my five favorite coats

I (obviously) prefer to take outfit photos in the climate-controlled comfort of my own home rather than braving the elements outside. The only downside (besides having the same background in almost every picture, though that doesn't bother me as much as I wonder if it bothers other people) is that I never get to show off any of my coats.

These five are my super duper favorites:



I got this one last year from Dorothy Perkins (unfortunately it's sold out now) I bought 2 sizes intending to send back the one that didn't fit, but they're both so close -- one fits perfectly with light layers and one fits perfectly with bulky sweaters -- that I kept both. When you find THE perfect pink coat you make irrational decisions like keeping two of the same item, it just happens.



This coat has cat pockets, what more can I say?! I got it two years ago from Vivetta during a sale as a birthday present to myself. It's hands down one of my favorite purchases I've ever made. It's obviously cute but it's also a pretty substantial winter coat, which is coming in handy during this ungodly cold winter.



A girl can never have too many light pink coats ;) This one is perfect for fall or early spring since it has 3/4 sleeves but it's still pretty warm. Not in this particular outfit but the coat makes me feel a bit Doris Day-ish, it just has that crisp, clean look in person. It's from oasap (also sold out, boo!)



When I first got this one I didn't like it and actually put it in my shop my closet store. It sat there for a really long time and one day I decided to try it on again, fell in love and promptly removed it from the shop. And now (obviously, since it's in this list!) it's one of my favorites! It's another one that's surprisingly warm for how cute it is (usually cute things seem to be totally non-functional, don't they?!) It's from asos a few years ago. It originally had hideous buttons and I replaced them with big plastic daisies (DIY post here!)



I fluctuate between wanting to dress cute and wanting to dress kind of dramatic. In my dramatic spurts I tend to order hats with very large brims, sunglasses with enormous lenses, and lots of faux fur. During one such spurt recently I snatched up this coat on clearance at Nasty Gal (actually still available AND still on clearance, here) Granted the dramatic accessories never actually make me look dramatic but they definitely make me feel it ;)

tights - target | shoes - modcloth | wig - minty mix | dress - h&m

omg this coat.

Remember in my wishlist wednesday post I mentioned that I bought two coats from the asos sale? This is one of them, and I'm head over heels in love with it. Like, so in love I want to hug it when I go to sleep tonight and never let go. There are so many reasons...

1. I've been looking for "the one" ever since my beloved black h&m swing coat bit the dust two years ago. It had a really thick woven texture and ended up getting pills beyond repair. This one is a flat quilted material that looks like it'll last forever.

2. The fit and flare shape!! It's my favorite silhouette of all time, and I never ever see coats like this. It's going to be perfect with my dresses that used to get all bunched up under normal straight coats.

3. I can wear belts with it! Thanks to the fitted shape, I can accessorize with belts that match my bright tights. Or just spice up an all-black ensemble with a pretty bright belt! I'm so excited about this it's ridiculous.

4. It has nice deep pockets! My favorite coat from last season didn't have pockets and it used to drive me nuts since I don't like wearing gloves.

5. The neckline. I folded it down into a button-up shirt sort of look, but it actually buttons up into a funnel neck so you don't even have to wear a scarf if it's super chilly outside! If it's a little nippy and I just have to run out real quick I can go sans gloves, sans scarf and still be a-okay in my new super fantastic coat! hooray!

6. The price. It was originally $143 --- it was (and still is) on sale for only $44! :-O

Okay, I'm done gushing now. And I know it's silly to get so excited about a coat. But I just love it so so so so much I had so share! I almost want to make some excuse to go out tonight just so I can wear it. Or maybe I'll turn the heat off and just wear it around the house. I need to wear it.

ps. In this picture you can kind of tell that my bangs are much more pink than the rest of my hair (or you couldn't tell and I just brought your attention to it myself) anyway, I'm going to let it go and fix it next time I have to touch up my roots. I sort of like the grapefruity pinkish redish orangey tone going on in the back right now lol

wishlist wednesday

1. Auburn brightly coat from Modcloth // $109.99

2. Crocheted knit scarf from Forever 21 // $9.50

3. Fight for your brights coat from Modcloth // $99.99

4. Mustard velvet coat from Topshop // $150.00

5. On the avenue coat from Modcloth // $119.99

6. Collar of the wild collar from Modcloth // $17.99

7. Twill faux fur collar coat from Topshop // $150.00

sugar, spice and everything nice

dress - f21

coat - f21

collar - bb dakota

shoes - target

I go back and forth between thinking my hair looks like Baby Spice or Mickey Mouse lol. Since it was my favorite way to do my hair in like 1999, I'm going to go with the Spice Girls ;-)

By the way, remember this coat? As much as I wanted to love it, it's really just way too long for me. I'm 5' tall so anything more than 36" long tends to make me look like I'm playing dress up, especially when I'm wearing flats, which is basically every day. Luckily the collar is what really drew me to the coat, and it's detachable! So, I just wear it with my favorite F21 trench! Voila! Crisis solved!

That's one of the things I really love about Forever 21 .. since it's geared towards younger girls, the dresses are often made to be pretty short on normal-heighted-people, therefore they hit about mid-to-lower thigh on me! It doesn't hurt that the stuff is usually dirt cheap too. Obviously F21 is no Gucci, but I'm honestly not a "quality over quantity" person when it comes to clothing because my tastes change so often. It doesn't make sense really to invest in something that I'll get tired of in two years anyway.

ps. If you want that coat without the collar, I have it on my things-for-sale blog here. It's a Medium.

how much do I love thee

Remember this coat? Well, it's MINE ALL MINE! *muahahahahaha* It went on sale 20% off last week so I was able to snatch it up without feeling too guilty about the price. And, miracle of miracles, it fits like a glove! The sleeves feel like they were made for my arms and I can button it up completely without pulling on my hips, something very very rare for me. My only teeny tiny complaint is that it's a bit long, but only by a few inches so I'll either live with it or eventually get it tailored if it bugs me too much. Also the shoulders are a little too big for me, but I'm used to that since I have a hard time finding cute coats in petite sizes ;p

Of course the main attraction is the collar. (THE COLLAR!!) It's beyond gorgeous. You can style it about five different ways, thanks to some hidden buttons. I like it best the way I have it in the photos, but it also looks fantastic worn really wide & open.

It really is amazing to finally have a good coat. You can tell simply from feeling the fabric that it's quality. It's so soft and warm and beautiful, I'm just totally in love!! Now if the temperature would finally drop to something that slightly resembles fall or winter I could start wearing it! ;-D

ps. Outfit photos using my mac photo booth? Who'da thunk it?! Every picture came out nice, and I actually had to narrow them down. Nice change from picking 1 half-bad shot out of 100 miserable ones using my powershot self timer. I think photo booth will be the way to go from now on!

out of my league

We all accept certain people as "out of our league" -- Jude Law and Johnny Depp are, I'd say, decidedly out of mine. But what if by scrimping and saving your pennies, forgoing all unnecessary expenses and cutting back on the food bill for a month I could suddenly find these gorgeous men willing to take me out?

Okay, that's not going to happen. BUT... if I partake of these cost-cutting measures, I could find this out-of-my-league coat on my doorstep. It's a whopping $695, and for someone who's never spent more than $120 on a coat before, that's kind of a lot. Totally out of my league. But I think it's about time I discard some of my cheap-o coats that don't keep me warm and invest in a real coat for once. I have over 20 coats in my closet, and yet only one of them actually keeps me warm. The rest were $25/$30 polyester things from Forever 21 that look nice in November but serve no real purpose once the temperature drops.

And now that I'm moving, I really shouldn't be lugging my giant coat collection overseas with me, right? So, what do you think? Should I save up for this coat? It really is the coat of my dreams. (If you know me, you know I am obsessed with collars, and that collar is TO DIE FOR.)

Just after 23 years of believing that cheap mall clothing is the best I can do, I don't know if I can seriously buy a coat from Bergdorf Goodman (!!) It's sooooo out of my league.