Oh-Oh, The Puffer Season is Coming!/ О-о, Вот и Наступает Сезон Пуховиков!

Coat/пальто: Alpine-Pro
Hat/шляпа: Zara
Flower pin/брошь в виде цветка: Accessorize
Pants/брюки: J Crew
Sneakers/кроссовки: Isabel Marant
Sunglasses/очки: Raen
Gloves/перчатки: unknown

Nails/лак для ногтей: OPI Uh Oh Roll Down The Window

Ok, here in the cold Russian-language Internet community puffers are the most discussed and debated item of clothing. This is understandable: we do have to wear them for almost 6 month every year. Of course, there are fur and shearling coats, and they are a great option. But they are also expensive and good, stylish ones, are hard to find. And when it comes to comfort and practicity, nothing can beat a puffer: you won't get it ruined by heavy rain or snow, by long rides in a car or public transport, and nothing is as waterproof and lightweight.

Believe me, I know what I am talking about. I tried to avoid buying myself a puffer coat for a long time, wearing a fur coat instead. I ended up destroying it in one winter by wearing it during long car drives to work - the fur on the back of my coat I seated on and the front part where the seat belt touched it ended up all  ruined. That is when I realised I couldn't avoid it any more: I needed a puffer coat.
Now the main question is: can or can not a puffer look stylish and interesting, and not bore you to death in those 6 months of winter? Let's find out, we have those 6 months ahead of us, after

В русскоязычном интернете в модно-стильных сообществах пуховик - это, наверное, самая обсуждаемая и дискутируемая тема. Оно и понятно: зима у нас длится 6 месяцев в году, а, следовательно, и пуховик приходится носить 6 месяцев в году! Конечно, есть еще другие предметы зимней верней одежды, например, шубы и дубленки. Они, безусловно, прекрасны! И выглядят в миллион раз лучше злосчастных пуховиков. Но, во-первых, и дубленки, и, особенно, шубы, достаточно дороги. Во-вторых, стильную и красивую модель найти очень трудно. Почему-то считается, что чем больше на дубленке/шубе всеможможных страз, лишних деталей и сочетаний разномастного меха - тем лучше. Хотя меховая вещь красива и самодостаточна  за счет меха, и должна быть очень простого элегантного фасона. С дубленками попроще, тут допустимы какие-то детали, но хорошую вещь можно найти только у дорогих дизайнеров. Я чудом отхватила себе в прошлом году дубленку Diesel, обязательно покажу в зимних образах!

Но что-то я все не о том, надо возвращаться к пуховикам. Если честно, я очень долго избегала покупки пуховика, обходилась шубой. Но поездив одну зиму каждый день на работу на машине, я совершенно убила шубу: мех скатался на, извиняюсь, той части, на которой я сидела, плюс вытерся кусок спереди, где проходит ремень безопасности. Поэтому я пришла к выводу: без пуховика не обойтись. Никакая другая верхняя одежда не будет прекрасно выглядеть в дождь и снег, не выдержит долгих поездок на машине или общественном транспорте, ну и ничто не сравниться с пуховиком по легкости и водонепроницаемости.

Но поскольку мой блог для тех, кто хочет выглядеть стильно вопреки обстоятельствам, главный вопрос таков: может ли пуховик быть стильным, да еще чтобы не надоесть нам за 6 месяцев зимы?

Что ж, будем разбираться. В конце концов, у нас на это впереди целых 6 месяцев!

Orange Is The New Black/ Оранжевый - Вместо Черного!

Coat/пальто: Juicy Couture
Skirt/юбка: J Crew
Sweater/свитер: Juicy Couture
Tights/колготки: Calzedonia
Boots/сапоги: Seychelles
Bag/сумка: Coach
Scarf/шарф: vintage
Watch/часы: Juicy Couture
Sunglasses/очки: Raen
Ring/кольцо: old gift/давний подарок

Eyes/глаза - Chanel Misty-Soft Eyeshadow Duo+Estee Lauder Eye Pencil in Blackened Plum+ Helena Rubinstein Lash Queen Sexy Black Mascara
Lips/губы - Clinique Heather Moon
Nails/ногти - Essie Sand Tropez

And I mean it! Orange is THE color for autumn. So easy to wear, so fun, suits everyone and probably the only one that beats the brightness of the autumn nature! Amazing, how many orange items can be combined in one look and not look overwhelming. I would have even worn orange handbag and shoes for today's look if I owned them!

Just make sure you pick up bright orange, not mustard or tangerine, as those do not flatter everyone. I've already made this mistake here with the mustard blazer. When choosing the right orange color, think of fire, or paprika - love that association, that's what the name of my tights' color was!

Oh, and I do have an orange coat coming up in one of my parcels from US! As I mentioned before, I have to do all my shopping online and then have my purchases shipped from the US by mailing service.

Да-да, я серьезно! Оранжевый - это самый базовый, самый ЦВЕТ для осени! Его невероятно просто носить, он идет всем и, наверное, единственный, кому удается затмить собой яркость осенней природы. Невероятно, как такое количество предметов одежды можно совместить в одном образе, и это не выглядит "чересчур"! Я бы сюда добавила еще и оранжевую обувь и сумку, если бы они у меня были! Единственный цвет, которому это удается так же хорошо - пожалуй, лишь ... черный. 

Единственный важный совет: выбирайте ярко-оранжевые вещи, ни в коем случае не горчичного либо мандаринового оттенка , они вообще мало кому идут. Выбирая одежду оранжевого цвета, представьте себе цвет огня, или, например, паприки - мне понравилось это сравнение, позаимствовала его у цвета этих колготок!

Ах да, и у меня на подходе еще ярко-оранжевое пальто в посылке из США! (И сумка!)

The Plaid Coat.

Coat: Juicy Couture
Sweater dress: J Crew
Tights: Calzedonia
Boots: Seychelles
Scarf: EMU Australia
Beanie: Juicy Couture
Bag: Michael Kors
Watch: Juicy Couture
Ring: an old gift

While summer is all about dresses, winter is deinitely about outerwear. It is definitely hard to own a closet full of different coats to wear something new each day during the cold season. So, it ends up being all about styling: alternating bottoms, footwear, hats an scarves.

This coat has already been featured here with pants and sneakers, so today is definitely time for skirt and boots. A "skirt" is actually a sweater dress, which is a big MUST-HAVE for cold season. It works great as a skirt peeking out of your short coat, or as a warm but thin layer when it gets really cold. 

The reason I chose a beanie instead of a classic hat here is that a hat would look too lady-like, not in a good way. 

A Lace Skirt in a Weird Company.

Skirt: Aeropostale
Parka: Next
Hoodie: J Crew
Tights: Calzedonia
Boots: Seychelles
Necklaces: Mexx and Monet
Sunglasses: Ray-Ban

Lipstick: Dior 999
When in a weird mood I love to reach for weird contrasts in my outfits. And one of the last warm autumn days was a perfect opportunity. The combination of a lace skirt and a military parka has become a classic over the last years, and I LOVE it. I already featured them in this post and named them as my basic items of clothing. But for today's post I wanted to add something interesting and unexpected underneath, so I reached for a sweat hoodie. 

This is a good example how a casual outfit can be spiced up and turned from boring to stylish by replacing just one item. Let's imagine a pair of blue jeans instead of a lace skirt here. Not that I don't like blue jeans - I do! - but they are something I see people wearing the most in casual outfits, and they look BORING. This is why I am so strongly against this classic "basic items lists" - take anything from it and you'll either look boring, or you'll need  something spectacular to accompany those items with. 

Here, on the other hand, you need just a lace mini skirt to make an interesting casual outfit with such plain clothes as a hoodie and a parka. What does this mean? Take that list and cross out the blue jeans, and put a lace mini skirt in instead!

The City and the Girl.

Coat: Juicy Couture
Sweater: Juicy Couture
Jeans: Marithe-Francois Girbaud
Boots: La Canadienne
Scarf: vintage
Bag: Michael Kors
Bracelets: Accessorize
Watch: Juicy Couture

Eyes: Clinique "On Safari" eyeshadow+Helea Rubinstein Lash Queen Sexy Black Mascara

Lips: Elizabeth Arden Coral

Nails: OPI Uh Oh Roll Down the Window

The name of the post is not accidental. I wanted it to be about the city, as the stage for this photoshoot was the historical downtown, and I get out there probably once in a year. That's the other side of living in a city that big.

Though, I will talk about my look a bit, specifically - about the jeans. I've been wanting to buy a pair of dark colored boyfriend jeans for a while, but couldn't afford it. So I suddenly took out these old jeans that I've never even worn because they were too long for me, and too small for the size ive had the last years. So I was just trying to sell these jeans. But they didn't sell, and I've also lost some weight during the last couple of months. A few days ago I tried these jeans on again, and they fit perfectly, except for the length. The in hit me: I can wear them boyfriend-style! So, I rolled them up, and here is the result. I love it, these jeans are made to be worn like this: they are distressed, have sort of harness detail on them, a wide enough leg and low back pockets. 

How about a new approach for the pants that are too long on you, instead of hemming them?
(This actually works for the pants too short for you as well, I did it with these ones).

A Girl In The City.

Coat: Juicy Couture
Pants: J Crew
Socks: Calzedonia
Boots: Clarks
Scarf: Next
Gloves: unknown, can't read the label
Bag: Michael Kors

As I've mentioned before, I am a stay-at-home-mom of a 6 six year old boy with cerebral palsy, so most of the scenery for my looks is around the place I live when taking him for a walk. And I live far from the city centre. Obviuosly, an opportunity to get downtown is pretty rare for me. So today I couldn't miss it, of course!

Today's look is, again, all about playing with Juicy Couture coats and J Crew's Minnies. Yes, I am addicted to Juicy Couture coats. They have amazing style, and their sizing in just like it was made personally for me.

Frankly speaking, I don't like everything about this look. First of all, red lips would be really necessary (didn't have time for my make up today, shame on me!), and a brighter bag (my bag collection is really poor right now, so I am working on it!). And I don't really like these boots here, but, again, I am so damn limited by what I already own! And I've recently discovered I don't have a single black pair of footwear for fall! Of course, these purple boots would look amazing in today's outfit, but I wouldn't survive walking in them while shopping around the city and driving in such high heels. I used to do that a lot while I was   a working girl, but I've lost my qualification since.

Hello, Cold!

Coat: Juicy Couture
Sweater: Theory
Pants: J Crew
Sneakers: Isabel Marant
Sunglasses: Raen
Bag: Michael Kors

Nails: OPI Uh Oh Roll Down the Window

Yes, it is cold, but it is also sunny, and an opportunity to wear my new amazing coat. So my post title has an exclamation point.

This look is so easy, because it consists of truly great items. The coat is perfect style and color, and it is also the first time in my life when I love the fur collar. The sweater has perfect textured knit and camel color, so it's collar works great as a scarf. The pants - these are the famous J Crew Minnie pants, and I recommend everyone gets them in as many colors, as possible. I am serious: what else would look as good with all those boots, sneakers, UGGs, as well as coats and parkas? Before I discovered these pants, I used to wear skinny jeans all the time during the cold season, but the pants look so much more interesting and sophisticated.