Another reason to envy Kaiser Karl

Or Lola Karl, where I’m from.

Do you remember that scene from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast where the Beast shows Belle the library in his castle? That high-ceilinged library with the bookshelves covering every wall from floor to ceiling, and even balconies and ladders for you to reach the higher shelves? The first time I saw that as a little girl, I was in awe. I wanted a library like that for myself, too.

But I’m an adult now, so I can’t really have 2D cartoons from the nineties as a peg for me hopes and dreams. So, I’ve found my modern-day, floor-to-ceiling-with-balconies-too library in the Paris studio of Karl Lagerfeld, naturellement:

The only thing missing is a particularly hairy prince with an unhealthy obessession with a flower.

Did your jaw drop? I know mine did. But after the initial shock has worn off, my mind started to buzz with questions:

• Has Karl actually read all of those books? If yes, where in the world does he find the time do that?
• How are the books arranged? By topic? By author? How in the world do you find anything?
• Does he have a personal librarian (if there’s anyone in the world who would have a librarian on his payroll, it would be Lola Karl)? If no, can I apply for the position?
• What made him of think of storing the books horizontally?
• Those couches look like heaven to veg out and read in, but does Karl even veg out? Can you imagine him lying in one of those couches in his sweats and just curled up and reading? Does he even own sweats? (no and probably no, by the way)
• Is Karl in the market for a personal librarian/shelve arranger/book duster? Again, I’d like to apply volunteer for the position. I will gladly accept payment in the form of Chanel.

But seriously, it must be wonderful to be surrounded by all that. As if it wasn’t already wonderful enough to be Karl Lagerfeld.

My future employer.

Photos from The Selby is in Your Place via Jolanda Van Den Berg and HayanCafe

The Hermès bag that I would actually buy

If I could afford it, of course, but that’s not the point.

It’s a known fact that the holy grail of all luxury handbags is the iconic Hermès Birkin, with the Hermès Kelly in second place. But personally, neither bag gets my handbag-loving heart aflutter. I do appreciate the amazing handiwork and dedication to quality that both bags (and all Hermès goods, for that matter) represent, but apart from that, the bags do nothing for me. And the same could be said about the other bags in their line. The Marwari, the Jypsiere, the Victoria, the Evelyne… design-wise, I find them all underwhelming, especially given the prices that are charged for them.

I have happily found an exception, though.

These will give any outfit the perfect pop of color

In these delightful candy/highlighter inspired hues, the Hermès Jigé Elan is absolute popsicle perfection. I like the simplicity of the shape, for one.  And, of course, the colors. In black or any other neutral (although this would be nice in camel with the darker trim, too) this would be a little “meh” but these brights make the bag all that more interesting. And the tonal lizard trim not only adds a nice contrast against the solid leather, it also gives the bag a little added texture.

My only complaint with this bag is that it is just a tad too big for a clutch at 15cm x 29 cm x 3xm. But for the $ 4,250 (… excuse me while I pick myself off the floor from the shock) they are charging for it, I think I should be able to fit my entire life inside the Jigé Elan. So I guess I should stop whining.

Photo from Google images (sorry, I can’t seem to find the original source of it. But it certainly looks like an official Hermès photo).

Sooooo pretty…

I’m not a shoe girl.  And the shoes I like are pretty boring: plain leather pumps, flat sandals, ballet flats. I’m more of a bag girl, actually, to the eternal detriment of my bank account, so I tend to spend more time on The Purse Blog than on its sister site TalkShoes. Today, however, I found myself on the shoe blog while at work while on my lunch break and came across this beauty:

I don’t even like heels. My sister will tell you I can barely walk in them. But. LOOK. AT. THIS. Isn’t it the prettiest shoe ever? I would surely risk a sore ankle to wear the Giuseppe Zanotti Chiffon Bow Sandal. They’re feminine without being frou-frou and sexy without being overtly so. These would be perfect with a short black dress. Or a short red dress. Or a short pink dress. This’ll look good with just about anything that’ll show off your legs (although this’ll be a good wedding shoe, too).

If this was a shoe that I could actually wear on a regular basis, I would order this online, NOW. But I wear sneakers (and ocassionally steel-toed work boots) to work, so it wouldn’t really be a smart purchase. Plus I don’t have $850 lying around.

Stock photo from neimanmarcus.com