February 15, 2008

Cuff Love

Bluebird Vintage Lace Cuff Collection

You used to collect Hasbro like it was going out of style.

Fifty My Little Ponies and nine Easy-Bakes later, the objects of your obsession were (no surprise) totally passé. 

Some adolescent addictions last longer. Like Bluebird boutique owner Stephanie Scarpulla’s vintage lace wristlets, a collection made from the stockpile she began amassing at age 12.

Each hand-sewn original resembles a shirt cuff adorned with strips of velvet and dainty buttons. The looks are strikingly au courant: a bracelet of 1960s baby pink lace jazzes up an LBD; an Edwardian ruffle gives business suits a girlish touch.

Okay, so it may seem nutters to wear a cuff without a sleeve. But wearing one solo (or layering with bangles) draws all eyes to a slinky bare arm.

It could be the start of an off-the-cuff craze.

Available at Bluebird, 214 Pierce Street, at Haight Street (415-206-1107).