Remember the Sex and the City episode, when Samantha finds out that her less then average size date shops at the young men’s department at Bloomingdales. Lets be honest, that might be a bit of a mood killer. But is it a double standard? I have a confession to make. I do it. I shop at Gap Kids. I’ve even been known to buy a gap kids shoe. Mock if you must, but before you do, you should know that a girls 4.5 is somehow equivalent to a Women’s 5 ½. My closet is proof. Not only can you save A LOT of money by acting on this little style secret, but there is actually really CUTE style to be found in the girls department, in some cases, cuter then what the older crowd has to offer.

Case in point: Target. I’ve spent many an hour in the girls dept at Target; their pants fit be better then some designer clothes, and their dresses are adorable, if I can find the biggest size. I recently found this amazing dress in the Gwen Stefani for Mini Harujuku collection. The first thing I thought of when I saw it was the Alexander Mcqueen I had recently seen on Rihanna, so I scrambled for the XL, and in my shopping bag it went. I wore it to a 30^th birthday party last weekend with black skinny jeans and chunky boots. Everyone loved it, and I got a million compliments. Others might take that opportunity to plead the 5^th, and say thank you, but I proudly admitted my place of purchase. Perhaps because I’m not the tallest girl in the group, it became acceptable, and maybe charming. Or maybe some style just bridges the gap between girl and woman. Either way, I’m thankful for it.

Gwen Stefani Mini Harajuku for Target tartan dress w/ skinny jeans, red patent belt, Dolce Vita chunky boots

Target.com

 Every season, the bloggers, fashionistas, and editors scrutinize the runways, pages of magazines, and streets of the cities looking for what will be the new trend, the hot new look, the word on everyone’s lips… But certain trends, no matter how many times we read that they are “in this season”, just seem to never quite go out of style. 

Case in point- Or not point, but wedge… I remember about five or six years ago, I wanted a pair of wedge sneakers so badly, I scoured the vintage stores, browsed Ebay for hours at a time, and no matter what I did, I could NOT find a pair of wedge shoes. They simply did not seem to exist, and it was more of a pointy, and round toed world. But that was then. And now, every season, seems to bring a fresh take on the ever popular wedge style. Lucky for me, because as the movement has grown, so has my love for them.

This season, in pure cyclical cliched fashion, my taste has once again come full circle, and I am totally jonesing for a wedge sneaker. Good thing, some other people are too…..

Chloe Wedge Sneakers for Spring 2012

The EVER popular-everywhere- Isabel Marant wedge sneaker (pic from purse forum)

One of my only memories of purple is that when I was in high-school, I had a bright purple eye-shadow that I used to wear religiously. It really brightened my eyes, and made them pop against my auburn hair, I think it was by Revlon and was $4.99. 

This is really my only memory of my relationship with purple. However, thirteen years later, I could use a POP, and I think  it’s time to reach out to my alumni association and broker a reunion.

Come Spring 2012, pastels are going to be everywhere. We saw it on the runways, we see it every day in colored jeans prancing around Manhattan, and, in beauty as well… (Could it be, my bright eye popping eye shadow coming back ??!!) In my opinion, though pinks, greens, and blues will abound, I think one of the breakout colors of the season is going to be a light colored pastel hue of purple. Like a lilac, but with more oomph. 

And by then my foray into a darker purple will have balanced out. Winter will turn to warmer days and tepid weather, dark colors will fade to light with the season and everyone will not just look, but feel warmer. I have already started up wearing my new Revlon lilac gloss prematurely. 

And so it’s also perfectly fitting that the very pair of shoes that I eyed for months, stalking and hunting like a wild animal after it’s prey have now entered my clutches, and just happen to be lilac. In this case, rather then my wild jungle instincts, I have Bluefly.com to thank for the capture, but even with a victory as sweet as this one, they will still stay in hibernation until the weather and the season deems appropriate. 

And then, as Prince so brilliantly forecast, purple will in fact, REIGN supreme… and so will I. 

Purple Maxi dress: H&M on sale for $10

Shoes: Chanel

Bag: Jimmy Choo

TODS Violet and Gray Lace up sandals- $580.99

Inspiration: (from left to right; Rag & Bone, Richard Chai, Jen Kao)

Continuing on in my twelve days, I want to try and stand out from the hundreds of gift guides being emailed, twittered, facebooked, sent via pigeon carrier, you name it. But how does one do that?

Appeal to untapped markets… Okay, maybe not untapped, but not catered too specifically; give these markets some recognition, throw out some ideas, and boys and girls, you have yourself a unique holiday gift guide.

There do tend to be way more gift guides for females then males. And it got me to thinking about all those poor, unfortunate, deprived finance whizzes in the tri-state area.

The ones we only hear about in passing, when their ladies tell us urban legend like tales of how they met, how they were courted, and then promptly, the size of their gorgeous ring.

But for all those stories, and smiling grins, and rings, what do those men get? Who caters to them all those late nights on wall street with their take out food, and who makes them feel special at the local happy hour they “had to go to for work”….

Since the holidays are all about helping others, Here are some ideas for the finance guy in your life… 

he wears his heart on his sleeve - Buy/Sell cuff links- shopkitson.com $29.95

Know when to fold them - Foldable wallets - leffot.com- $95- $120

And right before you give it to him, tell him, "Because you and me, we just make scents" - Burberry gift set- $54