…with a new shoe from Bettye Muller called Liberty. It is so gorgeous and sexy. I am definitely keeping a pair for myself.

This shoe is from Betty’s Early Fall 2009 collection. I visited Bettye at her New York showroom last week. She walked me through the entire Early Fall 2009 collection. GORGEOUS. The focus of the collection was rich, luxurious materials featuring deerskin, embroidered nappa, suede, and nubuck. The color palette was berry, grape, Bordeaux, and earth tones.

Details: Liberty: Dark brown deerskin. Retail price = $385.00

For additional information or to pre-order, please contact us at maria@carinanewyork.com.

I am home for the holidays and spent Saturday down in Soho. I visited my favorite shops like Palma and Alexis Bittar on Broome Street. As I was making my way from the #6 subway to Broome Street, I stumbled across a “pop up” shop selling vintage items from someone’s private collection. Oh my, some really beautiful items. I fell in love with a beautiful black bag (I will post a picture soon). Whoever this woman is (they wouldn’t disclose her name), she had quite the collection. There was a beautiful white column silk dress and a love Goddess/Grecian dress in ivory. A beautiful maribou fur black jacket–so much fun. And then a really pretty Italian knit belted dress. I loved so many things! But I stuck with my first love and brought the black bag home with me.

That brings a few things to mind. This is why I adore New York: you never know what you will stumble across. It also made me think: what makes me love vintage so much? I think it’s because the clothes have so much character and personality. I also have noticed that there’s a lot more color to be found in vintage items. There’s a lot more work put into vintage clothes as well.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the economy lately (who hasn’t, really). To say it’s a scary and tough situation would be the understatement of the year. There’s a lot of uncertainty out there and people are frightened.

Can you still “buy what you love” even in this tough economy? I would say “yes”. We all need to be saving as much as we can right now (even if your job is secure). But we all need to be spending wisely.

I think spending wisely means not wasting money on something you don’t need or want. In this environment, it means being more selective, more patient, and prioritizing.

I think it means setting a budget, putting a list together, and then patiently building your wardrobe over a period of time. It means purchasing something you love because invariably you will get the most joy and use from it.

Another element is supporting stores and designers we appreciate and love during this difficult time. Where we choose to do our shopping says something about what we value and what or who we want to see standing after the economic downturn.