As much as I wish we could snap our fingers and have the leaves and temperatures officially switched to Fall, we don’t have that option. So we must transition. And the best way to transition is with layers. And the best “IT” layering piece right now is your trusty ole’ denim jacket. I mean this betch is back and demanding respect in your outfit!!
The denim jacket is back with a vengeance and she has returned in all the available versions possible. We have the classic denim jacket, the oversized denim jacket, the distressed denim jacket or the embellished denim jacket. Guess what, we just gonna talk about them alls!
(Sidetone: My goal eventually, is to be a guest a writer discussing fashion for some sort of major publication. IF I ever get that opportunity, when they come to my website to read my work I am confident they will exit out of my website and probably send me a grammar book after reading that last sentence above. I just speak like a fool sometimes and its 100% necessary, especially the cuss words.)
Moving forward.
I cannot talk about denim jackets without thinking about the first denim jacket I received as a gift. My grandmother Doris, whom you have heard me discuss and write about so many times, bought me the denim jacket pictured here when I was little. It was by Calvin Klein and I remember opening the package and thinking, “Oh my god, Madonna has a denim jacket too”. I’m pretty sure I immediately began searching my mother’s jewelry box for any sort of pin or brooch I could add to give it that rockstar flare. Just further proof there’s always been glitter in my veins.
When she gave it to me she explained the label was Calvin Klein and how that brand was a respected designer, so I would understand that it was a special gift that should be taken care of. Doris knew that I would grow up to love fashion and the art behind fashion even before I did. I think this was one of the last gifts I received from her before she passed away. I was in sixth grade.
After she passed, my grandfather really made an effort to continue her memory and love of gifting special presents.
On my first birthday without her he took me shopping, just he and I. We went to Belk’s and he asked me what I needed. At this point in middle school I think I had grown from 5’2” to 5’7” over a year so I had ZERO pants that were long enough. EVER.
I told him i really needed jeans that were long enough. He went straight to the Calvin Klein display and picked me out a pair that fit me like a glove (my little bean poll giraffe self) and they were long enough!! I REMEMBER this day! I looked at the price tag, $75?! It was 1997 at this point and my world was not used to or ready for expensive denim. I’m in seventh grade, I can’t ask my grandpa to get me $75 jeans! But I really like them, SHIT!!
I didn’t even say anything about the price, he must’ve just read my face when I saw the tag, but he told me we had to get them and we needed to find the perfect shirt to go with them. He said, “It’s what Grandma Doris would’ve wanted”. My heart melted and we found a kickass black Calvin Klein shirt.
Let me tell you something YOU COULDN’T TELL ME SHIT IN THIS OUTFIT. Not because it was Calvin Klein, but because it all FIT ME!!! Even then as a 12 year old little girl I had had my first lesson in how it’s ALL about the fit. Then something happened. I started to really feel terrible about how expensive these jeans were. I sat in my room and I thought, you know what I can return these and get two pair and this will last me way longer. So I did. I exchanged them for two pair of L.E.I. jeans. And you know what, my mom washed those pants and they shrank up to my damn ankles because they were cheap. I was so heart broken. I screwed myself trying to achieve the LEWK for less.
The good news for you, is I’m a pro at it now!
So let’s discuss the first item on our denim jacket agenda for the week and how to ROCK the LEWK for less.
Often times finding the look for less can happen when you least expect it or aren’t necessarily looking for that item.
When I was walking through Target I saw this white denim jacket on display in the kids section.
I innocently glanced at the price tag with zero intentions of pursuing a purchase relationship with this jacket. The tag said - and yes it spoke to me - $14.99!!! WHAT?! Then I violently threw my basket down, which was full of none of the things I had actually gone into Target for and began trying on this jacket. There was also a matching skirt, but I knew I needed to draw the line at the jacket.
The large was my golden ticket, but the sizing went up to XL, which I mentally noted for future reference.
As I was trying the jacket on I noticed this cute stripe purse for $9.99 which also, made its way into my basket of take home goodies. This was not my first and certainly would not be my last time shopping in the kids section at Target.
I have ended up using this purse frequently on vacations, telling anyone who dared to compliment it, that it was from the kids section at Target.
Call me Target!
You may be thinking, well how are we supposed to know when to shop in unexpected places for the lewk for less?! Excellent question.
In this situation, I found a fun denim jacket. A great layering piece for our current weather transition, where perhaps the fit wasn’t that important. The cut of the jacket is loose and relaxed much like jackets found in the women’s section, so it was overall a proper fit. If it’s a special occassion or function, you want to focus on the fit and spend the money where it counts in those moments.
The total cost of this outfit was $86.78.
White Denim Jacket: $14.99
White Crop Tank: $5.90
High-Rise Skinny Jeans: $17.90
White Mules: $38.00
Kids Clutch: $9.99
You can find links to the items used in this shoot below.
If the item has since sold out,I have found similar pieces and price points!
Trying a new trend doesn’t have to be a huge investment.
Don’t be afraid to be cheap! You just have know the right moments to cut corners and where to cut the corners.
Next we’ll be discussing the classic cut denim jacket styled in a denim on denim vibe.
So get ready for a Candian tuxedo, we’re gonna make it WERK! Until then, chin up and shoulders back and at some point today walk into a room like you own it..
because being you rocks.
-Lyv
P.S.
I have shared this photo before, but maybe if you’re new to my site I wanted to take the opportunity to share it again since I talked about my Grandma Doris in this post. I miss her, all the time, more than ever as an adult. If you go way back in my posts there is one about her and the impact her fashion fingerprint has had on my heart. So here’s a look at how I keep her memory alive, recreating my favorite fashion moments she had. This picture of her on the right was at my parents wedding. The picture I used above was not at all what she looked like, she was in bad health there and would murder me for posting that.
She was a well kept lady, who loved Jesus, would take shots and cuss at you from behind rose colored Christian Dior glasses. And now how I came to be makes perfect sense right?
