Consider Ballet Flats For Houseshoes

I've never met a human being who doesn't have personal quirks. In the context of today's blog, I'll define a personal quirk as a habit or attitude that's neither right nor wrong but peculiar to the person who has it.

My personal quirk is if I have a day I'll stay home and see no one I still like to shower; get out of my pajamas and houseshoes, and dress for the day. Even during the pandemic when there wasn't a chance of a surprise visit from a neighbor, family member, or friend, every single day I showered, dressed in a t-shirt, leggings, and ballet flats, then sat in my apartment. Day after day! Despite whatever worry, uncertainty, or inactivity going on in the world, I'm in a better frame of mind and more productive if I dress for the day. 

Another personal quirk of mine, I cling to a casual smart style. To me, loungewear and sweats look sloppy and too much like pajamas. I don't own them!

 The shoes I wear in my apartment and perhaps to go down to the mailbox or laundry room are often rejects -- ballet flats I bought for walking on the street, but as it turns out, lack arch support. So the soles of the shoes stay clean. My rejected flats that are not supportive enough for pounding on concrete are fine to wear inside my home. It's a savvy way of repurposing a mistake!

However if unlike me, you don't have mistakes to give a 2nd life to, these Amazon Essentials Ballet Flats fit the bill! Cozy and made good enough at a cheap price to hold up long enough to get your money's worth. Not to mention, they elevate your style over wearing houseshoes all day! You could even step outside on concrete in them if you must ... like on a patio or down the block to fetch something. 

In my quirky opinion, we all need a pair of dapper shoes to wear around the house that are houseshoes, yet not houseshoes! Like Jane Cleaver wearing pearls to vacuum, you'll feel better for it ... plus keep your floors relatively clean!

You may also enjoy:

The Classic Cardigan Sweater

Active Wear For Home Or Play

Pandemic Sheltering In Place Fashion

The Case For Cheaper Casual Smart Dresses

Eileen Fisher For A Sustainable Life

Eileen Fisher has a boutique in all the renowned department stores such as Saks, Macy's, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdale's. The retailer's apparel is pricey yet fair, and the style is simple, sustainable basics. I love the superb craftsmanship and natural fabrics, including silk, cotton, linen, merino wool, and cashmere that are characteristic of the brand. 

I have an expensive pink linen scarf a friend gave me because at 5'0," tall she was too short in stature to pull off wearing it. It's a very big scarf. At 5'7'' I usually drape it around my arms and shoulders to wear as a makeshift shawl - jacket. Due to its premium quality, I'll have the scarf for the rest of my life. Eileen Fisher uses materials that feel great and hold up over time. I was a browser long before receiving my scarf.

The merchant creates clothing in 12 shapes. Each customer is encouraged to find her own fit, size, and fabric. Articles are also designed to mix and match, so when dressing, you can do more with fewer pieces in creating different outfits. What also helps is the Eileen Fisher style is not garish, but understated, polished, and always current.

Once upon a time, I thought of Eileen Fisher's clothing as fashion for older women, but it really isn't true. It's merely the opposite of trendy fast fashion. You pay more for staple versatile pieces that you'll wear for years to come.

The good news is both the merchant and the department stores that carry Eileen Fisher offer special sales on the clothes. Periodically you'll also score a piece at T.J. Maxx by browsing its The Runway section!

Eileen Fisher also takes back clothing you no longer want to wear. You get $5 and depending on the condition, the fabric gets recycled or the clothes cleaned and resold by the merchant online as second-hand or third-hand clothing under the "renew" tab. Worth a browse to possibly pick up a bargain. I've never heard of a designer so committed to recycling and repurposing its apparel. 

Buying the right pieces that last and ones you'll repeatedly wear, plus catching a sale or gently worn article is how to spend less for a garment you'll own forever.

You may also enjoy:

A Well-Stocked Bar

Kaufmann Mercantile

Best Leggings Updated

Launer Is A Handbag Fit For A Queen

A View of Lower Manhattan

All Photos taken by Carolyn C.

My friend, Carolyn C., spent the afternoon in lower Manhattan, namely Wall Street and the South Street Seaport. Affectionally, I like to call her my Intrepid New Yorker Friend because there is not an inch of the city she does not explore. 

Carolyn has given me permission to share her photos of Trinity Church and the South Street Seaport. This is where New Yorkers who live in Manhattan go when summoned for jury duty. The court houses which make up the Southern District of New York sit several blocks away.  

The tomb of Alexander Hamilton

In recent years developers built residential high-rises in lower Manhattan, but much of it is protected as historic. The neighborhood is a bit separated from Midtown, the Upper East Side, and the Upper West Side requiring subway rides to get here. 

Do you spot the Fearless Girl?

Lower Manhattan is one of the oldest quarters of the city, with little shops, bars/restaurants, and public spaces for music, readings, and miscellaneous entertainment. 

One summer I took the subway down to the seaport to listen to a series of lectures and author talks.

I love living in New York too and Carolyn is a great friend to trek around town with ... from Broadway to Central Park to lower Manhattan and off the beaten path seeing everything from cherry blossoms to art exhibits and old or historical buildings. Thank you, Carolyn, for capturing some of downtown for us on your most recent jaunt.

Have you ever walked from Battery Park or Wall Street back uptown? It's very doable if you have the time to walk.

🌷🌱🌹🌱🌸🌱🌷🌱🌹🌱🌸🌱🌷🌱🌹🌱🌸🌱🌷🌱🌹🌱🌸🌱🌷🌱🌹🌱🌸🌱

Update:

Where did my Intrepid New Yorker Friend, Carolyn, go next? Answer: Up to the Bronx to spend the day at the New York Botanical Garden:  

You may also enjoy:

It's A Manhattan Christmas

My Window Shopping Spree

New York City On A Saturday Night

SVA's Fashion Show On Madison Avenue

Loewe's Poplular Puzzle Bag

Photo: Fashionphile

The popular decade-old Puzzle bag was the debut bag of Loewe's new creative director in 2014, Jonathan Anderson, and what a brilliant brainchild it turned out to be, putting a purse from a forgotten heritage brand on top of every luxury fashionista's wish list. The puzzle bag's unique cuboid shape and cutting method create its recognizable geometric lines. It was first conceived as a man's duffle bag. After women began buying it, the puzzle bag was also parlayed over to the women's department.

The Puzzle bag became a hit, not only due to its artistic modern design but also because of its rich and durable calf leather and outstanding craftsmanship. Each bag is hand-stitched together. The bag is fairly practical too. Not only does it hold all your everyday essentials, but it's also super versatile to use: You can clutch carry it, grab its top handle, or wear it as a shoulder or crossbody bag. Plus the bag has no screaming logos. Industry people like to call the Puzzle bag quiet-luxury, an if you know, you know bag. It also folds flat.

The bag is available in 5 sizes: Nano (5.25 x 4" x 2"), Mini (6.75" x 4.5"), Small (9.5" x 6.25" x 4.25"), Medium (11.5" x 7.75" x 4.75") and Large (14" x 8.25" x 5.75"). 

Now there are 2 versions, the Original Puzzle bag and a redesigned version called the Puzzle Edge bag. Here's the difference: (1) The Original Puzzle bag is made of several pieces of leather that are separately hand-sewn together, and it takes longer to make while (2) the Puzzle Edge bag has fewer pieces of leather that are folded into the same iconic cuboid shape for quicker production. (1) The Original has visible black lines where the seams are sewn together (2) while the Edge with leather folds doesn't. (1) The Original bag has metal feet and (2) the Puzzle Edge omits them. I don't know about you, but I favor bags with metal feet to protect the bottom of the bag. Why remove them?

Photo: Fashionphile

Many observers fear the Puzzle Edge is replacing the Original Puzzle bag, but so far both editions are for sell on the company's website at about the same price.

So will the original puzzle bag eventually be phased out? Nobody knows, but it kind of looks like it. More customers seem to prefer the original over the newer puzzle edge.

The puzzle bag still maintains its early duffle bag likeness, and fashion editors think it will be around for a long, long time to become a classic, making it hold its value on the resale market.

You may also enjoy:

Consider Bvlgari Bags

Luxury Novelty Goods

The City Tote From Foley+Corinna

Launer Is A Handbag Fit For A Queen

Sterling Silver Mother Of Pearl Drop Earrings

In 199os innovations in the freshwater pearl industry brought down the prices of what was once a natural gem far too expensive for the masses to buy. Pearls were for royals. Today genuine pearls no longer cost an arm and a leg and are quite reasonably priced. As a general rule,  I recommend not settling for fake pearls, instead buy real freshwater pearls as they're affordable and worth the money.

Nonetheless, every rule has an exception. The exception could well be these dangle pearls selling on Amazon for $16.88. Here's why ...

1)  A pair of 12" round real pearl earrings in 14K - 18K gold costs about $1,000, which is a lot of money! As with other gemstones, the price of bigger gems like pearls goes up exponentially ... because of their rarity. With these, you can enjoy the effect of bigger pearls without the big expense.

2) The metal is 925 sterling silver (like gold a precious metal) coated in 18K gold.

3) Without a doubt, this purchase of fake pearls is 100% fake ... and yet not 100% fake in every way. They are shell pearls -- made from natural Mother of Pearl (a substance secreted by mollusks, the same sea creature that secretes natural pearls.) Cut and shaped into round beads, these are covered with Nacre (the same substance pearls are made of) to give them good luster. So you get manmade fake pearls made out of the same natural substances as real pearls but for less moola!

4) The lever-back drop design is elegant and unlike the usual dangle.

These would never replace a lovely pair of freshwater pearls but are cheap enough to buy in addition to real pearls ...  for fun, for traveling (always leave your good jewelry at home), and for their bigger size and unique design. I wouldn't invest too much money in fashion or inexpensive jewelry, but a single splurge on classic earrings with a ton of 5-star reviews, sureee, occasionally.

You may also enjoy:

Pearls The Queen Of Gems

Fine Jewelry Under $125 As Gifts

Jewelry Loves Come Play With Us

My Favorite Royal Crowns Of Europe

Macy's Herald Square We Love You As You Are

A few days ago after news about Macy's department store hit the press I wrote a post on Facebook that is getting "likes." I'll share the sentiments expressed while keeping the names of FB friends private ...

Debra Turner - What's on your mind:

February 28 at 1:52 PM 

Macy's has always been my absolute favorite NYC department store. Today it sounds like it is changing its business model to be more like Saks, Bloomingdales, and Bergdorf Goodman's. Along with closing some of its stores, it announced it would be changing its facade, as well as, "focusing more on luxuries." The very thing I love about Macy's is when you need something such as clothes, shoes, accessories, or household items, Macy's has good quality at every price point from budget-friendly to luxury! For decades Macy's has been for everybody! I hate to see changes that are not improvements. Somebody is not paying attention to what happened with the transformation of Barney's from its downtown location to its uptown store. In 2 decades I fear, Macy's may suffer the same fate ... and it will no longer be fun to shop there! How many overpriced dresses, bags, shoes, bed sheets, or towels does a person need?

D P

Totally agree with you

• 1d
• Reply

M M

I am hoping that that will not happen with the New York store, but I'm not holding my breath. I mourned the demise of Lord and Taylor. They are an online store now but their prices are like Saks or Bloomingdale's. 

I haven't been able to afford one thing on their website 

• 1d
• Reply

Debra Turner

M M Sadly all these great old department stores are gone. B. Altman, Gimbles too. 

• 1d
• Reply

M M 

Debra Turner I loved B. Altman. And putting myself through school I worked at another upscale store called Arnold Constable. It was on a diagonal from Lord & Taylor and is now a branch of the public library.

• 1d
• Reply

Debra Turner

M M I remember it well. The B. Altman store closed soon after I arrived in Manhattan, but not before I bought a wool blazer and 2 cardigans there. You walked in and a sales associate with a name like Mary Catherine in her late 50s or early 60s helped you find what you needed and really knew her specialty. Likewise in my hometown, we had 4 amazing department stores, at one time called ''dry goods" stores with the same helpful sales associates. In the early 90s, my senior mother had to go to a periodontist whose office was in downtown Louisville, to save her teeth (happens as a senior, your teeth have decades of wear and tear), and her periodontist said, Mrs. Turner, you will be my last patient. I'm retiring, because as all these department stores have closed, I'm not getting any more patients who get pay + medical and dental benefits. The newer companies replacing the department stores aren't paying employees benefits.

• 1d
• Reply
• 
  

M M

Debra Turner Wow! That's why unions are so important. 

There is a wonderful novel that I read several years ago that takes place at B Altman. Lucia, Lucia

by Adriana Trigiani.

It tells the story of a young girl from an Italian family, who lives in Greenwich Village. It takes place in the 1950s and she uses her sewing skills to get a job at the store. The author has written the book with such detail that you can remember what it was like to be in that store. Plus, the plotline itself is really interesting. You might be able to get it at a public library.

• 1d
• Reply

Debra Turner

M M Thanks, I'll look for it.

• 1d
• Reply

C S

The department stores from long ago are disappearing. I will always love Macy’s. Their Hotel Collection bedding remains my favorite but it seems the quality of merchandise across the board is declining. Also, dislike racks stuffed with cheap garments in poor layouts. My local Macy’s is woefully understaffed. Last weekend I tried to buy a Radleys of London purse and left the store empty-handed. Could not find one salesperson anywhere. Very discouraging.

• 1d
• Reply

Debra Turner

C S Even in NYC at Herald's Square it is difficult to find a helpful sales associate. They are trained to be more helpful at Bloomingdale's, but the price points of the merchandise start higher. Macy's -- all price points. You could find things for what you'd pay at Bloomingdales, but you didn't have to ... sometimes due to their hard-to-believe sales.

• 1d
• Reply
• Edited

C W We had a Lord & Taylor near us which carried all the brands and items I liked for many years. Then they decided to become more fashion-forward, dropped a lot of the old brands of shoes, jewelry, clothing, etc., and eventually went out of business. Study your customer base, department stores!

• 1d
• Reply

C W

Also, what you describe may explain what happened to the Macy's in White Plains, which appeared to be emptying out the store the last time I was there. (It has since closed, and I can't believe the one in Yonkers will support the new business plan you describe!)

• 1d
• Reply
• Edited

Debra Turner

C W yes, I'm terrified for Macy's!

• 1d
• Reply

Now we wait to see what the new business plan will mean for the Macy's we already know and love. I'm sharing our remarks in the hopes that decision-makers stumble upon the blog and preserve what customers love about Macy's. 

Do you have any thoughts or memories of old-style department stores?

You may also enjoy:

It's A Manhattan Christmas

Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale

Elie Tahari Women's Apparel Fall 2019

Playtime At Bergdorf Goodman's Chanel Boutique