Outfit: Calvin Klein, Roxy, les Copains, MotiviLe Silla

• coat: Calvin Klein animal- print cape


• parka: Roxy


• long sleeve: les Copains chunky sweater


• pants: Motivi


• boots: Le Silla

Outfit: Top - Asos, leggings

• : ASOS


• : ASOS

Oriental, express

I really love Gilt (http://www.gilt.com/)! A few weeks ago, there was a sale for Amrita Singh jewelry -  she makes some absolutely  incredible stuff which I always wanted to try but everywhere else it was just too expensive - and I ordered this necklace. Despite the fact that the estimated delivery for it was for the beginning of September, they shipped it almost right away and it turned out to be just awesome, much longer than I thought, much brighter and just so oriental!
Wearing: romper by Costa Blanca, necklace by Amrita Singh, scarf by Oscar de la renta, sandals by Will's Fancy, canvas bag by Saks

Hello again!

Hello everyone! Sorry for quite a long abscence - it's been a really hectic week and it's not even over yet! Graphically, it can be depicted as something very striped: a light stripe followed by a darker one which in its trun is followed by another stripe a few shadows lighter. But it's definitely exciting! In fact, I like it much better than getting stuck in one spot when nothing - nothing! - seems to be happening.
This outftit sort of illustrates my feelings about this striped, striped week lol
P.S. LiddieGal, please let me know when I should send your shoes. They're all ready and waiting! You can write me at marianna.branagh@yahoo.com.

Dress by Gusto Barcelona
Sandals by Espace
Silver chain necklace by Kenneth Jay
Glasses by Escada (what else is new there)
Hat by Laila Rowe

Shoe giveaway, round 2: the winner

I'm happy to announce my shoe giveaway round 2 lucky winner. This time, it is the lovely Liddie from Chic on the Cheap http://chic-onthe-cheap.blogspot.com/
Congratulations! You always come up with amazing looks, and hopefully one day, these shoes will be part of them:)

I will post the pics of my next pair of shoes to be given away shortly, just as soon as I photograph them. So stay tuned!
To be continued...

Eazy'n lazy

As much as I love accessorizing - and I really do - I still yield to my rahter lazy self every now and then and go the easy way. That is, opt for pieces that come pre-accessorized and thus require the very minimum amount of work in putting them all together in an outfit. In that respect, my absolute favourites are pieces with embroidery, beads, all kinds of glitzy stone etc.

I stumbled upon these sandals by my favourite J Renee (at http://www.6pm.com/) last summer and couldn't resist.  And they are so comfortable too!

Dress by DecoV
Sandals by J Renee
Headpiece by Bolton's
Bracelet by Cache
Hobo bag by Oscar de la Renta

From day to night

I bought this dress from Victoria Secret about a year ago, and only wore it casually at first. This summer, however, I decided to go a little bolder than usually and decided to dress it up a bit for this party that we were invited to. The result was quite unexpected: as it turns out, this dress is very versatile, and with a few extra accessories, can be transformed from day to evening wear with no extra problem at all.
P.S. Guys, don't forget the shoe giveaway http://astamundi.blogspot.com/2010/07/shoe-giveaway-round-2.html!

Dress by Victoria Secret
Sandals by Roger Vivier
Necklace by Gilt
Headpiece by Forever 21 (they have a regular Klondike for hair accessories over there, highly recommend!)

Sunset

Just found these pictures which we shot on the roof a few weeks ago. Sunset is such a magical time (even if you're not a vampire)!

And guys, don't forget the shoes giveaway http://astamundi.blogspot.com/2010/07/shoe-giveaway-round-2.html!
Dress by Bolton's
Wedges by Roger Vivier
Necklace by Laila Rowe
Sunglasses by Escada

Shoe giveaway, round 2

It's July, 29 today and as promised, I'm announcing the winner of my first giveaway. The method selected this time was random drawing but for my next giveaway (still shoes) I might revive my numerical skills and choose a winner via random number generator.
So, today's winner is Vicky from the lovely Vicky's daily fashion blog (http://vickysdailyfashion.blogspot.com/. Congratualtion! I'm sure my shoes have found a good owner:)

More shoe giveaways are coming up since I have lined up quite a few pairs in need of new home, from size 7 to  8/5. Today the theme of my giveaway#2 are these lovely pumps by Gabriella Rocha, size 8 and brand-new.
The rules are just as simple:
-make sure you're a follower of my blog
-leave a comment under this post - anything at all.
Voila!
The winner will be chosen and announced next Friday, August 6. Good luck!

On hats and such

I finally found the right fedora, almost at the end of summer! Even though it's super-popular this season, finding a hat that wouldn't look like it belongs on somebody else's head proved to be quite a challenge. But a couple of days ago, I was passing by Laila Rowe store, walked in and a few minutes later, emerged with my very first fedora. Of course, I had to wear it right away!
The dress (found purely by chance at http://www.smartbargains.com/) represents yet another of my favourite ongoing trends - super-maxi. It is seriously long, and I have to hold it at the side while walking. If I'm not carying anything heavy or bulky, it feels quite romantic:)

Wearing: dress by BCBG MaxAzria, fedora hat and bracelet Laila Rowe, wedges Emilio Pucci, sunglasses Escada

City after the rain

Amazingly, since last Friday, we got three thunderstorms, almost in a row in two of which we managed to get caught. Yesterday, it looked like we had all the chances to spend the day indoors - it was really coming down out there - but with the brave "Ah, what the hell!" we ventured outside, equipped with a huge umbrella and a waterproof case for the camera (once again, vanity prevailed). And it was amazing! Walking in the rain turns out to be so much fun, and when the rain is over, the city looks so refreshed and clean!

Those cobblestones are not as steady as they look.

Madison Avenue

Wearing:  skirt Necessary Objects, top Burlapp, wedges Devani, bag Christopher Livingston, heandband Forever 21, bracelet Cache

Park Avenue sunset

These pics were taken a few days ago, when we decided to take a short walk on the way home. Nothing fancy, but hot summer night, Park Avenue, and the last rays of sun.

Those bows are not as stable as they look, and require additional tieing up every now and then

Wearing: Byblos dress, Lucilla sandals, Saks bag, Rene Caovilla barcelet, random sunglasses

Twilight

Taking pictures in the dark is actually quite fun, especially doing so in the forest. In the abscence of which, a park would do perfectly. Viggo could pose as an Enchanted Dog - he doesn't mind, as long as he is taken to the dogrun right after the photoshoot. And he does everything in his power to make this magical moment arrive ASAP.

Wearing:  Kenjo skirt, vintage top, Roberto Cavalli sandals, Forever 21 headband*

Giveaway, my first ever!

Guys, I have an announcement to make: in the upcoming months, I will be having  a series of giveaways for my followers!
 During our renovations that are dragging along happily at a drunken snail's speed, I've discoved quite a few things that I bought at some point in the past, most of the time on impulse and never wore more than once, if at all. All those things - mostly shoes - are in excellent condition, it just so happens that them and I never clicked.
But now hopefully they can find a more appreciative owner.
So here are the rules, and they are as simple as rules can be:
-become a follower of my blog
-leave a comment under this post - anything at all, just whatever you feel like sharing
And in short ten days, July, 29 the winner will be chosen.
This giveaway's shoes-du-jour are these strappy sandals by Steve Madden, size 7.5, absolutely new.

Hot weather and mystery animals

First, a few words on the mysterious animal from the previous post. The little bugger is a coatimundi (coati for short), she is three and she adores footwear and all other kind of wear she can find, sneak away and call her own. Together with Viggo, they form a small gang that poses a serious threat to my shoes that lay randomly around. But I have to admit, by now, our habbits have transformed so much that we rarely leave anything unattended - putting it away right after use (as well as closing all the dors, cabinets etc) has become almost automatic.
Now, on to the outfit. We had yet another scorcher today which I greatly enjoyed being able to wear my new dress by Vfish. The design is as open as one can wear in town without resorting to beachwear (although in the past few days, sarongs and swimsuits would've been very useful even in the street of Manhattan).

Wearing: dress Vfish, sandals Vigotti, sandom scarf and sunglasses