Body Armour

Skirt? Tevrow and Chase, Winners

Blouse? Ralph Lauren, Winners

Sequin vest? thrifted

Belt? roots, thrifted

Shoes? Frye, Winners

Tights? ?

Clutch? thrifted

I wasn't really looking forward to today*. I knew it was going to be a hard day and there was no way to avoid it. So I dressed up. I know there are more mature ways to deal with difficulties but if I feel even this ---- much better by wearing high heels and something fabulous, than it was worth it.
I know you are probably sick of hearing me talk about the Winner's final sale, don't worry, March starts tomorrow and the sale is over. My readers and my credit card breathe a sigh of relief... However, I did get this Tevrow and Chase skirt for $16 on the third last day of the sale. The pattern is so intense and I love the fullness; wearing it makes me happier. The skirt is too big on me and I intended to just sew some extra pleats on to make it sit at my natural waist. But then I realized it looked cool sitting low on my hips too and it's good to get out of your comfort zone. And yes, less work as well...
May I take a moment and extol the virtues of a crisp, white shirt? They look good with almost anything and make any outfit chic. The sad thing with crisp, white shirts is that they have a shelf life and soon move on to become just plain, white shirts. I feel like my beloved white shirt has lost its crispness and while others may not notice, it bugs me. When it all comes together and I sell my romance novel, I will have my maid keep my closet stocked full of the crispiest white shirts. A new one every day...

Outtake of the Day:

Taking pictures through the port holes... so cute, right? Then we pan out...
Matt didn't even notice random words written on the sides of the boat. I went through the pictures later and found this... oops...

* Canada winning gold in Men's hockey was pretty awesome though. There was a impromptu celebration downtown and it was fun to watch the excitement. However, I just wanted to tell some people that I'm glad their track pants say 'Canada' on them and all, but they should still not be worn outside. Cause I'm a hater...carry on...

No Patience

Denim shirt? thrifted

Black denim skinnies? Gap

Belt with fish? thrifted

Jacket? Old Navy (who knew I'd wear this to death...? Not me.)

Pumps?

Socks? Matt's

Fur collar? from a friend's grandmother.

You might as well get used to the black zipper leg skinnies and the denim shirt... I have a feeling they will be re-appearing often.
These are the nude pumps I got a while ago when I was looking for a pair of black ankle boots. Oops... I have visions of tanned legs and pink dresses for these shoes but I couldn't wait for summer, so I had to bust them out. Not my wisest idea... nude leather pumps don't mix well with dingy snow. I brought my red carpet in my bag but that meant I could only go 12 feet from the car to any location. 'Park closer Matt! I can't let my feet touch the ground.' And you thought Mariah Carey was a diva...
It's totally stupid but I have a way harder time posing inside than outside. I was just born to be free, I guess... To relax I posed with my friend Judy. She's wearing this wicked vintage dress I just thrifted. The fit is perfect but the length of the proportions are a bit awkward on me, so I've been pinning up the skirt to see what I could drape out of it to make it more wearable. I just can't do the old hack and hope and cut the hem off this dress. It's a really beautiful, well constructed and likely expensive piece that deserves more than the scissor treatment. We'll see what I come up with... I've still got time before summer.

And my hair? It's a messy but fun do that I created by doing a french braid from side to side, tucking the end under and pinning in the pieces that threatened to come loose. My hair is finally long enough and obviously damaged enough to hold this style. Damage is the key to some hair styles and I do my part with a little heat styling and some bleaching (Nadine, that's why your hair won't hold, it's too healthy...grab your hairspray and straightener and get some damage pronto!).

Setting Sun

Leather jacket? thrifted
Sweater? Kenneth Cole, Winners
Sparkly pants? h&m
Boots? Nine West
Scarf? gifted
Hat? UO

I haven't really been dressing up lately. I've got plenty of excuses, don't we all...? I won't bore you with most of them, but I will admit to having spent a lot of time obsessing over the Olympics. It's hard to think creatively and make up interesting outfits when I'm using all my brain power to think of new Olympic sports that would allow me a chance to be an Olympic competitor. There is an nonathletic athlete within me that is yearning for a medal and some sponsorships. My 'cries of the day' have increased too, I'm such a sucker for the emotion of competition and every time that 'Believe' song comes on, I get all teary and embarrassed....

I wore this outfit a while ago before I became an emotional mess cheering on athletes from my couch. The pictures are a little soft-focused (ie. unfocused) in the setting of the sun but I like them anyways. Matt and I seem to be daylight chasers for our photography and sometimes we're a little late to get enough sun for a good shot. It's not my camera's fault, add a little flash and the picture is super sharp...see?

But the flash takes away the mood of the low light across the frozen bay, so we opted for pictures with natural light. It's a pity you can't see more clearly that I'm wearing ridiculously sparkly copper pants. I bought them cheap at h&m in a moment of bravado. I was worried I'd never wear them once I sobered up but lo and behold... The casual blacks and greys of the outfit help tone down the sparkle and despite the fact that they pinch a little (gotta get back to HipHop Abs...), I really like the pants.

The sweater was supposed to be my new 'wear with anything' sweater but it drives me nuts that the buttons seem to pull in an unflattering manner. Even worse, the sweater smells like wet wool. It's brand new and even after I washed it, it didn't help. Yes, I go out in a smelly sweater; I'm angry that I actually paid a decent price for the sweater so I wear it out of spite. My $2 hat from UO soothes my indignation at the sweater a little bit...

Street Style

Trench? Mackage, Winners (final winter sale)

Shoes? Frye, Winners (final winter sale)

Zipper jeans? Gap (final winter sale!!!)

Ruffle blouse? Gap (yep, final winter sale, last year...)

Sweater? thrifted

Purse? Loisir Dauphin, thrifted

Necklace? F21

It all started with a pair of new but tacky Guess shoes that I thrifted... I took the shoes to a consignment store and they put them on sale for 10 times what I paid (for real)... a few weeks later I fell in love with a Mackage trench coat at the final clearance at Winners...didn't buy it as it was still a little much (but for the beauty of Mackage? totally worth it)... I had to return to the consignment store to pick up something and they had cash-money for me because they sold some stuff (including thrifted shoes)... feeling good about the unexpected money, I return to Winners for the trench... buy the trench... find the Frye shoes I talked about months ago on the messy sale table for $36!... buy the shoes.

Long story short is that I should thank the tacky Guess shoes for one of my favourite outfits. This look is a perfect example of my shopping style, it's thrifted or it's on clearance. I don't know if it was the crazy deals, the beautiful sunshine that made it warm enough to expose a toe or the play between the neutral and the saturated colours, but I was very happy with this ensemble.

In fact, I loved this look so much, that I dragged my vintage bike from the basement, set it up on the street, bummed a cigarette and patiently waited for a street style photographer to come by to catch me in my stylish 'moment'. Two hours later, Matt coaxed me back inside with a Diet Coke and promises to take my picture anywhere in the suburbs. Small consolation indeed...

On The Bandwagon

If last year's 'Shoe That Women Can't Get Enough of But Men Loathe' was the Acne Atacoma, then this year's 'it' shoe is bound to be the clog. I should be smart enough to resist. After all, I pride myself on not jumping in too quickly on the trend bandwagon (yes, some may disagree but I have yet to wear tights and denim shorts...). I want to build a wardrobe that can grow with me from year to year and not one that can be picked apart by the season an item was bought in. I'm already seeing clogs all over the blogs (a rhyme, yes). Isn't it funny how one can sick of seeing a certain item without even having seen it worn in real life? Anyways, despite the fact that I'm sure clogs will be overplayed, I caved and bought a pair because the dutch farm girl in me couldn't resist (I made up the part about the farm girl...). The summery quality of clogs is infectious.

I found these Stella McCartney's(!) at Holt's Last Call on the final day of the 70% off the last ticketed price sale. Um...score! It was so sweaty and hectic in there, which is never a pleasant shopping experience, but whatever, I walked away with these babies for less than you will find the Aldo knock-offs this spring. The heels looks deceptively high but there is actually a lower ledge for your foot, so the rise isn't that intense. They are a bit trickier to walk in than other shoes, so the my scary heels rule applies... no more than 2 drinks when I'm wearing these. Is it spring yet? Is it spring yet? How long do I need to wait before I can wear my clogs and force my friends (my real life friends, not the bloggy ones...just clarifying) to compliment me for some footwear that they don't see the appeal of? Oh boy, I love my clogs!

P.S. Thanks to An Affair With Fashion (clever name, though I feel like I'm having more of an affair with blogging than fashion...'I promise Matt, I did not just spend 5 hours online, I was cleaning the keyboard!') who just did a feature on my favourite shoe purchase of 2009... my Derek Lam's, which, incidentally, were also bought at a Holt's Last Call super sale. I really am a retailer's worst nightmare... I won't buy anything until it's 90% off.

Two Questions

Skirt? Debbie Shuchat, Winners (old!)
Plaid shirt? Ralph Lauren, thrifted
Jacket? Old Navy
Purse? Claudia Firenze, Winners
Thigh highs? h&m
Boots? Kenneth Cole, Winners

#1.Don't you hate it when you have to go to the bathroom after you have all your hockey equipment on? Ok, I actually don't know what that really feels like, but I imagine it's kind of how I felt after I was finally booted up and ready to go and I discover a little runner in my tights. Normally, a run doesn't deter me from living my life but when you are wearing a paillette mini-skirt and thigh high leg warmers, holey tights may be pushing it a little too far, non?

#2. Do you ever wonder what Stacey and Clinton would say? Our ghetto cable package does not include TLC, so I don't even watch What Not to Wear anymore but sometimes those two haunt me. Most of the time, I think I'm decently conservative and I try to stick to my personal rules of flattery (basically, only wear it if it looks good, not just if it's trendy) and I think I'd be Ok in their eyes. With this outfit I'm not sure... The paillette skirt would definitely be a knockout paired with a blousy top and some heels but it's cold and this is life and I wanted to wear my sparkly skirt now. Pout, pout, whine, whine... I mean, I like how it all worked out in some quirky way but I think Stacey, Clinton and that 365 degree mirror would have something to say to me on this one. Bring it...

Outake of the day: Lessson learned. Before you sit down on a hard surface with a paillette skirt, one needs to do the bum smooth to level all the paillettes. Or else, it makes this horrible crunching sound and pinching feeling as you sit...

Can't Let You Go

I have some good men in my life. My Dad, my Matt, my shoe-fixer guy and my alterations specialist guy. My alterations man has really been coming through for me lately. You see, I keep wearing out the inner thigh of all my jeans and he rescues them from the brink. I'd like to think I cause the wear because I walk everywhere, but let's be honest, my thighs are close friends. I have worn out many good jeans by tearing out the inner thigh (Seven for all mMankind, Rock and Republic, Chip and Pepper, Citizens...). Haha, that last sentence, I was name dropping like a celebrity on the red carpet... I do think, however, that premium denim is often worth their price tag. They work some magic and suddenly your jeans are like a bra for your butt and you can't stop checking out your backside in every shiny surface. Recently, I haven't spent a lot of money on jeans because I've really been making an effort to stay out of the jeans rut. Besides, the magic is spreading and places like Zara and Gap are offering much better fitting denim for good prices. That doesn't mean I don't love my skinny Seven for all Mankinds though. They are so soft, they are the perfect skinny fit and they are hanging on by a thread. I can't seem to let them go (same problem as with my other Sevens with the giant holes in the knees) and I keep taking them to my alterations guy to give me just a few more wears...

Look closely (ignore the fat cat head) and you will see 3(!) different denim patches in the inner thigh area. He patches the inside with denim and fusing and zigzags across the area with invisible thread so you can hardly see anything from the outside.

Well, you can see the wear but not the fix job... If I only move at slow speeds and avoid jumping into trucks (the cause for the last rip), these babies will be good for a few more wears. Suddenly my everyday jeans have become special occasion wear... Patched denim is going to be so hot this year and I'm ahead of the trend. Don't hate... just appreciate my alterations guy for being such a genius. Tell me... what can't you let go of, even though it may be time (sniff)?

(And for those local peeps who want to know who my shoe and alterations men are... they're the guys at Mountain Plaza Mall, by the Dutch store... get me some droppies while you're there.)

EDIT: Haha, I just realized how potentially awkward this post is with all the crotch shots. Nice. If you are new to my blog, I promise I am usually more normal.

Crush

Leather bomber? Zara

Pink dress? Zara

Belt? Taken from another dress

Ring? gifted from Matt

Booties? Max Studio, Winners

Clutch? thrifted

I celebrated Valentines Day by doing two unusual things. I wore a pink dress and I went to an Italian Valentine's Day dance.
About the dress... I feel like pink is finally making its way back into my wardrobe after my overkill of the colour pink in third year university. Just in time too because I had the WORST time trying to figure out what to wear to the dance. I literally have a rolling rack full of just dresses and I could not get my $hit together to save my life. What's that story about a bear (I think) who goes to buy a new hat and each hat is too big, too small, too red, too silly and then he goes home with his old hat because it's perfect? Seriously, I need to know, it's bugging me now... Anyways, that's what it was like getting dressed. Each dress was vetoed because it was too short, too crazy, too tight.... I finally found something that I was OK with and there was a stain on it. At the last minute I grabbed this dress and somehow with the make-up and side swept hair, it worked out. I was on the fence for buying this dress in London at the Zara final sales for 7 pounds but I'm glad I did. There is a new appreciation for some festive pink in my life...

About going to an Italian Valentine's Dinner and Dance... Matt and I are very Dutch but Linda invited us to go to her Dad's Italian club's dinner and dance. Every stereotype you can think of for an Italian evening was there... Matt and I were a head taller than the rest of the room, there were many Tony's and Luigi's present and I pretty much died from Seven Courses of Carb Overload. That's what I like about Matt, we obviously stuck out hard core but he's willing to come along for my friend and still have a great time. From Matt I'm slowly learning not to be so self-conscious and just to have a good time. If you want to see the loveliness that is Linda and I vogueing at the dance check it out here... there's even a picture of Matt and I together (we always forget to do those) and dare I say, he looks like a handsome devil. Well, more handsome than devil...

And because it was a Valentine's Day dance... I wore a ring Matt got me. He bought it years ago for my birthday and I asked him to pick out anything for me in the Winner's jewelry counter because it's all good. When he gave me this, I asked what made him pick that particular ring, he said 'it jumped out at him'. No doubt, the ring has enough bling to lure Mariah Carey over... Ok, the ring is a bit...gaudy... but I like it because it's sparkly (the polite way of saying gaudy, no?) and Matt picked it out himself. Oh, the romance...

Nude in the Winter

Skirt? Pink Tartan, Winners
Boots? Nine West
Cardigan? thrifted (so soft and doesn't pill...two points)
Clutch? Hilary Radley, StyleSense
Bracelets? from the crazy lady at the Ex.

This skirt is, hands down, one of my favourites. And yet, this is only the second time I've worn it. It has so many great things going for it. The nude colour, the gorgeous fabric, the amazing sharp knife pleats and... it doesn't attract cat hair. Yet, it's a lot harder to wear than it seems.
My favourite full-skirt trick is the old hike up and belt at natural waist. That doesn't work because of that lovely marsupial pouch thingy going on up front. So, it has to sit on the hips as it does. The little pouch is cute but it's also a pain because it draws attention to the belly area and tucking in too much fabric from a shirt just adds to the bulk. I also didn't want to wear it with something that has too much volume up top because I like to stick to my 'wear one thing snug to balance out one thing loose' rule. Anything too fancy or ornate could easily be too much for this skirt(the skirt speaks for itself and says 'I'm pretty, don't steal my limelight...'). It's easier to wear it in the summer with a tee and sandals but there is something lovely about light colours on a wintry day. Long story short, this skirt is hard to wear.

And, I obviously feel guilty because I just wrote a very rambly thesis with 5 points to defend the fact that I don't wear this skirt enough...

The Hit List

Oh boy! What a self-indulgent post... a post of my favourite outfits from the last year. I had a lot of fun choosing my favourites, and it made me appreciate my closet. I'm not ashamed to say that I really like my clothes, sometimes I lack basics because I spend a lot of time in my quest for the unique, but I'm a happy kid when I get to play dress up in my closet.
Someone commented on my last post (thank-you everyone for your response, I felt very popular...oh crap, that's NOT what it's about! Right? Right.) that one of the nice things about fashion blogging is the aspect of documenting what you are wearing. It's really interesting to see your style grow and your tastes change as you look back through the archives. I REALLY wish I was documenting what I was wearing through highschool and university... not so much to see my style progression but more to share a laugh with you. I thought I was pretty cool in highschool in my beloved l.e.i. jeans, 3/4 sleeve shirt and Steve Madden purse strapped across my body (I promise I did not do that to make my chest look...um..big, it was just the way the girls wore their purses). A step up (I hope) from my highschool look are my last year's top 12 looks (1 per month-ish but really, it was hard to choose). Enjoy!

Pink Tartan skirt and Derek Lam heels. I could fire people in this look; I felt so prefessional. A bit too bad about the fuzzy pic, I think this was the old camera or maybe, I did a bad edit job...

Thrifted jacket and 'I fell down a hill, true story' jeans. Pre-My Edit, I would have simply pet this jacket at the thrift store and carried on. Now, I bought it, wore it in public and loved it.

Emanual Ungaro skirt and Jeffrey Campbell heels. I don't know what I was happier about. Thrifting the Ungaro for $6 or finding a blue wall that was the PERFECT colour wheel compliment.

Everything thrifted except the shoes. I have no idea where I came up with the idea for this outfit but it really works. I think this outfit deserves a re-wear because I only wore this outfit for about 2 hours for church. I had gotten stung by bees (8 on the face!) two days prior and my face was swollen and I felt sick, so I went to bed. Not a great day but the outfit was good.

Sequined skirt and plain tee. I love this outfit. The skirt was a truly lucky find that fit me perfectly (no room for donuts though) and anything more than a scoop neck tee would have been overkill. Happy memories with this skirt because my whole family was in Holland for my brother's wedding.

Thifted Lida Baday maxi dress and Zara sweatshirt. You know how you go on vacation and you've got all your outfits planned but then weather, walking and weariness mess with those plans? Yup. This picture was from Paris. The cold had already squashed many pretty dress plans but I was determined to be a chic tourist so I wore my Lida Biday. I was freezing within an hour and bought this Zara sweater because it was the cheapest thing there. Belted over the dress, the sweater actually looked good. Surprise!

Sample DKNY dress and Derek Lam shoes. I liked this outfit and I felt pretty. But the sun coming through the flowers and the vines in the picture gave this look a magic quality. It's a pity I can't walk around with perfect lighting and pretty backgrounds all day. 'Make room in the elavator for my vine covered trellis that matches my dress, dammit!'

Roanik jacket and fake hair. The jacket I got at about 95% off, it cost less than that big blob of fake hair untop of my head. Together, fake hair and shiny jackets look good.

Mom's sweater and Nine west boots. A very casual look for me. Brave because I wore this in November. I've always borrowed this sweater from my mom and she finally officially gave it to me. Now, she's not allowed to have it back unless she's fixing the holes in it for me.

Thrifted pleat-front pants and hat. Another look I wouldn't even have considered if I hadn't started taking chances (admit it, you think that Celine Dion song is good...) because of the blog. Cuffed pleat-front pants, heels, a leather bomber and a jaunty hat suddenly make sense.

Vintage everything, except those overused Derek Lam shoes again. Worn New Year's Eve. All this vintage is a good omen of good thrifting for 2010.

Thrifted jacket and Zara jeans. It's Canada and it's cold. Gotta bring your A-game all 12 months, even when you can't feel your face. I may not be able to feel it but I know I'm smiling because... my coat is ugly-awesome.

Holy long post again...
#1. What was your favourite look?
#2. Can you see my slight boot tan in the summer pictures? Sad but true story of my life...