. I personally am so over the wallpaper thing, but I realize the rest of the world either (a) doesn’t realize the trend exists and (b) salivates for anything by Monsieur Adler. For those of you who fall into these categories, your wall wardrobe options are below:

that’s just a sampling. see them all at jonathanadler.com