Cookie Jeans feel like homemade

If you watch "The Oprah Show," you saw Cookie Johnson, Magic Johnson's wife, debut her CJ jeans collection the other week. The jeans are made for women with curves and booty.

Like most women, I'm always looking for the perfect pair of jeans and because Oprah raved about them - she actually said they felt like pajamas - I had to try them for myself.

When I asked for the CJ jeans at Nordstroms today, the sales associate said they have been flying off the shelves since Cookie was on "Oprah." I wasn't surprised because anything Oprah praises turns to gold.

I tried on the black straight (skinny) leg and they felt and looked sooo good. First, there's plenty of stretch, so they fit like a glove, and the satin-lined waistband added extra comfort. I'm 5'6'' and the pants slightly puddled at the bottom, so for taller women, you will still have room at the foot if you want to pair them with heels. But they would also look great with flats or tucked into boots. They come in black, grey and blue rinses.

These jeans aren't for the budget conscious; they start at $141, but that is on par with other designer jean labels.

Here's the collection:

These are the ones I tried on. They are a little more tapered at the bottom than they appear on the model. They are $161.

These are the bootcut. They are $141.

Cookie had to include a boyfriend look, since this is the hottest trend in jeans. Your boyfriend will love you in these at$196.

If you're looking for a trouser jean that's work appropriate on casual Fridays, these are a winner at $198.

These jeans are actually leggings, or "jeggings." And they are the perfect way to show off your shape. They sell for $145.

Suspended in Confusion

The only time I think about suspenders is if I'm watching Larry King and then, I'm thinking about them for men. I never think about suspenders for women, but twice this morning, within an hour of each other, two women mentioned suspenders. And not just mentioned them as they were admiring them on someone, but mentioned them as in wanting them.

The first was my younger sister, Torri, who tweeted that she wanted suspenders. And the second was celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe's daily blog, The Zoe Report, which was all about suspenders.

So, I decided to do a little research. I know suspenders have never really gone out of style for men, but are they the next upcoming trend for women?

I Googled "suspenders for women" and a bunch of hits came up for the old-school type. I know 1980s fashions are back, but I hope these stay put.

I kept searching, hoping to find something cute. I had to sort through a bunch of overalls. These are $486 at Barneys, if you're interested. I'm not.

And I found a ton of suspended garters. Now, when I think of suspenders, I certainly don't think of this! But I guess since they are holding up stockings, they qualify as suspenders. They are $75 at Figleaves, if this is your cup of tea.

I found this skirt with suspenders at Speigel, which sells for $39, but it is only cute from afar.

The suspenders Rachel Zoe blogged about today are chain suspenders. She calls it a "tough trend" that should be paired with a destroyed Tee, skinny jeans and black nail polish. That outfit sounds cute, sans the suspenders. I love and respect Rachel Zoe, but I'm secretly hoping suspenders for women - chains or not - are not the next hottest trend.

The suspenders on the left are Litter SF Silver Chain Suspenders and sell for $128. The ones on the right are Armor's Toro Body Chain and are $88.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Well, maybe not just yet.

If you have really cute rain boots, you almost want it to rain, which it's doing today in New Jersey.

I bought these rain boots about two years ago from Target for $19.99 each, but I've been thinking it's time to get some more adult-like rain boots.

So, I've been looking at the Hunter rain boot - the maker of the original Wellington.

While my printed boots are fun, I would go for a solid color in the Hunter - probably black or navy. The boots sell for $115 for the tall boot and $105 for the shorter version, which isn't a bad price considering the quality and craftsmanship (do rubber boots have craftsmanship? hmm). But I found my size on Ebay for $79.95.

This very adult, classic rain boot may be my next purchase.

Stackable Treat

I love a stackable ring, even if my fingers are too short to pull off most of them. So, when I saw this new multi stone stack ring from Coach, I had to feature it in my blog. I actually tried on this ring and it looks just as great on than it does in the picture. Plus, it will go great with day and night outfits.

It sells for $98.

Epperson Fever

If you're a fan of Epperson, the designer who became a household name while on "Project Runway," then you were heartbroken when he was eliminated from the show a couple of weeks ago. But the good news is that the Harlem-based clothing designer, who has designed for Erykah Badu, Patti LaBelle, Cassandra Wilson and Ciara, is back at it and in a huge way.

He recently showed his Spring 2010 collection at Harlem's Fashion Row's fashion show, along with designers Dinna Soliman, Lialia and Jose Duran.

Epperson's collection is wearable, casual and dressy all at the same time. The pieces flowed, yet fit like a glove where they needed and could also be worn on a variety of body types.

Here are some highlights from Epperson's collection:

Organizing your closet

For the last three weekends, I've been meaning to organize my closet.

One: it's an absolute mess.

And two: it's full of summer clothes and I need to pull out my fall/winter wardrobe.

I keep my off-season clothes in the guest-bedroom closet, which I've been pulling from off and on the last couple of weeks. Some days, it's cool enough for a sweater and other days, I could get away with wearing a T-shirt. But it got cold in New Jersey over the weekend and I think it's here to stay. It's mid-October, after all.

So, always wanting to lead by example, I hope this blog makes me get off my butt and switch my closets and start fresh with a new fall/winter organized wardrobe.

If you're stuck in a rut like me, here are some great tips I found for organizing your closet:

Clear it out: Figure out what you're really going to wear this season. My rule is if I didn't wear it last fall/winter, I'm probably not going to wear it this fall/winter, so I set it aside for Goodwill.

If the shoe fits: If you keep your shoe boxes, take a picture of the shoes that are in the box and attach it to the box, so you know what shoes are inside. This is something that I really need to do. I keep my shoe boxes hoping it will help me keep the floor of my closet organized, but the problem arises when I'm looking for a Banana Republic or Nine West shoe. I have too many shoes from Banana Republic and Nine West, so, when I'm searching for a shoe I bought from either of those stores, I have to look in multiple boxes.

No sweat: Sort sweaters by color and don't hang them; you will distort the shape. Right now, my sweaters are in a drawer, but unfortunately, they are tossed in the drawer, not folded and certainly not arranged by color. I normally sort my sweater drawer a couple of times a season to keep them organized.

No hang ups: Buy quality hangers. OK, they don't have to really be quality - I use plastic hangers from Target, not the really nice wooden ones. But plastic is so much better than wire. My husband and I share the chores and one of my chores is doing the laundry. My husband has a closet full of wire hangers. If he has one, he had 100. I refuse to hang his shirts on those hangers. Just because your clothes are returned to you from the cleaners on wire hangers doesn't mean you have to keep them. They are trash!

All in favor, say "eye": Keep the clothes you wear more frequently at eye level. There's nothing worse than looking for your favorite shirt or pair of pants and you can't find it. Those clothes should always be right in front of your face.

When cheap isn't cheap

I have a dilemma.

I bought this beautiful R. J. Graziano necklace as a birthday present to myself in April. At $250, it was pricier than what I wanted to spend, but when I saw the statement piece at Nordstrom, it surpassed anything else that I saw the in mall that day. I actually looked for something just as fabulous, but cheaper, but couldn't find anything that came close.

I wore the necklace twice before one of the center turquoise stones fell out. I took the necklace back to Nordstrom, hoping to exchange it for another, but there weren't any left at any of the Nordstroms in the U.S. Bummer!

I was trying to decide if I should return the necklace, when the sales associate offered to send it back to R.J. Graziano for them to repair it. Perfect!

I picked up my prized birthday gift two weeks ago, after not having it for two months, and carefully placed it on my jewelry box, on top of every other necklace in there, because, after all, it was my favorite piece and I had missed it so much. Two days later, I opened my jewelry box and noticed a smaller bead had fallen out. Shoot! (Note: It's on the top right).

Now, what do I do?

Do I send it back again and risk not having it for the rest of the year?

Do I try to repair it myself?

Or do I just return it to Nordstrom?

I so want to keep this necklace. The first time I wore it, I got at least 50 compliments on it. I was at a Links' Luncheon with women as equally as fashionable, but my necklace was all the rage.

The second time I wore it, it gained nearly as much attention.

So, clearly, this piece is a show stopper and I probably won't be able to find anything similar.

If I repair it myself or send it back to R.J. Graziano, there's still a chance another bead could fall out.

I'm disappointed that the necklace was so expensive, but the quality was not on par with the price. I know it's costume jewelry, but when you pay $250 for a necklace, you expect it to last a while.

What would you do?