Elegant Clothes and Feminine Accessories

Gucci Flora ~ A Grace Kelly Story

/0 Comments/in , /by

 

 

Hello Friends,

Here we are in June already—we’re officially six months into the year! Let that sink in for a moment.

Lately, I feel like I’ve been playing catch-up, but that’s okay. I have a work trip coming up this month, and thankfully I feel much more prepared than I did last month. I’ll also be sharing some travel essentials reels here soon, so stay tuned for those.

As for today’s post… sigh.

This item has been on my wish list since 2014. I vividly remember reading a post over 10 years ago featuring influencer Rosie at the Chelsea Flower Show in the UK, where she visited the Gucci floral display. The moment I saw that scarf, I was completely smitten.

From that day on, I knew I had to have it. Well, recently I finally gave in and decided to buy it. Of course, I turned to Poshmark. I didn’t mind purchasing a gently used one—especially when I could get it for nearly half the original price!

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I was so excited when my new scarf arrived! Poshmark and eBay are great places to find these pieces at much more affordable prices. My scarf looks very similar to this one, and when it arrived, I just sat there staring at it. It was every bit as beautiful as I had imagined all those years ago.

Then the hunt began for the tote.

I first saw the Gucci Flora tote a few years ago. It was released in 2019, and I immediately knew it was something I wanted to own someday. Eventually, I found one at a great price on Poshmark and added it to my “watch” list. For more than six months, I kept an eye on it as the seller gradually lowered the price. It went from $800 all the way down to $380!

Looking back, I probably should have bought it then, but I still wasn’t completely sure.

Then one evening, while scrolling through YouTube, a video titled “20 Items Grace Kelly Loved That You Can Still Buy Today” appeared in my feed. I clicked on it, and the eighth item mentioned completely stopped me in my tracks.

It was the story behind the Gucci Flora print.

As I watched, I learned about the history of the iconic design and its connection to Grace Kelly. Suddenly, my admiration for the scarf and tote wasn’t just about the beautiful floral pattern—it was about the legacy and story behind it. From that moment on, I knew I had to find the tote.

 

 

The story goes that Grace Kelly walked into the Gucci store in Milan in 1966 looking for a silk scarf. Rodolfo Gucci happened to be in the store that day and knew this wasn’t an occasion to simply hand her something off the shelf. Instead, he asked his friend and artist, Vittorio Accornero, to create something special just for her.

That request led to the creation of the now-iconic Flora print.

The moment I heard that story, everything clicked. I knew there was a reason I had been so drawn to this print all those years ago. For more than 12 years, I admired it without knowing its history, and now I love it even more.

After watching that video, I went back to the seller and submitted another offer on the tote. To my surprise, it was accepted!

I’ve only had my tote for about a month, but it turns heads everywhere I carry it. It is truly stunning, and I love sharing the history of the Flora print with anyone willing to listen. Knowing the story behind it makes it feel even more special.

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of fashion history. If you have a few minutes, be sure to watch the video. Lately, I’ve also been on the hunt for Grace Kelly’s signature fragrance, Fleurissimo by Creed. I’ve been trying to find a sample but haven’t had any luck yet.

If you watch the video, let me know in the comments—which item from Grace Kelly’s list is your favorite?

 

 

Affiliate links attached.

What’s Left? What’s New? Boutique Inventory

/in /by

 

 

Good Morning,

I hope everyone is dry and safe. We had crazy weather here in the Midwest and things still have not settled down. Does anyone have any summer vacation plans in the works? I am looking for some inspiration. I have been looking into Boston, but I am open to other states so comment below what your plans are!

Can you believe it? We are in year 4 of the boutique. I am still shocked that it is still going honestly. Running a boutique is VERY and I mean VERY hard! It’s not easy. I cannot tell you how many times I have thought about closing it up. But I pray every time for the Lord to guide me. I still don’t have the “feeling” to close it up yet but who knows. 

I will share that I am changing gears a little. I will not be ordering so many dresses but leaning more into accessories for right now. We will see how this goes. But I wanted to share what was left before some of my inventory began to leave permanently. Here in the next few months some of dresses that have not sold will be removed from the boutique. 

 

 

First up is the Charlotte Velvet Midi in plus size. There are only 2 1x sizes left and will be the first to be removed from the boutique next month. They are on sale for only $15! Order while you can!

 

 

Second is the Sylvia Midi Shirtdress. There are multiple sizes left and will be leaving next month as well. They are on sale for only $15. Order while you can!

 

 

Third to leave is the Rose Blush Midi. This dress is in plus size and very lightweight. It is also on sale for only $15 and will be leaving next month as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now there are only 3 left of the Garden Maxi Dress. This is perfect for spring and the summer season. This will not be on my website long.  The Garden Satin Cardigan is still available and in plus size only. It comes in multiple sizes and two different colors. 

 

 

 

There are only a few sizes left of the Gigi Velvet Pumps. They are on sale for only $25 and will not be restocked. I am currently looking for another shoe for the boutique. There are only 2 left of the Chinoiserie Silk Scarf in cream left. The blue and white has sold out. They are only sale for $25 and again will not be restocked. 

For right now those are my current low inventory items. I have some new designer inspired earrings and designer inspired brooch just in case you have missed them. I am also waiting on my new chinoiserie inspired clutch! This should be a new arrival coming to the boutique soon. Again, thank you to all of you who have supported the blog and boutique all of these years. You are the reason why I am still going!

Have a great week!

 

 

 

 

The Hunt for Quality Accessories

/2 Comments/in , /by

 

 

Good Morning Friends,

How is everyone doing? I have been trying to focus on my goals that I put in place this year and try to remind myself of who is in charge. And it is the Lord. That is where my heart is, and trust is still a part of my goals for life. 

This week we are celebrating a few birthdays. Lauren turned 20 on Monday, my stepson Ely will turn 25 on Thursday and my husband will be 50-something on Sunday!  I had brunch with my Guild girls last week and one of our friends brought in this beautiful strawberry cake that was so delicious! I got one for this week for us to enjoy for the birthday celebrations. 

Okay moving right into my hunt for quality accessories. I think that every couple of years I bring this up. Bogus shopping. I mentioned this post in 2019 and shared my thoughts again in 2023 as I learn to shop with discernment.  My desire to get better at this continues.

I was on the hunt recently for a quality leather bag. The Coach Empire Carryall 48 popped up in my feed. How? I am not sure, but I was smitten. Of course, I go to the website, and it is sold out. I then took to YouTube as I normally do to get a glimpse of it or watch an “honest opinion” video about it. That is where I found out that it went viral last year! I had no idea but here we are. I let it go but then had a feeling that I should go to my local Coach store just to see if I can take a peek and….

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I FOUND ONE! UNBELEIVELABLE! I walked right into my local Coach store and there she sat on the top shelf! I held it and then was going to leave it until I realized that it was the last one, the quality was phenomenal, it has Hermes Birkin vibes to it, and I just knew that it was going to age well. So, I purchased it and have no regrets. Now I am not interested in all of the charms that people are putting on theirs. I love a classic looking bag, so I ordered this elegant leather swan charm. It is suppose to arrive soon. I will let you all know if the quality is good when it arrives. 

I am also on the hunt for a cream leather bag. I ordered this tote from Caroline Hill and it is beautiful in person. It is not real leather, but the size and color are perfect for me. I will still continue my search for a leather cream bag because I think something classic, and genuine leather will stand the test of time. 

 

 

 

 

Silk scarves are always on the list. Lately I have been trying to purchase vintage designer scarves from all sorts of places. One of my favorite shops on Etsy is called Pure Scarf Vintage. It is where I purchased my vintage Dior scarf that I am wearing in this photo. You may be able to find some at consignment stores, Goodwill, and even antique stores. Right now, my silk scarf collection is wonderful. I even love the scarves that I have in my boutique. I think the elegance that they provide in your everyday look is essential. I don’t just wear them to the office. I wear them on the weekends as well. If you need scarf tying inspiration, take a look at Jamie Beck’s Instagram page.  I believe that as time goes on I will continue to grow this accessory in my wardrobe. There are a few scarves that will be replaced, and I might even make the collection smaller. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Next is jewelry. I have really been getting out of my element lately. I don’t know why but I have been drawn to different kinds of pieces. I was doing a search on Poshmark and this crocodile choker from Zara appeared in my feed. Now it looked like it was not my style, but the seller had it priced at $25 and I thought, why not! So I ordered it and it is quite beautiful in person. I wore it to the office and my goodness; I was not expecting so many compliments! I did find something similar on Amazon for the same price. Finding unique jewelry pieces has been on my radar in the last few years. I think having pieces that no one has that are classic, and different will set your wardrobe apart. 

 

 

Here is another unique jewelry piece. This is a gold leopard bracelet that I purchased from Garland Bags. I found this shop in Instagram and love their sophisticated designs. 

 

 

I wanted to share these gloves before it got really warm. Gloves are another item that I am trying to bring quality to. I found these on Amazon.  When I heard Nathan Rollison mention his story about the gloves that he purchased over 10 years ago it inspired me to look into this accessory and buy better quality gloves. I shared my long opera gloves a few months ago and cannot stop wearing those either. They are so beautiful! 

Now because I am going through my closet and I am beginning to post items for sale on my Poshmark closet. You are more than welcome to make an offer on any of the items. Thank you so much for reading and let me know how your quest for quality is going. 

 

 

  • affiliate links attached 

 

My Autumn & Winter Bags ~ 2024

/2 Comments/in /by

 

 

Good Morning Everyone!

Goodness, I am so glad to have my hour back! I know some people may not care but I do! It really makes a difference on Sundays. I feel like I get a lot more done, and I get to bed at a decent time. The Indiana Conference for Women was great! I was a volunteer again this year and loved it! Registration went well and I met more women this year. The speakers were phenomenal and the books… oh my goodness they are really good! So we got Career Foward: Strategies from Women Who Made It, Lead Bigger: The Transformative Power of Inclusion and Indulge: Delicious and Decadent Dishes by Valerie Bertinelli. Some of Valerie’s books were autographed. I managed to get one for my boss. I really enjoyed the speakers for the first book Career Forward. They were down to earth, brilliant, and precise. I was placed in the green room for a moment and got to meet author April Simpkins. She was such a sweetheart and the story of the daughter Cheslie Kryst, Miss USA 2019, was heart breaking. 

Martha Hoover, another heavy hitter in my city, was at the conference as a moderator for Valerie Bertinelli and it turns out we know a lot of the same people. I hope to have her come and speak very soon at my office. We talked and talked in the green room, and she asked me to take a selfie with her! Now how cool is that! 

I will be putting up my Christmas decorations this weekend and finishing up my Thanksgiving grocery here soon. Now on to some new fashion finds. 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

Oh sweet autumn is here and so are all of the rich colors and fabrics! I am a tote girl and I love a tote with great organizational spaces and pockets as well as beauty. I have managed to find three Kate Spade Manhattan totes that I love. My first tote was the Manhattan tote in houndstooth. I purchased this about 2 years ago and knew I wanted a second one. I managed to find this one on the website! It is still available for now. Order it while you can. 

The second purchase was the Manhattan Lady Lepoard tote in green! Oh be still my heart! Honestly, I was shocked that I loved the green one, but I think that was my “winter palette” screaming at me. I ordered this one from Poshmark. Then this past summer I saw the black Manhattan Lady Lepoard tote and thought, “you know that might be another great addition to my wardrobe”. I found this one on eBay. Both leopard totes were purchased brand new. If you are interested, you may check Poshmark and eBay. 

 

 

Now this is my newest addition. This is the Gucci Brown & Multicolor Suede Ophidia Large Tote. What’s funny is that this bag was not on my radar. I have been stalking the Fendi Sunshine Large tote for almost a year. Maybe even longer. I found a few used ones on the Vestiaire Collective website but for some reason I could not pull the trigger. I just kept praying about it. Every time I added one to my cart, I would let it sit there and ask myself a series of questions. It was a bit ridiculous, but I had a number in my head that I did not want to go over, and I was trying to stay on budget. Also a thought popped in my head.  It was, “in the next five years would that big Fendi sign across the bag bother you”? And I thought wow, where did that come from? It really made me think. 

I am trying to do a better job of cultivating my wardrobe and I am starting to think long term, like years. So then I said, “Lord I am on the hunt for an elegant bag for this season and I want it to fit into my wardrobe permanently”. Can you find the bag that I am suppose to have? I swear to you about one hour later this bag popped up in my Vestiaire search! It came out of nowhere and I did not even type this name in! When I saw it my heart SANG! 

I was so in love with the shape, the deep rich colors, the black leather, the suede, the structure, the handles and the perfectly size branding! Oh my goodness, I was in love instantly. Also the price was pretty good but then as soon as I liked it the seller sent me a deep discount! I ended up paying under $900! Thank you Lord!

I am so happy with my purchase and so happy with my collection this year. I have more bags for the autumn/ winter, but these are the newest additions. I don’t know if you pray to God about your purchases, but I will tell you this. You should try it!

Have a great week! 

 

  • Affiliate links attached 

My Color Analysis Journey

/6 Comments/in , /by

 

Good Morning Friends,

I had a really good birthday weekend. Thank you all for the birthday wishes truly! I actually have a lot of content to share. I will be working with my friend Dr. Minju Witte here soon on a blog collaboration for etiquette! So if there are any etiquette questions that you want me to ask Dr. Witte please put it in the comments section below. 

I have some wonderful autumn photos from the Lily House and an outdoor lunch that me and my Guild girlfriends had a few weeks ago. And I have a reel that I will be posting soon from my birthday dinner at the Cakebake Shop. I had tea there and loved it. Of course I could resist purchasing a teapot for myself. They are so beautiful in person. 

Okay now let me share my wonderful color analysis appointment with you that I had on my birthday!

 

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley

 

A few weeks ago, my branding company, shared a new project that they were working on. It was a new branding project for a local color analysis consultant. Ummm that caught my attention immediately and I reached out to her to find out what services she offered.

Elizabeth from the Color Coordinator , was so helpful and offered an in-person experience and a virtual one as well. I thought about having the virtual appointment but honestly nothing compares to doing it in person. So I set up an in-person appointment and put it on my calendar! 

When I arrived I saw that she had the scarf rack which made me so excited. Now I have seen this done on YouTube so I kind of knew how it was going to be.  

 

 

She was very personable, knowledge and fun. She made me feel so comfortable and we talked about colors, age, and a little bit of everything. I could not resist a selfie! 

 

 

I did wear one of my favorite pink dresses but I was open to whatever Elizabeth was going to show me about color. I was also wanted some advice or make up colors. Sometimes people will just tell you, “oh that color lipstick looks great on you”, but then you get it home and find out that you don’t love it. I cannot tell you how many times I have purchased a pink lipstick only to not wear it.

In the above photos you will see a before and after. Elizabeth suggested that I go for berry color lipsticks and blushes. She actually applied a color on my lips and cheeks while I was there. You can watch her reel of my session here. 

 

 

After going through all of the seasons Elizabeth was able to narrow down my colors to “bright winter”. I never thought in a million years that I would be a winter. One of the great aspects of this season of colors is that black is a neutral for me. Now how great is that! Elizabeth also explained that I have three other sister palettes which are dark winter, cool winter, and bright spring. In addition to the booklets I got this color swatch to help me pick out colors for my clothes, nails and makeup! I love it! 

It was such a wonderful experience and I have NO regrets doing it. I have been wanting to experiment with more activities in my life and this was one of them. As we all know, life is so short and I want to do as much as a can to make it beautiful. 

If you live in the Indianapolis area, I would recommend Elizabeth if you want to take an adventure in discovering your colors. It could do wonders! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ShopMy ~ New Sarah Flint Platform

/2 Comments/in /by

 

 

Good Morning Friends,

Whew what a week so far! We had our HOA sale this past weekend and a few dresses finally left the boutique. I was so happy to see them go! Fingers crossed that my new arrival will be coming soon. They have been on back order with my vendor. I don’t want to ruin the surprise but I sure do hope that they ship soon and they are not dresses! 

I am in “small update” mode in my home. I got a new light fixture for my office and hopefully some new curtain rods will be arriving soon. Speaking of updates… the Sarah Flint Brand Ambassador/Curator program just got an update. Not only did we get new codes, you can now use them more then once, and we got our very own platforms to share our favorite Sarah Flint items. 

 

 

I am now on the ShopMy app or website for Sarah Flint! We can share our favorite Sarah Flint items and our discount codes are active on every item. The wonderful thing about this new platform is that you can use our codes MORE THAN ONCE! It’s a great website for brand ambassadors to curate our favorite SF accessories.

 

photo credits: Mrs. Shockley 

 

I have my page divided into shoes, accessories, and the home collection. You can shop all those items and use my code. 

 

 

I love that our codes are displayed right under the item and shows the percentage. 

 

 

I recently ordered the Sarah Flint Gracie Oxford and have already taken them for a spin! I have been wanting these shoes for a while now. They are the perfect balance of comfort and elegance. I loved the pink blush color, Gracie print shoe strings, and the extra padding added to the foot bed. 

 

 

These are officially going to be my travel shoes. These are a perfect combination to my dresses. I love wearing dresses and finding comfortable shoes to wear with them when I travel is always a challenge. I hope that you check out my new ShopMy page and look around at my favorites. Also don’t forget to check out the home collection from Sarah Flint. She has a few great pieces there. You can watch my unboxing on YouTube. 

I am so excited about this new upgrade to the program. It’s a wonderful way to keep getting your favorite Sarah Flint pieces with our codes on repeat! My new code is SF-SHOCKLEY-15 and you can use it on the site at any time. Just sure that your order is at least $230 or more! Enjoy! 

 

  • This post is sponsored. 

New Vintage Inspired Bags

/2 Comments/in /by

 

 

Good Morning Friends,

I hope you are all well. My recent “girls day” went so well. I spent the entire day with some of my friends from the St. Margaret’s Guild and we had a wonderful time. I will be sure to share a blog post later about our adventure. 

This week we are taking Lauren back to her college campus. 🙁 I am really sad but she is ready to return to her friends. I also will be taking a few days off this week. I want to just “putter” around the house and get things done. I am thinking about changing around my office furniture so we will see what I end up doing. 

Have you read the title? Oh my goodness. I recently received a package and it was just stunning when I opened it. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

This vintage hatbox is stunning and was created by V.J. from Notiq! 

 

 

This hatbox is a serious head turner! I took it with me on my recent work trip and you would not believe the amount of people that stopped me to look at it. It is perfect as a carry-on and to take with you for short trips. I have even used it to take to my office to carry my lunch bag, water bottle, and planner. 

It is made of sustainable luxury materials and will absolutely elevate your look. 

 

photo credit: Mrs. Shockley 

 

The second bag that I just got is the MME. Carlton Basket tote. It is huge and I have always wanted a large basket bag. I absolutely love it. For one it is different. You will not see many people with this bag. Anytime I carry one of my MME.Mink bags I always get stopped and people ask me questions. This basket bag is made from organic grass fibers woven together. The bag also has leather and the distinctive MME. Mink design and gold hardware. It’s lovely. 

 

 

 

It’s has lots of room inside and I added my purse insert from Amazon to give me compartments and proper storage. I found something similar on Amazon, see here if you are interested. 

I can’t believe that summer is almost over. I am preparing for my closet review here soon. I actually cannot wait to do it, purge some items and get ready for fall. Speaking of purging most of the dresses in my dress boutique are on sale. Most of them have been marked down to only $10! Order a few for your wardrobe! 

 

 

 

 

  • This post is a paid partnership.