Ripped Boyfriend and Leopard Pony

Alberto Makali top, American Eagle jeans, Large beige bag (I picked up about 6 years ago at a boutique by Greenwich Village), LAL jacket (another oldie), Abercrombie + Fitch belt (ancient), Rockport x Adidas Leopard Pony shootie boots (yep, can you believe it?…they’re super comfy and have been one of my favorite purchases from a couple of seasons back), Ann Taylorcoral necklace, Franco Sarto sunglasses (seen here, here, here and here – similarhere and here), Bracelet (?), Saks Fifth Avenue nail polish color: “Chin-Chilli” 

My taste in fashion is the same as my taste in design – eclectic. While I gravitate towards more tailored clothes, I still love to go out of my comfort zone every now and then depending on my mood. Let’s take for instance the boyfriend jeans, specifically the ripped up jeans. Growing up you’d never find me in any denim whatsoever, let alone ripped up jeans.  It wasn’t because I didn’t like them, it’s just one of those items of clothing that was a no no in the eyes of my “family”. That being the case, during my high school years, I was always in either slacks, skirts, dresses (by the way, kind of liking this one, this one and that one), palazzo pants or bell bottoms until my best friend, her sisters, the whole family for that matter finally said to me, “why are you always dressed up? Why don’t you wear jeans…?” You see, to them anything other than jeans was dressy. I chuckled and never really explained the full reason why since they practically lived in jeans – pretty expensive ones too, I might add (unless we were going to a Broadway show or some other fancy event like weddings that merited dressing up).

I’d say that was one of the turning points in my adolescent life, realizing that I was old enough to make my own decisions based on my own taste and not that of others opinions. Suffice to say, ever since, I’ve been on a never ending quest to find the perfect fitting jeans for my short petite frame (who am I kidding? Short everything really!) without exposing my bum when I sit. I also seem to have a penchant for finding jeans with sliding zippers that would rather stay down than up (what’s up with that guys?), keeping my fly open all day without my noticing it til the evening when I go to undress – ugh…hate that. So I was a happy camper when I unexpectedly found these dark pair of distressed ripped jeans while I was out shopping for something completely different. I like the distinct lived-in vintage look that I think adds a touch of old school style to them. To modernize the jeans a bit, I paired it with a gold studded tissue thin top, an old short jacket, and rounded the look out with a bright coral statement necklace and animal print booties for a little bit of zest.

How about you? What kind of epiphany did you have during high school or after? I’d love to hear. Don’t be shy, share your experience. You never know how it might help someone else.