Moon Rabbit Originals open studio event this weekend!

please join us for warm cider and fabulous jewelry and knit creations
—Evie Gauthier
Dec. 4 – 5, 2010
11:00 am – 6:30 pm

Go to the Moon Rabbit Originals Store Site to see our work!

Karma and Color

I think Sole Sister, the Dominatrix of Shoe Fashions, got me back for my snarky remarks about booties in the last post. Last week I returned home after two weeks of fabulous skiing at Crested Butte, no falls and no injuries. The next evening I slipped on the stairs at home and broke two bones in my ankle. Very minor breaks, more like a bad sprain, but I got the message. Five weeks in a knee-high black velcro boot will teach me to humble myself before the footwear fashion pantheon.

Yet.....I can't quite let the shoe thing go. Pick up a copy of the March issue of Vogue (either buy it or literally pick it up and look at it at the store) and check out the "Foot Fetishes" article on page 238. Of course, they only number about one out of every 20 of their pages (what IS that about?), so find page 346 and flip backwards from there. More like foot jewelry than shoes.

There's happy news on the color front. Pantone, the definitive color authority, has announced its Color of the Year for 2010: turquoise!!! I love turquoise both as a color and as a stone. I use a lot of turquoise in my jewelry, so check it out and be up to the minute in your accessory wardrobe. Take a look at Pantone's press release and read what they say about the qualities of this color.

Until the next time, happy first glimpses of spring!

Going Vogue

Fashion Week has arrived in Bryant Park, and once again I'm skiing in Colorado instead of being in New York for the shows. I'm looking out at two inches of new snow at Crested Butte, Colorado, and am very happy with my choice. That's my husband Leigh with me just before our first run of the day.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how fashion trends, as determined by the clothing industry, can influence even the most strong-willed of us. It amazes me how we can be taught to lust after a color, style, or shape one season and a year later be scornful of the very same piece.

Certainly exposure increases our liking of anything. My first day at Disney World I was appalled by all the kitschy Disney shirts, purses, jackets, and hats being worn by other visitors. By the third day, I was thinking some of them were pretty cute and started looking more closely. By the last day I was tucking a Mickey Mouse watch and a Tigger nightshirt into my suitcase. Resistance is futile.

My pet fashion peeve this year has been the Bootie. It's just what we all need: a shoe that cuts us off at the ankle, making our legs look shorter. To compensate for this, we have booties with platforms and dangerously high heels. Remember a few years ago when very high platforms were the rage with young women in Japan? and the rash of broken bones and auto accidents as a result? We're next, girlfriends, if we get "vogued" into wearing these.

On the other hand, Lisa came to a dinner party wearing a pair of booties; a 2-inch heel, but no platform. She looked adorable. I've ordered a pair for spring.

Thoughts on Personal Style

How would you describe your personal style? Are you the Katherine Hepburn type, with a definite and unique style that endures for decades? Or, on the other end of the spectrum, are you the Madonna type, reinventing yourself over time?

How do you know what your style is? Do you shop for a very specific item - certain colors, shapes, fibers, and details? Or do you shop with an eye toward being inspired by what you see, open to something different than your current wardrobe?

There is no right or wrong, of course, just lots of choices along the continuum of how we each create the image that we present to the world.

I would like to offer two challenges to you as we begin a new year, and a new decade.

First, as accurately as possible, describe your current style. Write it down, assemble photos, or put it into words with a friend. Or go window shopping, see what attracts you, and articulate the common features.

The second challenge is to find your fashion edge. Given your current style, where might you push your comfort zone a bit? A new color, a change in accessories, even new combinations of your current stash?

Defining our personal style can save time and money, and enhance our confidence. Style is what keeps us steady in the sea of changing fashion. Make it yours, and make it fun!

Evie

1/6/10

Happy New Year from Moon Rabbit Originals

A new year, a new blog! And plenty of new jewelry items and knitwear on my revamped web site. Please stop by and say hello (virtually, that is). If you have any comments or ideas, I'd love to hear them. I want the site to be easy and fun to use. Kudos to designer Mary Christianson of Christianson Design, project manager Deb Webster, and programmer John Testa as well. Thank to photographer Cheri Smith of Cheri Smith Photography, and models Linda, Leslie and Leticia.

All the best for the new year (with its lovely blue moon),

Evie