Vintage Naeem Khan Beaded Top

         Whenever I move to a new place, it's important that I find the nearest thrift store. Not only is half my wardrobe thrift and vintage, but I love the thrill of finding old pieces I can make new. Even though my family's been living in western New Hampshire for a couple years now, it's taken me this long to discover Go Lightly, a consignment shop in nearby New London. Among a large inventory of old lady clothes and early 2000s trends, they have a surprisingly wide range of vintage and designer pieces.

          I found this gorgeous, beaded top hidden in their vintage racks and was stunned by its detail. Then I looked at the tags -- silk, Naeem Khan, Neiman Marcus, and less than $30! I couldn't let this steal slip from my hands!

          Now to be clear, the top is vintage Naeem Khan. This may be confusing to those who know the designer for his red carpet gowns that launched him into popularity only a few years ago. What many don't know, and what I didn't know until I researched the label on the tag, is that Khan created the Riazee Collection in 1981 and it lasted for fourteen years. He didn't begin designing purely under his namesake until 2003.

          With such an elegant top, there aren't many places in New Hampshire worthy to wear it. But I didn't care! My family took a trip to try The Revolution Cantina in Claremont and that was a good enough excuse for me. I paired it with distressed jeans, a gold shoulder bag I found on another recent thrift excursion, black caged heels, and a beaded collar necklace my mémère gave me for Christmas. I finished my look with copper eyeshadow, inspired by makeup in a Roberto Cavalli runway show.

Left, makeup at Roberto Cavalli. Right, my copper eyeshadow rendition.

If I Could Have One Collection As My Fall Wardrobe...

...I would choose Nina Ricci's!

     Fall 2010 was the premiere collection of Peter Copping as an independent designer, and I must say, what a debut! For ten years he assisted Marc Jacobs at Luis Vuitton then joined Nina Ricci last spring when Oliver Theyskens left the label. He seemed to have used the elegance known to LV and reapplied it to his own design style. The bold colors offset by pastels and black were perfectly fit with all the ruffles, flowers, silk, and sweaters. And the fur! He added just the right amount for a luxurious look here and there, but didn't overdo it. If there was one fall runway I could live in, this would be it!

(photo credits: style.com)