Spring is in the Air

Brrrr...it's cold outside, even here in L.A. where it's been raining non stop for days. But I can't complain, because most days here we can don our first Spring looks before the tulips bloom. Yes, it's hard to believe we've come full circle again and now it's time for the Spring collections to hit the retail floors. The ironic thing is that I'm shooting my Fall '08 collection tomorrow - yikes!

My Eco-spacedye goodies just hit the stores and online at shopstacia.com. Although I've been working with eco-friendly fibers for some time now with the sustainable spun rayon collections, this is my first foray into Bamboo. It's the hot fiber right now if you haven't noticed. This luxurious sustainable fiber feels like a light-weight cashmere, but breathes like cotton and drapes like silky rayon. My Spring I collection was inspired by my June trek up to Ojai (see my previous road trip post) where the natural earthy colors and rustic scenery of this Shangri-la was the basis for my palette of Ojai, Carmel, Big Sur, and Avalon. Even the silhouettes have that hippy-dippy Ojai vibe - a braided beach tunic, a beach tunic dress you can wear alone or over pants, a va va voom dress with wood bead trim, and a tie-front swing cardi. And of course, there's a few feminine pieces to even it all out - a low-back flutter top and a sexy wrap dress. You'll love the dresses even more this time around, because I've added a touch of nylon for elasticity. And I've added some much needed solids to the collection, my favorite being the gathered vee tunic (selling out at Olive & Bette's!)

Check out the new goodies at shopstacia.com and stay tuned for the next Spring delivery of "Pretty" rayon spacedye knits with touches of pointelle and lace to hit in February.

Spring is in the Air

Brrrr...it's cold outside, even here in L.A. where it's been raining non stop for days. But I can't complain, because most days here we can don our first Spring looks before the tulips bloom. Yes, it's hard to believe we've come full circle again and now it's time for the Spring collections to hit the retail floors. The ironic thing is that I'm shooting my Fall '08 collection tomorrow - yikes!

My Eco-spacedye goodies just hit the stores and online at shopstacia.com. Although I've been working with eco-friendly fibers for some time now with the sustainable spun rayon collections, this is my first foray into Bamboo. It's the hot fiber right now if you haven't noticed. This luxurious sustainable fiber feels like a light-weight cashmere, but breathes like cotton and drapes like silky rayon. My Spring I collection was inspired by my June trek up to Ojai (see my previous road trip post) where the natural earthy colors and rustic scenery of this Shangri-la was the basis for my palette of Ojai, Carmel, Big Sur, and Avalon. Even the silhouettes have that hippy-dippy Ojai vibe - a braided beach tunic, a beach tunic dress you can wear alone or over pants, a va va voom dress with wood bead trim, and a tie-front swing cardi. And of course, there's a few feminine pieces to even it all out - a low-back flutter top and a sexy wrap dress. You'll love the dresses even more this time around, because I've added a touch of nylon for elasticity. And I've added some much needed solids to the collection, my favorite being the gathered vee tunic (selling out at Olive & Bette's!)

Check out the new goodies at shopstacia.com and stay tuned for the next Spring delivery of "Pretty" rayon spacedye knits with touches of pointelle and lace to hit in February.

Uggs- Dead or Alive

I'm no longer an Ebay virgin! Just made another purchase this morning at 6 am in my PJ's - a pair of black crochet tall Ugg boots in size 9 (sold out everywhere!) People either love or hate Uggs, but I'm on the love side for sure. Maybe if I didn't live in CA, I'd think otherwise. But Uggs are actually very appropriate if you live near the beach. When the temperature drops to 60 degrees here in Santa Monica, (I know, my blood has really thinned since moving here from NYC!) I have to put the Havaianas on the shelf and crack out my Uggs. They're the perfect beach shoe in the Winter and when your wardrobe consists mainly of jeans like mine, they're the ideal throw on shoe sans socks. Love the way they look on Nicole Richie scrunched over her jeans!

Just when you think the Ugg phenomenon is over, they reinvent themselves and introduce some great new silhouettes. I've been eying their crochet boots since last Fall and finally decided to take the plunge and upgrade my 3-year-old Sand shorties. But thanks Oprah, now these puppies are almost impossible to find since she featured them on her show as one of her favorite things. Should have bought them last year when nobody cared! Having large feet has always been a disadvantage for me in shoe shopping. I'm used to paying the big bucks for my size 10 1/2 feet, which means no cheap shoes for me - J.Crew, Nine West, or any shoe under $200 for that matter either won't fit or come in my size. That's why my closet if full of $300 Sigerson Morisson shoes (thank you for making size 10 1/2's!)

Anyways, I looked high and low online for a size 9 (they run big so I'm actually a size 9- gee my feet feel so petite!), but no luck, sold out everywhere. The only place I could find them was on Ebay where most NIB (new in box) go for close to $200. I bid on four different Uggs and continued to lose. I told myself my limit was under $200, closer to $150 would be the max I'd pay (they regularly retail for $120). But every time I kept getting outbid, mainly because I have a life and I'm not glued to my computer checking the bid status every 5 minutes. But alas, after 3 days of frustration I was determined to get a pair and to win!! So this morning I had my husband wake me at 6 am so I could get in on the last 10 minutes of bidding for a pair of Uggs that were listed at $148. So I bid $150, then $155, and down to the last 2 minutes some ****hole outbid me again. At this point my adrenaline is rushing and I'm getting really pissed. So I bid $165, then $172, and finally at the last 2 seconds I bid $175 and won! Yippee! But after the fact, I'm a little bummed I went over my $150 personal budget. I guess you could say I let the gambling get the better of me! But really if I break it down, I got a deal since my time is $$$$ and I don't have time to schlep around looking for a scarce size 9 boots. And now I'll have a new pair of must-have black crochet tall Uggs under the tree this Christmas and my toes will be extra cozy for years to come.