World-renowned designer Karim Rashid shared his philosophy with House Beautiful in 2005:

“People touch on average, about 500 objects a day—opening a door, drinking from a glass, answering the phone. Why shouldn’t each of them be beautiful?”

Yes, why not???

If looking at beauty brings you joy—which it certainly does for most people—then why not fill your life with more beauty and joy?

As more and more designers turn their attention to banal everyday objects like scissors, soap dispensers, and toothbrushes, there are more and more opportunities for us to find moments of pleasure from the everyday objects we interact with daily.

But let’s be clear. I’m not suggesting that you run out and replace as many objects as possible with more beautifully designed versions. That is definitely not the way to stay on Mother Nature’s good side!

What I am suggesting is that as you gradually supplant the old and worn-out objects in your life with new ones, you may want to consider how much joy you’ll derive from the beauty and design of those objects and choose accordingly. The few extra dollars you spend on an object that provides the function you need while also making your heart sing will always be money well-spent.

Consider how many times you rest your head on your sheets. Or take out our wallet. Or brush your teeth. Or sip from your coffee mug.

Now consider how much joy you’d feel if each and every one of these frequently used items was an item that you truly loved. That made you squeal with delight every time you interacted with it.

Wouldn’t life be just a tad bit sweeter if these everyday objects could bring you just a tad more joy?

So while I’m not quite ready to recycle my old wallet just yet, when I do, I’ll hunt for one that will make me smile every time I open it. One that is perhaps as beautiful as today’s VPOD.

This vintage 1960s Italian satin wallet is a true work of art.

And it’s a fine example of everyday beauty that’s just perfect for a Vintage Crusader.

Available at SwaneeGRACE.

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While I was traveling two weeks ago, I got a call from Chase to tell me that my debit card has been compromised and they were monitoring my account for suspicious transactions. This meant they were also placing pretty strict limits on my daily ATM and transaction limits. An inconvenience? Sure. But not a disaster.

Still, as I activated my replacement debit card on Saturday and slipped the shiny blue card into my wallet, I couldn’t help but wonder how much longer I’d be carrying a card or even a wallet at all!

As Google Wallet and other electronic check-out options gain acceptance, it’s really just a matter of time before hard currency and debit and credit cards become a thing of the past. And when that happens, our phones will become our wallets.

Ironically, as a collector, I know that paying attention to the future is what gives you an edge in collecting the past. It’s important to pay attention to items that will become obsolete because it’s these same objects that tend to hold value for collectors in the future.

I mention this just in case you need one more rationalization to covet today’s VPOD.

This Yves Saint Laurent wallet, which looks like a hand-addressed envelope to one of Paris’s most fashionable addresses, will make every one of your purchases a luxurious experience. And it’s bound to become a collector’s item as our culture replaces it and friends like it with virtual wallets.

Plus there’s something so interesting in this depiction of an obsolete form of communication (letters) with a soon-to-be obsolete object (wallet) once used to hold soon-to-be obsolete forms of payment (cash and credit cards).

It’s a chic and shiny find for a Vintage Crusader!

Available at Shrimpton Couture.

(Photo Credit for Ruby Slippers: Profiles in History | To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

Simon Cowell’s singing competition, The X Factor, may be posting disappointing ratings but it is certainly serving up some amazing talent with some amazing backstories.

Plus I love the concept of The X Factor, the special “it” quality in someone that is undefinable in words but unmistakable when you witness it in person.

And I believe there’s an X Factor that comes into play in style, too.

It’s the unexpected, delightful, surprising element that you add to your outfit that is an injection of YOU.

It’s being inspired by a look in a magazine and adding just enough of your own twist that you’re the creator of something new and not a mere copycat.

Maybe it’s a rad pair of tights or wearing your favorite necklace as a belt. Maybe it’s taking that purse you’re bored with and studding it up as a rainy Saturday afternoon craft project. Maybe it’s pairing a bold neon tee under the suit that everyone else is showing with a ruffled secretary blouse. Or thinking outside the box and using a fabulous pair of rhinestone earrings as cufflinks.

The possibilities are endless but they often require being a bit bolder and braver than you might be comfortable being.

I visited a talent manager friend the other day and watched as she coached one of her clients for an audition for a lead role on a new television series.

Her advice to this lovely young actress?

“Play it big! Make that casting director ask you to bring it down and play it smaller. I’ve never had someone book a job if they were asked to try it again with more energy or more excitement or more anger.”

Why?

Because no one likes boring.

And if you feel your wardrobe is boring, then you can play it bigger by adding more X Factor. And one of the best ways to do this is with unique, quirky, or just plain fabulous vintage accessories.

For instance, today’s VPOD features a sample of four great vintage belts that could easily add some pizzazz to old favorites: a colorful braided number by YSl, a Vera classic-with-a-twist navy leather, an unusual Renoir metal version and an always fabulous Gucci.

They’re all fine X Factor choices for a Vintage Crusader.

Available at Pamcoco, Dahlila Found, EraExpressions, Fabulous Mess Vintage.

(To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

I was gathering book notes yesterday and discovered this juicy tidbit reported by David M. Garner and Ann Kearney-Cooke, both experts on body image. Their study reported:

70% of women felt depressed, guilty and ashamed after looking at fashion magazines for a mere three minutes.

And I get it.

Page after page of gorgeous, fit women. Page after page of drool-worthy clothes and jewelry. Page after page of articles on all kinds of issues that you had no idea you should be worrying about.

Even if you have healthy self-esteem, it can sometimes be a challenge to get through an entire issue without feeling…less than.

Not good enough. Not rich enough. Not slim enough. Not pretty enough. Not smart enough. Not stylish enough.

This morning I took out three recent fashion magazines and randomly flipped through the pages and here’s jut a sampling of what I found:

* a page featuring a new line of handbags with all pictured items priced $4700 or higher
* an article about getting your hair “commercial worthy”
* an article asking if women are wasting unused “erotic capital,” whatever that is

Look, I subscribe to the major fashion magazines, too, but I confess I haven’t actually read any of them in months. At most, I’ve been giving them a quick flip before filing them away for future reference.

And I’m not suggesting that you not read fashion magazines, either.

They can be a guilty little pleasure and they can offer inspiration to keep your style current.

But for heaven’s sake, if they make you feel guilty or anxious or ashamed, and apparently for seven out of ten you they do, then yes, I’m suggesting you cancel your subscriptions and replace reading fashion magazines with an activity you find much more empowering and uplifting instead.

And even if you can pore over fashion magazines without them affecting your psyche in a negative way, keep in mind that for every hour you’re gazing at the models and designer clothes and living your dream of going to Cannes by vicariously reading about it secondhand, you could be actively engaged in obtaining the film skills you need to actually get you there yourself.

Instead of making a judgment about “Who Wore It Better” or getting the play-by-play on some famous person who’s famous just for being famous, you could actually spend the same time learning about an issue in your local community that can have an actual effect on your life.

Instead of consuming an entire afternoon learning about an entirely new way to tie a ponytail, why it’s so important to have thick, lustrous eyelashes and why the jeans that took you three months to save for last season are now out of style, you might want to reserve a bit of your afternoon for heavier topics like learning more about the escalating famine crisis in Africa or the record-breaking drought that has devastated much of the American south this summer.

(And if this is first you’ve heard of a famine in Africa or a drought in the South, then you really need to spend less time obsessing about ponytails and eyelashes.)

I guess all I’m suggesting is that you approach reading a fashion magazine with the same awareness and intent that you approach the rest of life.

So if you find yourself feeling guilty, depressed, ashamed or inadequate while paging through Vogue, ask yourself why.

Why does reading about this particular topic make me feel this way? Why does looking at this fashion layout bring on these feelings?

And more importantly, pay attention to the subtle sales manipulation contributing to the feeling like headlines proclaiming “what you need now” or “must-have products.” Really? Says who?

Then you can make a conscious choice if you want to continue reading and feeling bad, if you can continue reading without feeling bad, or if you want to just close the covers and go for a run or spend time with your kids.

And remember, just because all the fashion magazines and blogs are proclaiming some hot new trend doesn’t mean you have to mortgage the farm to buy into it. I’d like to suggest that you could go this entire season, for example, without jumping on board the southwest and Navajo trend.

Since this is the type of trend that’s loaded with visual impact, when this trend is over, it’ll be over and when it goes out, it’ll be OUT.

So you may want to save a whole lot of dollars by just giving the trend a nod with a fab vintage scarf like today’s VPOD.

It’s the smart way to trend for a Vintage Crusader!

Available at Spanish Moss Vintage.

(To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

Earlier this week I was blessed to share a stimulating conversation with Mark Levy, the brilliant founder of Levy Innovation, who has been described as “a positioning guru extraordinaire,” “a Superman of the mind,” and “a horse whisperer for writers and thinkers.”

With accolades like that you might correctly surmise that our talk included phrases like externalized thinking and thought leadership but, surprisingly, Mark and I also mulled over the origin of the cape, its use by both men and women, and yes, even its association with superheros.

Then Mark recounted a story about a time he was speaking at an event and was introduced to a client’s brother who just happened to be a vintage clothing dealer.

Well, Mark thought this was a fascinating profession and starting asking the man questions about his job. And it didn’t take long before he hit the taboo question that every vintage clothing dealer dreads:

So, where do you find your stuff?

But this dealer handled the question with extraordinary style and grace:

Sorry, I’d love to share but that’s a trade secret.

Bingo!

You see, as Mark quickly realized, asking vintage dealers to reveal their product sources is like expecting magicians to reveal the secrets behind their magic tricks.

And with quality vintage becoming harder and harder to find, you can bet that vintage dealers are guarding their sources with the same zeal that Coke uses to guard its secret soft drink recipe.

So while I’m not gonna share my own favorite out-of-the-box people and places that I’ve used to source great vintage myself, I will share a super-secret weapon that may sound a bit woo-woo but still works like a charm.

You see, I believe that the dealers with the best stock don’t always find great vintage as much as they ATTRACT great vintage.

Once you acknowledge that our world is made of energy, you soon realize that setting an intention to discover great vintage and then exhibiting gratefulness when it arrives seems to beget more great vintage.

At least that’s what seems to happen in my world. And I’m always amazed and delighted when the universe provides just what I’ve asked for.

For instance, if I have a designer on my mind, I’ll often discover one of their pieces on my next trip to a thrift store or flea market.

Or I’ll be thinking about something I’d like to acquire and then open an email announcing an auction that surprise, surprise, has that exact piece on the auction block.

Or I’ll bump into someone who knows someone who knows someone looking to sell what they call old clothes but what I think of as a vintage collection.

Which brings us to today’s VPODs. Both of these lovely micro-beaded vintage evening bags hail from a series designed by Pierre Cardin.

The bottom golden version is from my own collection, discovered at last fall’s Vintage Expo in Santa Monica. Since it’s one of my favorite pieces I won’t be parting with it anytime soon.

But you can grab the top version done in primary colors for your very own. And while you’re welcome to inquire with the dealer where they discovered it, don’t be surprised if they choose not to tell.

Of course, whatever its path to you, it’s a beautiful gem for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Chic Antiques. | Discovered at TheFind.com.

(To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)