The other thing I was accosted with in NYC last time besides purple city bags, was legging pants. An evolution of footless stockings from way back when, the legging pants are a bit thicker and are designed to not hug your backside as tightly as tights do. They have generally been worn as pants with long sweaters/tees that just (or even half) cover your backside. I must say, they look pretty cool with winter boots. There are quite a few kinds, from regular cotton ones, to legging jeans, to crazy silver ones. I actually tried the crazy silver ones from Forever21 the other day, but returned them in the end. Silver is just not a flattering color to be hugging your legs with.

What I’m most enamoured of however are the black liquid legging pants. I first saw them last winter, when my friend wore them to Ruth’s Chris with her new red Louboutin pumps looking super glam. They’re incredibly flattering, they’re shiny but not too shiny and they let you show off your gorgeous shoe collection! It immediately went onto my (very extensive) “want” list, except her’s were from Members and costed a little too much for a pair of leggings. Luckily for me, it seems that they’re back with a vengeance this year and have been available almost everywhere.

They even come with variation, from zips at FCUK (left) and David Lerner from Shopbop (right)…..

… to subtle snakeskin prints at Express (left) and American Apparel (right)! I’ve always been a little scared of snake/crocodile skins, but the texture it gives these leggings are actually kind of cool. Different from the classic but not too loud as to be just for the night. I finally bought a pair of classic liquid leggings the other day from Aqua. They’re decently priced and the quality is not too shabby- you don’t want to get ones that are too thin and hugs your buttocks too much. I paired it with my new Heikejarick cargidan and knee high flat boots and felt quite glam. Oh and in case you’re wondering, they’re not too cold to wear in the winter at all. They’re surprisingly warm and provides me with the same amount of insulation as my skinny jeans.

Image Source: Bloomingdales, Express, Shopbop and American Apparel

Update: It’s not available at the Tokyo Narita Airport either.

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Update: The purple gramercy skinny purse from Coach is also sold out in NYC as well!!! When did it become an “it” bag???  

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Just when I’m going out, I realized that my wallet doesn’t fit the cute little clutch I’d picked for my outfit, and I ended up scrambling for something to put my money, ID and credit card in. Where is that usually useless little pouch when I needed it? This has happened to me countless times and every time I tell myself that I shall get myself a pretty little money pouch that I won’t forget about, just for this occasion. But everytime I come home, I forget about my good resolution. Well, I’ve finally gotten my act together and started looking!

I remembered that one of my good friends had a Coach pouch during college, so I started off there. And came across these darling gramercy patent mini skinny wallets. I love the vibrant colors (especially the purple!), the patent material (easy cleaning) and the little compartment on the side for cards. I’ve even brought my clutch to the Coach store just to make sure it fits into it. At $42, it is a palatable price for me. The prints are not my favourite, but it’s subtle enough that I can live with it. So in short, it’s quite perfect for my needs (except for the fact that all the Chicago stores seems to have ran out of purple)!

But of course, being a wise shopper, I had to shop around to see my options- just in case! The other brand that popped into my head was naturally Marc by Marc Jacobs. And indeed they had some cute little pouches that would fit my purposes too. I’m loving the purple one. And even though I’ve not always been a fan of the crocodile print, I quite like the texture here. But alas, both are $68 and are a bit out of the budget I was hoping to spend on a little pouch. So I think I’ll be sticking with the Coach one.. unless anyone has a better suggestion?

Psst! These little pouches will make great Christmas presents!

Image Source: Coach and Bloomingdales

Everywhere I went in NYC, I was accosted by the purple Balenciaga City bag. Most memorably, on Thanksgiving day while I was people watching at the entrance of the Columbus Circle Whole Foods. This girl came up the elevator in a simple loose shirt and leggings, with a long scarf wrapped around her neck, carry a purple Balenciaga City bag- and I thought what a perfect outfit! The long scarf and the bag provides the simple outfit with just the right accent to make it interesting. Moreover, I LOVE that shade of purple! After that I started seeing the bag everywhere. But of course the Barneys and Berdorf in NYC have already sold out of the bag since they’re already all over the streets!

After some research, I found out that this shade of purple I love is called Raison and that it currently comes in two styles of the City. The classic one (left) and the giant covered one (right). Neither is especially perfect. Perfect would be a raison giant city, with silver or gold studs. I’m not loving the purple covered studs, because it doesn’t really pop and it is a LOT more expensive than the classic. And the classic is just classic.

Or perhaps I should expand my horizons and set my heart on a raison day bag instead? One of my friend has it and it is definitely different as far as Balenciaga’s go, compared to other brands though… it is just another hobo bag. Oh but I do so LOVE this color!

Image Source: Barneys

Frankly, I don’t find Black Friday that great of a shopping day unless you go to the outlets at midnight, which is an experience within itself. But if you’re like me and don’t want to brave the crowds, the lines (there was a ridiculous line at the Puma store to pay one year…) and is too lazy to find your way to an outlet, then Black Friday is really nothing special. Now that the department stores have adjusted their inventory accordingly, there are no more crazy extra 70% off sales at Saks anymore. This year at Saks, it was just a measley extra 25% off and it didn’t even apply to everything!

Regardless though I did pick something up. After having stalked this Theory suit for over a month, it was finally on sale. Actually it was on sale last Tuesday on Saks.com, but having slept on it, I woke up the next morning to find my size gone (it must be busy in the offices in the mornings!). I was convinced it will be at the store though, and so on Friday afternoon my friend and I braved the hoards at Saks Fifth and found it. It wasn’t a size 2, but luckily the cutting is really small and I fit perfectly into a size 4. I couldn’t find the pants in my size on Friday, but amazingly enough when I went again on Saturday morning (the sales lady put the wrong size jacket in my bag!!!), it was there! Both were 40% off.

Usually I hate suits because most of them make me feel drab, like a bank teller. But I am LOVING this one. The jacket is cut short and fitted and the pants are slightly wide leg. The over all effect is incredibly chic. It isn’t quite the dark gray suit skirt I was looking for (this color/material doesn’t come with a pencil skirt sadly), but it makes me feel awesome, and I can’t wait to wear it!

Image Source: Saks