Uncategorized

Weekend Update

1. Thank you to the lovely Ammu, who mentioned ATP Atelier shoes in this post. I’d never heard of the brand, but looked it up and there were so many beautiful, streamlined shoes and sandals.

My favorite are these Astrid leather slides, which are so simple, yet very chic. And, they’re under $200, which I’ll say are quite reasonable for Italian made shoes these days (especially for those found on Net-A-Porter, where five figure dresses seem to sell out and get shipped off to Dubai within hours). I also love the Rosas – well actually, basically the entire line.  ATP sandals look to be what I wish Everlane sandals would be like, to be honest.

If you have any experience with the brand – please share! I’m waiting for my size in the Astrids to come back in stock.

2. I received a few comments about missing new additions to my interview series. I’m slowly on working on more of these – some do take quite a while, but I will try to have some more features later this year! In the meantime please enjoy this great interview with one of my favorite fashion writers, Vanessa Friedman. I like her idea of splurging on a few Alaias and wearing them week after week.

BN-MU577_privat_J_20160226150117

3. I enjoyed this interesting article via the WSJ, about how more labels and providing customized clothing options. In Fashion, Private Client Status Gets Easier. I know exactly one person who buys couture, and I continually nag her to tell me every single nitty gritty detail.

4. Have you ever bought or sold a luxury bag to a second hand site? I’ve done both, and I’d love to hear your opinions on this piece, via The Business of Fashion, on the booming second hand/vintage luxury market. I do agree that as luxury becomes increasingly expensive (without necessarily seeing a corresponding increase on quality), second hand items become more and more appealing.

5. This week I finished The Swans of Fifth Avenue, by Melanie Benjamin.

Swans Fifth Avenue

Swans covers the relationship between Truman Capote, and his socialite “swans” at the time, which included Marella Agnelli, Slim Keith, Gloria Guiness, and Babe Paley. While the novel is based on real life events and relationships, most of the conversations, etc are imagined, and the book reads like a fiction. Truman’s relationship with Paley in particular is a point of focus, and the events all lead up to his eventual “fall” from society after his roman à clef La Côte Basque 1965, based on many of his real life socialite friends was published.

I’d highly recommend Swans as fascinating and well written read, and especially for anyone interested in this time period and the glamour of New York in the 60s and 70s. I learned something about Truman Capote, and am a newfound fan of Babe Paley after finishing it. Recommended as a very interesting, fun read with lots of fashion to enjoy as an extra bonus!

14 Comments

  • Reply
    Archana
    March 11, 2016 at 9:21 am

    ATP shoes : paper thin soles, dainty leather that stretches out,…. I took them to my cobbler who laughed at me for spending so much on shoes that are made this way. Had to warn the unsuspecting readers.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      March 11, 2016 at 10:41 am

      Archana, thank you for sharing your experience! I’m so disappointed to read this! I know that Ammu had a good experience, so I hope others might be able to chime in as well.

      If my size comes back in stock I might still order just to gauge for myself, as NAP is pretty good about returns. Thanks again…do you have any shoe recommendations?

  • Reply
    lissy
    March 11, 2016 at 10:31 am

    Hi! I always enjoy your Friday posts. I have sold, but not bought, many items via The Real Real, Yoogi’s Closet and Poshmark but my preferred way is to sell on my own. I find that there are lots of people looking for real bargains, often looking for prices way lower than I’m willing to part with some of my designer goods. Add that to a 30-40% commission and it can be somewhat painful. I have had some success posting what I want to see on my own blog or youtube channel. While I haven’t bought anything this way, I’m seriously considering making a Birkin my next bag purchase which may be via consignment.

  • Reply
    Jaime S
    March 11, 2016 at 12:49 pm

    The Real Real is great. Most of their items are available to return although not all.. I’ve had some success on ebay but very recently became the victim of a scam. Very upsetting and disappointing when spending thousands of dollars. Buyer beware!

    • Reply
      Katherine
      March 11, 2016 at 7:53 pm

      I’m sorry to hear about the scam! I hope eBay/Paypal refunded your money.

  • Reply
    Tracy
    March 11, 2016 at 1:10 pm

    CNN Money had a short segment on Vestiaire Collective. One of the salient points I got was supposedly luxury consignment is more popular with mature European/American markets than for emerging Asian economies. The reason being that mature markets are over the flash and spectacle whereas new markets want the whole shebang.

    • Reply
      Katherine
      March 11, 2016 at 7:54 pm

      Really interesting – thank you for sharing! I’ll have to keep an eye out for that segment, when I turn on CNN all I seem to get is nonstop political coverage!

      • Reply
        Tracy
        March 12, 2016 at 8:04 am

        Oh, I get CNN International here in my part of the world. Also, I’ve seen short promos for something called CNN Luxury, which interested me with respect to what it augurs.

  • Reply
    Ammu
    March 11, 2016 at 11:27 pm

    Thank you for sharing that interview with Vanessa Friedman – her writing in the FT was so understated yet always packed a punch.
    Regarding ATP sandals, I haven’t worn mine for very long – but I always get a half sole added soon after wearing new shoes and the model I picked up has a 2-inch heel so no issues so far. They seem sturdy enough for south Asian pavements but I guess I will know more after the summer comes and goes 🙂

    • Reply
      Katherine
      March 13, 2016 at 7:57 pm

      The half sole is a great idea – I do that after I wear down the original sole for awhile.

  • Reply
    Ava Lon
    March 12, 2016 at 7:54 am

    Dear Katherine,

    Happy Belated Five Year Bloggiversary! 🙂 Is it only 5? I feel like it has been longer – lol!
    Love your Madewell dress w rope belt from earlier post, looks great! And, yes, machine washable is KEY! 😀
    Like you, after reading Swans I had a whole new outlook on Babe Paley!

    The Nudo ring is nice – their silver 67 pieces are cute, too.
    Have a great weekend!

    🙂
    x
    Ava

    • Reply
      Katherine
      March 13, 2016 at 7:58 pm

      Thank you! And of course you read Swans too, why am I not surprised? 🙂

  • Reply
    ella
    March 14, 2016 at 5:47 am

    I really liked Swans! I thought it was well-written and actually more affecting than I would have expected, given how awful some of the main characters were to their families and others close to them. And thanks for the link to the Friedman interview! I think she has a very distinctive, candid, and trustworthy voice — I was really glad when she moved to the Times.

  • Leave a Reply to Katherine Cancel Reply

    <

    /html>