Elephants' Ballet

...and by 4-6 inches, they of course meant 12+ inches. With the landlord's snow removal machine out of service until Monday, I had my work cut out for me, trying to shovel the immense parking lot entrance and our parking stall so that my man could at least not get stuck a few feet away from the front door. I highly recommend to anyone that has had a long week, especially one ending in a foot (or more) of snow, to make a snow angel. Very therapeutic.

I also highly recommend using this super secret code that arrived in my inbox today: happynewyear. What this string of letters will do for you is get you 25% off your purchase at ---.com. You should know who this is:

If you don't know, let me (re-)introduce you to the lovely work of Maria Severyna. The code is actually for any purchase from the Designer Dream Closet, which is run by the wonderful Katherine. However, the DDC and Miss Severyna are one and the same to me, as the DDC is basically the only place you can get your own Maria Severyna piece, at least online (besides Katherine's eBay shop, of course). I would get one of every wrap if I could, as I love my grey one so much, or any of her other warm and snuggly things. I am, however, right now ogling the grey jersey (!) Maria Severyna Abito Dress (below), which would be absolutely perfect for my brother-in-law's wedding in the summer. I was wanting to look for a dress while in NY, but as this comes from NY anyway, that's basically the same thing, right?

Maria Severyna Cascading Abito Dress, front above and back below (asymmetrical hem can be wrapped up and around to button under bust, as shown on the right)

By the way, though I often don't try to explain the origin of my weirder post titles, I thought I'd step up and say that this one is the name of a song by a band/man called (Michel) Jelonek. I thought it fit rather well because, well, elephants are grey, and the Abito Dress would also be perfect to wear to a ballet. I know, it's a bit of a stretch (as is the jersey...). But you really should look up Jelonek. They/he know(s) how to rock the violin. But don't just take my word for it...

(You're welcome.)

Borg? Sounds Swedish.

Speaking of eBay, I think it's time to post about some new Maria Severyna pieces. I've had my grey Maria wool wrap for about a year now, and, non-coincidentally, I must say it's been a rather warm and stylish year. While Maria does create some lovely summery pieces (such as my sheer silk wrap), I truly think she excels at the use of heavier fabrics. Enter her new angled vest (above) and capped dress (below), both in a gorgeous green and black pebbled wool. Simply lovely.

Having said that, I would still be tempted to put in this season's version of my wrap, as it now comes in jet black (below). Sigh.

P.S. In case you were wondering, while most of Maria's pieces can still be found at Designer Dream Closet, Katherine's eBay shop (which has switched to this username) is stocked with the new pieces.

P.P.S. Why do the post-original Enterprise crew Star Trek movies suck?

Wind in my sails

This hat by Chatham Girl, these new pieces by Attila Design, and this gorgeous adjustable jersey dress by Maria Severyna all have me on a nautical theme today. Not to mention the ever present wind, my daily yearning to smell the sea, my desire to go fire-engine red for just a day, and the dream of a tattoo sleeve...

Kingdom Come Undone

What sort of mystical magical place would carry Vivienne, Yohji, and Maria Severyna? Well, Katherine's realm of the Designer Dream Closet of course! I have never looked so longingly at a trench coat before...

Mmm...delicious Maria wrap...

Oh my. My Maria Severyna grey wool wrap has quickly become one of my most favorite items in my wardrobe (I promise I'll include it in the next photoshoot), especially as it's the perfect companion to my ArtLab coat. Like Katherine says, the wrap is "cut on the bias for a dramatic asymmetric flow, and can be wrapped and tossed for a million different looks." And now for spring, Maria has created the same wrap in a jet black silk. If I lived in an earlier time period, I would swoon right now. Especially if that meant that a handsome young gentleman would buy it for me. Sigh.

Spring...

If our small apartment had not just been inundated with coats in the last few days, I would be sorely tempted to snatch up this twill Maria Severyna coat in preparation for the spring. Sure, spring is about 4 months away, but a girl can dream. I suppose I shall be happy for now in my cozy Maria Severyna wrap.

(Coat available only at the Designer Dream Closet.)

More Maria Severyna

I am still awaiting my very first Maria Severyna piece, but I have a feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I truly love the newest piece by Maria, available of course in the Designer Dream Closet. Eggplant has become one of my most favorite colours over the last 8 years (beginning with the first grown-up dress I bought myself, a lace mermaid gown), and it perfectly suits this convertible silk number. And, for my jersey days, this similar dress by Maria in chocolate brown (below) would be just right.

Designer Dream Closet and Maria Severyna

I was introduced to the lovely and ever so helpful Katherine of eBay store Designer Dream Closet just over a year ago, when I found my dream coat and proceeded to drop hint after unsubtle hint to my man about what I wanted for Christmas. Katherine manages to get some of the most unique high fashion pieces, and sells them for a fraction of the retail price. One of the labels she carries is that of NY-based Maria Severyna. Since I don't really pay attention to any high end labels besides Vivienne Westwood, and sometimes Stella McCartney, I just assumed that Maria Severyna was a well-known designer/label. Then Jennine of The Coveted wrote a post a while back about this "mysterious designer" whom she couldn't find out anything about, and could only find pieces for sale on eBay. I thought that was a bit odd, but I forgot about it altogether. But then Jennine wrote another post yesterday about a Maria Severyna piece that Katherine kindly sent to her (first piece above), explaining that Maria is quite a reclusive designer, and sells her pieces only to a few boutiques and in Katherine's online shop. I'm intrigued!

I just got Katherine's eBay newsletter, so I thought I'd share some of Maria's pieces with you that are available right now. Perhaps you'll find something to nag your man about for his Christmas shopping? I know I'd love everything here, and I think my new goal is to obtain a piece from Maria. Check out Katherine's shop for more of Maria's dresses and tops, as I kind of focused on coats and sweaters here (it's cold out!).

Have I mentioned I love green?

Edit: I just realized I left out my favorite piece! So here it is. Mmm...drapey grey...

(All photos via Designer Dream Closet)