Winter Accessories

We had a couple of cold days here, reminding you that winter is not that far away. New York is a city of black, especially in winter. That doesn't mean that we do not use colors to spice up our outfit. Warm cozy accessories with a pop of color are our favorites on a chilly day.

This outfit features some of my favorite cold weather accessories.

Missoni scarves explore your imagination of color combos. My red/green scarf has gone quite a bit mileage since I got it in 2007. A couple of my friends also got Missoni scarves after they saw how many times I'd used mine.

This Vince Camuto arm warmer is a recent purchase and I love it! It comes handy when you wear a short-sleeve or sleeveless dress under neath your coat. Apparently it magically makes even the most classic simplistic outfit look edgy and chic.

And of course, don't forget to throw in a purse that you are in the mood for. I have to confess that I'm totally in love with blue bags this season. Blue is such a rich and sophisticated color for cold days that brightens an black outfit without appearing over-the-board. I've got three blue bags this year, and you-know-whom would roll his eyes whenever I pulled out one of them. What can I say? Men are color blind. They think all blues look the same... *_^

Wool coat: Marni
Scarf: Missoni (similar, similar, similar, similar, similar, also like this infinity scarf)
Purse: Loeffler Randall Rider Bag in cobalt leather (also seen in this post, similar, similar, similar)
Leather armwarmers: Vince Camuto
Sunglasses: Karen Walker Super Duper Strength
Boots: Cole Haan

Bir...Bir...Birkin!

爱收藏包包的女人不可能不知道birkin。要说birkin贵，其实也不尽然，现在一只小香包也差不多是birkin三分之一的价格了，而且birkin比小香要结实耐用许多。如果根养房子养孩子比，就更不算什么了，曼哈顿几个月的daycare（还不包括饮食）就够一个birkin。在很多人看来，birkin的地位主要在于它的难买，而我研究的结论则是，birkin的购买本身就有很多窍门。因为价格不菲货源难求，买一只称心如意的birkin是需要花一番心思的。

我今天来分享一下自己购买birkin的一些体会。

颜色。有些人买包的时候只要是有现货就买，不太看重自己的喜好，可是我觉得这是很个人的问题，需要好好考虑，毕竟买一只包很不容易。很多人喜欢鲜艳的颜色，尤其是喜欢爱马仕的标志性的橘红色。其实，根据爱马仕店员的信息，黑色是最难买到的。为什么呢？因为birkin皮质优异制作精良，其实是很好的上班包（我在金融区工作，经常看到拿birkin穿pant suit的女人排队买午饭），这跟大部分小香包的主要用途是不一样的。既然是everyday bag，就不能太招摇。黑色 灰色 棕色 金色（他家管米粽色叫gold），这些低调中性的颜色一来不那么耀眼，二来容易搭配上班的衣服，都是很好的选择。如果是第一只birkin，我个人倾向于买这类低调耐脏的颜色。金属件要么金色要么银色，就没有那么多讲究了。

大小。常见的birkin有30, 35, 40这三个尺寸。像我这样的小个子，拿着30和35都很好看，但是40就太大了。170以上的姑娘，可以在35和40间选择。难怪35是最流行的大小，在二手市场上，35也是最好卖的。不过，30和40更容易在店里买到，因为需求量相对较小。

皮质。这是个很复杂的问题，birkin的皮质选择比小香要多得多，我来多说几句。

我有十来只小香，但是没有一个是用来上班的，一个是因为经典好看的小香普遍偏小，装不了我的那许多宝贝，一个则是因为小香皮质普遍比较娇气。我日常主要背的是Louis Vuitton或者Coach的布包 -- 大妈我年纪大了，不在乎别人看我背logo包有什么想法，就图它们个大轻巧防水耐磨，那个shi黄shi黄的颜色，买来也没多新，用几年也没多旧。但是birkin是著名的workhorse，又能装又耐用，如果你选对了皮质的话，用上10年20年也依旧挺括好看，跟新的差不多（除了边角稍有磨损以外）。大家看过“花儿与少年”吧？如果小香包是许晴，那么birkin包就是刘涛，前者是用来看的，后者是拿来用的。

除开死贵的exotic skin（比如鳄鱼皮），birkin用的主要是牛皮和山羊皮。我见过很多赞美chevre（山羊皮）的，据说比牛皮更轻，但是我个人没有见过实物，应该比较少见。更常见的是用山羊皮做内胆，用牛皮做外层。-- birkin都是里外全皮，所以比较重。

牛皮又分为两大类，一种是textured leather，也就是有纹路的，一种是smooth leather，也就是光面的。如果你跟我一样，希望物尽其用，尽量多用这只包，那么，我建议把选择缩小到texutred leather里面，因为光面皮更容易有划痕，用用就显得旧了。最常见的光面皮是box，建议避免。

Textured leather里面，有的是天然纹路，有的是人工纹路，品种又有许多。最常见的是togo, clemence, epsom 和 fjord。这几个皮里面，epsom比较轻和挺，不容易软塌塌，但是手感不如另外几个厚软可爱。fjord不怕水，也有很多人喜欢，但是似乎是这几个里面最重的一种。Clemence这种皮非常软，手感巨可爱，但是用了几年以后包就渐渐塌了，空包站不住，尤其是大包，我觉得更适合爱马仕别的款型，比如Lindy就更适合用软皮做。Togo呢，比epson手感好，比fjord轻，比clemence挺，也比较容易排到，但是togo容易有vein，是皮子的天然纹理，找到一个没有vein的togo皮包也是很不容易的。

总之选皮子，是比选颜色大小要伤脑筋的事情。有兴趣研究的话，可以看看网上的信息，比如这篇和这篇。

Dress: DVF (also like this, this, this)

Wool coat: Marni

Brooch: Swarovski (also seen in this outfit)

Handbag: Hermes Birkin 35

Sunglasses: Karen Walker Super Duper Strength

Booties: VC Signature by Vince Camuto

A Not-So-Mad Plaid Coat

If you are looking for a new overcoat for the upcoming winter, you may want to look a little beyond the classic solid colored ones and think plaid. In general, plaids are coming back stronger than ever this winter, especially in the overcoat department.

Key words for this season's overcoat:

• Big bold plaids  
• Oversized in blanket or bath robe style

I found this trend especially challenging on my petite frame. It's much easier to embrace these two elements one at a time: "plaids + slim", or "solid + oversized". I've tried a couple of plaid oversized coat (like this Theory piece), and felt totally overwhelmed. If you check out other fashion bloggers, you will find many of them, except for those tall ladies, only "kind of" wear those new trendy coats -- throwing one on the shoulder is not really wearing it; in winter, we all need a coat that sits nicely on the shoulder when we put our arms through the sleeves and button up. Honestly, although being understated is the new sexiness, plaid oversized coats are really made for taller girls with wider shoulders who have the asset to play a tomboy. I'll try to stay sober in all this madness for plaid.

Here is my not-so-mad plaid coat from Marni. Slim cut and streamlined. Another investment piece I got two years ago.

Wool coat: Marni (more plaid coats from Theory, Polo Ralph Lauren, Free People, Rag & Bone, Sea, Trina Turk)
Wrap dress: Tory Burch
Pumps: Fendi
Sunglasses: Karen Walker Super Duper Strength
Purse: Louis Vuitton Damier Hampstead PM