Valentine's Day makes many people ill, primarily because the holiday lacks a sense of humor. And, drinking too many icky, sticky-sweet Kahlua cocktails. To the rescue: Shmata Hari Rehabilitated Vintage, fashion's newest go-to for accessories (jewelry, clutches, small evening bags) encoded with subversive wit as well as chic.
The brainchild of LA fashion authority Laurie Pike, Shmata Hari Rehabilitated Accessories are sold at Nathalie Seaver, and online at http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheParisBlog.
My favorite for Valentine's Day -- to wear or to give: The Hickey-Hider, a plush black velvet ribbon choker adorned with whimsical vintage ornaments, including a well-tarnished heart-shaped locket in mystery metal, and a vintage rhinestone button.
Another covet: the Gray Satin Evening Key Bag, perfect for a Valentine metaphorically offering (or safeguarding) the key to her affections.
Pike herself is a vintage fashion collector, fashion editor and journalist who was the Style Editor for LOS ANGELES magazine for several years, and an irreverently glam Francophile who resides occasionally in Paris. The accessories which she creates--for instance, a vintage black velvet wristlet, clasped with the "popcorn" ball from an old IBM Selectric typewriter-- convey her signature qualities of humor, a Proustian appreciation for things past, and an enduring love of symbolic characters, letters, words and language. This is, after all, the woman who wrote about the return of the fanny-pack, from the POV of the long-maligned accessory itself.
The clutches and small handbags in the Spring 2012 Shmata Hari Collection are, to start with, elegant, sourced by Pike for their high-end fabrications (satin, suede, velvet), quality construction, fine hardware, and chic silhouettes. Then, in the hands of this designer, their literal chic is punk'd from prim to streetwise.
--Victoria "Marches aux Puces" Thomas
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