To all of our wonderful PurseBlog readers, we wish you a very Happy New Year 2010. May the new decade bring you health and all that you wish for!
Meaghan, Shannon, Amanda & Vlad
Original post by Vlad Dusil
From all of us at PurseBlog, we wish you a Merry Christmas and hope that you have a wonderful time with family and friends!
And hopefully there was a bag or two under the tree for you…
Original post by Vlad Dusil
I am afraid you won’t find many purse-related wishes in my list. Being the nerdy tech behind the PurseBlog operation, I certainly do appreciate bags very much, but you will not see me strolling the streets carrying around an oversized tote any time soon.
This year, I have decided to divide my list into two categories. The realistic list and the not-so-realistic-but-still-would-love-to-see-it-under-the-tree list. The realistic list contains gifts that I would definitely have daily use for and would not rob Santa off his 401K savings. The other list is me lusting over treasures that I hope will be mine someday, are currently very much out of reach though.
1. Polar RS800 Training Computer When doing endurance training, whether it’d be running or road cycling, it is crucial to keep track of your heart rate in order to train effectively. I’ve been running more lately, I want to pick up my road bike again once the weather clears up a bit, so this would come in very handy. $389 via Polar.
2. Tech Swiss Double Watch Winder Having automatic watches is nice, you never need to worry about your battery dying on you and needing it replaced… as long as you wear your watch daily. I tend to forget to wear my watches for three days and the hands stop moving. The constant resetting is frustrating, this automatic winder would come in really handy! $130 via Amazon.
3. T-Shirts. This may sound silly, but I am sick of wearing Lacoste shirts with jeans all the time. There was a streak earlier this year where I could not get enough of the vintage-style Lacoste polos, now I am kinda over it. I definitely need some plain T-Shirts to wear with jeans.
4. Leica M9 I am a big fan of all things photography, as well as a big gear head. I know I am not the only one with this near-obsessive compulsion over new foto gear and there’s many who just can’t stop salivating over Leica’s first full-frame digital rangefinder. A few too many, in fact. The waiting lists are long, Leica’s output of these cameras is slow. Many have ordered theirs back in September and still have not received it. I absolutely want it and am willing to let go of some of my DSLR gear to help cover the $7,000 price tag. One day, I say, one day she will be mine.
5. Leica Noctilux 50mm f/0.95 ASPH Fancy name, fancy optics, legendary cult status, magnificent glass. It sure would complement the M9 beautifully (or my film M6/7s), but I am afraid I better start researching on selling one of my kidneys on the black market to afford it. About $10,000 through Leica.
Original post by Vlad Dusil
I am afraid you won’t find many purse-related wishes in my list. Being the nerdy tech behind the PurseBlog operation, I certainly do appreciate bags very much, but you will not see me strolling the streets carrying around an oversized tote any time soon.
This year, I have decided to divide my list into two categories. The realistic list and the not-so-realistic-but-still-would-love-to-see-it-under-the-tree list. The realistic list contains gifts that I would definitely have daily use for and would not rob Santa off his 401K savings. The other list is me lusting over treasures that I hope will be mine someday, are currently very much out of reach though.
1. Polar RS800 Training Computer When doing endurance training, whether it’d be running or road cycling, it is crucial to keep track of your heart rate in order to train effectively. I’ve been running more lately, I want to pick up my road bike again once the weather clears up a bit, so this would come in very handy. $389 via Polar.
2. Tech Swiss Double Watch Winder Having automatic watches is nice, you never need to worry about your battery dying on you and needing it replaced… as long as you wear your watch daily. I tend to forget to wear my watches for three days and the hands stop moving. The constant resetting is frustrating, this automatic winder would come in really handy! $130 via Amazon.
3. T-Shirts. This may sound silly, but I am sick of wearing Lacoste shirts with jeans all the time. There was a streak earlier this year where I could not get enough of the vintage-style Lacoste polos, now I am kinda over it. I definitely need some plain T-Shirts to wear with jeans.
4. Leica M9 I am a big fan of all things photography, as well as a big gear head. I know I am not the only one with this near-obsessive compulsion over new foto gear and there’s many who just can’t stop salivating over Leica’s first full-frame digital rangefinder. A few too many, in fact. The waiting lists are long, Leica’s output of these cameras is slow. Many have ordered theirs back in September and still have not received it. I absolutely want it and am willing to let go of some of my DSLR gear to help cover the $7,000 price tag. One day, I say, one day she will be mine.
5. Leica Noctilux 50mm f/0.95 ASPH Fancy name, fancy optics, legendary cult status, magnificent glass. It sure would complement the M9 beautifully (or my film M6/7s), but I am afraid I better start researching on selling one of my kidneys on the black market to afford it. About $10,000 through Leica.
Original post by Vlad Dusil
As we lay on the couch, desperately attempting to digest every bit of delicious food we consumed throughout the day, we wanted to take a moment to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you spent the day with family and friends and enjoyed yourselves as much as we did.
♥ The PurseBlog Team
Original post by Megs Mahoney Dusil
If you’re looking for a recap of the second round of The Silent Real Housewives of Atlanta vs. Andy Cohen, well, you’re SOL. The only entertaining thing that happened for the entire hour was that we accidentally found out that Dwight has had his Dwang surgically enhanced, and I almost turned off my TV and went to bed right then. I have seen enough of Dwight’s manparts this season. I don’t want to know their medical history.
And I should have, because when Real Housewives of Orange County came around, I didn’t even get the new housewife with the giant diamond and the unmoving face as I was promised by the approximately 4,839 commercials that I’ve seen for this foofaraw over the past month.
But despite that, and the despite the fact that most of these women qualify for the title of Worst Person in the World on a weekly basis, the recap must go on.
The worstiest of the worst is, obviously, Vicki. She hoots, she hollers, she makes a spectacle of herself, and she never stops talking or judging or click-clacking away on her laptop. Hot on Vicki’s heels of terribleness is Tamra, Vicki’s blond, evil Bobbsey Twin. In what was easily my favorite moment of the episode, we got to see Vicki hurl herself out of a plane at the advent of last night’s episode, and I realized that I would find this series much more enjoyable if the only thing that happened was that Vicki did things that made her unhappy and uncomfortable. I would tune in every week, even if I wasn’t obligated to for my job.
Speaking of Tamra, her and her awful husband Simon are on the rocks, and he flipped out over her friend making a sexual comment about her. But I ask you, readers: if your Best Gay can’t make a teabagging joke, WHO CAN? I could almost understand his irritation if the person joking had been a straight guy that tends to flirt with her (since she is still his wife at the moment), but I think this particular friend prefers slightly more penis in his women. Tamra makes mention of financial difficulties in the family, and maybe that’s the reason for the couple’s trouble, but I think it just might be that seeing Tamra on TV made him realize what a shrewish swamp creature he married.
And then there’s Jeana, who seems just about as sad as she was last season, but now with less money. She’s always been my favorite of the OC housewives, and I was so happy when she left her craptastic husband, but she still appears to not be fully in control of her life (that, and her sons are dicks). Combine that with a lack of cash flow because of the real estate collapse, and Jeana doesn’t seem to be feeling too good about life right now. She might be putting her house on the market because of her financial situation, but we’ll likely learn more about that in coming episodes. In this one, she doesn’t get much of a story line.
One housewife that appears to be weathering the recession well enough is Lynn, but she may just be a little too spacey to really grasp it anyway. She’s the one that makes those cuffs that probably match really well with Ed Hardy t-shirts, and if those are selling for her, then hey! Congrats to her! I’m not going to throw her any shade, as Nene would say. Also, she has managed to make Housewife Detente with Tamra, who hated her last season as far as I can remember, so she’s officially part of the In Crowd.
Which leaves us, of course, with Gretchen. She’s managed to be one of the most polarizing figures in all of Housewifedom, and not without reason. The beyond-middle-aged cancer patient that she was engaged to last season has past away amid rumblings that she was either cheating on him or that he paid her to take care of him in the first place, and to all of that, I say: WHO CARES? If she made the dude happy in whatever way in the last months of his life, why do we care so much? So what if it was an arrangement? Or if she moved on too quickly (and with Slade, who seems to staunchly believe that his one true calling is to have sex with housewives)? He sure seemed to like having her around and lavishing her with gifts, and if that’s what he wanted to do with his money and energy before he died, then Tamra & Co. should just shut their pie holes about it.
But Tamra never shuts her pie hole about anything, so when the girls all got together at a little dinner party that Lynn threw for jewelry line (and the producers had to have her throw it because she’s the only one on speaking terms with all other members of the group), things hit the fan. It was mostly a rehash of last season’s Reunion Battle Royale between Gretchen and Tamra over weird phone calls and nudie pictures. Or maybe the nudie pics weren’t out by then – who knows.
Tamra got all high and mighty about it, and like last season, it just came off as jealousy. Gretchen is younger, prettier, and not married to a jerk that no longer brings in the big bucks. And it’s not like Tamra should really be telling anyone that they’re exposing themselves too much to a public audience – haven’t we seen nearly every inch of her that there is to see on the show itself? Pot, kettle, black, etc.
Gretchen eventually told her to STFU, which seemed to completely SHOCK everyone else at the table, despite the fact that Tamra had been calling her a hooker, among other things, and insulting her dead fiance all evening. I’m not sure why telling someone to shut up is any more rude than those things, but these people live in an alternate reality, and it’s important to remember that before we try to parse their actions with reality in any significant way.
It was a good catfight and a dramatic start to the season, that’s for sure, but I think my favorite part of the whole dinner was when Jeana interrupted the yowling to ask if one of the others was going to finish her mac and cheese. Jeana? She’s a woman after my own heart.
Original post by Amanda Mull
Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2010 was goth, glam and very Victorian, but you wouldn’t know it from looking at the bags. They lacked some of the personality and style of the clothes with which they were designed, but they were sort of interesting in their own right. Whatever way you slice it, however, knit and macrame do not say glam, goth, or Victorian.
The highlights for me were the variations on the successful Miss Sicily satchel shape and anything containing red leopard print (I know, I know, my “taste level” is not so awesome sometimes). Lowlights? Knit, knit, and more knit. Much like the clear vinyl totes that Prada showed earlier in the week, I can’t imagine that these are going to have much of an audience among handbag aficionados, but perhaps I’m wrong. Would you pay four figures for them?
  
  
Images via Style.com
Original post by Amanda Mull
What: DvF Fashion’s Night Out Schedule of Events:
Events:7 to 8pm: Fall for Fitness
Want to know how to tone your tush for Fall’s skinny pants or tighten your arms while sitting at your desk? Join Tracy Anderson for a fitness Q&A as well as exercise demonstration. Her famous DVD’s will also be on sale so you can take her home with you!
8 to 9pm: Celeb Styling Session
Molly Sims and Michelle Trachtenberg serve as stylists for all your fall Fashion questions. They’ll help you pick out the looks you love and show you how to make this season’s trends work for you.
9 to 10pm: Diane Birch Performance
Described has “Zooey Deschanel meets Joni Mitchell, with the tiniest dash of Norah Jones” by the New York Times, Diane will be performing songs from her debut album Bible Belt live at the DVF shop.
Plus! With any DVF purchase that evening, be entered to win…
- A training session at Tracy Anderson Studio in Tribeca
- Two tickets to a Diane Birch show in New York City
- One DVF outfit of your choice (up to $1,500 value)
Original post by Amanda Mull
We’ve had some harsh words to say over the past month or so about Prada’s fall handbag collection. Some of them are covered in fur, some of them are unfortunate combinations of velvet and nylon, and a lot of them look a little “grandma.”
As a result, I’m not sure if I’m being more charitable to the Prada Craquele Tote than I would be otherwise. It’s easy to argue that it’s a pretty decent bag when compared to the line’s other fall offerings, though.
To me, Prada bags always seem to be at one end of the spectrum – either they bore me to tears are they’re so far off in WTFland that I can’t conceive of how I would incorporate them in to my everyday life. This bag is somewhere in the middle, though, and I think that’s why I kind of like it. It’s not completely plain, but it’s also not completely over-the-top.
The gold studs on the contrast leather that runs along the seams and handles are a well-edited response to the studded trend, and the textured leather is interesting without looking too processed. It’s not knocking my socks off, but it’s easily my favorite bag of theirs that I’ve seen in a few months.
cite: http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524446231645&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=282574492709740&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395222441&bmUID=1252424844786&ev19=2:25
Original post by Amanda Mull
Last night, the Real Housewives of Atlanta took Los Angeles!
Well, sort of.
Lisa and Nene went to LA to attend Lisa’s grandmother’s 90th birthday party, which was actually cute and adorable and kind of refreshing when compared to the rest of a reality show that’s based on people that aren’t actually friends going to parties that they’re not actually paying to throw and talking about things that they don’t actually do.
And the other ones did some other things, all of which were more like the second part of the previous sentence than the first. Kim teetered into a recording studio to milk Kandi for all she’s worth and Sheree continued on her Use Your Delusion Tour ‘09 by requesting to ride around in Maybachs while dripping in Tiffany jewelry and thinking that there are competent runway models living in Atlanta (hint: there aren’t).
We continue our dissections of these ladies’ adventures in profanity after the jump.
Before we venture out to California (who knew that Lisa was reppin’ Inglewood?), let’s check in with the others, shall we? Rest assured, they’re not doing anything particularly important.
Kandi, after talking to Kim for what looked like all of 15 minutes, not only invited her to the studio but then wrote a song about her. Well, it’s not really a song about Kim, it’s about her PERCEPTION of Kim, which is an important distinction because it’s more or less diametrically opposed to Kim’s actual personality and behavior. It’s called “I Fly Above,” and it’s meant to tell everyone that Kim and Kandi are too good for your drama!
For someone that’s had such a good career in such a soul-sucking, back-stabbing industry, Kandi’s lack of insight into the people that she surrounds herself with is uncanny. First she’s got That Trifflin’ Fiance, who has six kids by four baby mamas, and who won’t sit down with her mother to assuage her fears about his trifflin’ nature. Not that I think there’s anything he could say to make six kids and four baby mamas sound like it was a good decision. And now, she has latched on to Kim (or, more accurately, Kim has latched on to her), who will suck the life out of anyone with any perceived money and connections until they’re laying on the ground pale, lifeless, and without their cash.
Kim manages to ask Kandi to produce a song for her, one which she refuses to sing on the spot. Don’t worry, though! Kim will get her a copy of it “later.” And she does, over dinner (the restaurant that they go to, Stoney River, is actually pretty decent – I have a couple friends in Athens that are willing to drive to Atlanta just to eat there), wherein she also manages to complain about Nene going to LA with Lisa because, like, they’re not even friends! Ladies, I have a friend like this. She’s insecure, and it makes her crazy to see people in our group of friends make friends with each other because SHE always wants to be the one that’s invited to do everything. Somehow, people having other friends makes her feel like she’s less important. It gets old quick, and it just makes Kim look like a brat. For a moment it seems like Kandi sort of understands that she’s bonkers, but then somehow manages to convince herself that it’s not Kim’s fault, it’s just group drama in general. So what’s the over-under on Kandi realizing that she totally hates Kim? Two episodes?
And then, Sheree. Poor, deluded Sheree. Mercedes-Benz and Tiffany have already decided to sponsor some kind of party in Atlanta, and the organizers apparently thought it a good idea to ask Sheree if she would like to debut her line as part of the festivities. She wasted no time in assuming that that mean the party was going to be FOR her and ALL ABOUT her, so she had some guy who was apparently her ‘representative’ requesting that she be driven to and from the party in a Maybach and Tiffany provide jewels for her to wear for the event. Nevermind that the Maybach probably costs more than her new house. These party planners didn’t seem to be drinkin’ Sheree’s kool-aid, however. Good for them! But she’s going to get them like a fish for it next week. Gosh darnit, she wants her diamonds! She deserves ‘em! In her own weird reality, that is.
An now, California, here we come. Or here Nene and Lisa come. Not me, I’m still in Georgia. As we mentioned, it was Lisa’s grandma’s 90th birthday and they trekked out to the left coast to say hi and possibly undertake the unfortunate task of visiting her brother’s grave for the first time since his death. And the whole thing was adorable and genuine and awesome, and entirely unlike the Real Housewives juggernaut in general. Lisa’s parents seem like they’re great – normal, friendly, smart people. Her dad is Chinese and her mom is from the West Indies (and Nene was three feet taller than both of them, meaning that she’s approximately eight feet tall), and they talked briefly and realistically about growing up as a mixed family in a black neighborhood. Nene and Lisa kept their sunglasses on inside the house, for reason that were never entirely clear.
And they went to the birthday party and there were a bunch of normal people (and they were Asian! Which surprised Nene!), having a normal birthday party, and looking decidedly non-crazy when compared to the likes of Kim and Sheree back home. It was charming, and I mean that in a totally non-sarcastic way. I have no sarcasm for these folks, they seemed wonderful. Lisa and her family went to her brother’s grave afterward and real emotions were had, perhaps for the first time in Real Housewives history (except for maybe that time that Lori quit the OC Housewives because her son got arrested for possession of smack. Again). And it was all very normal, and very unlike this show usually is, in a very good way.
Then they met up with a fabulous, part-Chinese gay guy on their hotel’s rooftop and told him that he should come to Atlanta and meet Dwight. And then they drank copiously, because all of these women drink like fish, even the good ones.
Original post by Amanda Mull