i have been lusting after the squint oswald sofa on the conran (usa) shop for weeks, if not a few months. to be more precise, i’ve been rabidly e-stalking it, checking in on it and drooling over it several times a week. i even went to the new conran shop in abc carpet and home in manhatta to pet it in person about a month ago…and noted that it was even more beautiful in person than it appears on screen.

if i was a.) flush with cash and b.) didn’t have an adorable toddler (who very well might (lovingly though inadvertently!) cover it in a myriad of crayon and marker marks and copious amounts of cheerio dust, amongst other kinds of detritus and effluvia), i’d snag that beauty up in a new-york-(area!) minute.

p.s. more of london-based squint ltd.’s stuff can be ogled here.

right now, most any “fashionista” who’s worth her stylish salt is likely rocking a pair of (most likely black) strappy sky high platform stilettos (say that 12 times fast!).

but, being i am not really amongst those ranks these days, i’m content to don something lower and decidedly more comfortable. like these perforated monochromatic tennies by rubber duck. who seem to make some damn cute tennis shoes in general, wouldn’t you know it?

just one more crazy, colorful example of why i like to go and will persistently against the grain. that, and i don’t want to break my neck or back for the sake of “style” (especially one i kind of loathe) but that’s probably a whole other post…

because every single shop on the planet seems to have hopped on the “green” bandwagon, we’ve got more than our fair share of reusable totes here at casa royal. and it seems a shame (and impractical to boot) to spring for another when there are so many useful ones laying about. but i might just make an exception (i like to make (or think about making!) a lot of exceptions, no?? haha!) for this colorblock, pixelated looking color chart tote, by cristian zuzunaga (available at the tate modern). it’s bright and cheery enough to make running daily errands a delight, rather than drudgery, no?

i’ve gotten this hankering for picture (intarsia) knits of late…so this awesome dolman sleeve sweater dress and tote emblazoned with clouds are both totally hitting the spot. these fine specimens of picture knit goodness are from madrid, spain-based clothier la casita de wendy.

p.s. i’m loving the dolman sleeve thing coming back around…a kind cut to busty gals like me, so loose and free! hee hee!

how fun are these fabric covered jazz shoes and ankle boots by greenpoint, brookyn-based osborn design studios? VERY. the shoes and boots are all handmade in guatemala city using locally-sourced materials.

i think the top and bottom pair are (almost!) literally begging to be mine…party time booties, indeed!

(via burdstyle’s blog)

what’s with all the amazing crochet jewelry coming out of portugal? anyone have the intel on that? is there some sort of historical precedent? some established fiber arts deeply entrenched in the culture from whence this springs? do tell if you know something…i wanna know! i live for learning more about this kind of thing.

anyway, on a related note, check out these incredible crocheted collars fashioned out of cotton jersey by a portuguese maker who goes by the moniker cooler. i am in absolute lust. the colors! the fiberliciousness! crafty and yet so very sophisticated. love love love.

forgive me, i have mom brain: i can’t remember how i came across these beauties (one of many posts on my still packed full yet culled down feed reader)…it flipped by and i clicked so fast i forgot to make note. thank you, you, whomever you were! *grin*

i’m obsessed with these jewels made from herkimer diamonds by abraxas rex. so obsessed, i have been rendered very nearly speechless, only really able to say: wow.

it’s been a long time since i have gotten really twitterpated (aka: moved to the point where my stomach gets flutters and i lose my breath!) about footwear…but when i saw these clogs and clog boots (!!!!) from nordic shoemaker swedish hasbeens, i nearly fainted. those orange ones?? omg. *dies* they are allegedly based upon clogs from the 70s (my favorite decade for fashion), made in sweden, and gloriously, the company ships all over the world. they also create some pretty fine bags and belts. sweet.

fyi: uo has the middle model in black and tan.

in the event that i was actually in the mood to spend some moolah, i wouldn’t mind picking up a piece of jewelry like any of the above by laura lombardi jewelry. her etsy shop is full of similarly chic pieces, many of them fashioned out of that finest of materials, my favorite, gold (yum yum!). the last of the pieces shown above i spotted on wikstenmade. my my, jenny gordy, do you ever have good taste…

there’s no way i’d ever be able to afford these paloma picasso stackable gold and semi-precious rings, from tiffany’s, but…a girl can dream.

ms. picasso is calling them ’sugar stacks’…how apt! they are so delicious…they totally remind me of candy. i almost want to eat them!

being a long-time jeans fiend, i’m all about this pair of higher-waisted dark skinnies from that most classic of jean purveyors, levi’s (a long time fave of mine, btw).

so simple and perfect: a normal-ish waistline (at least compared to the past’s low-lows), no stupid whiskering, straight, and narrow. just the way i like it.

if i wasn’t very, very pregnant (and about to be even more round than i currently am!), i’d snap those up so fast it’s silly. i’d be wearing them non-stop, oh yes.

*crosses her fingers and hopes to the gods she snaps back figure-wise after having le bebe royal*

well-designed orange shoes are SO hard to find! yes, i did find a superb pair of orange snakeskin wedges a while back at a local shoe store (paolo, which is located on hayes street, and also over on fillmore, both here in san francisco), and i love them like i love no other pair of shoes in my collection.

but –STOP THE PRESSES!!– i do believe i’ve tracked down another superb pair that i feel suit me down to the ground…and i am of course coveting them like mad: these schindler sandals by rachel comey, to be found over at creatures of comfort.

the ankle strap is sturdy and wide, the sole is comfortably flat, the peep-toe keeps things summery, and the criss-cross over the toes has just a teensy bit of texture in the way of the lines, keeping things subtle yet interesting.

if by some chance you want more of this kind of thing, do check out my past flights of retail fancy in the ‘if money was no object…’ archive.