Da Fashionista.com

A few weeks ago I was feeling blue and decided to get out of the house. Ended up window shopping my malaise away. By afternoon's end I had seen 200 sparkly things I wanted but only two adorable affordable baubles made the cut: a tres Herve Leger skirt at H&M for $35 and a zipper hair clip/pin in my most fave color of late at Forever 21 for $3.

When I got home, the fashion gods kept smiling on me: a Tolani Scarf was sitting on my doorstep. Won it from from Chickdowntown.com and one of my favorite L.A. blogger chicas, The Style Rules. (Kiss you Fabi - I love it. Thank you!)























I have yet to wear the pin or the scarf but it took everything inside me not to wear the pinkie and black skirt right way, every day. Decided I needed to save it for THE perfect occasion: the ballet this past Sunday with my momma.































I took ballet until I was about 10 and every year around the holidays my mom, dad and I would go see The Nutcracker. To this day whenever I hear that beautiful music, I remember those crisp December days of my childhood, the feel of my dad lovingly holding my hand, my mom dressed up in her holiday best, so beautiful and happy and young.



























For the last few years, my mom's mentioned wanting to go so this year I surprised her with tickets as an early Christmas present.































The ballet and the music and the costumes were as delicious as I remembered.

























But what we enjoyed most was seeing all the little girls dressed up in their ADORABLE holiday garb, beginning a special tradition with their moms. I got teary several times thinking how quickly time has passed. I thought about how these little girls will become women like I did, how they will cling to their moms for guidance and support in varying degrees in the years to come, how they will suffer disappointments and heartbreaks and their mothers will have to endure a front row seat, how they will discover the kind of women they want to be, how they will navigate adult mother-daughter relationships that are complicated and rich and like no other relationship, and how hopefully one day these girls will bring their mothers back to the ballet and close a circle, like I did today.











































































































































































Ideally they will do it in matching quilted Chanel and round toe Marc Jacobs ;)





















































Figured ballerina-inspired heels and cool tights were a must for my first ballet in years. The lace up shoes and polka dot tights got more attention than you would believe today. My mom kept pointing out everyone pointing them out.












































































































































Silly me, I thought the amazing new skirt would be the centerpiece of the outfit. Adore the piping and the bands of black that create a cool corset/bandeaux effect that is HOT HOT HOT right now



















































































































































































































































































































One of my cheap chic favorites is this dress version of my skirt - currently available at H&M for $60ish. So very Dolce & Gabanna with the long sleeves and puffed shoulders.












































































































Peeped it for the first time last week on a girl at Fred Segal's GIFTS GIVING BACK: A SUSTAINABLE SHOPPING EVENT. Brought the lovely Lauragami and her impossibly long legs as my date. Note to self: hang out with less gorgeous friends if you ever want to feel young and thin ;)