TRENDS TO FOLLOW NOW and how to do that

Ok so I don't know about you guys, but I am already looking into Spring and amassing my warm-weather wardrobe as we speak.  This is my favorite time of the shopping year, a time of breaking out the ol' self-tanner, polishing up those toenails, and squatting it out to get these thighs ready for those cute patterned mini's I have my eye on!  BUT it is still Winter, and in a lot of the country, very much so.  So, in order to help myself not get to ahead as usual, lets focus on some awesome trends we should all be practicing N-O-W as we speak.

1. Furry Vest

On a recent trip to LA, I was very pleased to see this trend is still alive and well.  Belive it or not, this wardrobe staple can be dressed up and down, and it can go from polished and "Hermes" esque to looking edgy, hippie, rocker, etc.  I like rock mine with a cute little dress for a glam rock look, or wear it with a striped tee shirt, jeans, and some riding boots for a casual look.

If you really want to sass it up, grab another trend of the moment, some faux-leather leggings with a simple white tee shirt.  Stay away from black faux-fur, it looks gross to me...brown is the best.  Some zip up, and some are belted.  I really like to wear mine open to show off what's underneath :) 

This one is (hard to see) but really cute, I found it on amazon.com for around $50.  Its actually Eddie Baur.  I got mine from Forever21 (shocking) but other good places include Macy's, and piperlime.com.

http://www.amazon.com/Eddie-Bauer-Faux-Fur-Vest/dp/B0046VD2LI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1297288539&sr=8-2

2. Leopard Booties-  Anyone that knows Tara Jones know the me and leopard weren't separated at birth, we are still as happy and in love and very much together as always.  My philosoply is that leopard goes with everything; it is, afterall, a neutral.  Break out of your COMFORT ZONE and wear something other than black with your leopard!!  I love the leopard booties trend of course, and I like to wear mine with mini floral print skirts and dresses, faux leather leggings when I wanna be fierce, or even a nicely tailored trench coat to class things up a bit.  Kim K rocks them best, I think.

I got mine from alloy.com where they're onsale for $29!!  although alloy is a teenybopper cheapish site, they are a good resource for trend shoes, shoes you want for like 3 months, to work the trend then be done with.  They do a pretty good job of interpreting the trends and not dumbing them down too much to meet their price points.

http://store.alloy.com/item.do?categoryID=2247&itemID=52724&sizeFilter=&colorFilter=&brandFilter=

3.  Cat's Eye Sunglasses

So Rayban's are cool and all but I know I was ready for a change!  I love how the Cat's Eye shape sort of combines the retro wayfarer-esque shape with the big Hollywood shades that I enjoy wearing over half of my face.  I got a pair of peach color Choe's in this shape...I scored them as a solo pair at Nordstrom Rack for $60, and found them on like.com for $214!!

I'd head to the Rack to look for high end lines in this shape, as well as more affordable but trendy lines such as Betsy Johnson and Jessica Simpson.

(My Chloe's..aren't they gorg)

These are from
urbanoutfitters.com for $14!! 










4.  Two-tone Oxfords-  These definitely gained popularity for this past Fall, and this was actually a trend I thought I'd go ahead and skip.  But, it stuck around, and Taylor Swift actually made them look really really cute!  Also seen on Kourtney Kardashian, Jessica Alba, and Jessica Biel.  I settled on a tan faux leather pair from forever 21 that had the golf shoe fringe thing going on.  Mine were $22.80.  If you want a good comfy pair, of course go for real leather.  The fabric options are cute too, and cheap, and go easily into Spring.

I like to wear mine with skinny cargos, skinny jeans, (please don't wear them with bootcut anything, yechh) and also dresses and skirts.  For Winter they're cute with a patterned tight, spring is perfect with dresses, shorts, and skirts.

These two styles are both from Forever21.com and under $25.00.

5.  Tulip/gathered Skirts- gathered, bloused, tulip skirts are a bit tricky but very chic, and will carry into Spring as well.  I scored a gorgeous one from H&M recently, in a pretty tan, peach, and cream print.  You definitely have to wear a fitted top with these skirts, as they are voluminous and add a little bit of bulk.  However, they can be very flattering if the gathering is done correctly.  For example, if the gathers come to one side, this actually draws the eye to that point, and alludes to smaller silouette.  BUT some of these style of skirts have a weird shape, where the sides contain a lot of extra fabric, making your hips look H-U-G-E.

By the way, LOOOOOOOOOVE Sara JP's look!  The red with the purple is YUM....

A style to avoid!  Especially if you already HAVE hips!!

This one is SUUUUUUPER cute (may just order as we speak for moi) from lulus.com and it's around $30....again, H&M has a lot of cute styles as well....

This one is darling and in an amazing color from asos.com

UNTIL TOMORROW DARLINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More SOLUTIONS AND ESSENTIALS

2. INSTEAD OF CLEAR BRA STRAPS:  Yes, strapless bras exist, and yes, some of them are acutally comfortable...you don't exactly need to go to Victoria's Secret and spend $50 on a bra with 1,000 uses...I mean, if you need a bra to work 1,000 different ways maybe you should just stick with duct tape.  I would suggest going to Nordstom Rack for some good quality strapless's that won't be too expensive...


This is a padded, no wire strapless, nude color...it's from Forever21.com .  Very comfy and very cheap and very non-clear strapped



This is kinda fun because you get a little lace peeking out and is handy for low-cute shirts you want to wear to work...

 


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On a side note:  I kinda feel creepy to like these things, but it's one of those things I "invented" and someone who was smart actually invented, and I think they're pretty cool!  And, THEY SELL IT AT WALGREENS!!  If you're a deep-V girl like me and always have the "cleave" on display, yet you get yelled at by your boss, these solve the prob.  Movin on...

3. Don't wear heels to a sporting event. Its dumb. You can still look cute! And you can still wear heel, it just doesn't need to be stiletto.  To still look cute at a game, you can do some jeans with a small wedge, or a boot with a smaller heel. Here are some cute casual looks that work:

Cute wedge boots are perfect if you want a little bit of height, you want to be comfortable, and you don't want to look like a hussie at a HofBrau


The boots to the left are the Intyce style from Steve Madden..Yes they came out a couple of seasons ago, but they are my favorite boots, because they are comfy, they are a bit rich looking (I love cognac leather) and they're a bit dressier then a regular flat boot.  Super comfy, I actually wore these to many a hockey game :)



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cute and casual and totally apprope!
















4.ATHLETIC SHOES AND JEANS DON'T MIX!!
Ever hear of Vans?  Converse?  There are so many chic'er choices to wear with jeans or leggings or jeggings for that matter, than clunky ol' athletic shoes.  Now, if you follow rule #1 and wear some cute yoga pants or bootcut sweats, then some Nike Free's will be perfect!  But when you're wearing denim, please choose an alternative that pertains to this decade of the 00's such as:



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  Allow me to introduce you moccasins-yes..They are my savior...super comfy, stylish, and affordable.  The pair to the left is from forever21.com for $22.80.  My moccs are Minnedtonka's and are 100% leather for around $45, just go to Nordstrom.com


Toms are sort of trendy but also serve the purpose of being stylish and comfy, and totally cute with jeans.  Farmer's Market and Starbucks run approved...there are tons of prints and colors and textures, and they save the feet of a starving child or something like that :)

5. Pantylines: wear a thong or nothing at all: my philosophy on life...nuff said.

SOLUTIONS AND ESSENTIALS

Ok so that last post may have been a little harsh...but I see these horrible fashion crimes taking place far too often.  There are easy solutions, and there are also fashion essential that every girl must have.

FIRST: "Solutions to the Previously Mentioned Fashion Crimes"

1. Stained baggy sweats in public-G-R-O-S-S.  There are many alternatives, and no, you don't have to spend $60 on PINK sweatpants.  Go to Forever21.com where they have a plethora of yoga pants, and yes, even sweats, for under $20.  The brown suit the the left is on Amazon.com for $30 http://www.amazon.com/COUTURE-Rhinestone-Chocolate-RJ18517J-RJ18517P/dp/B0030AGHW2/ref=sr_1_1?s=apparel&qlEnable=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1297206536&sr=1-1&searchContext=B0030AGHW2,B00114XJXE,B0047E0NPM,B00115OO5U,B0030AD07W,B000YG1H3E,B0035AS6E4,B001GBH9C4,B0030AEOHW,B001RC7XTG,B0017TNJG0,B002UXOJ7K,B000L1C8KS,B002QGHN9W,B000YVA4HO,B0030AIMMA,B001KFTIYI,B002QGHNSI,B002QGMU72,B0043QTFBC,B004KVQILU,B000ZK3TJO,B00192AZUS,B001CYC28Q

These are $9.80.....

Also, check out places like TJ Maxx for cute sweat suits.  If you invest in one good sweat suit that fits you well, you will use the pieces together and separately ENDLESSLY!!

As far as Juicy Couture is concerned, as a former employee I was an avid collector of these suits, which were revolutionary in changing the sweats "landscape."  The cut in leisure wear now is much more streamlined and flattering to the body. 

Wearing baggy, ugly sweats to run errands or whatever you're doing is unacceptable!  Especially when you are not wearing a BRAZIER!!  Every single time you leave the house, imagine you may run into that cynical girl from High School.  See? Comfort does NOT have to mean you look like Rosie O'Donnel strolling out to grab the morning paper.  Do not ever, ever, ever leave the house in clothing that you would dye your hair in-gross!

Clear Bra Straps...Hey guess what idiot, WE STILL SEE THEM!  A tube top is strapless, that mean you shouldn't be adding straps.  Its almost better to go braless and flop-a-lot-a-gus then have cheap, tacky, and DUMB clear bra straps sticking out, and to believe we "don't see them" is nuttier than squirrel crap!

So as an avid sports fan and season ticket holder, every game attended brings at least 2-3 girls that think that wearing heels and lookin like they've been crocked more times than Davey Crocket's musket will get them a date with an athelete.  No, no sweety it won't.  You need to dress appropriately for the occasion, which is why I don't wear my ass-less chaps to the gym.  You can look just as cute wearing a boot with a 1"-3" heel...

Athletic shoes with jeans..I know how comfortable your workout shoes can be.  But that's just what they are, workout shoes, since it is not 1995, nobody should be referring to workout shoes as "my nice pair."  Then you wear those to a snobby pilates class, not to a lunch date or to the Farmer's Market.  There are many other options out there that are just as comfortable, and far-less "Gym Teacher-esque."



Do I even need to attempt to explain why this is so wrong on so many levels?  There are option.  And we do not want to see your big old panty line, and even if they are not your "granny panties," they are GOING TO LOOK LIKE GRANNY PANTIES when they're sticking out like a third boob! 

Welcome to Fashion for a Normal Chic!!

Hello!!  My name is Tara and I am fashion obsessed.  How obsessed?  I don't just simply enjoy shopping, it literally has become an obsession.  The good side?  I have amassed a woardrobe that I covet and am so in love with I would literally have to save most of it in a fire!  There are so many once-in-a-lifetime, score-of-the-century finds from digging through endless flea markets, thrift stores, and consignment shops, Nordstrom Rack "how on Earth did I find one left in my size, on CLEARANCE" gems, online sales and little boutique buys.  I am a Normal Chic on a very normal budget, and this blog is for other Normal Chic's who love fashion but really can't justify a pair of Louboutains (at least four times a year I sincerely try to justify charging a $700 pair of shoes.  But I will LOVE them the rest of my life!! N-O-P-E)  Every single day I comb site after site for online shopping, fashion news, celeb fashion pics, etc.  I have every page of Forever21.com memorized-FACT.  My goal is to be as fashion forward as possible, with my measely shopping budget.  Constantly I see items in magazines, or on friends, or online, and I know exactly where I can get the same thing on sale, on clearance, etc.

Constantly I find blogs and sites stating "The Look For Less," or, "Fashion on a Budget."  To be quite honest, and I will continue to be perfectly blunt, the fashion on these sites is CRAP.  In fact, I call it "Lazy Fashion."  If these people would do more homework, they would find that you truly can imitate higher fashion for less.  You can get direct "knock-offs" in your local mall, not just something similar.  This blog is dedicated to the Normal Chic looking her most extraordinarily BEST...on the cheap!