sombrero? not for you, señor.

the caaj approach to hats is to always ask the following question: does this hat help me brave the elements - whether that be rain, shine, or snow. if not, chances are that your hat is tryhard. of course vacation timings present a whole different twist to this approach. the caaj rulebook lets most things slide while on vacation - it is the one loop hole where you are allowed to be a tryhard without remorse. the other loophole is obvi if you are a celebrity - everyone knows that celebrities have to wear hats to be incognito to avoid the papparazzi, duh!

now the rest of us regular caaj people, we do not need a hat. while yes, some of them are certainly cute and you may think that throwing on a fedora with a white tshirt, jeans and raybans on a regular old day is caaj-cute, the proximity to the tryhard line is just too close for comfort. if you are so bold and okay taking this risk, by all means, wear that fedora. if kim kardashian is your idea of caaj-cool, wear that fedora. if you want to be borderline tryhard, wear that fedora. all the rest of us will AVOID.

however, beanies on a chilly winter day are a whole different story. beanies are functional and necessary in the winter and can be worn without the slightest bit of tryhard guilt. throwing a beanie on also messes up your hair to caaj perfection when removed (caaj bonus points!). i particularly like slouchy beanies a la alba and bilson below.

uh uh.

alexander wang - the caaj master. while he definitely puts out designs season after season that embody the caaj aesthetic to the fullest, this particular look from his pre-fall 2011 collection is just a little off the mark, in my humble opinion. there is a fine line between caaj/not tryhard and just plain ugly. stealing my little brother's jeans and my dad's pullover seems a little too caaj-ugly for me. i mean this model is probs 5'10 at least and the way the jeans cut into her proportions makes her look like she's 5'5. this look would make a petite 5'4 princess like me look like a little midget! i would trade out the little brother's shapeless jeans for a better fitted boyfriend jean and fold the bottom. i think that would bring this look back into the realm of caaj-flattering-cool, instead of caaj-what-the-hell-is-that?

combat boots.

combat boots - or "lesbian combat boots" as i lovingly like to call them - are another caaj staple. they can either complete an already caaj, grungy look or you can throw them on with a look that's a little too pretty, a little too perfect and you've immediately found the caaj version of your tryhard outfit. think jessica alba as of late -- she has seemingly mastered this juxtaposition of the too pretty with the grungy boots.

caaj grungy - combat boots accompanied by skinny cargos, leather jacket and loosely tied scarf (rumpled hair optional) a la alessandra ambrosio

caaj pretty - too pretty with a little lesbian combat boot