Finally...fashion

I have been obsessed with this dress for two years and it is finally mine! (I couldn't bear the $70 price tag when it originally came out so I've been waiting for my size to pop up on ebay--for a cool $18, including the shipping.) I inspired Nic to get this dress, too--so next time she's in the state, we can be twinsies. Ha. Well, maybe not.

Sandra wonders about my opinion on 1980's fashion, incorporating trends into your wardrobe, and the return of the dreaded skinny jean.

Well, I think you have to have the confidence (and maybe the booty) of a Beyonce if you are a curvy girl trying to do this look. And you've gotta follow the "tighter on top--looser on bottom/looser on top--tighter on bottom" rule: if you wear a skinny jean or leggings, make sure your top and/or jacket is looser and has some coverage (preferably to or over the hips). A pair of heels can help make the leg longer and leaner, too--flats plus skinny jeans is a hard look to pull off.

I think one of the best things about fashion these days is that it is less about wearing a certain thing and more about really flattering your body type and making yourself happy. You don't have to give up your straight leg and boot leg cuts, Sandra. (Yay!) Since dark denim in straight or slightly flared cuts (without a ton of ornamentation or whiskering usually) flatters most body types, I think it will always be classic and cool. Of course, if you love stirrup pants and acid-washed jeans, then by all means, make yourself happy and wear those, too! Just own it. If you think you can pull something off--you probably can.

I've decided I really love empire waist tops, tunics and dresses, and I've got to stop giving a crap if someone thinks I look pregnant in them. I don't care (okay, I'm trying not to). Help me not give a damn, girls!

As far as incorporating trends (only the ones you love, not the ones you don't) into your wardrobe: accessories are relatively inexpensive ways to add some spice and trendiness to your life. With the eighties trend currently in vogue, you might try a hot pink patent clutch or some funky plastic earrings or even some jelly shoes. (I saw a gal the other day in tan leg warmers and Converse kicks who looked really cute actually.)If something makes you smile when you think about it or when you are wearing it, then by all means, keep wearing it! Life is too short to let a bunch of people in LA or New York or Paris tell you what is supposed to be cool.

Which reminds me, I need to go back to Charlotte Russe and get these earrings, stat: