(DVF shirt, scarf vest, pants, luggage; vintage hat; Lia Sophia bracelets and necklace; Christian Louboutin heels)

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{“When you figure out your suitcase, you figure out your life”} – Diane von Furstenberg.

Holiday spirits, people! Everyone’s goin-a-packin! Trains, planes, and automobiles…guaranteed you will be part of the mass exodus {“movement of ‘Jah people, oh-oh-oh yea-eah!”} – Bob Marley) this holiday season. For the sun-chasers, Cabo San Lucas? Miami? For the snow-seekers, Aspen? Vail? For the rest of us in this world who don’t follow the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills travel itinerary, Uncle Joe’s house? Down the river?

{“No matter where you’re going, you will surely be a-tow-in”} – elshane. There’s nothing chicer than a shimmery soul in a scrawny suitcase, La Petite Valise.

How to pack your La Petite Valise? {cue unlined paper, colorful pens, and an imagination…} **I’ve substituted clothing for names; see how I pack my weekend La Petite Valise from LA to NY…

FRIDAY  (69°LAà 42° NYC)

Airplane: Jimmy leggings; Kimmy sweater; Shimmy scarf; Winnie flats; Minnie

leather jacket

Dinner with parents: Binny jeans; Spiny chiffon button down; Shimmy scarf;

Winnie flats; Gwinnie fur coat

Out with friends: Binny jeans; Gimmee sequin top; Shimmy scarf; Lynnie killer stilettos; Minnie leather jacket

SATURDAY (38° NYC)      

Business meeting: Timmy harem pants; Spiny chiffon button down; Shimmy

scarf; Lynnie killer stilettos; Gwinnie fur coat

Lunch with old co-workers: same look as above

Dinner with college friends: Flynnie leather pants; Kimmy sweater; Lynnie

killer stilettos; Minnie leather jacket

SUNDAY (43° NYCà 74° LA)

Shopping Soho: Flynnie leather pants; Spiny chiffon button down; Shimmy

scarf; Winnie flats; Gwinnie fur coat

Museum tour: same look as above

Airplane: Timmy harem pants; Kimmy sweater; Winnie flats; new scarf I

purchased while shopping earlier that day; Minnie leather jacket.

Friends, we call this “hanging with Kimmy, Shimmy, Winnie, Minnie; Binny, Spiny, Gwinnie; Gimmee, Lynnie, Timmy and Flynnie.”

Therefore, when you pack a La Petite Valise, you…

ALWAYS HAVE ROOM TO “MAKE NEW FRIENDS”

xo, elshane

(Seven For All Mankind shirt; vintage skirt; Ray-Ban sunnies; Helena + Troy handbag; Christian Louboutin shoes)

***

As winter nears (all 56 degrees of it here in Hollywood), laziness rings like our morning alarm.  So we roll out of bed, throw on what most closely resembles a down comforter in the form of wearable garb, and we head off to a day filled with… tax evasion trials, movie auditions, dog walking, vegetable picking, rhinoplasty consultations. STOP right there! We’re all thinking the same thing in utter repulsion. For such a glamorous day ahead, why did we pick such a {snooze-fest} of {lewk}?

Blame it on routine! {rou • tine : snooze button pressin’, teeth brushin’, jeans-at-the-top-of-the-laundry-pile sqeezin’, largest-sweater-in-the-closet throwin’, oatmeal eatin’, newspaper readin’, boots-already-snow-salt-stained stompin’}. Holy heart attack! Edging for that promotion? Not so fast, sloppy Susan.

Beat that {lazy lewk} with one of the oldest and easiest tricks in the book: tone-on-tone dressing!

** Pick a color, and stick with it.

** Start uber-chic by experimenting with neutral hues (grey or beige or khaki). Using two tones of the hue, break up the gradient with a stark white, black, or brown punch (a-la beige blazer, off-white pants, brown leather belt), and finish with a shoe that pairs back to the strongest, most comfortable color (in this case, brown).

** When experimenting with brights, keep the gradient of the color close to a constant. What works: olive green and deep, smoky green. What doesn’t? Grass green and seafoam green.

** Keep fabrications similar. Silky, airy fabrications should stick together, as should stronger fabrics like wool and denim.

** Experiment mostly with solids, throwing in small prints only as accents, like a printed silk scarf with a skirt suit.

** Top off the {lewk} with neutral makeup that accents your bone structure for a clean finish.

DON’T:

** Mix prints while attempting this technique. There’s always a time and place for print-on-print {my favorite!}, but while tone-on-tone dressing, the equation is clean + chic = luxe !

** Wear blue eye shadow if you’re creating a blue look, or a pink lip with a pink look. {costumery, gasp!}

It’s as simple as that. {rou • tine : snooze button pressin’, teeth brushin’, nearest-khaki-ensemble-in-your-closet pairin’, oatmeal eatin’, newspaper readin’) …

Promotion? Check.

xo, elshane

(Image 1 and 3: Jill Stuart Collection {to-die-for} studded blazer purchased second-hand {with tags on!} at vintage consignment store, Wasteland LA, DVF leopard harem pants and handbag; TopShop boots, turban from the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey; Images 2, 4, 5: Inside the doors of Wasteland LA, vintage consignment store, where I sell my old clothes, and buy even better new ones!)

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I’m a huge to-do list-er: The bubble letters, the perfect check boxes, the rainbow of highlighted words—I love to-do lists! But, most importantly, what I actually write on that paper MUST be completed…so I can make beautiful squiggly lines while crossing off the task. Fulfillment at its best.

One of my favorite topics to add to a to-do list is a closet purge. Out with the old, in with the new! After all, there’s no better justification to cleanse than Black Friday—a day (turned weekend holiday) where sale signs are as prevalent as, well…sequins on elshane {to state the obvious}.

Here’s my guide to what to keep and what to trash.

* Keep:

Tops: Tops don’t typically stray too far from a constant fashion. Anything with bold accents, embroidery, a strong shoulder should be kept. What’s old is always new again…some day.

Bottoms: Keep a very ripped, baggy jean. It’s good to wear around the house and is a classic to be passed down for generations to come.

Handbags: Anything with an uber-long strap is a must! If you think the strap is just too long, tie a chic knot at the top of the strap by the shoulder to give it an updated look—it will shorten the bag by at least 6 inches.

Shoes: Dainty Jimmy Choo-esque shoes are making a big comeback, so bring those from the back to the front of your closet, and hold on tight. Plus, a local {shoe doctor} (the most important doctors on the planet) can easily mend minor scratches for under $50.

* Trash/Donate/Sell {to a vintage consignment store like the one pictured above}:

Tops: If your first thought is, “aww, I remember this top. I wore it to see Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Arc in 1981 on my first date with my husband” , trash it, please. I would hope that by now, you have made stronger memories in the last 30 years than a faded polyester top.

Bottoms: Fortunately for your closet, bottoms go out of style very quickly. If you question it, toss it. Older styles are always less flattering, and denim lately has become so advanced that it’s worth any investment to get yourself in a new pair.

Handbags: If you must toss some handbags, get rid of small purses with extremely short shoulder straps—they’re not trending to be back in style for a.very.long.time.

Shoes: Red flag! If the shoe looks like your puppy found a new chew toy, toss it. You’ve worked too hard to look {head-to-calf} hot. And, if it costs over $50 to fix, save the money for a new, updated pair!

So, this Black Friday, follow the {Hammurabi’s Code} fashion mantra of the week:

**An eye for an eye.

**A dumpy old suede clutch for a {bangin’} {fresh n’ fly} so-good-you-can-taste-it new YSL tote bag.

 Hey, Hammurabi never said “ a blue eye for a blue eye”…

xx, elshane