Pantone's Fashion Color of the Year - Tangerine Tango

Hmmmm! How do you feel about that? Tangarine Tango is the forecast color of 2012, so says the color experts, Pantone. I'm not sure how I feel about orange as a hot color this year. Oh, come one.... tangerine .... orange.  Potato ... Po Tat To. It's orange! Nevertheless, it is suppose to be a hot color this year and even I want to be ready.

I think Tangarine Tango is wonderful to chic up those drab winter colors! Instead of running out and getting a full ensemble of orange that would just be a shock to any system and possibly send the "fashion police" to your door to issue a warning, try a bit of accessorizing first. Baby steps. Here are a few items that I found that won't break your wallet or get you arrested.

Leather Envelope Clutch $19

Sperry Rain Boots  $60

Deco Ring - Blonde Chick $22

OPI Nail - A Good Man-darin ... $12

FineThreadz Ruffle Top $35

Michael Kors Ostrich Bag $398

As you can see,  you really don't have to break the bank to add a little Tangerine Tango to your life. You can take this as far as you want .... or at least as far as your Visa card will allow. When I went searching for some of the best items I could find in orange....ahem.... Tangerine Tango, I really was overwhelmed. There are so many gorgeous fashion pieces to be found in this color.  If you have a favorite, please share! I'd love to see it.




 As you can see I've added my own contribution to what is sure to be a wonderful fashion craze this year! However,  if Tangarine Tango isn't your thing, I also offer my ruffle top in 15 other colors! I don't do girly very much. My designs lean more of the side of sexy or practical. I guess there's been no middle ground with me. Certainly no room for romantic or feminine. This time I wanted to try something soft. Something with a little flow without the frilly. Sorry. I hate frilly. Well I hate it today. But who knows where my design evolution will take me as time goes by.



SharonH

Photo of the Month - January 2012

Yep, even a squirrel has prayers!

                                               

I Simply Must Have It - Furla Pink Candy Bag

I'll start by confessing I'm a designer bag hag. No matter how many expensive designer handbags I have, I always want one more. I have my favs like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Coach! Not big on Chanel, Fendi or Prada. It's all about what I like, not the price. Because if I like it, I'll move heaven and earth to get one. This past Christmas I had to have a Furla Limited Edition Pink Candy bag. When I say limited, there were supposedly only 150 made and sold worldwide. I simply must have it!

Getting one was a horrible experience that totally ruined my Christmas. It seems the big international retail, Furla, in New York, decided to do Christmas instead of customer service. The bag cost $398.00 and there was an offer of free 2 day shipping. On the Dec  22, I placed my order and inquired via customer service email about whether it would get to me by Christmas Eve. Nothing. They never responded back. So I found the customer service phone number and I guess Laurie (yes, only one customer service rep in New York!!!!!) was off for Christmas. And Furla's customer service voice mail box was full! Can you believe that crap!?! What frigging retailer takes off for Christmas? Anyway, the next day, I log into Furla and it says my order was shipped. They never bothered to send me a shipping confirmation number, email... nothing. Oh but it gets worse. Here I am hoping to get the bag before Christmas and that only left Christmas Eve. I log into Furla again hoping for some dregs of information and my account shows a total different bag had been shipped! WTF? Okay by this point I'm pissed and there was no one to ream out over my fucking order. The 23rd past with no response from Furla. The 24th passed. I didn't get it before Christmas, and at that point I wasn't sure what bag was coming. The 25th passed. The 26th arrived and Laurie's still out on Christmas holiday! UPS and USPS weren't running...they were all doing Christmas too. On the 27th, I got my bag. Yep, it was the right bag. It was the Furla Limited Edition Pink Candy Bag!

Furla Limited Edition Pink Candy Bag

I love it! This is my second Furla Limited Edition Candy Bag. The first was an all black that was also limited, but not to a lowly 150 available worldwide. The bottom is a snakeskin print leather and the strap is something new. First time I'd ever seen one. The plastic is a pale pink PVC and as far as bags go, that plastic is a bit heavy.

After the bad experience I had with Furla over getting my order, you'd think I'd be willing to forgive and forget. Nope. I've written a letter to the company president. My 25 years in customer service won't allow me to just let this crap go. Improvements need to be made. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find an Italian address for Furla yet. If anyone knows how to got about getting that, by all means, please share.


SharonH


Update --- Want to see the bag in action? Check out my Spring Preview!

FineThreadz - Living Casual: The End of 2011

FineThreadz - Living Casual: The End of 2011

http://www.etsy.com/shop/FineThreadz?ref=si_shop

The End of 2011

For my comeback I really grappled with what to talk about. Should I pretend I hadn't left? Should I apologize for my long neglect of my blog? Should we celebrate? I don't know. So, moving right along.

This past year has been a lesson in what it's like to taste the first bits of success in my business. A lot of mistake that I made taught me wonderful lessons in what my customers like and don't like. Designs had to be discontinued. There were some harsh lessons there. The giving in and admitting my customers don't like a particular design that I myself loved! So I often went back to the drawing board to create new designs! OMG....successful designs!

Bow Front Back Out Top

Since I've introduced the Bow Front Back Out Top, I seen a couple of Etsian attempting to create their own without blatantly copying but just a matter of time. I actually sat down and drew this design from scratch. This is always fun! Then a customer challenged me to make a dress. Done!

One of my favorite new designs of 2011 is the my infinity scarf. Yeah, I know... lots of designer make those. But I wanted something plush, chic, ritzy.....

Russian Husky Infinity Scarf

The Russian Husky Infinity Scarf was just introduced to my site this month so it's a bit to soon to gauge its success, but I sure do like it.

Earlier this spring I designed a shrug but I waned something with drama and flair. Also one that uses my favorite Eco-friendly modal knits.

Hooded Maxi Shrug

I wanted something the wearer could dress up or down. Something soft, comfortable and barely there. The Hooded Maxi Shrug really has been one of my biggest successes of 2011. Wonder how I'll top it in 2012?!?

New Spring / Summer Collection

Champagne Swing Top

Blush Pink Hiphugger Top

Red Hiphugger Top

Java Brown Leggings

Here are a few pieces of my Spring / Summer collection. Although I have them on Amanda the Mannequin at the moment I do plan a photo shoot in a couple of weeks.

New Handbag Design

It has been wonderful getting back to working with leather. Sure, I love making clothes! Who doesn't? But I love working with leather. Why not make leather clothes? I really don't care for working with lambskin, and that really is the most appropriate leather for clothes. I'm still working on the white leather jacket. But I have so many projects on my table, you would not believe! And of course, I must always put customer's orders first. 

I've been making a few handbags. Nothing new. I've been making them for years, but not on Etsy. So now I've added handbags to my designer line and I'm just having so much fun at it. Here's my latest design.

Britt Bag in Deep Plum

I made this one with 4 leather panels on each side. I offset the squares just a bit. I didn't want the whole thing to look too match-y. I decided to price all of my bags at $125 each. Yeah, I know I could get more, but I don't want making the bags to become a complicated messy job. They are really simple bags.

I also have a couple of new leather in my Town line. May as well show them off too while I'm at it. 

Town Bag in Absolut Silver

This one is a metallic silver leather with white stitching and silver hardware!

Town Bag in Black Bomber

This one is made with really bomber jacket leather! Direct from Italy!

I have two more leather bags to do for the new year. Back to work I go.

SharonH