Someone had a case of the Mondays

I am not a morning person. When my alarm clock goes off it induces a state of pouting, whining and depression akin to a five year-old's failed attempts to get candy. I snuggle deeper into my blankets, attempting in vain to pretend I have hours available for blissful slumber. I engage in luxuriant fantasies of having the kind of life where a staff of nannies is on hand to wake my kids, get them dressed and fed, and drive them to school. Like I am certain my arch nemesis, Gywneth Paltrow employs (read my rant against her here.)

Monday mornings are especially difficult. On Monday mornings, accomplishing my usual tasks feels like swimming through cement. And something always, always goes wrong. Monday mornings are when I discover we're out of coffee and that my daughter neglected to do her homework over the weekend. Mondays are learning it's 21 degrees out and forgetting to warm up the truck (leading my youngest son to declare that his bottom has turned into a butt-sicle.) Mondays are misplaced car keys and leaving the house without mascara and lipstick and sitting in an hour of traffic and not being able to find even one decent song on the radio. Mondays also involve stifling urges to bitch-slap that annoyingly chipper barista at Starbucks. I don't care if it's her job to be friendly towards customers, or that she's ingested enough caffeine to fuel the Space Shuttle. NO ONE DESERVES TO BE THAT HAPPY FIRST THING IN THE MORNING, IT GOES AGAINST NATURE. Mondays are going to the supermarket and forgetting to buy the most important thing on my list, like toilet paper. And coffee. And, worst of all, Mondays are always the days I bump into someone I haven't seen in three years and, of course, I look like crap.

So, on this Monday, I decided to dress simply. This vibrant red sweater dress is uncomplicated, comfortable and cheery. I love the quilting at the neckline, and it coordinates nicely with my freshly-colored red hair. (I also have the same sweater dress in cream - see it here.) Wearing this red dress makes me feel good, even without lipstick, coffee, and a warm butt.

Free People sweater dress; Michael Stars long-sleeves tee; Joe's Jeans jeggings; Frye boots; Via Spiga bag; Lucky Brand earrings

The hippie-hippie shake

My parents were pseudo-hippies to the extreme. They did not head for San Fransisco following the Grateful Dead. They didn't live in a commune or grow their own vegetables. Nor did they construct homemade signs protesting the Vietnam War, nuclear development, or civil rights. However, they were dressed appropriately for such activities. I am certain they believed their clothes demonstrated their inclusion into the counter-culture. A far as they were concerned, they were radicals. They were bohemians. Along with their generation, they left the mainstream behind and bravely moved forward into the world of dirty hair and folk music.

My mother ironed her locks straight, parted them in the middle, and grew them down to her waist. Early photos of her document the hippie style that dominated the 1960's - bell bottom jeans, clogs, love beads and peasant blouses. She also owned a leather fringed vest, wildly printed minidresses and Native American jewelry. She practiced yoga, took pottery classes and wore little to no makeup. My dad sported an impressive Jew-fro, the afro of the whitest white people populating the planet, and a bushy mustache. His clothes were purchased at the army-navy surplus store. His claims to glory were the road trip he took around the country in his VW minivan, and his trip to Woodstock, where he hitchhiked and slept in the mud.

My parents played records by Simon and Garfunkel, Carol King, Joan Baez and The Byrds. Macrame plant holders swayed in our kitchen, and my father grew pot in our basement. I was raised on homemade baby food, and some of my earliest memories include picnics under willow trees on worn tapestry blankets with my parent's hippie friends.

Eventually, my mom and dad abandoned their dirty clothes and counterculture ways. My dad began to wear neckties and suits. My mom cut her hair and started listening to Blondie. They bought a co-op in a deeply suburban neighborhood, sold their VW minivan,  and saw their hippie friends less and less.

I think my personal style is a blend of bohemian and conservative elements. I love my flared-leg pants, ethnic jewelry and concert tees. But my closet also contains button-down shirts, tailored blazers and ultra skinny jeans. Today's outfit is a perfect representation.

What fashion era do you feel best represents you? Who are your fashion influences?

Free People crochet tunic; Joe's Jeans jeggings; Target long-sleeved white tee; Frye boots; Plato's Closet leather bracelet.

The 2010 Anti-Jean Challenge

I've decided to abstain from wearing jeans for 30 days. Truthfully, this will be one of the most difficult fashion challenges I can endure. I live in my jeans.  I love how versatile they are, I love how they kind of hold everything in and give me the semblence of a nice butt. I love how comfortable they are, and how multiple wearings only makes them look better. Shamefully, I have to confess that I own close to 25 pairs of jeans, mostly Citizens of Humanity, Seven for All Mankind, and Joe's Jeans. I'll have to devote a future post to my love of these brands because they really do deserve further exploration.

In the meantime, allow me to define the parameters of my anti-jeans quest:

• I will avoid wearing jeans of the following styles: Bootcut, flared leg, skinny leg, straight-leg, and wide-leg. Colored jeans are also off-limits.

• Wide leg denim pants will be permitted. I have two pairs of extremely wide leg pants made from a lightweight denim-type material. I don't believe they qualify as jeans, because they don't have the traditional five pocket styling or a defined leg.

• Colored jeggings are okay...because I consider them leggings, not jeans. The ones I own do not have pockets or zippers, aside from those at the ankle.

• I will wear denim skirts and dresses, because although they're made from the same material, they're (obviously) not jeans.

Here's what I came up with for today, day two of the challenge (I'm counting yesterday as day 1):

Vintage fur chubby jacket, Forever 21 slub-knit sweatshirt; Anthropologie lace tunic; Gap stretch camisole (not shown); Joe's Jeans jeggings; Vince Camuto bow ballet flats; Forever 21 feather and rhinestone earrings (hard to see...clearly, I need a better camera); Marc Jacobs rectangular case watch.

I love the zippers on these jeggings! They look really  chic unzipped.

Truthfully, I had some difficulty styling this outfit. The lace tunic has cap sleeves and considerable embroidery along the neckline, and I worry that it all makes me look kind of lumpy. However, I adore the lace peeking out from underneath, so that kind of makes up for it.

Off topic, but how God-awful is my yellow backdrop? This wall is the only space in my home not occupied with furniture or deritus form my children. Clearly, I need to find a better space for my hubby to take photos.