Jeans.  They are one of my least favorite things to shop for, along with swimsuits and bras.  So many brands, so many different fits!   I know that I’m not alone in my angst.  I’m sure that you do what I do when I find a brand of jeans that fits me well–stick with it.  I have friends that swear by Joe’s Jeans (they don’t fit me) or True Religion (they don’t fit me).  My friend Luxetips loves Hudson Jeans, while I love G-Star Raw.  We’ve both tried each other’s brands, but nope, they didn’t work for us.  She stayed with Hudson and I stayed with G-Star.

Did you notice that the brands I mentioned are trendy, boutique brands?  Luxetips and I, both fashionistas, wouldn’t be caught dead in “mom jeans”.  You know the ones: non-descript, ill-fitting, off-color with oddly placed pockets.  So honestly we approached the jean table at Getting Gorgeous NYC 2010 with some trepidation.  Miraclebody Jeans?  Hmm…we hadn’t heard of them, but we were willing to give them a try.

We retreated to a corner, tried on the jeans (stretch leggings for both of us) and instantly fell in love! The dark wash leggings were heavy without being stiff and just tight enough.  We felt hip, but still comfortable (these things don’t normally go together) due to the ample amount of spandex in the leggings.  We both agreed that we will live in these jeans come fall!   The dark wash and quality denim will allow us to wear these jeans dressed up or dressed down.   These were not “mom jeans!”

But, here’s the best part: the jeans are made to make you look 10 pounds lighter.  The tag on my jeans reads:

Miraclebody by Miraclesuit is handcrafted to shape and firm the body without using bulky linings or girdles.  Miracle Body supersoft fabric has twice as much spandex as the averave jean, our exclusive Miratex fabric as triple the holding power as assuring as a beautiful fit as well as a trendy style.  Look 10 lbs lighter in 10 seconds.

Now, as awesome as this sounds, I wouldn’t wear them if they didn’t look good.  And neither would Luxetips.  We’ve got reps to protect LOL!

Here I am, modeling my jeans for the family.  Yeah, I could get all sexy with some heels, but I rock Converse on a daily basis, so this is how I’ll be wearing the jeans most of the time.

I am wearing leggings, but there are several different kinds of jeans available.  At $88, these jeans are very affordable, but right now Miraclebody is offering my readers 10% off all jeans as well as free shipping and returns from 8/15-9/15.  Just enter the code “Take Ten” at checkout.

Look good and feel good, that’s what a good pair jeans ought to do, and Miraclebody does just that.

*Full Disclosure: I received a pair of Miraclebody Jeans as part of Getting Gorgeous NYC 2010, an invite-only event during Blogher 2010 weekend.  I was not asked to write this review and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

*I don’t get paid for my opinions in any way; this is just me sharing stuff that I like and I think you will too.

During my recent trip to Manhattan for Blogher 2010, I didn’t have much time to explore my favorite city, so I had to prioritize.   Out of all the things that I love to see and do in Manhattan, these 3 things are at the top of the list: visit a museum (the Matisse exhibit at the MoMA was fantastic), hang out in Central Park, and browse (okay, shop) at Henri Bendel.

Bendel and I are old friends; we go way back.  While living in New Jersey for several years, I often visited Bendel’s after having afternoon tea at the St. Regis or Plaza hotels.  It’s been a few years since I’ve been there and I practically wept tears of joy as I opened the door.  Pausing outside and snapping this photo, I tweeted: “Somebody save me from myself!”

The first floor is always buzzing with the latest and most fashionable make-up and accessories.  More than 10 years ago I bought a supercool necklace at Bendel’s that spells “Superstar”; I still wear it practically everyday.  I always expect to find something fun and new and this time was no exception.

I am a watch person; I have six watches and I am not ashamed to buy more.  I think of them as bracelets that tell time.   So when I walked into Bendel’s, the TKO Watch display–bright, funki watches–really caught my eye.   So cute!

The watches I loved, the Slappers, were more than cute, they were also fun to wear–you slap them on your wrist like the slap bracelets back in the day.  But you haven’t even heard the best part yet:  the watch, strap and capsule around the watch are interchangeable.  How cool is THAT?  I was sold.  Kevin, the art director for TKO Watches who was manning the display that day, and I had fun putting together a watch especially for my Funkidivagirl style.  You know that I had to get some pink in there somewhere!

Turns out that TKO Watches were on Oprah’s O List in O Magazine. I’ve always liked her; she’s got good taste.  I bet she likes Bendel’s too!

I love my watch.  Everyone at the Blogher conference loved my watch.  Everyone back here in Atlanta loves my watch.  My daughter can’t stop slapping it on my wrist and we are already planning to buy an accessory pack so that we can mix and mingle the parts into a few more watches.

So, that’s two things I like: TKO Watches and Henri Bendel.  I would say that was time well spent.

First I noticed the dogs.  They are everywhere we go: the beach, the mall, the Apple store.  Everyone in LA has a dog and take it everywhere.  We have a dog, and if he was here with us now, we would take him everywhere too.  He even has a Lakers bandana.

Then I noticed the Shorty Mack hats (so named in our family because that’s what my daughter looks like in hers, a Shorty Mack).  I have one of those.  It took me forever to find one in Atlanta that I like, but here in LA they are in every store and on every head.

And finally the TOMS shoes.  Everyone in our beach neighborhood wears TOMS.  At first I couldn’t decide if I liked them…they looked sort of Ked-ish and Keds are not my stylo.  But then I saw these at Fred Segal and fell in love.  It’s the bling, of course.

Alas, Fred Segal didn’t have my size.  Turns out that those are the hottest TOMS around and impossibly hard to find.  But now I was on a mission; I went online and wrote down every store in LA that carried TOMS.   I scoured the boutiques on Main Street, Abbot Kinney and Montana Ave–nothing.  Finally a kind shopkeeper pointed me to Lorin on 3rd Street Promenade:  ”If anyone has those TOMS, Lorin does.”

They did and in my size too.  Not only are TOMS cute, comfortable and affordable, they are also philanthropic.  For every pair of shoes purchased, TOMS gives a pair to a child in need.  I am a convert and a fan.

My LA look is complete.  When are we moving?

I have had the pleasure of attending a few media events at Disney World and while it is fun, make no mistake, there is also work involved.   The days are long and the schedule is jam-packed.  During a media day at Disney I could be in front of a photographer, interviewing or meeting Disney executives, lunching in a nice restaurant and riding a roller coaster.  And don’t forget about the Florida heat!

All of these factors makes dressing for a Disney media trip very tricky.  Although Disney World is a casual place, I am not there as a tourist, and therefore I don’t think it is appropriate to dress like one.   I need to dress appropriate, funki (cause that’s me) but also comfortable and cool.  And of course I must look cute!  There are cameras everywhere and I never know whose blog, newspaper article or newsreel on which I may appear.

My last trip was a little more relaxed because families were invited as well, but this presented the challenge of dressing for both media events and family fun in the same day.  Here are the looks that I put together:

Day 1: I had a media event in the morning with several Disney employees about the Main Street Electrical Parade.   This dress worked well for the occassion: it was breezy and cool, short enough to be fashionable, but not too short to be inappropriate and easy to dress up with accessories.  For the media event I swapped the fabric belt for a wide black belt.  While my sandals are flat and perfect for walking, they are a bit dressy and elevate the dress.  The green color adds some funkiness (gotta put the funk in there somehow!).   My tote bag is big enough to hold my wallet, lipgloss, sunglasses and necessary media equipment–iPhone, Flip cam, camera, notepad, agenda–as well as a pair of play shoes.  I could have even put my iPad in there if needed.

Dress: from Dakota J’s, an Atlanta boutique

Shoes: Seychelles, from Sole, an Atlanta boutique shoe store

Belt: from Sage, an Atlanta boutique

Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs, from Nordstrom

After I met up with my family and the sun became to much to handle, I pulled my hair back, exchanged the wide belt for the fabric belt and switched the Seychelles sandals for my purple Keens sandals (ok, not the most fashionable shoes, but my feet needed a break; I think a pair of Fit Flops would have worked well too).  Never underestimate a great pair of sunglasses to hide your tired eyes!

Sunglasses: Juicy Couture

For our evening dinner event I transformed back into Funkidiva Media Girl: wide belt, Seychelles sandals and loose hair.

Day 2: My family joined me for a media screening of Toy Story 3.  Although I didn’t have to dress nicely, it was still a media event and somebody is always filming or photographing.  After the movie we were scheduled to spend the day as a family in Hollywood Studios, so I dressed for fun, but still a few notches above my normal Disney World garb.  I wore shorts (but not too short), a cute top and another pair of funki flat sandals.  Again, once my feet grew tired and my face sweaty, I swapped the cute sandals for Keens and pulled my hair back.   In the evening, right before the media dinner,  I let my hair down and put on the cute sandals.  Here I am about to ride Toy Story Mania.  I am working; I swear!

Shorts: Lucky Brand

Shirt: Anthropologie

Shoes: Seychelles, from Sole, an Atlanta boutique shoe store

Day 3: I was working early in the morning and then flying back home.  This was the big media event for Summer Nightastic; television and radio stations would be present.   Since I would be interviewing several people and representing Funkidivagirl.com, I wanted to look nice, but casual.  Here I am after the interviews and on my to the airport.  I wore the purple Seychelles sandals while working, but in this photo I have on my Swarovski crystal Havaianas flip flops; my feet were done!

Dress: Lucky Brand

Bag: Oilily

On the next trip I have to pick up a few things at TrenD, a stylish boutique in Downtown Disney, because it’s always appropriate to wear Mickey at Disney World.  With a pair of white jeans and strappy sandals, a crystal-studded blinging Mickey tee would look fresh and funki and just right–for work or play.