I have some feelings it's time for me to share. I've got this relationship that's just not working the way it used to. I still love the way it feels but it's costing me too much. It's time I made some changes. No, I'm not leaving my husband and I'm not talking about a bad boyfriend or a hair stylist. I'm talking about my relationship with J. Crew.

I'm a bona fide fanatic. I love Jenna Lyons. I love her big black glasses and her bright red lip. I love my hour(s) long online shopping sessions. I love anticipating the arrival of my next brown paper bag full of wardrobe security. I love the way their classic pieces ground my funky thrift store finds. I love the mis-matched-match of their catalog spreads - the colors, the textures, the newness, the freshness. I have piles of the stuff - countless pieces from years and years of collecting. But I have to say, maintaining the relationship is getting really expensive. Even when I wait for the sales it adds up and before I know it my entire monthly clothing budget is gone in a single click. And given their growing popularity over the past few years, I'm seeing more and more people in my clothing. I hate that.

So lately I've been hyper vigilant about recreating the look and feel of J. Crew with pieces from other retailers that don't give me financial anxiety. How do I do it? I hate to sum up the brilliance of J. Crew's styling in one sentence, but the formula is simple: preppy classics mixed unexpectedly.

I managed to put this outfit together without a single piece from the retail giant. Cheerful colors, leopard print pumps, and estate-ish jewelry - Spot on, isn't it? I even mussed my hair a la J. Crew.