The Smell of Spring: Blowing Bubbles on the Lawn

With Spring finally here, and Easter just around the corner, FA2L suggests setting aside the schoolbooks and having a little fun. Les Bulles d'Agathe (Agatha's Bubbles), from the otherwise rather serious Maison Francis Kurkdjian, hold plastic wands and sophisticated soap bubble solutions that smell like mint, pears or freshly-cut grass. Order them from Paris, if you wish, or find them at stores like Bergdorf Goodman. Then slip some into Easter baskets or use them as favors at wedding rehearsals, baby showers and birthday parties. You may even want to share a few with your kids...

Izat a Font In Yr Pocket or R U Just Prada 2 C Me?

Ordinary children, dressed in garments with no pedigree, sit in old-fashioned classrooms and struggle with their ABCs. Fashion's bright-and-shiny progeny, however, sport pint-sized designer outfits and strike photogenic poses as they learn their Pradalphabet. We're not kidding. Prada, in conjunction with French design firm M/M (PARIS), is offering limited-edition t-shirts bearing either the phrase PRADA/M or (by special order) individual letters, all written in the ornamental script shown above. And, yes, it's called the Pradalphabet. Apparently, the devil no longer merely wears Prada–now he writes it, too.

Tell Me About It, Stud: The Return of Heavy Metal

The 80s revival traveled a long runway before taking off, but now it's airborne and wasting no time transporting studs, grommets and other metal hardware back into fashion. Like all powerful trends, this one jumped from season to season (and back and forth between men's and women's runways), sprouting new heads like a beast from Greek mythology: in the last six months alone, Hedi Slimane and Nichola Formichetti draped boys in hyper-studded leather jackets (for Vogue Hommes, Japan); designers as different as Naeem Khan and Burberry's Christopher Bailey showed metal-studded collections; and Lady Gaga danced through her latest video, Telephone, wearing little more than a studded jacket, bra and panties.

These were great fashion statements, but some (Lady Gaga's ensemble, in particular) worked better as costumes than they would in real life. The items shown above offer more realistic ways to add some metallic clout to your day-to-day wardrobe: Alex and Chloe's pyramid-studded double ring, in coated brass; Bottega Veneta's gorgeous (and, believe it or not, relatively affordable) men's bag with laced grommets; and customized sneakers by Gienchi Gap (contact through Facebook)–the pair shown belongs to Kate Loves Me creator, Pelayo Diaz. FA2L loves items like these: distinctive, well-made and, paradoxically, both of-the-moment and timeless. Further proof that when the going gets tough, the tough just turn it into fashion.

Great Spring '10 Accessories Are Shirting the Issue

Women love to borrow men's clothes, especially great cotton shirts. There are two reasons, really: women associate garments with the guys who wear them, and they appreciate fine material. No argument here: at FA2L, we recognize the talismanic power of clothing, plus we're mad for traditional shirt fabrics. The names alone are exciting–chambray, madras, oxford cloth, poplin, batiste–and the glory of a well-made cotton button-down, produced by a first-class haberdasher (Charvet, perhaps, or Thom Browne's Black Fleece collection for Brooks Bros) is something beautiful to behold. Best of all, these fabrics, and shirts made from them, usually get better with time. They launder well, soften beautifully and gradually take on an owner's personality.

Women's fashion designers are obviously catching on: many Spring collections were inspired by, or made from, typical menswear fabrics (see Dries Van Noten or Céline). Two slightly more fanciful discoveries are shown above–Otis Batterbee's tattersall eye mask, with a velvet back and soft velvet straps to keep it in place (no more annoying, hair-pulling elastic bands); and Omelle's Jaewon sandal, which cleverly references a man's entire warm-weather wardrobe (including hints of a seersucker jacket, a small-brimmed hat, even old-fashioned spats). These shoes are so special, all they need is a breezy shirt (steal your boyfriend's) and some chic, tailored shorts–or, if you're not that brave, a pair of slim jeans. Slip them on and step into summer.

180g is the Parisian Way to Paint By Numbers

At the 180g boutique in Paris, in the Marais, all of the clothes and accessories on display–things like Nike sneakers, sleek leather jackets, pretty silk dresses, soft cotton sweaters and eye-catching scarves–can be hand-dyed or hand-painted any color you wish. If the concept seems reminiscent of those deeply-70s, do-it-yourself arts-and-crafts projects (remember leather punches? macrame?) fear not: this stuff isn't made by amateurs–in fact, it's really, really cool. In addition to fashion for men, women and kids, the shop also carries home furnishings (which can be customized) as well as striking original art. And whether you favor Prussian Blue, Moss Green or Bronze Shimmer, 180g has 99+ ways to color your world.

Wonderful Luck of the Irish (Or is it the French?)

With both St. Patrick's Day and the first day of Spring looming (and assuming everyone needs extra luck around tax time) FA2L reminds readers that not everything chez Hermès costs a king's ransom–this chic little key chain is available online for just $140. As to whether a four-leaf clover (or its handmade leather equivalent) will actually improve your chances of winning at cards, getting ahead at work or being lucky in love, who knows why particular superstitions take hold of our imaginations and never let go? What's certain is that such a talisman, offered as a present, carries built-in wishes for all good things. And that's a charming thought, in more ways than one.