Molly Bloom knows style

I’ve been consuming teen things lately — Gossip Girl on the CW, the Twilight book series about love among high school students and vampires. This didn’t make me seem old until I read that Leighton Meister, who plays Blair Waldorf (my favorite Gossip Girl girl), was born in 1986. Yeah.

Blair is a bitch and she’s fantastic. Much has been made of the clothes worn by the cast, and for good reason — these are upper-crust Upper East Side kids. Blair pops bottles in limos and she’s just a senior. She wears this name plate necklace in several episodes and I love it. It’s ridiculously expensive but whatever, I want with engraved MGL on one side and TED on the other. Sweet, right?

This gadget sells itself, really. I love the military-inspired bandolier-esque one-shoulder style. If you’re not a beer drinker you could fill it with beer for your friends. Or Diet Coke or kombucha, whatever. With a little decoration this would make a fitting addition to any faux-military/spaceman costume. Only $15!

(via BrightSeeker)

There are safety pins in all my purses. If it’s been carried to a wedding, it’s got pins inside. I don’t even have to double-check anymore, although I do, because what if there were a fashion emergency? I am occasionally called to duty at functions, helping with slipped hems or bursting necklines.

These multi-colored pins are a great idea. I’ve seen metallic colored pins at the fabric store but never had a need for iridescent jade. I imagine the black pins will be big sellers. A nice companion to Hollywood Fashion Tape in your beauty tackle box.

Promise me you’ll be careful pinning; I usually try tape first if the fabric is thin, sheer or silky. Always use the smallest pin you can find.

If you’re going anywhere with white sands, blue lagoons, nautical-themed piano bars or taxidermy swordfish, this bag is a winner. You can carry it in St. Somewhere or the South Pacific. You could go matchy-matchy and pair it with wedge heel esparadrilles; go casual with sandals or beach-appropriate flip-flops. This purse looks big enough for a small camera, trial-size SPF, wallet and room key. And “room key” is one of my favorite words.

If she hung a stocking, you had better stuff something in it.

I’m a believer in beauty sleep and I’m fanatical about eye masks. This Holly Golightly reproduction is a scream (discount code here). And these zodiac hoop earrings are trashtastic fun.

Last night at dinner I was singing the praises of my garter flask. It’s not just for church weddings — the garter makes a great mini purse. Mine is made of a red and black brocade and stays put on my thigh.

M.A.C. Ruby Woo is the best red lipstick, ever, lips down. Way better than the candy-cane of Bonne Bell Lipsmackers. One year Santa put the Shu Uemura lash curler in my stocking, so thoughtful!

Are you stumped? I am totally stumped. Holiday shopping makes me lose my mind. Here are a few things for guys and dolls to get us started:

Silver collar bones from Thomas Pink will keep shirts looking crisp. Those plastic collar stays melt and bend in the wash and don’t do the job after a while. Metal stays will bring any shirt collar back to life (also available at Thomas Pink SF and NYC).

The Reisenthel Collapsible European Market Tote would make for a chic dash to the corner store. Can’t you just see it brimming with kale and cut flowers at a farmer’s market? The basket has a frame so things are less likely to get smashed. I asked Santa to bring me one.

I love fancy dishes you can actually use. This set of eight nesting lotus bowls is gorgeous and practical. The bowls are dishwasher-safe so they’ll get used often. Available at Gump’s, class-y!

Old Navy has the cutest lounge wear and pajamas for women right now. The tie-front nightshirt in chastity pink (!!) is adorable. Fleece robes are always a winner — more colors available in stores. I bought one of these robes in green because I was freezing my tuchas off most mornings. Problem solved. Also available for men.

One answer to the short-sleeved winter conundrum is long gloves. Shopping this weekend I saw them at all price points and in varied styles. Leather are the most chic, especially if you’re pairing them with a three-quarters sleeved jacket. But they’re also the most costly. There are plenty of knit gloves out there, in different gauges of knit and fiber type (wool, acrylic, cashmere). Here’s an inexpensive pair from Nordstrom that aren’t as long as some might like but they’ll keep the draft out until the first snow hits the ground.

Recently someone asked me about evening bags. They can be expensive and flashy, almost cloying in their tiny cuteness. I like these clutches from Lauren Merkin. They’re probably not black-tie appropriate but they would do well at a wedding, dinner or night on the town.

My Superhero necklace arrived last week and I adore it. I’d pinch its cheeks and rub its tummy if I could. It took me a year to decide which style I wanted. I was torn between the multi-color varieties and the styles with one shape of bead. This necklace matches everything in my closet that is not similarly Bora-Bora blue.

It’s stylish to support your local artisans.

This post applies to men’s and women’s sizing. Because I reported on hats as a trend for men at South By Southwest, I made this a Guy Friday.

Before getting started: Find a cloth or flexible tape measure, not one of those contractor-grade metal ones from the hardware store. You want something intended for use in garment-making because they’re made to measure curves. They cost maybe $2 at the drugstore or fabric store and you should own one anyway for sizing your inseam, waist and other measurements when shopping online.

There is an excellent step-by-step guide to measuring your hat size here. One thing to consider is the amount of hair you have. If you just shaved your head but normally have a lot of hair or if you have a lot of hair and are considering cropping it off, remember that hair takes room in that hat and could change the size by a half-inch or more. If you will be wearing a wig with this hat (you know, like Napoleon or a drag queen or whomever), measure your head wearing the wig.

A tighter hat will stay on in the wind but a looser hat is more comfortable to wear as well as merciful in warmer temperatures.

If you already own a hat that you think fits great, take a tape measure and rest the bottom edge of the tape against the inside of the hat, aligning the base of the tape with the base of the hat. You should also take a measurement of your head to make sure it’s not vastly different from the hat. If they are your hat is probably too big (I cannot imagine anyone enjoying a tight hat). A better fitting hat should have a more proportional shape for your head.