Ive never tried Mott and Bow but I want to. And I know what you mean about the 10-inch rise, but oddly Ive found that it can be the perfect rise on me. So weird.

I just changed my hair darker too - it's a bit darker than I want, but still a welcome change. You look great!

Lisa, sorry for such a late replay. No, I do not have a Rottweiler, only the scarf :-). I do not have a dog. I like dogs very much, but having a dog would not be possible with my job. Long office hours and travelling etc. Maybe when I retire.

Wowzers! Just seeing this! So fun to make a bold change in the new year!!

Love your new hair color, Lisa. It highlights your eyes.

The new color looks great on you!! Def easier to bookend darker clothing.

I am finding that I just don't enjoy wearing jeans right now. Have been wearing anything else, including casual dresses or long tunics with leggings underneath...much more joy.

Lisa - sorry late to the party. I know you are not feeling good about yourself, but I have to be honest, it never shows. You always look amazing to me. New color and cut looks wonderful! What I marvel at is that you look good with different cuts and color and clothes and silhouettes. I have enough trouble finding one look. BTW what lippie are you wearing? I never notice things like that but the color is wonderful on you. Really makes your skin glow. I don't have incredible jeans recommendations. I did just try on the EF organic cotton skinny jeans in black. They are as classic as you get, skimming, stretch and comfortable. Flattering. That being said the hardware is meh and they are just nothing special. I am looking for a pair of black jeans and I actually hung them in the closet and then took them out and packed them up to return. The good, extremely comfortable, good basic, but they are more stretch cotton jean styling than "denim" and I want jeans not cotton jeans like pants. But if you needed a quiet black jean that's incredibly comfortable with no expectation of it taking a starring role - it's a very good basic. It's just not what I was looking for. BTW negative reviews had to do with sizing. Do not size down as per usual EF. Take your usual jean size and all will be well. It's a mid-high rise about 9 1/2 inches. I'm not sure you want that but I thought I would mention. I tried on the madewell back jean that Ummlila had mentioned. It's a jegging. Comfy and flattering but I would never wear it without a jacket so it went back too. Where has all the real denim gone? What's with all this stretchy stuff? Is it only me that doesn't get it?

Sorry back to you. Good luck on jeans hunt. I'm looking for jeans too so I will be interested in what you pick. But you look marvelous, current, sophisticated, elegant, edgy, and well just beautiful everyday!! You are always an inspiration to me.. So I hope this is a good day and you are enjoying the change! Stay warm, I'm off to a haircut too - out into the polar vortex but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!!

Love, love, love your fresh new color! Brilliant way to shake things up in the deep dark winter. You are lovely!

gryffin - you're lovely as usual with your intelligent feedback. I am just bored with my clothes this winter because I made no changes to my wardrobe and style back in the fall when the good stuff was available in stores. So here it is in early Jan, with a good 2.5 - 3 months left of winter with the same skinny jeans/ponte pants and loose-fit tops to wear . I really , really want some different bottoms - trousers , jeans - and cannot find any pants that I can buy at an actual store. Ordering pants on-line is not worth the extra costs we incur here. Vince has now reached into the $400 plus range for trousers, and I would rather spend about half of that. BR is not my thing for pants. The in-between doesn't exist at the moment. Anyways - it's bringing me back to Angie's warning that you need to get your new pieces early in the season and not wait until you are fed up with what you have. That lipstick? Probably a combo of Bare Minerals "tutu" and Urban Decay Comfort Matte in "backtalk".

cheryl - totally right about the bookending; in winter, I don't wear light coloured footwear and it does make one feel off-balance with the only light colour worn being your hair. We need to meet for coffee one day - I swear we are the same person

Thanks again my friends for your positive comments - and I'm also glad to know it's not just me being a bit fed up with jeans at the moment. I decided to go check out Levis and see what they have to offer these days. Or maybe even a men's cut at the Gap.

Liking the darker hair, it makes your eyes stand even more. I use to feel blah when January came so wet, cold and raining ect. Now that I am living in Arizona I love winter. I do feel your pain about the jeans. And there is always someone in the crowd that has to say I order that in a size 00, what kinda size is that?

If it’s any consolation, I have decided I am bored to death with my jeans (I’m rotating the same three pairs of skinnies and straights on vacation and they’re fine because they’re stretchy and we’re eating a lot), but I don’t wear cool jeans very well — thick legs just don’t make anything look good! Maybe when I get my butt back in shape I’ll investigate some more interesting denim, but for now I’m in the mindset of playing it safe.

Love the darker hair it makes you sparkle , that sounds weird and its hard to explain but it does. One of these days I'll pluck up the courage and do it - maybe:)

Welcome to the dark side! OMG your eyes POP! I love it on you.

Ditto all your comments about jeans and pants, I'm just not feeling anything. I've even been digging through my box of old jeans to see if anything I've been holding on to sparks anything. Just some laughs. I hope spring brings something exciting or at least a change in perspective.

Love it, Lisa. It has a lot of depth. I have a soft spot for brunettes....which is maybe a bit odd since I am one. People seem to want to be whatever they aren't. As I slowly morph into gray I really miss it.

And yes, shopping is dismal. I keep browsing online but it feels like a waste of time. I did pick up these metallic pants....just in time for the holidays to be over. With sale on sale they were almost a give away and surprisingly I actually like them. Avery pants never seem to fit me well. Maybe they will lift my spirits during these dreary days.

Looks good Lisa! Nice change for winter. Sorry I can’t help on the clothes front. Having the opposite problem here at the moment. Hot, hot, hot!

The new hair color looks fantastic for all the reasons already stated.

I have no suggestions for the wither blahs but can definitely empathize. Thanks for reminding us to listen to Angie about shopping earlier in the season....I haven't been that great about doing it either. My latest purchases have been a little stocking up on fleece leggings and smartwool socks so I can still get in my daily walks in this ridiculous weather. Not at all fun or stylish (well maybe the socks are a bit "cute"), but absolutely necessary. Can't wait for the spring stuff to start appearing in Feb...spring seems soooo far away!

I can sympathize with Lisa and many of you about pants options in the winter. I did at least liven things up with some bootcuts, which seemed fresh after wears of not wearing them. But then we got a lot of ice and snow, and I'm back to needing to tuck my pants into boots (though I did wear my duck boots under the bootcut jeans a couple of times.

In the absence of pants that aren't jeans or ponte pants in black or blue, I've been trying to liven up my winter footwear selection a little (so more boots). That's helping me a little bit, though it won't be practical for anyone who needs deep winter gear all winter. Since I live in NY and the frigid temps are starting to thaw a bit to more of what's normal here, I've got some options.

I tried to find more bright or light colored pants, but I need to find a brand that will smooth out my lumps and bumps. My go-to brands aren't doing the trick. In the meantime, I'm trying to focus on wearing lots of other stuff I like, with the pants being a backdrop, but even that gets boring.

Lisa, I feel a lot of clothing in that middle range is lacking nowadays. I live in one of the best shopping cities in the world, and don't even know where to go for that. I feel your pain

I feel you - I just went from waist length to ear length hair, & suddenly all my clothes feel different. There is more of that gamine, classic feminine feel to my outfits now, since both my neck & face are more visible now, along with the natural curls up top for once (not just weighed down by the extreme length of my hair). It's taking some getting used to (especially since I like a little edge to my looks, so I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate that without looking like a teenager trying too hard, lol).

Anyway, just wanted to say that I love your new hair! The colour works well for you, as well as the cut (I maybe be ear/ nape length, but I'm still not confident enough to go as short as you!) I also like your lipstick - complements the black & brown nicely

Love the change! With your coloring, anything tawny seems like a no-brainer. Time to add more cognac, copper, olive, chocolate...?