If a home is one's castle, it deserves a proper key. Inspired by the ornate details & magical appeal of skeleton keys she discovered as a child antiquing with her grandmother - by train or in her very large Cadillac (she was four foot ten inches tall and had to sit on a pillow to see over the steering wheel) - designer Michele' Lilley now makes ordinary keys extraordinary with her unusual keys to my castle line. "It was at the bottom of boxes at the end of the day I would find my treasures," reminisces Lilley. "I remember so clearly as a little girl looking through my box of skeleton keys, holding them and imagining the enchanting castle that they surely must have opened at some point in their existence (Although I must admit I was also quite sure that I was a princess stolen at birth.) Anyway, the keys fascinated me and I loved the whole idea of the beautiful places that they could take me…the secret doors that they could open."
In an era of mass-produced sameness and our use-it-and-toss-it mentality, these keys are a fun and charmingly quixotic antidote. "I remember once asking her why the keys that we used to open our doors now were so plain…not at all beautiful and certainly nothing like the enchanting keys that I kept in my jewelry box. Her response was so typical of her, she said 'honey, people throw away tiffany shades and beautiful china to read by bright lights and eat off paper…I’m afraid the magic of rare and wonderful things has faded'. Well I believe we need more rare and wonderful in this world…. I like china, I love tiffany’s and I want my special key to open the door to the most sacred place I know…my home, so I created my own magical keys."
There are currently 20 unique designs, with new ones being released each month at KeysToMyCastle.com.
White Trash Charms for Playboy Jewelry recently launched at an event at Hyde, hosted by Kelly Osbourne and the designer, Brooke Dulien, with guests including Enrique Inglesis, Hugh Hefner and The Girls Next Door, Kimberly Stewart and The Hilton sisters. The festivities included a live set by Balthazaar Getty's band Ringside, a screening of a Joaquin Phoenix-directed short film starring Osbourne, and a bunny photo shoot featuring the Playmate of the Year.
In our fave post of the week, it's a truckload of unsolicited - but oh so necessary - advice from chicas in the know! The Bag Snob weighs
in on everything from incontrovertible evidence about why it's essential to protect one's delicate face from aging SPF, to
the right bag to carry for your frame (especially if you're teensy), to whether Terri Hatcher should get jaw realignment surgery...or simply wait 'till the end of
the full moon. FASHION:
Think ahead! Girlawhirl offers up a spring 07 fashion forecast & primer.
Meanwhile, it's fall in the here & now. A hot product: long scrunchable, cuffable socks. [Stylehive]
Paris Style Summary: Mattie Roberts cracks the French style code.
This fall's staple: the turtleneck dress. [Stylebites]
Want to Find Great-Fitting Jeans? Turn to Kasil! LA Story gives you the "skinny" (& bootcut, straight leg) in a podcast with David Lim, Kasil designer.
Coquette shares a preview of a new women's fashion line, Mademoiselle Parasuco, while attending the San Francisco launch party.
Second City Style
interviews Uluru NYC's Designer Caroline Priebe - you can't help being
drawn to the elegance and styling of her cashmere sweaters and dresses.
Not available on the Internet to purchase, but available for window shopping none the less - fab Ebel watches for men & women. [Jewelry-Weblog]
Your typical holiday gathering is awash in black-black-black. Fashiontribes shows how to turn the tables (affordably) in a chic white frock with black accents, a la the Elie Saab runway.
BEAUTY:
(left to right: red kissers at Blumarine, Costume National, Anna Sui)
Red Lips: Be Not Afraid! A step-by-step guide to nailing this season's hottest look. [Bonbons in the Bath]
Beauty Buzz
"hearts" this terrific new hair dryer: tourmaline (check), ionic
(check), ceramic (check), lightweight (check), quiet (check!!) and LESS
MONEY (check!!!!)
What you need to know before you shop for foundations, concealer and powder. [Beauty Newsletter]
eBeautyDaily reviews the newest offering from Tom Ford, Black Orchid.
Beauty Addict gives you the full breakdown of the NARS holiday collection...the good, the bad, and the...muddy brown?
DIY is all good & well if you've the time & the inkling. Very Designer's helpful & easy-to-follow beading kits will have you crafting in a snap, or, figure it's the thought that counts & order them up ready-made. Starting in January, new styles will be introduced weekly, and keep an eye out for a 10% discount on the style of the week. Available at VeryDesigner.com.
Worn with a simple tee & dark jeans, crisp white buttondown, or even full-on red carpet regalia, this lil' fashion chameleon contains 368 round garnets totalling 29 carats in weight, 19 oval garnets worth 57 carats, and five big-ass pear garnets weighing in at 27 carats. Yowza! Available at Overstock.com.
Fun & fashionable shopping awaits for guys & gals at AzaleaSF.com. To qualify for your 10% discount - which applies to non-sale items - simply enter the word "FASHIONTRIBES" in the coupon code box. The offer is valid until the stroke of midnight on Sunday, 11/12.
Oh yeah, come to daddy! Only three of these babies, which started life as a Lincoln Continental, were made by California Kustoms in 1973. This beauty even still has the original 8-track tape deck. Available at modink42.tripod.com.
