Just Monkey'in Around! 20 Great Monkey Themed Accessories, Home Decor & Gifty Goodness

I was recently introduced to a fab new social network organized around the various things people are passionate about, including sports, TV, crafts & of course, fashion!. Sulia's subject-based approach makes it easy to connect with experts & other enthusiasts on topics you find interesting. Life lifestyle & fashion in my case - plus Stacy London's personal shopping company, Style for Hire, sponsors the Fashion Channel. (If you want to follow my doings directly there, here's where I "live" on Sulia.)

As one of Sulia's first fashion contributors - part of a small, hand-selected group - I handpick & opine upon whatever dings my raccoon-like radar for anything shiny & fabulous. Like monkeys. This week I thought it would be fun to monkey around a bit with some cool jewels, homey finds & other stylish simian shenanigans.

#1 Hermione de Paula monkey + florals scarf
#2 Ballon Blue de Carter monkey watch
#3 gemstone-encrusted monkey pendant necklace
#4 Christopher Kane monkey dress
#5 Christopher Ross brass-monkey belt (insanely awesome!)
#6 painting of a monkey on silk

 

#7 a Feng Shui friendly brass monkey perched upon a peach
#8 fine porcelain monkey cup & saucer
#9 monkey cameo ring
#10 silk tie with a sock-monkey print
#11 organ-grinder monkey table
#12 a Steampunk "man monkey" wallet-cig case thingy

#13 beaded bracelet with silver monkey charm
#14 cashmere monkey hoodie for your Mini Me
#15 Rasta Monkey "pilot" cap ... with pom poms!
#16 marzipan monkey atop a giant pile 'o bananas & yummo cake
#17 knitted sock-monkey bag
#18 kitschy/fun monkey & palm tree salt & pepper shakers

They had me at "Brazen" & "Cheeky" for #19, *Brazen Hussy* nail polish by Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics.

But for #20, I wasn't monkey'in around any more. These gorgeous Yunnan golden monkeys now number less than 2,000 and are almost extinct. To help, donate to the Nature Conservancy's project to protect the golden monkeys from both illegal hunters and destruction of their habitat.

- Lesley Scott

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Give Breast Cancer a Big Middle Finger ... Stylishly

When it comes to cancer, the gloves are off - and the cuffs on. This stylish Fuck Cancer x Jennifer Fisher x College Fashionista Cuff, retailing for $225, donates 20% of the proceeds ($50) to Fuck Cancer, a movement which educates people about how important it is to prevent the disease, detect it early and most definitely not keep things on the DL.

Available through February 28, 2013 exclusively at JenniferFisherJewelry.com.

- Lesley Scott

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Adorn Your Wrist With *Words to Live By*

This charming holiday collection by jewelry designer Catherine M. Zadeh in partnership with Restoration Hardware is designed to be unisex and features a woven band and sterling-silver plaque etched with inspiring words & phrases: Believe, Hope & Carpe Diem. 

I love the fact that some of the proceeds will benefit Kid's Wish Network, a children's charity which grants wishes to little ones suffering from poverty, homelessness, abuse & life-threatening conditions.

- Lesley Scott

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Q: What do Bruce Weber, a Rasta Santa, Wistful Fairies & Selfridges Have in Common?

A: A fantabulous Christmas fantasia!

Taking a walk on the fantastical side of the season, the Best Department Store in the World (they vote on such things at the Global Department Store Summit) has been joined this year by Weber and quirky stylist Bay Garnett to help keep things whimsical and fun, but tweak the other boring er "typical" stuff usually associated with the holiday.

The result?

A bewitching ballerina keeps company with an impactful boxer and a sleigh pulled by miniature ponies trot nonchalantly by a Grace Jones-inspired vision. In all, a yule with a deliciously surreal edge which the video (below) nicely captures.

To capture some of the fun for yourself, be sure to pick up a tee featuring a tree design hand-drawn by Weber on the back and artistic scrawl on the front which reads: *Give something to somebody that has never had a Christmas.*

Like the vulnerable children and youngsters that the profits from £20 price go toward helping through the social-work charity Kids Company. They operate through two street-level centers and are currently in more than 40 schools creating a unique "wraparound" model of care for each child .

- Lesley Scott

[Note: This was written in partnership with Selfridges. The words are mine.]

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EDUN & Matt Bernson Team up on Feelgood Footwear to Step out in Come Spring 2013

Six Matt Bernson classics will be getting a slightly different look for the new season, thanks to a new collaboration with EDUN & their eclectic brand of cool-girl style. 

Beginning in March, ballet flats, smoking slippers, chunky platform sandals, woven wedges & heeled booties will all be available in urban camo prints and etched florals on African tenting fabric - which will be printed in Kenya. Local artisans will also be crafting many of the signature details, such as the brushed-metal circle pulls.

What a great way to support business that give back while you give your feet a fashionable treat.

- Lesley Scott

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Help Fabulous Freida Pinto Help Educate Our Sisters Out of Poverty

 

Teach a fellow to fish and he can feed himself. Educate a girl in a poor or developing region & thanks to better self esteem, a grounding in essential life skills, marrying later and giving birth to healthier kids - watch her flourish.

Along with her grandchildren and their offspring.

A whopping 75 million girls in the world's poorest regions are currently being denied this simple solution to breaking the poverty cycle for the sole reason that they were born female. To help give girls access to a good eduction, join Freida in support of *Because I am a Girl* on Facebook - and encourage everyone you know to do the same - and click the lil' button to RaiseYourHandNow. The deadline for convincing one million of us to show the UN we care about this deplorable situation is October 11, the International Day of the Girl.

Be sure to click (the FB button) & then clack about it on FB, Twitter, your blog, whatevah - so as many of us as possible tells the UN to make educating girls a priority.

- Lesley Scott

[Note: This was written in partnership with the NGO Plan International. The words and opinions are mine.]

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A Chic Accessory in ... Karma! A Lucky Buddha Silk-Wrap Bracelet

Along with symbolizing wisdom and compassion, the Buddha is believed to enhance one's good luck & wealth. So as a just-in-case, why not tie one on? This *Boho Silk* Wrap bracelet (or ankle wrap or necklace) is made from silk ribbon and a bronze Buddha head by Lori Cohn, who started her *Charmed Design* label while dealing with the aftermath of a sudden & life-threatening disease. Her successful recovery convinced her she lives a charmed life and she wanted to share her story - and mad skillz! - with the world. This piece would definitely look fabu paired with fall's chunky knits and peeking out from under all those winter layers.

- Lesley Scott

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Couture, Red Carpets, Fashionable Foundations... Just Your Typical Day in the Life of a Chic Philanthropist

Board member. Chairwoman. Underwriter. Charity hostess. Just a few of the myriad chic hats worn by philanthropist Jean Shafiroff, to say nothing of the giant-closetfuls of fancy frocks like this glam silk & sequin number for her portrait by Iké Udé for Art Southampton 2012, a modern art fair held in NY's summer playground of the rich & fabulous, the Hamptons. "The dress reminds me of the Chrysler Building in New York City," explains Shafiroff. "It takes on the shape of the wearer. Its intricate fabric, glamour and historic New York elements make it especially unique...I wonder if this fabulous Art Deco landmark was the inspiration for the design of this magnificent Carolina Herrera gown?"

(And because you're wondering, the spiked plastic & silver cuff was swag from a charity ball & the chandelier earrings are by Van Cleef and Arpels.)

While her board memberships include The New York Women’s Foundation, JBFCS, French Heritage Society, Lighthouse International Advisory Board and Southampton Bath & Tennis Club Charitable Fund, it's Shafiroff's involvement with The Couture Council which should make a fellow fashionista's heart sing. Shafiroff hosted & underwrote The Couture Council’s private tour of IMPACT: 50 Years of the CFDA at the Museum at FIT. And in September of 2011, she was one of many underwriters for the Daphne Guinness exhibit at The Museum.

The Udé portrait (top) in Art Southampton 2012 - which benefits the Southampton Hospital - was featured by the Leila Heller Gallery of New York City & displayed alongside works by artists including Rachel Lee Hovnanian, Ran Hwang, the collaborative team Kate Eric, Kezban Arca Batibeki, Khosrow Hassanzadeh, Kim Chun Hwan, Hadieh Shafir & Firooz Zahedi.

- Lesley Scott

(Ike Ude image above right via CHIC INDEX)

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EDUN Goes to the Birds for Fall 2012

Take a love of beautiful clothes + a desire to create change + the resources to actually do something about it & you get something like EDUN, the brainchild of Bono & his wife, Ali Hewson. Founded in 2005, it's now part of the LVMH fam which has helped it spread its eco-chic wings into a global brand that does actual good: using the power of the fashion biz to help to grow trade in Africa, including the goal to produce almost half its seasonal fashion collection there by 2013. In addition to supporting local manufacturers, infrastructure and community-building initiatives, the brand also monitors compliance to their code of conduct by requiring any factories it uses to submit to a biannual audit.

For the Fall 2012 campaign, photographer Ryan McGinley was inspired by the brand's duality of cool clothes on the one hand & creating social change on the other. Using five different birds of prey to symbolize the wisdom and knowledge of Africa, he had them swoop across the images and land on the models-turned-human-perches. Warm, yellowish lighting brings the African sun to mind, while the feathered hunters - a barn owl, an eagle owl, a spectacled owl, a scoop owl & a peregrine falcon - collectively add a playful touch. "These birds are a perfect metaphor for the wild, carefree spirit of Edun," adds Hewson. "We wanted to continue the idea of transformation and lightness, and the beauty and the energy of Africa is inherent in these images and our brand - a perfect collision of flight and fashion."

Speaking of which, what about the clothes themselves?

Savagely-cute dresses with jungle-inspired prints, earthy Fair Isle-weave knits & hues of rich charcoal against moody blues.

- Lesley Scott

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You're Fashion Royalty. You Need a Designer Crown, No?

Valentino, Roberto Cavalli, Paul Smith and Lanvin (the flamboyant creation at left) recently collaborated with Harrods on one-of-a-kind crowns especially for the luxury store's spectacular Diamond Jubilee window displays.

The Paul Smith crown is festooned with trinkets, buttons & patriotic memorabilia (how fabulously British), while Cavalli opted for flowers & butterflies. And Valentino went classically elegant with just a touch of sparkle a la the house's signature red carpet glam.

Although each piece is priceless, the price paid by the winning bidder will go to a worthy cause: Macmillan Cancer Support.

Bidding starts at 50 GBP at Harrods.com.

- Lesley Scott

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