Club Monaco Trench 

J Crew Factory Jeans 

Clare V. Marcelle Clutch 

Neiman Marcus Chiko Mules

I was at a networking event in conversation with someone about what I do. After giving a brief explanation, my new acquaintance informed me that she used to love looking through magazines, tearing out pictures of outfits she wanted to recreate, and then pulling them together. I explained that I do something similar here on the blog and call it Fashion in Real Life because I try to substitute both more reasonably priced items than those usually shown in the magazines as well as pieces that can be considered more wearable by real women. She responded that it sounded interesting, but she didn't see how I could be doing it. I was somewhat surprised so asked her why not. She answered that it had nothing to do with me or my skills but with the lack of even remotely appealing outfits in magazines these days.

I spent the next few days going through magazines trying to see them from her point of view and was surprised at how few outfits I liked enough to want to recreate them. For this series, I've been pulling out and recreating ensembles that I feel are still relevant but that I found in magazines some time ago. I gave myself the task of finding at least one relatively recent outfit to recreate and came up with this one from the October issue of Glamour. 

This Club Monaco trench is a great dupe for the Sandro tapestry coat, and it provides interest for any jean and tee shirt combo that you pull together to wear while running errands, but especially with these J Crew Factory jeans that are one of my favorite budget standby jeans. Paired with the Clare V. clutch and black suede mules from Neiman Marcus, this outfit is perfect for a casual evening out. 

What do you think about the current state of fashion magazines? Is the styling any different from what it's always been in your opinion or has it now been taken to another level of being unrealistic for real life?