Johnny Weir is My Spirit Animal

When the medal count in Sochi is discussed, the glaring omission of a gold in commentating is clear. Johnny Weir has won the games. My genuine appreciation for all things Johnny extends beyond his ability to provide figure skating analysis that anybody can understand (with some serious wit to boot). Dude brought it and owned everybody when it comes to fashion. Let me break it down as to what he is doing better than most fashionistas:

- exceptional use of leather, fur and sequins

- vintage, vintage and more vintage

- the ability to whip up a gorgeous hairdo with limited length (and then rock a crown!)

- wedges for days

- he rocks a Birkin better than its namesake

- making Burt's Bees look like Chanel red lipstick

- statement necklaces and overall flawless use of accessories

I mean, need I go on? Naturally, this all meant I had to recreate a Johnny look for the office and decided on recreating his vintage hot pink Chanel blazer look. Here is how I wore it:

Blazer: H&M, last season ($15)

Blouse: Gap, old 

Vegan leather jeans: H&M, this season ($34)

Heels: Talbots D'Orsay (because Johnny can deliver on accents, too), past season

Necklace: Stella and Dot Estate Bib Necklace, sold out (available on eBay)

For real, y'all should be following Johnny on Instagram. Seriously inspirational stuff. 

The Accidental Fitted Coat

Two weeks ago, I went away for a long weekend of rest and relaxation with my best girls. I spent one night at my parent's house, and in true me form, left one very important item at their house when I left - my dress coat. Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal, except on Wednesday, I accepted an invitation to a gala for Friday night...Friday as in two days after Wednesday. Gala equates dress coat. Shit! This called for an accidental purchase (falls outside of planned budget). 

Not one to shy away from a challenge, I spent my lunch break on Thursday at the local mall trying to find the nicest, cheapest dress coat. I tried on several between Forever 21 and H&M, where I settled on a gorgeous sale item. Their Fitted Coat (what they actually call it online) is a gorgeous dark blue with gathers at the front and back that highlight your waist. There is also a surprisingly non-offensive pleather belt included. The jacket normally retails for $79.95 but I snagged it for $34.95 (thanks to a winter sale). 

For the price, the coat is lined, tailored quite well and completes any look (according to my constant wearing of it/highly scientific research)! Definitely wish they had this in other colors. Love how happy I am with this accidental purchase! The rest of today's outfit details: 

Bag: Vintage Coach, $30 (online yard sale)

Glasses: Derek Cardigan 7012 in black-fade, this season ($9.95, code FIRSTPAIRFREE, coastal.com)

BON JOUR Fingerless mittens: Forever 21, this season ($5.80)

So...what did I wear to the gala? In 2003, I bought a BCBG layered tulle gown to wear to a fundraiser that I had helped organize. My date stood me up and married a lunch lady (not that night, but eventually - not that anything is wrong with lunch ladies, just stating facts). I have zero pictures of myself from 2003 in the dress (never keep evidence of tears shed over a guy), but happily have some photos of me putting the same $400 dress to use 10 years later! 

Grey Jeans for Less

I usually don't aimlessly go to the local mall, but on a night when the Eagles are playing an evening game and traffic is impossible, it's a great way to kill time before heading home from work.

Now, I love to shop, but ironically, I do not like to shop without a purpose, mainly because it has the potential to really throw off my budget. To help keep myself on track, I only let myself go to H&M and Forever 21 (I can kill a lot of time in both). H&M has some killer fall options - I am a big fan of mixing tough basics with softer pieces, and they have a nice mix of both available, but I needed none of it. On to Forever!

My weakness at Forever 21 is their denim. For those of you who don't know me, I used to be a designer denim snob. Major. $300 for Diesel jeans? No problem. My pug is named Diesel. When my entire life changed four years ago, I bought one last pair of jeans as a farewell to designer denim and vowed to not buy them again for a very long time. I was thrilled to find that Forever 21 makes jeans with an amazing fit. They literally work on every body type and last forever. They truly are the sisterhood of the traveling pants. Slowly, I have turned even my most cynical friends from various financial backgrounds into Forever 21 denim devotees. Given my praise for Forever denim, you can imagine how excited I was to see their jeans were on sale for $7.80. I do not need jeans. But the sale included grey jeans - a color I do not have, but have been lusting for. 

Hm. What's a girl to do? If you're me and have about 25 jeans in a variety of colors, you sleep on it. Then you wake up at 4 a.m. and look at images of grey jeans on Pinterest. Then you decide you must go to the mall over lunch and that you can't live without grey jeans, and for $7.80, you should have just bought them on day one. Lesson learned and grey jeans purchased! 

Coated Denim for Less!

I literally can't look at a blog or a September issue right now without seeing coated denim on all of the bloggers/models. Coated denim? Yes, jeans with a resin or wax like coating on them to give the jeans a leathery look. Naturally, the jeans on blogs and in mags are by Habitual, Current/Elliott and J Brand and cost more than $200 a pair. So not happening in my small world. After all, this is a passing trend. My rule of spending money on staples, not on fads stands, so I've not even allowed myself to try on a pair. Then, I found H&M's take on coated jeans for a sensible $29.99. Great fit, awesome gold ankle zip detail and did i mention $200 less than everybody else? Yep, and they're mine.