No fringe, and no red bag .And instead of red lipstick, I went with fuchsia. But other than that - here's my rendition of today's look. It's got that imaginary French girl vibe that I like, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it - except for the cropped flares.

My striped t was in the Spring/Summer closet and isn't something I'd wear in winter, but it actually was a nice change from a sweater. The leather jacket over top was fun to wear as indoor piece too ; in my climate, a leather jacket has such a short window of wear and it was great to wear one again . I have so many of them and wear none of them, it seems. I threw my EF camel unlined coat over my shoulders for the trip from the car to my work meeting.

Now back to the jeans. My first intent was to wear dark wash skinnies with a deep cuff. Since we talk about cropped flares here all time it seems, I thought I'd give the Pilcro flares a go. I have not been wearing them this winter as I somehow decided in my mind that none of my boots were quite high enough to go under the hem, which is where i want them to be. Not just below, but under. I have a bug about that length. These aren't quite there , but with black hosiery , it was ok. I felt fine wearing them and liked the trendier look, BUT upon looking at pictures, I really don't like this. It's not the leg-LENGTHENING issue, it's the leg-WIDENING issue that bothers me. My legs look one width from the thigh down, and how is that attractive? I'm a completely average height - 5'5" and have fairly good legs (the last part to go, haha) and decently long ones at that. So why do I look stumpy? I'm thinking they are not fitted enough at the knee or something. Anyways - I really don't want or need clothes that require this much figuring out . Any thoughts or suggestions ? I'd like honest opinions; as much as I love a good trendy jean, if they don't work on me, then so be it . I haven't invested hugely in this trend and my feelings won't be hurt