WISHLIST: I'M DREAMING OF A BLACK CHRISTMAS

sheer leather by vel-vette featuring h&m

cat woman by vel-vette featuring a cashmere shawl

I'm in love with these heels. I can't help it. 

As I was adding the gorgeous Marc Jacobs watch with the Swarovski crystals to this wishlist set, I had a thought. Why do people feel the need to pack their closets with designer brands while throwing taste out the window? Related: Why do people wear as many designer pieces as they can fit on their bodies, all while forgetting that they don't all necessarily go together just because they're Dior, or Chanel? 

I was watching this show the other day, My Shopping Addiction or whatever, and I found it so interesting how obsessed this girl was with designer labels, yet when she was put in a sunglasses store with over 5,000 pairs of glasses (3 of which were designer) she couldn't pick out a single pair that was name brand.  

I know that in this society we see the ads, the articles, the celebrities in the designer clothes, and we're so vulnerable to all sorts of advertising; but what if we're not just all brainwashed, and actually in toxic romantic relationships with these designers? 

Think of designers as types of men, and most women have a weakness. Men with tattoos, older men, younger men with children, boys in bands, men who drive Audis, men with perfect teeth... there are as many types of men as there are aspiring fashion designers. What if 'Chanel' was just 'Men with Perfect Teeth' and 'Dior' was just 'Boys in Bands' and Versace was 'Men with Tattoos'. Women have a weakness for their 'type' of designer just like their 'type' of man. 

I once knew this girl who would buy anything Chanel, from any decade. You should know that I love Chanel. I would love to be buried in Chanel. That doesn't mean I'm going to buy it just because it's Chanel. Especially if I think it's hideous. 

The same girl also had a thing for men with dogs. Even if nothing else about him was attractive to her, she would give whoever he was a chance because "he had to be a good guy if he had a dog". Even if the second she met him she knew it would never go anywhere, she was interested.

Even if the second she picked up a Chanel purse, or a Chanel jacket, or a pair of Chanel pants, she knew she would never wear them, she was still interested. 

Take that Prada bag next to the leather skirt. I'm obsessed with it, but I think it's Prada's version of a very generically shaped bag. It's "designer" but it's not a necessarily standout piece, to me. 

Don't get me wrong. I still love the bag. 

Blabbering aside, things I love for winter: Sheer, Leather, Fur. It's almost not fair because I love leather for every season, but there's something about the leather skirt and the leather leggings that make me think they were made for the holiday season. Even the long black cape-coat caught my eye. I think there's a way to layer clothes without looking like a designer clothes rack, and without looking like a hobo. Also, from experience, wedges are my favorite winter shoe. It's possible to walk in stilettos, but I prefer the reliability of a wedge in the winter. You can get a lot of really wonderful wedge boots as well, if you're trying to keep your legs warm at the same time. 

And (faux) fur. I think everyone needs a fur in their closet for wintertime. 

I will say this about fur coats though. I live in a pretty small town in Washington state, just a little ways away from Seattle, and wearing a fur coat in public is like asking for people to stare at you like you're King Henry VIII. 

I don't live in a scene from Sex and the City where Carrie can walk down Madison in a full length fur, smoking a cigarette, looking fabulous and not being treated like some kind of hooker. I live in a pretty conservative, completely bland place. Some days, I feel sort of awkward wearing my fur coat out in public. I'm usually a fashion confident person, but I do have those days when I just want to blend in, but I also want to wear what I want to wear.

I will say: nothing good ever came from worrying about what others think of what you're wearing. You bought it because you love it, and when you love it, you wear it. Screw the small town.