What's In Her Monelle Bag: Big Apple & Iris Apfel Edition
Last week, we flew to the Big Apple for the biggest shopping event of the year: Coterie! We found so many goodies for fall, holiday, your winter trips down south, and even spring (cough, cough, prom!). We spend all day at the Javits Center, meeting with our old favorites and finding shiny new things, too! But all that trekking and buying requires a beautiful and reliable bag, so we toted the Kate Spade “Francelle Bag.” It is chic & functional, “eminently wearable and utterly upscale.” It’s the perfect carry-on bag, giving structure & support for our bulky items, and interior zip pockets for our personals; it is the substantial bag we look for treks through the airports, subways, and the rows and rows of new product at the Javits. The soft and luxurious quilted leather gives it the feminine touch we need for late nights after a long day.
Despite all the amazing designers and styles, there was one highlight to this trip: we met the infamous Iris Apfel! Iris is one of the chicest, yet quirkiest, style icons out there today. Her signature style includes circle specs, in and outdoors and a bright red lip. The rest of her ensemble is always a pleasant surprise! It’s about knowing yourself, staying interested, and maintaining humor, she says. “If you make a mistake in what you put together,” she once said, “the fashion police are not going to haul you into jail.” Iris was an Art History student at NYU & Wisconsin, and began her interior design career at Women’s Wear Daily. She took part in White House restoration through nine presidents: Truman, Eisenhower, Kenney, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan & Clinton! And Iris’ latest claim to fame?! She is the newest, brightest & happiest face behind Kate Spade New York, one of our favorites of course! “When you don’t dress like everyone else,” she said, “you don’t have to think like everyone else.” We love her.
So now, what was in our Monelle bag?! With a little Iris Apfel inspiration, and a lot of help from our local favorites like Mirror, Mirror and The Optical Center, we were more than prepared for the big city!
One BIG lesson we learned from Iris Apfel? Too much lip color is never enough. Her signature red lip is even better in the fabulous flesh. The key to a bold and beautiful lip is a smart and sumptuous buy, like Bobbi Brown’s Luxe Lip Color. It keeps your lips healthy & hydrated to most effectively hold onto lip color. Eight glasses of water, plus this sumptuous formal dramatically boosts moisture levels AND intensely rejuvenates lips.
Now, the key to keeping that red pout look perky? Adding a lipgloss. But not just any lipgloss. Try Laura Mercier Paintwash Liquid Lip Color in Vermillion Red. This baby is rich & cushiony, lightweight & longlasting, It is the perfect topcoat over a rich and basic lipstick.
The change in seasons means change in scents. We trust the ladies at Mirror, Mirror with our lives and liquids and we see them every season for perfume tune up. Our first favorite: the Bond No. 9 collection. We needed a sophisticated, but undeniably fun new fit. That’s where Central Park South comes in. Central Park South is a fresh and floral take on an upscale New York City scent. Top notes of grapefruit flower and black currant buds; seductive heart-note of jasmine and lily of the valley; and a base of classic wood notes. Our second pick as the temps drop and the layers pile on is Dolce by Dolce and Gabbana. As the days get crisper and scents get stronger, we welcome this gentle & feminine mix of white flowers: water lilies, bold white daffodils, and South African white amaryllis. The gorgeous packaging is an ode to the vintage fragrance flacons, reminiscent of eau de parfum origins and this big, gorgeous city we like to call home for a few weeks.
Another tip from Iris is to keep those eyes big and bright behind your biggest and best shades. Mirror, Mirror suggested Bobbi Brown Extreme Party Mascara in Black Chocolate. Richer, deeper, denser. The mascara you need in New York City. This chocolately smooth mascara is made to be layered, for bigger and brighter eyes. It kept us feeling foxy & fresh hailing taxis or jumping subways, and looking sweet into the night as we burned the big apple down!
Sunnnies, shades, spekkeis, glecks, glinters, glares! Kate Spade New York, influenced by Iris Apfel herself has the most fashionable take on the classic styles. These sensational round frame Bernadette Glasses and more are available at The Optical Center on the Church Street Marketplace!
