Coco comes home

It was a happy day in my household yesterday. Not only did my precious Coco (you remember my GLORIOUS! Chanel grand shopping tote) come home from repair-land looking better than ever (she had a minor owie that had to be corrected), a little friend came along with her in the form of a BLACK ESSENTIAL TWEED 2-POCKET CARDIGAN JACKET. Read it and weep, fashionistas. Your favorite blogger is the new owner of a classic, oh-so-Coco jacket!

In fact, I can totally picture Coco Chanel herself in something similar. The cardigan jacket was her first jacket design, and they style still exists today. Karl Lagerfeld loves the design so much that last year a GIGANTIC one sat in the center of the runway for the Spring/Summer 2008 Haute Couture Show. (Mine looks like that, basically, but is black and has only 2 pockets. It is microscopic compared to that monstrous one, but I’m giving you the general idea here. Its massive presence on the runway is symbolic of how owning one is such a big deal in my life!) The darling little thing has many followers – from 20-somethings like myself to grandmas! I kid you not – a woman in her sixties – at least – was trying this on the other day. Which is fine with me, because I admittedly have a soft spot for grandma clothes. I just love old-ladyish pieces! I like to think it’s because they are more classic, but I think it’s just been inherited. My grandma constantly took me shopping as a baby, strolling me around all the shops, letting the shopping gene seeeeeeeeep into my little tiny baby brain. She says I was incredibly well-behaved while at the mall – even as an infant! I think this says a lot. It’s like I was TRAINED from birth to be a shopaholic…. So I can’t really feel bad about it. It’s genetics.

Just like my bag, I will own this jacket for a lifetime. Like I tell the anti-shopaholic-husband, it’s an INVESTMENT. He asked me what the return on my so-called investment would be. Well… first I had to figure out what exactly that question meant. Why does it always seem like he is speaking Spanish to me? Apparently, he meant “How will this make you money in the future?” Oh, ok – that’s easy. I use it my whole life, then I hand it down to my future fashionista daughter (if she’s a tomboy I’ll die, but give her the bag anyways), then she passes it down, and so on and so forth. So, it’s like this – I’m not TECHNICALLY making money in the future, but I’m SAVING money, now and then… because since I have the fabulous bag now, I will be able to share the wealth with my offspring. Duh! And it will be the same with the jacket. Did you know almost all Chanel jackets can be let in or let out up or down 2 whole sizes? It’s amazing, and such a couture feature. So, my new favorite jacket could be made to fit the tomboy daughter, basically whatever size she is, or whoever! See, it is an “investment,” just a very fashionable one.....

BB-Question: what do i wear?

On Sunday I went to a barbecue. Simple, old-fashioned, American fun. Green grass, sunny day, good food. All of the above should be complemented by the perfect ensemble. However, I had NO IDEA WHAT TO WEAR. Scratch that – I did have an IDEA of what to wear, but I did not OWN that idea. This is where the tragedy arose. Consequently, it took this fashionista more than hour to get dressed! Even more tragic, by the time I did discover a decent outfit, I was sweating nearly all my makeup off, and could not even enjoy my hot coffee!

There was a main problem within this fashion crisis; I was invited by association. Meaning, as much as I love these people, and let’s be honest, I know they love me back, but - I know they love my husband more. But, nonetheless, they were nice enough to invite me to share in the fun. So, since all of the guests were expecting the husband to show up in his normal jeans/vans/v-neck outfit (newly accented by his post-wedding weight gain, I might add), I know they had low expectations for my outfit as well.

However, it is my belief that I must always dress to impress. Coco believed the same thing – she once said. “I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little - if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.” And who knows – what if I met destiny at that dang BBQ? See? THIS is why it took me an hour to figure out a barbecuing outfit. Plus, I cannot help I was being distracted by the opinions of one faux-fashion-expert who was wearing a t-shirt with a cartoon bride and groom that read “GAME OVER.” Nice. This genius also believes that jean shorts are cool and that Carhartts are couture. HELP ME.

Eventually I decided on boyfriend jeans, a striped ¾ sleeve blouse, flats, and big sunglasses. While this worked, I was missing a few key elements that would have really worked better! Below is what I’m adding to my wish list – and you should too – to stock the closet for those upcoming summer backyard days...

PRINTED (and pretty!) TOPS, like this one by Elizabeth and James
i love mixing the femininity of piece (from Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's line) with the roughness of the boyfriend jeans

or, (ok, AND, but don't wear it with the top above!), a FUN, FITTED CARDIGAN, like this one by Tracy Reese
this is DARLING and would be cute with the BF jeans, or any denim, but also over a dress as well (for those "fancy" barbecues!)

And, if you don't have them yet, BOYFRIEND JEANS, like these by Rich and Skinny
you MUST pick up a pair of these at some point - they are here to stay!