Building on the tremendous success of the firm’s 2009 collections of a variety of interchangeable bead jewelry, WHIMSY™ recently unveiled the Women in Love Collection for Winter 2010.

In this collection, nationally-acclaimed designer R. Craig Whitten offers two exciting new ways to showcase the hottest jewelry trend in years — striking, collectible Murano glass beads. The designs are compatible with the majority of the glass beads made by major bead manufacturers including Trollbeads, Chamilia™, Pandora™ and more. Their interchangeability allows the wearer to express her individuality and easily change the ring to match an outfit, complementary jewelry — even a mood.

The new designs were inspired by some of the world’s most timeless love stories. The Juliet pendant celebrates one true love that lasts forever. Highlighted with a striking bead, this elegant pendant is guaranteed to make a woman’s heart flutter. (Retail: $75, not including chain)

Stunning Elizabeth earrings dangle gaily from sterling wire and are the perfect showcase for eye-catching Murano beads. Worn alone or as a companion to the Juliet pendant, these earrings are extremely versatile and their interchangeability makes them a reflection of each woman’s own personal style. (Retail: $125 per pair)

Like all pieces created by WHIMSY™, the Women in Love Collection is beautifully crafted using eco-friendly, reclaimed sterling silver, is created with uncompromising attention to detail, and each piece is hand-finished.

“The mechanics of pieces by WHIMSY™ make it easy to change your bead and change your style. A threaded center post is so easy to use; you simply unscrew the end cap to release the bead,” says the collection’s designer R. Craig Whitten. “End caps incorporate incised details to allow a firm grip.”

The threaded center post is also ultra secure, making beads are almost impossible to lose. Plus, the center posts are so adjustable that they can accommodate an even wider range of bead widths. The pendant and earrings from the Women in Love Collection are even compatible with many one-of-a-kind art beads by lampwork artists.

Inspiration. Everyone needs it and in the fabulous world of fashion, inspiration can come from almost anywhere!

Here at Susan Said What?!, we are inspired by great writers who help bring fashion to life. We visit these sites almost daily to learn about insider sales, fresh new designers and of course, lots of lots of style suggestions. In our opinion, these are some of the best of the best. Our own Top 5 fashion blogs include:

Stiletto Jungle is an online shopping blog that features fashion, beauty, and lifestyle tips, trends, plus online deals. The site is updated several times daily, so there’s always something new. I love that each product is accompanied by a direct link so that you can purchase online easily and quickly.

Coquette by Natalie Zee Drieu has been rated one of the top 50 fashion blogs in the world! And in 2008, Folio named Natalie one of the Top 40 Magazine Industry Influencers and Innovators. The best part of Coquette is that Natalie offers realistic fashion choices that are generally affordable for the average working woman.

Fashion Pulse Daily is written by fashion industry veteran Julia DiNardo, who has a truly amazing eye for the latest trends, newest designers, and hottest products. The best part is how Julia puts all the elements of a look together in each blog post – from clothes, to accessories, to jewelry — the whole look is right there at your fingertips.

SecondCityStyle is written by a 15-year consumer marketing expert with a self proclaimed addiction to fashion! Editor-In-Chief  Lauren Dimet is also a former accessories designer and has created a sophisticated line of jewelry and rich fabric handbags. Personally, I love her ability to identify the special details that make a fashion item worth the splurge.

The Daily Obsession is a lifestyle guide for the modern, working woman who covets the most luxurious products and follows sophisticated style trends. The Daily Obsession has extremely useful information on chic fashion trends, must-have beauty products, insider interviews, and even giveaways.

A visit to any of these great sites will help you start the New Year in style!

New Year’s Eve is tomorrow night. I have the dress. I have the accessories. Now, I need some new shoes!

Like Carrie Bradshaw, I absolutely love shoes. My husband doesn’t understand the difference that a buckle, T-strap, or heel height can make and simply can’t fathom why anyone would need 7 pairs of black pumps. Sigh… men.

Even though I have lots of shoes, for this special night, I need something with a little more sizzle. Some of the sexiest, most stylish shoes I’ve found are at Frederick’s. Until this year, when I thought of Frederick’s, my mind went to lingerie only. But I have since found out (to my great happiness) that they carry a huge range of necessities – from party dresses, to accessories, to wonderful, wonderful shoes.

For New Year’s Eve, I absolutely covet the Double Wrap Sandal. One of my favorite styles, the double wrap sandal crosses at the ankle holds your foot in firmly place – a must for a night of dancing! The 4 1/2″inch enamel-plated stiletto heel is the perfect height (meaning I can still walk). And the sassy metallic silver works with almost everything in my closet.  Plus – and here’s the best part – they are on sale for only $17.99!

Or, if you’re fighting the snow, Frederick’s Pointed Toe Sequin Pump is a great option. These shimmering, sequined 4” pumps instantly jazz up a simple LBD. Available in basic black and sparkly silver, these pumps are only $34.00 and are guaranteed to become the go-to shoes for festive evenings.

A trendy option that takes the gladiator look to a whole new level is the Strappy Satin Stiletto. Sleek satin straps and a 4 1⁄2″ heel paired with a short skirt and he won’t be able to take his eyes off of your legs! On sale now for the super low price of only $19.99 (previously $39.99).

One of the best things about Fredericks, though, is the entire selection of what they call shoe solutions (I call them salvation!).  Gel Heel Guards, Cushioning Insoles, Ball of Foot Gel Cushions and Anti-Friction Blister Balm will ensure that you ring in the new year feeling fabulous in your new heels!

For the girl on the go (and what woman isn’t at this time of the year?) there’s Face in a Case from Dieci Colori! Face in a Case contains everything you need for a glowing, healthy look: shimmering mineral powders for subtle highlights on the face and décolleté, three mineral eye shadows that blend and balance each other, a large shadow eyeliner, plus a mineral blush – all in one compact, stylish case. Only $64!

I personally love mineral powders because their light reflective properties create such a flawless look. And mineral powders never look cakey, heavy or artificial. They are also so easy to apply, unlike liquid foundations or blush (don’t even get me started on liquid liner!).

Face in a Case is the brainchild of Marie Gaglioti of Dieci Cosmetics. Her 20+ years of experience as a day spa owner and makeup artist led to creation of this innovative cosmetics line. Marie was inspired by the “beauty culture” of Italy and the country’s traditional health and beauty rituals.

In addition to Face in a Case, the Dieci Colori line offers a vast array of products in wearable, hypoallergenic formulas. There is a really tremendous assortment of lipsticks and shadows, all of which have several different textures, as well as eye and lip pencils in both classic and trendy colors.

Dieci Cosmetics also has a luxurious skin care line, Dieci Skin Care, for cleansing, toning, and moisturizing and the Essence of Italy Body Care line, a unique blend of organic essential oils.

I’m off to try it now. Ciao!

I have a well documented weakness for anything made in the British Isles … cozy fishermen’s sweaters from Ireland, mellow gold from Wales, and of course, Wellies from England, an absolute necessity in our barn. Now I can add a new obsession to my list – fabulous leather goods from Rowallan of Scotland!

Rowallan is designed and distributed by Checker Leather Ltd. of Kilmaurs, which is located in historic Ayrshire, Scotland. Boasting over 40 castles and links to William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and Robert Burns, the area is literally steeped in history.

From this romantic setting comes some of the finest travel goods, stylish leather accessories, and colorful jewelry keeps imaginable. Rowallan of Scotland designs pieces with a timeless, sophisticated appeal. The firm offers classic designs and quality craftsmanship in a huge selection of carry-ons career bags, totes, handbags, accessories, wallets and jewelry keeps.

And now Rowallan of Scotland has come “across the pond!” A Retail Store Locator conveniently allows searches by US state, or the firm offers Online Shopping at the US portion of the website.

With so many gorgeous pieces, I would be hard-pressed to choose just one. However, I have a real need for a jewelry keep and Rowallan offers a perfect option! The “Joan” is chic personified, with glamorous, retro styling reminiscent of Hollywood in its glory days. This jewelry keep has a place for everything with clever suede-lined compartments, drawers and trays, plus a useful pull-out travel keep. The “Joan” is available is classic black, shocking pink, or cheery red.

Priced at only $80.99 USD, this is truly an affordable luxury!

How to look good and do good at the same time? Banyan Paper Handbags from Good Paper (formerly Banyan Paper) are the perfect solution!

These stylish bags are crafted by women who used to live on the world’s largest garbage dump, located in the Philippines. They would scavenge for bottles and cans to feed their families.  But now, thanks to microfinance loans, they produce beautiful handbags and provide for their families in a safe and dignifying work environment. 

Banyan Paper Handbags are handcrafted from local recycled materials such as unused newspapers and telephones books. They are reinforced with wire, and some of handbags use either twine or re-purposed tubing for the handles.  There is also a cloth lining on the inside of each bag and a zipper top on the Mia, Tina, and Christine styles.  All of the handbags have a layer of varnish as a topcoat to help them keep their shape and make them more weather resistant.  Each bag takes between 2-4 days to create, depending on the complexity of the design. 

My personal favorite and at the top of my list is the Mia, pictured. Priced at only $46, this is a great statement bag and sure to generate lots of compliments!

This is a great gift to receive, but it’s also a gift that gives twice – once to the woman that gets to carry this stylish bag and once to the woman whose hands created a beautiful piece of artwork with the power to change her life.

Get a gorgeous Banyan Paper Handbag and make Christmas special this year!

Grace Kelly. Ingrid Bergman. Jackie Kennedy. Have you ever wondered why some women always seem so effortlessly put together, elegant and sophisticated? According to Shibui Designs’ founder Elizabeth Nill, the answer is, in a word, tailoring.

Now, you can have that look too!

Elizabeth’s firm, Shibui Designs, creates handcrafted, one-of-a-kind investment dresses and skirts that fit like they were made just for you – because they are! Fashioned from a huge choice of amazing, fine fabrics, these dresses and skirts are subtle and classic, and destined to become the go-to pieces you reach for time and again. In fact, Shibui dresses are haute couture style and fit without haute couture prices.

How does it work? It’s easy and I had a great time playing on the website. Simply go to Create Your Dress. Choose a style from the slide show of dress images that appears on the left. My personal favorite is the Jackie, a simple sleeveless sheath dress with a timeless appeal. This dress would be lovely on its own with a statement necklace, paired with a jacket, or even a cardigan.

Then comes the real fun! There almost endless fabric swatches to choose from — from simple jersey knits and printed cotton, to sensible Cashmere and wool, to jacquards and gorgeous embroidered silk shantung. There are even fine Italian wool knits and delectable French brocades. It’s like an endless game of dress-up, with the bonus that these are mom’s old cast-off prom gowns!

Visit Elizabeth in the little village of Barnstable on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Or visit Shibui Designs online.

Who needs a partridge in a pear tree, anyway?!

Flipping through the most recent issue of InStyle magazine, I was amazed by all the frosty white, and I don’t mean snowflakes! White banded watches are de rigueur for the holidays and I, for one, couldn’t be happier!

These watches run the gamut from an ultra sporty offering by Movado, to a substantial white ceramic linked version by Anne Klein, plus everything in between.

Want the look?

At the high end, Tiffany & Co. has a dazzling, diamond encrusted Atlas watch on a luxurious white band. Although I couldn’t seem to find it online, after a quick call to Robin at Tiffany & Co. and I found out that this fabulous watch is crafted of 18-karat gold, with — you guessed it – diamonds! Lots and lots and lots of diamonds. The Atlas watch comes in two sizes. The larger version will set you back a whopping $28,000 and the smaller one retails for $23,400.

A much more affordable version is the Aurora from Tommy Hilfiger. This watch has similar roman numerals and also has a round face. There’s plenty of bling but this sparkle comes from crystals. The band is a croc embossed leather and has an added bonus – it’s reversible! And for a mere $95, this is the watch I hope will be under my Christmas tree.

Let it snow!

This month’s InStyle arrived the other day and I was thrilled to see one of my favorite colors – purple – throughout! Not only were there great purple accents like bags and pumps, but whole glorious dresses and even gowns.

One reason that I am so drawn to this vibrant color is that purple an amazing attention-getter – truly hard to overlook! Another is that it looks great on almost everyone – from raven haired Megan Fox, to blond beauty Reese Witherspoon, to glorious redhead Debra Messing, this is a color that flatters just about everyone.

Wondering if purple was truly the “it” color of the season, I started to look for some confirmation. Guess what I found? Yes, it’s everywhere! Some of the best:

The Glam Guide recently featured some amazing $525 Miu Miu Suede platform pumps (available at Net-a-Porter), but you can rock the same look for under $100 with the Bukana Pumps by Guess shown here. Nice with a gray pencil skirt for work or skinny jeans and a leather jacket on the weekend.

The Bag Snob showcased a drool-worthy classic quilted Chanel bag in purple, available at Neiman Marcus. Alas, with a price tag of $1,895, reasonable by Chanel standards, it is seriously out of my fall budget. I did find the Nordstrom’s Quilted Mini Bag. Made of luxe Italian leather for Nordstrom’s this bag is a major deal at only $128.

For those brisk fall days Ann Taylor has a beautiful cashmere turtleneck sweater in deep grape just under $175. A slightly more affordable alternative shown here is by Cece, available at Bluefly on sale for only $116 – definitely a great investment.

Finally, I found a piece at Cool Spotters that doesn’t even invite comparison – my favorite piece of all – a flowing chiffon gown by J.Mendel from the Fall 2009 Collection. Lindsay Price was spotted in this beauty at the 2009 Emmy Awards. Shown here as it appeared on the runway.

The color purple for fall? I say yes!

Susan McNeill is a wife, mother, author, fashion blogger

 and sales manager for the WHIMSY jewelry line. Susan

also writes for http://mcneilldesigns.wordpress.com and

http://successwontwaitinc.wordpress.com