Need: Rainboots, ASAP

Every time I help The Bean pull on her bright pink L.L. Bean rainboots (with the convenient handles to make it a "bahg! bagh!" when not wearing them - a girl after her mama's heart, where everything turns into a purse), she says, "Mama boot!"

And I have to tell her "Mama doesn't have any boots."

Well, she does, but she can't find them. Somewhere in the nether regions of our condo is a pair of ridiculously useful duck boots - 9", I think. I love them. But I wore them at some point 2 winters ago, and now I can't find them.

So Mama has no boots.

I should hoof it to Target and find a cheap-o - ahem - frugally chic - pair, but word has it that the frugally chic pairs they're selling, well, they stink. Like rubber. So I'm going to take this as a "you get what you pay for" (sometimes) sign, and go to my fave outdoor store. It's about time I ordered them online and just had them in hand.

Now...to choose between classic Wellington green and over-the-top seafood...

ISO Style: Orla Kiely Bags

Emily asks where she can find Orla Kiely bags in the DC area. "I saw them in Fredericksburg a month or two ago, and am now shooting myself in the foot for not picking one up," she writes.

Emily, you're in luck. The UK-based firm, which does clothing, bags, accessies, and home design with an eye on All Things Graphic, sells their wares at a couple of DC-area boutiques:

Hysteria

125 South Fairfax Street, Alexandria

Betsy Fisher

1224 Connecticut Ave NW, DC

Tabletop

1608 20th Street NW, DC

And, while I strongly support purchasing from local boutiques, you can also hit the Anthropologie in Georgetown.

Just save one for me.

Style Scoop: Vintage Books Turned Purse

Washingtonienne Caitlin, I'm intrigued. And I'm not sure what to think.



Confession: I'm addicted to books.



So a purse made from very used (and not harmed) books seems like a logical style leap for me. But when I read The Tailored Woman's post on Rebound Designs, I really just couldn't make up my mind.



I know you don't hurt the books. I know someone else did, and you're rescuing them. And that you save the pages and try and find some other lovely use for them.



I know that the Edith Hamilton's Mythology would be a perfect, ladylike, and amusing addition to my collection.



But it still hurts me that the books get hurt somewhere along the way, somehow.



I hope I'll get over it. Soon.