I’ve officially completed two months of my yearlong shopping diet! You won’t believe me when I say this, but it’s true:

It’s super fun.

It really is! I admit the first month was hard, not so much because I wasn’t shopping but because I kept thinking about it. I’ve never thought about shopping as much as I did in September, and it was only because I wasn’t allowed to do it. So I became a bit obsessive, constantly thinking about all the great trends and products I was missing out on.

This second month has been awesome. I loved going into H&M the other day, finding about ten items that I wanted, and just walking away with an, “Oh well! Too bad for me!” It’s so liberating. I don’t have to try anything on, nor decide which item is most worth my money, nor think about all the items I left behind. I walk away physically and mentally. It’s fantastic.

That said, if you’re thinking about starting a shopping diet, I should give a disclaimer: I love challenging my own willpower. It invigorates me. So if you hate a challenge, you’ll probably want to blow my brains out by the time you’re in your second month. Sorry.

I love this. Which is funny, considering that:

1) I poke fun at friends who color-coordinate their books, and then
2) actually did it in my own home.

I was just perusing J.Crew when I realized that their “bright dahlia” color is exactly like the one Brioni used in their fall collection! It was absolutely stunning on the runway when paired with the cantaloupe/camel color. It’s possibly my favorite color palette from the fall runway.

So this week has been ca-razy! One of my closest friends in the world is visiting with her family. Her whole family—as in fifteen of them. We’ve been staying out late every night, talking, laughing, and reminiscing. I guess I’m too old for this insanity, because I’m seriously wiped out. Of course it doesn’t help that my kids wake up at 5:30 every morning! Anyway… I’m tired. That’s my excuse for why my posts have been short and lacking in substance. I need a pajama day.

I’m getting excited for the Versace for H&M collaboration! Not to buy, of course—I’m still on a shopping diet, remember?—but just to see it.

An Iconic Collection by mojans featuring a short pleated skirt

Donatella Versace made a great comment in an interview about the collection. She said, “I felt such incredible freedom when I designed the collection, creating something outside the usual system—to make an iconic collection that wasn’t for runway or a particular season, but which was just for the love of fashion.”

Inspiring. Love it.

Versace for H&M coming November 17!

This animal-print dress from Caroline Charles is chic and even office-appropriate.

Note that the dress fabric falls away from the body while still being form-fitting. Beautiful, ladylike, and not at all tacky!

The New York Times published a very interesting article today, “All That Authenticity May Be Getting Old.”

It’s about the crafts movement that we’re currently in—where artists are producing more and more “unique,” vintage, or handmade objects; major retailers are selling them, and we’re going crazy buying them. But this desperate need to have “authentic” items in our home is becoming pretty predictable and boring. Which is exactly what we were trying to avoid!

Here’s an excerpt:

“People are looking for things that are authentic,” [Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan] said. “I think it started happening after 2001: first there was 9/11, followed by recession. There was a certain exhaustion with the shiny and perfect. People didn’t relate to it anymore.”

But as Dmitri Siegel put it:

“When you pile Etsy on top of Etsy, it gets really cacophonous: ‘Everything in here is totally unique!’ It starts canceling itself out.”

And:

As they began furnishing their new house from scratch, they found themselves choosing pieces with clean, modern lines that “could be a backdrop for whatever we were interested in at the moment,” Mr. Siegel said. In other words, he said, “not trying to express your personality and your total individuality with every single thing in your house.”

One of my favorite fall collections was from Bottega Veneta. Pretty much every single thing that came down the runway was sumptuous (and wearable). Their website describes this collection as “poised between restraint and exuberance”—and you can absolutely see why. Here are two of my favorite head-to-toe looks. Want and want.

Maybe it’s because we’re still in eighty-degree weather over here, but this white-winter setting for Ann Taylor’s new collection seems completely out of place. Am I the only one still thirsty for autumnal browns?

The cobalt blue shift dress, however? Definitely something I can get behind (or in).

I just came across pictures of blogger Claire Watkins’ apartment and had to share.

Her styling is perhaps more retro-eclectic than mine, but I’m really inspired by how she brightened up this space and how effortless she makes it look. Take note of how the layering of fabric and texture in her living room gives it so much personality.

I loved this dress on the spring 2012 runway:

and I love it even more on this Glee girl.