Watch This: Tory Burch's Love Letter to New York

Such a cute video. Tory Burch shares her connection and love for New York City in this video short. And we share two favorite things about The Big Apple: The Frick Collection, where I would walk to on the weekends and read by the indoor fountain, and JG Melon, the famous burger joint that my friend Marisa and I would frequent and meet the true Upper East Side locals. Watch below!

Field Report: The Tom Cary Collection

It all started in the Summer of 2011 in one of my favorite shops in the world, The Seven Seas, on the very special island of Nantucket. I was visiting for a full two weeks, a luxury that I was only able to take full advantage of last year for the first time.

Since I now live in California, far from old friends and family, I had waves of guests coming out to visit and stay with me, and as each of them passed through the island, I took them to my favorite spot. After more than a few weekly visits, I got to know Mike Thom, Vanessa Noel's Executive Assistant, who was taking care of her shop for the summer. We kept in touch and met for a drink in Connecticut over the holidays when I was home for Christmas. It was there that the story of Tom Cary and his famous collection of rare books and collectibles came to life. After hearing about his collection, I realized it was his appreciation for rare and vintage finds that I loved so much about The Seven Seas. I just had to meet him.

I was in New York for work earlier this month, and Mike was gracious enough to set up a meeting. But not just any meeting - a private tour of his Upper East Side apartment-turned-gallery! I embarked on what became a peek into the fabulous, rare and vintage world of Thomas Cary. 

The first thing one notices upon walking into his shop is the breadth of collectibles he has. Once you explore a little more, you notice that it's not just a collection of 'stuff', and the quality and detail of each object cannot be overlooked. 

Tom has a background in fashion at Brooks Brothers and Paul Stuart, which helps to explain the preppy aesthetic that runs through the space. During the tour, Tom offered his colorful commentary about the history of how he personally found each piece. It's not hard to see why the likes of Kate Spade, Tory Burch and Ralph Lauren all shop here to decorate their retail stores.

Surprisingly, Tom doesn't have a emotional attachment to too many of his pieces (I found this hard to understand considering I was only a passerby and felt a sense of separation anxiety when it was time to leave). But before we ended our day, we went to a lovely lunch a Swifty's, an Upper East Side restaurant at its best, and checked out some of his pieces for sale at William-Wayne & Co around the corner. It was a truly special afternoon that I'll not soon forget. Looking forward to another visit on my next trip to New York- it's simply a stop that cannot be missed. 

Be sure to check Tom's shop here, and his new Tumblr site here.

A full set of Bond books! 

 Books

 Embroidered loafers and matching socks, of course!

More books...

And some more...

Tom giving us the tour 

 Loved that jacket!

Adorable to have on your bar cart..

An original painting of the now famous Scalamadre print! 

Original paintings of vintage Lanvin advertisements. Amazing! 

Hermes box collection 

 Another original painting of a vintage Lanvin advertisement

Cheese souffle at Swifty's

*images via myself and anne oburgh

Object of Desire: Cactus Necklace

This 'cactus necklace' by Tory Burch was apparently all the rage at a recent showing of her latest resort collection. The perfect way to spruce up jeans and a white tank.

*image via tory burch blog

Trending Now: Neon Bolds

The look: Bright, bold neon accessories. Love how Tory Burch is doing this for Spring 2011.

Style tip: “Neon jewelry looks great with a print. Layer several necklaces together for maximum effect,” notes stylist Tabitha Simmons.

Shop here.

*image via tory burch

Woman of Style

"This is probably around 1962 for Glamour magazine. Modeling was great. I met all these great photographers and it paid my way through Barnard College. At the same time as all of this I was in college. We did it all. Women today seem to have a harder time trying to do all of that at once. And we still cooked."

"That's a modeling picture from 1960. It's a cute little dress that's perfect for today- a great beach dress. I love the hat. I love the sunglasses. I love the white banded watch."

"This is 1961. It's a long white ribbed wool sweater dress. I think it sort of turned yellow-y. I had it for quite some time. Some of the hair is mine, but in those days, we also wore those falls."

"That's on a real sail boat in Long Island Sound in the early 60's. I love the shirt. And it has a beautiful scarf pattern on the back. I love the headband."

"That's from Ms. magazine around 1965. That's what I would have worn to work on Wall Street at the time. It's a really cute trench coat. They never went out of style. The short little gloves I just love. The square Rolex watch I still cherish."

Tory Burch blogs about Martha Stewart's modeling career before her homemaking days. Read here.

Spring Playlists

Tory Burch Foundation Volume 2

1. Michael Franti and Spearhead - "Hello Bonjour"
2. Willy Deville - "Come a Little Bit Closer"
3. Devendra Banhart - "Baby"
4. Laura Izibor - "From my Heart to Yours"
5. Melanie Fiona - "Give it to Me Right"
6. Lykke Li - "Little bit"
7. Wyclef Jean - "Knockin' on Heaven Heaven's Door"
8. The Smiths - "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
9. K'naan - "Take a Minute"
10. Santigold - Your Voice"
11. Miriam Makeba - "Pata Pata"
12. Matt White - "Taking on Water"
13. Kanye West, Mos Def and Al B Back - "Good Night"
14. Santana and Citizen Cope - "Sideways"
15. Asa - "360"
16. The Neville Brothers - "Rivers of Babylon"

James: The Best Of

1. Come

2. Sit Down

3. She's A Star

4. Laid

5. Waltzing Along

6. Say Something

7. Born Of Frustration

8. Tomorrow

9. Destiny Calling

10. Out To Get You

11. Runaground

12. Lose Control

13. Sometimes

14. How Was It For You?

15. Seven

16. Sound

17. Ring The Bells

18. Hymn From A Village