BEAUTIFUL THINGS

Woe is me. With a bad cold and a hectic schedule, I haven't been out to many parties this season! Right now, I'm just looking forward to a cozy evening with hot chocolate and wrapping presents - because I have to get things done (these fabulous gifts won't wrap themselves). So what's a girl looking for fun to do? Plan for New Year's, of course! Now's the time to take advantage of those marvelous Christmas sales for New Year's cheer - pile on the bling with bracelets, load up on luxurious watches, and garland yourself with necklaces. After all, 'tis the season to shine!

Ann Taylor

Talbots

Kate Spade

Ann Taylor

Anthropologie

Images, companies cited. Gold foil, heathersanimations.com. *luxurious watches is a paid advertisement.

ALL THAT GLITTERS

Jingle jangle!
Shine and sparkle!
Here are a few favorite baubles to kick off what I may or may not yet be willing to refer to as the "holiday season" (on the defensible grounds that no holidays have taken place). But, if you're feeling rather festive because of, oh, a particular date in December, here are the spots to shop!

TORY BURCH

ALEXIS BITTAR

FRAGMENTS FOR NEIMAN MARCUS

JUICY COUTURE

KENNETH JAY LANE
All images, companies as attributed.

MARC JACOBS GIVE-AWAY!

My life is full of tough decisions (is this the best moisturizing, loveliest smelling face cream on the entire planet? Is this steak cooked at optimal temperatures for both safety and taste? Will my tailor take out a hit on me if I have this pant cuff re-hemed one more time?). I've been told I'm picky, but I prefer to say "particular." As in, "this particular book won't do - can you get me a copy without a tiny, microscopic scratch on the back dust jacket?"

It's a hard life. So you can just imagine how terribly difficult it was for me to make the decision with Designer Apparel to offer a give-away for a gorgeous piece of Marc Jacobs jewelry - I'm a tough sell. It took me almost 20 solid seconds to say, "heck, yes!" (during those 20 seconds I was calculating if I could win it myself.)

These beautiful bangles could grace your wrist!

So I'm very excited to be offering this gorgeous bracelet for you to win. Isn't it charming? I mean literally. It has charms. It's the Marc by Marc Jacobs House of Cards bracelet stack.



Give-away host Designer Apparel is an exciting online search engine that carries hundreds of luxury brands. You can find wonderful labels from Ralph Lauren and Cole Haan, to Loro Piana and Tory Burch! It's a lovely way to do all your shopping on one website.

Playing By The Rules

1. The give-away will end on Tuesday, October 26, and will be decided via random selection courtesy of Random.org.

2. To enter the give-away, you must become a follower of Sanity Fair via Google Follower or via Facebook (links to both, RH sidebar. Twitter will not count for this contest).

3. You must leave me a comment with email or personal website link stating that you've become a follower on any blog post through next Tuesday.

4. If you're already a follower via one or both of those options, just leave me a comment with email or personal website link and let me know that you're already a fan for automatic entry.

5. For every way you follow (Google Follower or Facebook), you get one entry in the contest. Two follows = two entries. Just be sure to let me know you've followed twice! :)

6. With apologies to all my fabulous Aussie and Canadian friends, this contest is for U.S. residents ONLY. (But if you can score a friend in the continental 50 who is willing to let you use their shipping address, be my guest!). If winner is unreachable after seven days, s/he forfeits the prize to second place.

Good luck friends!!! I can't wait to see who wins!

/All images/ shopbop via designerapparel.com/

GOING GREEN

Haaaappy Friday! It's the end of the week, so let's go out with a big green bang.

Rachel Zoe is always going on and on and on about Oscar de la Renta, as if he were the most amazing designer in the discovered universe. Which he is. Oscar de la Renta was my first designer purchase, ever, and he will always have a special place in my heart (and my closet - right alongside his black satin bow shoes).

Oscar de la Renta's spring 2011 collection featured heavy doses of green jewelry, but you don't have to wait til spring to get your hands on some. Emerald green gems are big for fall - and why not? It goes great with tweed and cheetah print. Below, some beautiful chances to green things up.

Oscar de la Renta

Shop it Out

Images, companies as attributed.

YES YOU KHAN WEAR JEWELS

Browsing through Saks the other day, I stumbled across a line of jumbo jewels from Indian designer Ranjana Khan. The next best thing to my favorite vintage jewelry is vintage LOOKING jewelry, and in Khan's pieces, no one will ever suspect you haven't been up late nights in grandma's closet, wiring a few prized heirlooms together for a completely 2010 look. Khan's summer campaign captured the exquisite aesthetic of a modern heiress.

This season, Khan's pieces (available online at Neiman's and Sak's), include these beauties, with a touch of floral thrown in. I am in LOVE with those tassel earrings. How heavy are they? No idea, but they look to be worth a little suffering.

Who is else is excited about Khan? EVERYONE. Indian Vogue recently did a story, and Harper's and Town and Country (below) have featured her pieces, and Kim Cattrall wears them too!

Images, via Ranjana Khan.

BANGLE BLITZKRIEG

Bring on the bold! I love bangles, and they're very NOW (official 2010 jewelry motto: the bigger the better). Here are a few of my favorite bangle classics...  ENJOY!

CHANEL

HENRI BENDEL

HERMES

COACH and KATE SPADE

Images, companies as attributed. Model picture, pics of models with bangles: angelofharlemfashion blog. 

THE BEST FOR LESS

Two luxury heavy weights are hitting Target stores this fall:  Temple St. Clair jewelry and Mulberry. Fantastic! Both are known for high-end design, so I'm very interested to see how that will translate to low, low prices.

Sneak peaks already on Temple St. Clair, which will debut in stores this month (all pieces are under $50).

And for reference, here are a few baubles from their regular line.

Mulberry for Target releases in October, so it's a bit too soon for the publicity photos. We'll just pretend/hope/dream that this is EXACTLY what they're going to look like. The prices are still top secret, but based on past collaborations, they're unlikely to break $50 as well (a far cry from price points that can typically pass $2,000). Cheap is chic - as long as the look isn't. (And here's hoping there's no reprise of the Carlos Falchi disaster.)

Temple St. Clair for Target images, shefinds.com. Others, companies as attributed.

FEATHERS AND FLOWERS

I'm still trying to figure out what Sarah Jessica Parker, painted clowns, and an artist with OCD have in common. A Bravo reality show, apparently. SJP's latest endeavor, Work of Art, purports to show us what the art of original creation is like - insomuch as it usually happens in a tiny studio with 13 other people banging, sawing, painting, and shouting, on a 14-hour deadline, with limited supplies and an army of cameras. Au natural!

At least anything associated with style czar SJP is guaranteed to include some artistic license. Work of Art show host China Chow is sporting the latest craze:  hair fanciers, or hair jewelry. Our latest mad-about-Brits fancier craze (just in time for the oil spill!), is a popular look across the pond. I love the way Chow wore it:  sleek and sophisticated.

Want some headgear of your own? Start with the UK of course. Asos is the Brit answer to Bluefly, with options from Philip Treacy and plenty of feathers.

If a $500 Treacy is out of your range (why? what? Those feathers were worth a pretty penny to the bird who wore them), try high street star TopShop. Prices range from $10 to $20.

Just in time for Fourth of July, a few stateside blooms, handmade by Emersonmade.

Etsyians (Etsy artisans) quickly discovered that this was a craft-friendly fad. Viemoderne offers fun colors.

And Etsy shop Kaang offers most of their pieces in headbands - the look is ducky.

Final note:  don't go TOO mad with the feathers. You won't feel so fancy when mistaken for a Swan Lake extra!
And Final Question:  will you wear the look?