90's Heartthrobs

Pants? Gucci, Holt Renfrew Last Call Silk shirt? Thrifted Clutch? Likely thrifted Shoes? Ralph Lauren, DSW

I'm worried that I might actually enjoy worrying. I do it all the time. I wake Matt up at 1:32 a.m., worried that we haven't paid a bill. I leave the house and I worry that I left my straightening iron on. But mostly I worry that fashion blogging is going to kill the bright pants trend too quickly. And that would be a shame because I splurged for these Gucci pants, paying $70 for them last fall (at almost 94% off...) and it hasn't been until now that they fit comfortably.

Here in Hamilton (Ontario, Canada...), I have seen one girl wear a pair of bright pants and it was just last weekend. Yet I feel like I have seen them much more because they are everywhere in the alternate universe that is fashion blogging. And you know what happens when there is too much of a good thing. Just look at cupcakes and Justin Beiber... they got replaced by macaroons and Andrew Keegan. Right?

Ha... raise your hand if you grew up loving Andrew Keegan too. Now raise both hands if you think that that coloured pants should not just be a trend but a permanent treatment to wardrobe boredom. If you are over bright pants, just raise your other hand for Jonathan Taylor Thomas instead. It's OK... he was cute. Not as cute as my blue pants though.

Bona Fide Trespass

Linen dress? Thrifted Leather clutch? Thrifted and gifted (I think) Shoes? French Connection Bangle? Thrifted

This weekend we hosted a dinner with 8 mystery guests (it was part of an event organized through our church...), so we cleaned the fine layer of cat hair that had settled over our house during the last few busy weeks and I threw myself into setting a pretty table and actually making some good food. I had a big, ol' vision of how I wanted it all to look and when I sent Matt out to get some pretty serviettes and he came back with 500 BBQ style napkins, I threw a mini fit. I went downstairs to our storage area to check the box of party supplies (ugh... throwing a napkin fit and having a box of party supplies? I am such a treat.) to see if I could scrounge something together and I just so happened to find this purse when I was down there. I think my parents might have given it to me or maybe I thrifted it, and then let it sit in the dark hole of our basement to be rediscovered in the midst of a breakdown. And I didn't find any nice napkins and we dealt with the plain ones and no one noticed at all. But some did notice my clutch, which makes me realize that Matt was supposed to buy ugly napkins, just so I could find this perfectly matched clutch again. I knew the world revolved around fashion blogging.

And now on to the question of the weekend... Who is more shocked?

Yeahhhhhhh.... we took these pictures in an empty industrial area, likely trespassing but keeping it polite... or so we thought. Until the door right behind me (!) opened and Matt actually caught the awkward meeting on camera. How do you explain outfit pictures to a guy who made a cute little home (from the glance I cast inside... in a non creepy way...) in a 100% industrial zone? We didn't. He was nice about it. Probably as confused as we were. We just apologized 17 times and wished him a good day. Though perhaps the question of the weekend should be, who was trespassing the most?

Thrift Day. The Route.

Every time I go to Talize, I make my way around the store in the exact same way. If I am with a friend and they go off course (do they know who I am?), I always have to part with them and check through my route first. In little thrift stores I tend to scour the whole place but if I go to a department size store, it's good to have some direction.
While I won't punish you too heavily if you veer off my route, I do think my system has a little bit of thrifting wisdom to impart. First things first... put on your game face...

Whoops, not my game face... just a chance to flaunt the cuteness that is Kyle asleep in my underwear drawer this winter. Yes, the bedroom is a mess and he is actually not allowed to sleep there but for that one time... he was too precious. OK, back in the thrift game, let's do this...

Accessories- Just by the way that my local favourite thrift store is set up, I start my shopping experience at the display cases, check the jewelry, peruse the shoes and finally on to the purses with a pinch of belts and scarves. It brings me around in a neat little loop. If I only have 5 minutes to shop, these are the places I go first. Accessories are fun, cheap and don't require change rooms, so if you are a novice thrifter and are unsure where to start, the accessories loop is a good way to go. There are always some fun jewelry, belts or purses to be found! These items are also easy to clean and hence sit low on the hypothetical ick factor chart. I know that some of you have an aversion to thrifting shoes. I can respect that... though I do often find brand new shoes... just saying...

Favourites- I admit I don't need anymore dresses... or skirts, for that matter. But they are my favourite and if I have time and don't check the racks for these, I would feel as if I could have potentially left my next DvF vintage dress for someone else to snag. That would not be good, we call it thrifting, not kindergarten, sharing is not important.
I kid... mostly. But if I hadn't checked the dress section the last time I went thrifting, I would not have a vintage lace Victor Costa dress hanging in my closet... the perfect dress for my brother's wedding this September.
Dresses and skirts might not be your favourite thing to wear; maybe you fall hard for blouses with bow-ties or acid wash jeans (together?) but whatever is your clothing of choice, make sure you give that area a quick scan.

Trends- Some of you may have time to check every section in the thrift store but I don't. I am too busy frittering my time away on the Internet for that kind of craziness. So after I check the accessories and look through the racks of dresses and skirts, I look for trends that have recently caught my eye. Bright pants, faux fur vests and my latest addiction (I needed a new one after I quit Diet Coke... more than 3 weeks baby!), silk shirts, are all crucial parts of a fashion blogger's rite of passage and can easily be found second hand. Get inspired before you go to the thrift store! This way, the 80's pleated skirt is suddenly a prized possession waiting for a golden sunset, a camera and some likes on Weardrobe. Don't laugh but I am seriously on the lookout for a pair of denim overalls. I want them to be not crazy baggy, like the ones that were cool in Grade 6 and not crazy tight, like the ones that were cool in Grade 9. Somewhere in between. So far no luck. Mostly due to my height and fitting issues in the crotchular area. But it's going to happen, I can feel it... after I find silk shirt #9 and #10.

Do you have a thrift route or do you need some thrifting GPS?

Real Estate

Jacket? Thrifted Shorts? Gap (current... very comfy but not sure I am liking the denim sausageness of them...meh) Shoes? Frye, Winners Top? Larsen Grey, Winners Necklaces? longer one from The Last Hurrah, shorter one from Banana Republic Bag? Roots, thrifted

We went to go visit my university friend, Linda* and her husband, Paul this weekend. I took advantage of the fact that he is profesh and all and asked him to take some outfit pictures. We ended up just shooting them at the model homes in the area... you know, put your hand confidently on the railing and pretend you own it. I feared the awkward moment would arise when a sales person would come out of the home and ask if we needed any help. We decided if that happened, I would be the acting real estate agent for Linda, Paul and Matt (?). Smrt move, make the girl in the denim cut-offs and the yellow jacket be the real estate agent... very professional.

However, if I were a real estate agent and my 90's jacket was my biggest flaw, then I think we could overlook that. Our real estate agent last year was a peach but I have heard many horror stories. The best one yet was the representative who told my friend and her sister that they weren't fit to make any sound real estate decisions, as they were both pregnant. Part of me thinks that story is funny, part of me thinks that story is sad... and the rest of me wants to sell you a house while wearing a yellow jacket.

*Yes, the Linda who made the Ride to Conquer Cancer necklaces... to all those who supported, a heartfelt thank you. And a kiss too.