Style Showcase: Melissa

Love how Melissa paired the ladylike Madison with cozy layered sweaters and flat boots, it gives the bag a whole new vibe. In this picture you can tell how soft and squishy the bag is (which is my favorite thing about Italian leathers!) and how easily it can transform any outfit.

Inspiring Spring

J. Mendel & Luca Luca

Holiday/Resort Jewelry

The response to our Holiday/Resort jewelry has been AMAZING! Nothing makes me happier then when our customers love a new collection, it just validates everything I have been working on for months. All the sketches, color choices, finishing. I know it might be a little too early to be thinking about that vacation in Jan or Feb but its never too early to think about Christmas gifts and holiday parties! And so, please enjoy 20% for the next week when you enter "blog" at checkout.

Girl Crush

If you have never heard of Olivia Palermo then to be honest, I don't even know what to say to you. This girl rocks urban chic style like it's no ones business. I love that she takes chances, mixing prints and silhouettes that many wouldn't even dare to try. More often then not she nails it, but even when she doesn't I find her failures refreshing, hey at least she's trying something new.

Another thing I love is that although she has a closet full of Hermes, Zac Posen, Missoni, the list goes on, you also see her sporting lower priced labels like H&M, Forever 21 etc. Style isn't about money, obviously its a little simpler with it, but for me its about mixing high, mid and low and making it all look high!

She always adds something un-expected, be it a colorful bag, stunning statement jewelry, sequins, a unique shoe. And no matter what that little something is, it's always a reflection of her own personal style. If I take anything away from her outfits, it's to follow my own personal fashion sense and not let trends or other people dictate how I should look. We could all learn a little something from Olivia's Do's and Don'ts!

Style Showcase: Lexie

I have been wracking my brain trying to think of the best way to showcase the versatility of an MAD bag. Then it came to me one day, what better way to do it then to feature real life girls and their MAD bags. I am hoping to be able to showcase at least one girl every couple of weeks.


Style is such a personal thing and I think it's so cool to see how other women dress and even cooler to see how they interpret my designs (well for me anyway :)


To get things started I asked some of my best friends (and biggest supporters) to email pictures of themselves when they happened to be using one of their MAD bags. I can't even begin to tell you how amazingly stylish these women are, it kills me! (in a good way).

Up first one of my best friends in the world and huge support, Lexie. I would trade closets with this girl in a minute. Amazing personal style, some people just have it! I didn't want to be inundated with emails asking what she was wearing so its all listed. Her main MAD pieces are the Snake Smith in cream and Madison in Cream, throw in some MAD jewels for good measure and voila perfection!

I would also love to encourage any of my fab customers to email me pics of them out and about, or at home for that matter, when they have put together a cute outfit using their MAD bags or jewelry. Email us at info@melanieaulddesigns.com

If there is one designer I am loving this season, like the rest of the world, it's Isabel Marant. Her Sequin pants (pictured below) are to die for! Paired with a slouchy sweater and some simple black pumps it would be just the right amount of casual glamour. Now, if I only had endless amounts of money to buy all of her pieces! On second thought, I am pretty sure that I would get some serious once-overs and stink eyes walking around the old city in sequin pants. There are some looks that I will need to leave to the New Yorkers.

Inspiration Storyboard

As summer turns into fall I am always looking for new and fresh inspiration. Instead of the usual fur, dark colors and leather I wanted to look to a more subtle and cool palete. I am loving the soft feeeling of an ice princess look with a bit of an edge. Instead of the always done chandelier and sandal add an edgy spiked earring and bootie to a feminine frock. Top it off with a dove gray suede jacket and a little wrist bling!

Clockwise from left: LOT78, ziggy suede biker jacket $1,050. Preen, wool cape dress $1,560. MAD, Layla Earrings $165. Alaia, cutout calf hair platform pumps $2,375. MAD, Gloria Bracelet $265.

Obsession- Booties

I have never really been a slave to trends. I am more of a "do what feels like me" kinda girl. However, I am jumping head first into the bootie trend. Everyone who knows me knows I am a devoted boots girl, I love when summer turns to fall and I can slip into my tried and true Loeffler Randall boots (I have a slight infatuation with the brand). This year I am switching it up a bit. I am going to throw some booties into the mix. Actually, I already have.
My current purchase and obsession are these black suede Miu Miu booties:

They are sooo comfortable, the 1" hidden platform helps, and their versatility is insane. I wore them out the other night with my cropped J Brand skinnies and a slouchy cashmere sweater, they transformed the look from boring to chic. In the fall I am going to pair them with opaque black tights under dresses and blazers, skirts and off the shoulder sweaters and of course skinnies.

When looking for outfit inspiration, you don't have to look much further then net-a-porter.com. Their stylists kill it every time. Here are some of the looks that nudged me further towards the bootie trend.

Since we now live in downtown Montreal, walking is a much bigger part of my life. Alas, my high heels will be left to nights out and I will have to decide on a pair of flat booties for scoping out my new city. For anyone else looking for a more practical bootie these are my favs.

Latest Press- Lucky's October How-To Guide-

If there is any magazine that knows the in's and out's of dressing amazingly cool without looking like you are trying to hard, Lucky is it! Its my go-to mag for up and coming designers, current street styles and fresh ideas. So when they featured our Farrah bag in their current issue I was beyond thrilled. The Farrah is my personal everyday bag (rotating between it and the Madison). It can be used as an oversized clutch or a shoulder bag since it comes with interchangable chain and leather straps.

Paired with heels, a scarf, skinnies and a slouchy sweater the look is pulled together casual. Loves it!