Colourful look for the fete's we're not attending

I can’t believe we’re almost at the end of July…

Normally I’d be buying tickets to numerous Caribana events and asking my friends which fetes we’re reaching. Instead I’m looking at last year’s pictures and hoping for a distance Caribana party in the park? Can someone make that happen? 

This outfit is an ode to all the boat parties I’m not attending but would be looking cute at ☺️.

I’m wearing a pink bodysuit and pull on pleated tangerine pants. An easy and comfortable look to pull off. I love pleats in general and I find that pleats are easy to dress up and down.

Today’s brand spotlight is Frank and Oak

Today’s brand spotlight is Frank and Oak 

Location: Canadian brand from Montreal, https://www.frankandoak.com/

Price: $$-$$$

Accessories: Women’s and Men’s clothing, shoes, accessories 

Style type: everyday essentials, fun and well fitting 

One of the few stores in the mall that has great quality clothing, shoes, and accessories. I had been looking for boots on my lunch (if you work in the PATH you know) and I decided to pop-in their Eaton centre store. Long story short I bought some great boots that I still have. I also really like that they are a sustainable brand from the fabrics that they use to the tags to the packaging. They are also a certified B corporation (more to come on this next week). 

Ready for brunch - styling

As things begin to open up (depending on where you live) brunch is becoming an option again. Considering we’ve been shut in, doing the MOST for brunch is definitely in order.  Even though I’m 5’2 ½  I love wide leg pants, I find that the silhouette makes me feel taller and slimmer. The pants I’m wearing here are silk from Theory and are quite flowy which I believe adds extra sas! The cropped organza top I’m wearing is from M boutique, it can be worn on the shoulder but I like to style it off the shoulder. Mainly, I feel like when worn off the shoulder it creates a nicer visual on me. 

Now I personally will not be going to any restaurants but you can find me in a park having socially distanced brunch with my peeps ✌🏾.

OOTD: Prairie girl

As I’m recalibrating how I feel about summer this year, I’m looking for clothing that is easy to wear, comfortable, but still makes me feel amazing. 

Black Prairie girl chic

I grabbed this prairie girl dress from Aritzia (it's still on sale!) and added my white sandals and who doesn’t love eucalyptus? 

Easy, breazy, beautiful prairie girl! 

Happy Thursday!

Spotlight local store: 988 Concept

988 Concept

Location: www.988concept.com

Price: $$ - $$$

Clothing types: Women and Menswear, Unique pieces 

Style type: for those looking to make a statement

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Bad Bitch look in Las Vegas

988 Concept helped make my summer 2019 a hot girl summer. Sophia, the owner of the boutique (had a storefront at the time) really helped me curate key looks for my Las Vegas trip and for everyday wear over the summer. 988 Concept carries unique items in limited quantities, so if you have your eye on anything in particular you need to snap it up. At this very moment I hesitated on a lovely fringe cardigan and it's no longer on the site. What I really like about 988 Concept is that the customer service is superb, they have great quality clothes and pieces you’ll love forever.

Styling Loungewear 5 ways

When we're eventually back outside you'll want to put all of that loungewear you bought to use! These 5 looks are easy to put together with items you already...

Why everyone needs a pair of black pants

While we’re stuck inside many of us are staring longingly at our closets and that has us evaluating all the clothing we own.

One staple that everyone should own is a pair of well fitting black pants. Whether you’re new to the workforce (just graduated, etc.) or you’re trying to simplify your wardrobe (e.g. capsule wardrobe) a good pair of black pants can make all the difference and is worth the time it takes to  find the perfect pair.  

Black pants are a staple because they are a great base for dressing up or down. I’ve styled my black pants to fit in casual, work, and dressy situations. If you’re trying to get the most out of every piece in your wardrobe black pants will go the extra mile.

Its not hot but sometimes it’s sunny

Is it summer in Toronto? It’s 10 degrees celsius and cold enough where even my tights couldn’t save me! I’m really wondering what kind of summer we’re going to have? Shorts - no, short dresses - definitely not, swimming - in what lake? The only saving grace we have is that while it's not hot it will definitely be sunny! Which means we can always wear our sunglasses (I mean it's sunny in the dead of winter too).

This season anything goes when it comes to sunglasses, do you want a Grace Jones-esque cat-eye, the tiny nose percher, or are you feeling the FENTY hater blockers? I’m enjoying the variety of sunglasses in different shapes and styles this season and this variety makes me feel like buying a pair for every mood. Sunglasses are a great accessory whether they are from Forever21 or Celine and they make me feel like it's summer even if the weather isn’t cooperating.

Here are some of my favourite styles (click on the pictures for the links):

Sweaters and the tale of fabrics: bye-bye winter sweaters

I touched on the transitioning between winter and spring clothing this week on instagram this week. Before you start being productive and packing your things away we need to start with cleaning these items first. To preserve your clothing you want to clean them prior to packing them away. When deodorant, sweat, stains, etc. linger on your clothing and sweaters in particular they damage the fabric itself and can lead to holes, thinning, and discolouration.

Sweaters and the tale of fabrics

Wool - is notorious for shrinking whether it be 20% or 100% of the makeup of your sweater. I would advise you Dry clean any wool sweater that you love. Even on gentle/delicates cycle you run the risk that it shrinks a little bit.

Cashmere - no argument if it is a 100% cashmere sweater definitely dry clean if you want it last you for a long time. If the sweater is a cashmere and cotton blend (20% Cashmere and 80% cotton) I would advise you to wash it in the gentle/delicates cycle. Regardless of the blend definitely line dry.

photo by: Dan Gold

Merino Wool - this can be washed in the gentle/delicates cycle unless the tag says otherwise. There are merino wool pullovers sold by athletic brands that may allow you to wash in the regular cycle. When in doubt gentle/delicates cycle and hang dry

Cotton - this really varies based on the company, read the tag. If you’ve cut out the tag I would wash as regular and cold water, and tumble dry. If you want to be extra cautious line dry.

Blends - polyester, acrylic, etc. honestly always wash cold and tumble dry low.  (I would say you should stay away from blends but we can talk about this another time.

When in doubt, hand wash or machine wash on delicates and line dry.

Also here is a guide to some of the images you’ll find on your clothing tags:

Clothing tag icon legend (this is not exhaustive).

Romain Robe

Fun Spring Trends - for your whimsical self

This spring has been pretty dull and wet - a standard in terms of weather but in fashion it’s been full of colour and fun! I am loving a number of things but the main stand outs at the moment are the spectrum of colour, skirts, platform sneakers, and fun nails.

Skirts

I am partial to a pleated skirt with a fun pattern or multiple colours. They are a great way to add some fun and depth to your outfits. Also, I really like the flow of a pleated skirts; when you walk it adds a whimsical vibe especially if there is a breeze. A knit skirt is a nice touch for texture and comfort. Knit skirts can also create an optical illusion and provide a great silhouette to any shape.

A rainbow of colours

I’m really enjoying the resurgence of colour in everyone’s wardrobe - from neutrals to tie die it’s nice to see the variety in people’s wardrobes and in their expression of self! An easy way to add colour to your overall look is painting your nails in a fun print or a rainbow with each nail being a different colour.

Platform sneakers

I tend to land on the streamlined classic sneaker end of the spectrum but these platform sneakers are definitely turning my head. Maybe it’s a Baby Spice throwback or I just like the extra height that I get without wearing heels, either way these are fun and comfortable. Bonus points when they are an Oxford platform - RIP my pair from Zara that I had to get rid of.

These are just a few of my favourite spring trends but my advice to anyone reading this is to be brave and have some fun!

Hair Accessories: Hair pins and clips

Hair Pins by The Loved One

When Solange released the album art for A Seat At The Table with her wearing all of those roller hair pins it sparked a hair trend with everyone and their grandmother wearing tons of hair pins. Since then, we seen a revival of hair accessories across the Spectrum from velvet scrunchies to padded headbands.

Part of my dive into the hair accessories trend is - jewelled hair pins and clips. Hair Pins and clips are a great way to dress up a look, they are easy to apply and work well in multiple types of hair. With wedding season around the corner, I definitely consider them to be a great accessory. Personally I used gorgeous hair pins to style my short hair on my wedding day and they looked amazing.

The pins below are great for everyday looks and the pearl clip I think would be your go-to to add an elegant touch to a little black dress or jeans.

I have linked to the stores that I bought the pins from but you can also check out Urban Outfitters or Amazon!

Style Diary 2: EXTRA AF - Feathered Vest

“See my vest, see my vest, Made from real gorilla chest” - Mr. Burns

Do you have that one item that you bought because you just couldn’t get over how extra it was? For me my EXTRA AF item is my Pello Bello Silver Grey Vest, I bought it on sale and on a whim at Saks a randomly. I love the texture of the feathers, the pockets can hold my iPhone 8 plus, and it's surprisingly warm.  

I’ve worn this vest on numerous occasions since I’ve bought it, I would say the trick to wearing your Extra AF item is not caring about the occasion - you wear it because you love it!

I paired this vest with oversized Diane Von Furstenberg Silk Pyjama Top (I bought the top with the purpose of wearing it out - not to bed), Uniqlo jeans distressed jeans with unfinished hem, and my go-to Frank and Oak heeled ankle boots.

See outfit details below (click on images to shop the look):

Style Diary 1: Wearing Neon to work

Neon Chartreuse (the colour between neon green and yellow)

Neon has been trending over the past 3 years and I’m not sure who started it but as someone who isn’t quick to jump on trends, I decided to try neon out this past month. If any of you are familiar with my blog or instagram page you know that I’m a huge fan of Aritzia, while shopping their winter sale for sweaters, I scooped up this sweater (Wilfred Free-Isabelli Sweater- Waffle-knit crewneck sweater) in neon chartreuse to try it out. Functionally, I love this sweater because its soft and warm, which really saved me for the last couple of month when it was -20 Celsius.  Now to the best part, yes I have actually worn this sweater to my corporate job (multiple times - it was really cold!). Unless you work in a company that is a very strict/formal dress code the only thing you have to fear is standing out. I will say glowing like a highlighter will garner attention because you’re literally a beacon but otherwise I’m perfectly in the parameters of my companies policy.

I’m sure you’re thinking, yes your brave and you stood out but how can I possible work neon into my work clothes? What does neon chartreuse match with? I’ve pulled together 3 looks with my neon sweater that you can wear to the office (if permitted).

Neon Sweater with Black Dress Pants

Neon and High Waisted Skirt

Neon & Navy High waisted wide-leg pants

Neon & Black Pants - Bonus points if you pair this with a non-black shoe. Everyone should have a pair of black pants (if you don’t please email me), this is an easy look and very comfortable for a day in the office and with a colourful shoe transitions well into an evening look.

Neon & Tan High-Waisted Pencil Skirt -  At first glance, these two colours shouldn’t work together. I personally like the contrast of the two pieces and the colour of the skirt falls into the neutral category which tones down the brightness. It creates a unique look paired with comfortable black stacked heel ankle boots. The boots aren’t too high so you can comfortable get from meeting to meeting without feeling your feet go numb.

Neon & Navy Wide Legged Pants -  Blue and Yellow work well together, using different tones of both colours make it easy to pair the sweater and pants together. Personally, I like wide-leg pants for work because you can wear them with flats and heels and look cute in both.

The moral of the story is that you can wear neon to work! If you have something in your closet right now or you were eyeing an item, try it out!

P.S. I wasn’t joking about the black pants, if you don’t have any please email me - you’re clearly in dire need of a closet rehab!