I need some girlfriend advice

By Carrien BlueI have to wear something?

So it’s been what? 5 days since I posted. Um… I’ve been shopping. (What? I can only produce so many carefully thought out posts a month. There’s sleeping and butt wiping to attend to.)

Well, and there was Sunday. It won’t shock you to hear we did not attend any parties.  No, we did what all red blooded Americans do on Super Bowl Sunday, we went to the symphony.

One of the advantages of adding to our family a teenage daughter who happens to be an excellent violist is that we get to go and be all supportive of her while she plays stuff like Dvorak’s 9th with an excellent orchestra. Here’s a different orchestra playing the 4th movement. But my favorite has always been the 2nd movement.

Anyway, as you can see it’s terribly awful but we do our best to bear it. We packed the kids off to Beema’s too, so as to bear it better on our own.

Monday was lovely. There was sunshine, and the blessedness that is a visit with someone I like, who happens to have children my kids like, and who like my kids, and they play together all the time without squabbling. There was much tea drinking, and chatting, in between keeping her youngest from slamming himself into the ground  in as many ways as he could imagine and preventing the older children from colliding as they rode everything we have with wheels down the little slope in front of our apartment.

After that I started shopping. For my birthday I was given money to buy maternity clothes. Yay! It’s so much fun to be given money and told how to spend it. I barely ever buy stuff for myself. I know I don’t really need it. But it’s nice to have from time to time. I was also given a little more with the instructions, “Buy something special.”

I need a coat. This was made remarkably clear in the photos of my birthday picnic where I am wearing a sort of cropped sweater, that isn’t working anymore with my ever thickening waist, and hunched over with cold. (I know, shut up, it’s southern California, but it’s still cold enough for an actual jacket from time to time.) I had a lovely wool blend coat that my dad bought me in high school and I wore it for years and always got compliments on it. For some reason I got rid of it. It may have been when we were packing to leave Canada, and I figured I wouldn’t be needing a winter coat anymore. It was getting a little worn looking also after more than a decade. So I gave it away. Never believe Flylady when she tells you to get rid of it, you’ll never miss it. I ALWAYS DO. You would think I would learn by now.

So I haven’t had a good coat in 4 years. I am also cold a lot, and don’t have anything warm that looks good when I want to. It would be kind of nice to feel like a grown up again when I go out. So I’m after something that will last a long time, look great with everything I wear and costs around $50. Hah! Actually, I seem to be in luck, because there’s a lot of stuff like that on clearance right now.

So help me decide. Please?

Just to get you started. I love this from Charlotte Russe. It’s an interesting cut and it’s only $30 but it’s blue and doesn’t go with most of my wardrobe. But I love it so I’m going to show it to you anyway.

Walmart has a serviceable looking black trench for $25.

This trench in black at JCPenny is marked down to $50 from $250 and has a removable zippered liner, which makes it work for all seasons. But the contrast color stitching to my mind makes it look more casual and only for day wear. Thoughts?

Overstock has this DKNY Belted Trench for $60. It’s water resistant. I’m looking at the black one.

Then I looked at pea coats for a while, even though I know they are too warm for most months here. They are perfect for right now. And it’s cute. Only $59.99 at Overstock.

I keep wishing I could get to a thrift store first to see what I can find, but I have no car and I’m running out of  transport favors with stuff that’s way more important.

So will you help a girl out? I never spend this much on a single item so it’s big decision for me.

all content © Carrien Blue

19 thoughts on “I need some girlfriend advice”

  1. I like the DKNY black trench. It looks very grown up and smart, is water resistant and seems versatile…i.e. would look nice over jeans or trousers…day or night…
    What fun! Enjoy your shopping 🙂

  4. I'm not going to be much help here because I like the Charlotte Russe one. Knowing where you live, I think that color is great even if it doesn't "go" with other things. But that's just me. 🙂

  7. Go with the blue!!! It's always better to go with what you love, even if it's not practical. Having things you love IS practical.

  8. I love the Charlotte Russe jacket, no matter that it's not going to match your clothes perfectly. I think I jacket doesn't have to exactly go with your outfit, especially if the weight and cut are right.

    But if you're looking for something dressier, I like the red pea coat. I guess I like the colorful options 🙂

  9. If you are visiting someone you take your coat off, therefore it doesn't have to match. If you are outside playing, your coat covers all the clothes that don't match under it. Do you wear blue jeans? It matches perfectly! Go with what you love.

  10. In the interests of full disclosure, I must say I am not a "clothes" person so my thoughts may not follow any fashion rules or that sort of thing. I like the blue one, for basically the same reasons others have stated. It will cover your clothes so it doesn't have to match and if you love it, owning it will be more fun. I also like the jcpenny one, since a removable liner sounds very practical and useful. Maybe you could swap the buttons for something less contrasting, to tone down the stitching? Oh, and be sure to enjoy shopping for yourself, a treat like this should be savored!

  11. I'm glad you had a great weekend and are doing okay! I have no idea on the coat. I'm not into fashion, matching stuff, etc. Good luck!

  12. Thanks everyone for chiming in. To those championing the blue I really can't. I want something to wear with skirts and dresses, and it's not long enough to cover those that don't look good with blue, especially since half of my skirts and dresses are black and the others have very bright patterns. And it will be dated much sooner.

  14. Blue Charlotte Russe. Colors in your wardrobe do not have to match at all, just blend. You could wear it with any other colors…lavendar, greens, grays, reds, blacks, browns. Really. It's like getting a red pair of shoes (which I just did). They end up going with all the stuff you thought they never would. And blue is not the color of every other coat. It's fun to be a bit different. Go for it.

  15. Oops. Now I see you can't do the blue. Sorry! Go with the black DKNY. That brand should be well made, so last longer, it's a good deal, and will always look great with every thing. Just my 2 cents.

  17. Hmmm. The Charlotte Russe seems really you, the DKNY black would go with more… wish you could get them both! Either way you'll look gorgeous and be warmer:)

  19. I'm glad you had a great weekend and are doing okay! I have no idea on the coat. I'm not into fashion, matching stuff, etc. Good luck!

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