♥ a sweet tooth does not always need the richest cake..

...sometimes cookies and a glass of milk will do.

rod mckuen

via jak and jil

via we heart it.

elsa schiaparelli

spoke correctly when she pronounced,

"women dress alike all over the world:

they dress to be annoying to other women."

it is this assertion alone that justifies my awful tendency to

mutter profanities under my breath whenever i spot a woman

wearing a certain bag, a shoe, a pair of sunglasses, a dress, a ring,

that i happen to be lusting over at that moment–

(or maybe didn't even know i needed )

not because this nameless girl is such a bad person,

but because i want whatever she's got

and even more.so, now that i have seen

whatever it is

in person.

trust me, i would love to believe that my boyfriend

would really care about or notice the difference between

an authentic chanel 2.55 and the paper chanel bag (shown above)

but the only thing that matters to him in regard to the bag i wear

is whether or not i can fit all of his stuff in it.

so, why is it we have such a proclivity to pine for

particular material objects that others possess?

and why do we invest these possessions with so much

social power that they carry real weight in measuring

whether or not we are worthwhile human beings?

according to professor joanne finklestein

in her fabulous article, chic theory,

"to be fashionable involves having a specific knowledge of the value of goods.

it is not sufficient to desire goods because of their utility.

fashion goods have more symbolic and cultural value than use value."

which is precisely why in this brand infused,

consumer. based society,

women will not settle for anything less

than the real double T tory birch gold medallion

on our ballet flats,

the true symbols and monograms on our ridiculously

overpriced goyard bags,

the inscribed hardware on our gucci sunglasses,

and why these oonag o'hagen tote bags,

which only hint at the kind of bag

you could be carrying

are so freaking necessary.

via browns fashion

via refinery 29.

as finklestein's article so aptly puts it,

labels are what we use to navigate our way through vast

and boundless oceans of consumer spoils.

it is the brands and labels we choose to wear

that stand for who we are and give us an identity

without having to pronounce it.

and these fashions which provide us with scripts and cues for

occupying and understanding our place in the world

and where we belong.

via garance doré.

and while most of us do not belong in a world

where owning a real chanel is feasible

(especially in these economic times)

it is important to know that you can fake it

(like in this DIY chanel shirt above)

until you make it.