Coach is better known for bags than shoes. But every year the company comes out with a great line of spring platform shoes and sandals. Two years ago I bought a pair of strappy platform shoes but I need to replace them. I looked around in department stores and shoe boutiques, and concluded that these are my favorite pair. It is called the Stefanie platform and it costs $188. Although the heel looks dramatic, it is easy to walk it because of the platform. The difference in height between your heel and the ball of your foot is minimized. The hell is 4.5 inches (11.43 cm); the platform is 1 inch (2.54 cm).

You can wear these shoes with a mini- or maxi dress or jeans.

www.coach.com

The military look is “in” this spring, again, you might say, as it’s been going in and out since the late 1960s. But few fashion houses have created military-inspired clothes that are soft and feminine. Max Mara has come up with the best one I’ve seen so far: a long ton sur ton putty knitted silk and cotton jacket-cardigan over wool and silk army green work skirt, with a military style cotton poplin shirt in lycra. Pair this outfit with lace-up ankle boots.

I love simple, elegant clothing. That’s why I like Max Mara (and its other brands, Sportmax and ‘S Max Mara). I finished looking through the Spring 2010 Max Mara collection and found several clothes and accessories that I would definitely wear. My favorite is this black dress.

Not only is the photography stunning, but the dress itself looks sophisticated and timeless. Note that the model is not wearing any jewelry. Unlike most fashion shots today, where stylists pile necklaces, bangles, and earrings upon the hapless models (and increasingly celebrities) creating a look that is more frightening than appealing, this photograph in black and white keeps everything to its bare minimum. After all, a beautiful dress should stand on its own and draw attention to its owner.

I have many elegant black dresses in my wardrobe and I wear them with as little jewelry as possible. To me, this is the epitome of beauty and elegance.

www.maxmara.com

I love Bobbi Brown’s eye and lip palettes. The colors are suit so many different skin tones and the textures are wonderful. For spring 2010, Bobbi Brown does a palette that is much more colorful than her usual neutral tones.

Eye shades include:
Ivory Eye Shadow, Bermuda Pink Metallic Eye Shadow, Seashell Metallic Eye Shadow, Bonfire Metallic Eye Shadow, Tan Eye Shadow, Burnt Sugar Metallic Eye Shadow

Lip shades include:
Cabo Coral Lip Color, Salmon Lip Color, Shell Lip Color, and Coral Reef Metallic Lip Color

You can find the palette at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman for $60. I have not seen it for sale on the Bobbi Brown website.

I love this leather hard-back cover for the Mac Book and the Mac Book Pro. It makes your Mac look like an old-fashioned book. You can get it for $79.99 from Twelve South, a company that creates accessories for Apple products.

www.twelvesouth.com

I have just written a long profile of Touch2Give, a new shopping site launched in December 2009 by Asian-American entrepreneur, Claire Chung, who is based in Lisbon, Portugal. Unlike other luxury shopping sites, Touch2Give focuses on independent brands and niche designers who create true luxury – not based on extreme high prices, but on quality and rarity. It also donates 5 percent of sales commissions to charitable causes. Check out my article about Touch2Give and the interview with Claire Chung on Pajama Entrepreneur.

Isn’t it refreshing to see a new fragrance without the name of an overexposed, soon-to-be-over-the-hill celebrity attached to it? [untitled] by Maison Martin Margiela is a strange but welcome addition to the world of perfume. Strange because Margiela himself is anti-publicity and would probably never attach his name to anything as pedestrian as a perfume bottle. He never allows himself to be photographed and most people have no idea what he looks like. When he gives interviews, he does it often via fax and he never talks about his private life. He only talks about the fashion house’s latest designs and he uses the words “We”, not “I”. The oddest thing about this launch is that Margiela has just left Maison Martin Margiela.

The fragrance is created by Daniela Andrier for L’Oreal, holder of the Margiela fragrance license. It is described as woodsy and green with floral notes. Galbanum is the primary ingredient, followed by  boxwood, bitter orange, jasmine, musk and cedar.

[untitled] will be introduced on 25 January 2010 in France at Colette in Paris. Then it will be sold at Martin Margiela’s boutiques in the US starting March 2010. I’m looking forward to this perfume.

MAC is best known for its flamboyant, dazzling ads showing models with lots of bright, sparkly makeup. But occasionally, the cosmetics company brings out color collections that are more suitable to daytime wear. MAC’s latest – All Ages, All Races, All Sexes – is one of those. In a way, it’s misleading because MAC already has a range of colors that suit nearly every skin tone and age group on the planet. But who can complain about the gorgeous eyeshadows in shades of taupe and brown, and new lipglasses in baby pink and sheer taupe?

When it’s cold and gray outside and winter seems to last forever, I cheer myself up by looking at the beautiful new spring makeup colors that we will soon be seeing in the shops. Here is my initial selection of spring makeup favorites from Dior, Guerlain and Clinique. I love the gorgeous packaging and the happy light colors.

A first look at the 2010 Spring makeup collections by Esme Vos on Polyvore.com