casual outfit: fleece for the rest of us

Fleece: for some, it's one of the fashion's cardinal sins - and I wore it twice within a 24-hour period. Yesterdays fleece was also - wait for it - the dreaded "polar fleece" that left me cringing long after Old Navy's jingle-happy commercial campaigns died away. Why did I do it? Well, because fleece is warm, I'm always cold, and my style happens to embrace gear-ish elements, anyway. If 20-year-old men can wear Britney Spears tees in the name of irony, then I can wear my fleece jackets in the name of rugged style, yes?

Merona (Target) red polar fleece jacket - $0 - gifted

Gap white/tan striped sweater - $1 - swap meet, San Fernando

Bee ring - $1 - swap meet, Santa Clarita

Calvin Klein tan cross-body bucket bag - $10, swap meet, Torrance

Lucky Zoe bootcut jeans - $9, Goodwill, Anaheim

Born Miriam moto boots - $5 - funded

This jacket is a little different in that it looks like a jersey blazer on the outside, and is only fleecy on the inside - oh, the cuddly deception! I love it so much that I also have it in bright red.

The necklace came together through pure fate. My boyfriend and I spotted the lion charm will 'trolling a swap meet on vacation in New York. We bought a handful of them for $0.10 each (they are actually plastic - more deception). I actually found the sterling chain on the ground somewhere, and no one ever claimed it.

Vintage baseball-style tee - $1 - swap meet, Huntington Beach

Leather belt - $2 - swap meet, Paramount

Lucky Zoe bootcut jeans - $9, Goodwill, Anaheim

Born Miriam moto boots - $5 - funded

Ted Benson Italian leather handbag - $1 - Ebay, funded
LL Bean Freeport Fleece jacket - $24.99
Lion neclkace - $0.10 - swap meet, New York, fated