Little Pink Blazer of Love

I have a few "issues" of late. 

Who am I kidding, I have many issues, but there are two I'm going to specifically talk about here. My addiction to H&M and little jackets. These two things go hand in hand. Without one, I may not have the other, but they definately work together to overcome me. 

I've been doing The Dailey Method workout now for a few months. I can't say enough wonderful things about the workout and the owners of the studio in the Carlsbad Forum shops. But its fabulous location does have its downfall - it's right upstairs from one of the most wonderful H&M's in the United States. 

Two stories of cheap Scandinavian clothes goodness. Womens! Mens! Kids! Even an escalator up to a second floor of shopping heaven. There is nothing more magical than wandering around an empty store right after they open because you managed to get your booty to the mall for an 8:45 workout. Knowing that after 60 minutes of squeezing my ass tighter than I thought possible and hoisting my leg up in ways that are really unnatural, but does amazing things for the side of your booty, that my perfect, clean and uncrowded H&M is waiting for me is inspiration enough. 

Now onto jackets. I love me some little blazers. And thanks to H&M I now have seemed to amass a bit of a collection of adorable little blazers. Black. Gray. Beige. And now? HOT PINK.

It called to me from across the store. One look and I had to have it. But could I pull it off? And HOW would I pull it off? If you abide to the Rachel Zoe style, you always style your outfit around one, fabulous jacket/vest/scarf. The first time I dared to don the pink was out to dinner on a GNO. For this adventure I paired it with a slouchy black T, black skinny jeans and black wedges.

For the Bel Bambini We Heart Mom Bloggers event a few days later, I recycled the outfit but since I was with Zoe, opted for easy to walk in boots. While I had recieved positive feedback on the jacket, I was still a little unsure... that's why I was actually pretty pleased with how well the color photographed in this picture. 

It also pairs well with the Zebra stripes of the Baby Mat we won, huh? 

The next hurdle was work. Could I wear it in a professional casual environment? And how? For this, I one to my beloved Pinterest. 

Apparently I needed a new stripped t-shirt. And for summer a white dress (like this one from Nordstrom?). While I wore black under before, white is obviously the color of choice under the hot pink. But since we had a week of 70-80 degree temps last week, I opted to pair the striped shirt look with white pants and brown wedges. 

I must say that I'm loving the pink blazer. While you can't really tell in this photo, I also (inadvertantly) painted my toes the same color as the jacket. I have such a sweet spot for pink. 

The moral of this story is really simple. Take a fashion risk this spring. Get something that calls to you even if you think it *may* be ridiculous. And WORK IT, Mama. 

STOP! Hammer Time.

So, I'm pretty much a slave to fashion and trends. If Vogue or Rachel Zoe tells me to wear it, I will or die/sprain my ankle trying. If you read fashion blogs and/or magazine's you KNOW that Harem Pants are "the hottest trend for summer 2010". Every designer out there has shown a pair in their collection. Celebrities are performing in them. Every list of "things to own" includes a pair. But, I've yet to actually see them on a real person. But THEY say I need them, so I obsess. 

Last weekend my mom and I took a day to meet at our "Happy Place" - South Coast Plaza, for a girls shopping trip. And after some lunch and a little chardonnay, I was feeling brave and ready to ramp up my look. We headed to H&M (which, for some reason the SCP H&M is the ONLY one I've ever had luck in) because while I have no issue with trendy clothes, I refuse to drop fist-fulls of cash on something that I'm not even sure I will wear. (Although, I did notice a pair of L.A.M.B. Harem Pants on the sale rack at Nordies...)

Visit hm.com

H&M had just what I was looking for, a black pair, with a roll-over waist and the BEST part? The $14.99 price tag. Now I will admit, that even after trying them on I wondered if they were even worth 15 of my hard earned dollars. It's not that I didn't like them.. it was more that I didn't know if by wearing them I would be thought of as a total fashionista or totally fashion fugly?

A few years back my favorite summer look was the cropped wide-leg pants with flip flops and a white tank. In my opinion, these pants may just be an update to this look. Easy, cool, hip and comfy - they seem like a good option. So I was sold and almost excited about them...I even got Zoe a little baby pair because I just COULD NOT RESIST.

So Sunday morning, feeling hip, slick and cool,  I walk out of the bedroom clothed in my new duds, and Jason looked at me, and without pause, says "So, where are we going to breakfast MC Hammer?"

So tell me this, am I fashion forward or a slave to fashion?