I am notorious for being sans umbrella when it rains - in a real pinch I'll rely on the $5 stock hawked by the street vendors at 18th and K. DC's recent deluge however has got me thinking it's probably time for a change, that I finally ought to pick out a good umbrella and use it more than once. And wouldn't this one be perfect?! I just love those old air mail stripes (there's a word for it - aerophilately, how fun is that to say?!). And it's hardly a surprise that the designer, Barbara Rihl, is super cute and inspiring - she studied under Karl Lagerfeld and Jil Sander and just opened the Barbara Rihl flagship in Paris in June. According to Nirit Sumeruk for Vogue Italia, "Her creations reflect her enthusiasm for travel, fashion, and finesse and over all a bright sense of humor." My kind of girl!