A Bow, a Bow and Some Sequins

Skirt? Debbie Shuchat (similar here and blue here) Sweater? BCBG, worn backwards (similar here) Boots? Aldo Clutch? c/o Austin Yarn Company (here) Slightly ridiculous posing? The Holiday Air

This is the time of year where sequins are just a wardrobe staple. As you probably know, I like my sequins year round, so I tried to up the holiday feeling by wearing a bow as a clutch and a bow in my hair. It wasn't exactly intentional, the double bow. I had little faith that the hair bow would work (kinda inspired off this on pinterest, maybe I shall do a tutorial) but when it did, I gave myself a high five and applied an overly generous amount of hairspray.
I figured I could leave the hair bow in for days; keeping the hair festivity at a maximum and effort at a minimum. But having a plethora of bobby pins on one side of your head is not the best way to fall asleep, so I just have to hope I can redo this hair again soon.

And speaking of festivity, I'm going take some time off from blogging... Nothing too crazy, just until after Christmas. Spend time reflecting on the season and spend time with the family and friends we are blessed to have in our lives.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! Thanks always for reading and I shall see you soon...!

Other People's Finds

Dress? Diane von Furstenberg, thrifted Boots? Aldo Hat? Banana Republic (similar here) Purse? Thrifted

I think if you are a serious thrifter (or Serious Thrifter, if you will...) finding a vintage Diane von Furstenberg would be a pinnacle of your thrift career. I want to say I found this silk-blend, vintage DvF but alas, it was one of my friends who found it a few years back. I was with her when she found it and there was a little wave of jealousy. Worst of all, I jokingly said to another friend that I hoped that the dress didn't fit my friend, so she would pass it on to meeee...

And then, when she did try on the dress and didn't like the way it fit on her, I felt so terrible for ever saying that!!! The dress ended up with me and I tried to soothe my guilt by trading all my best finds back to her. Thankfully, I had found a brand new Banana Republic wool cape that time, so I had something really good to give back.

Sadly, I haven't even worn this dress that much (last time was here, there was snow!). Part of it is because the silk jersey is delicate but also because the fit is a little awkward. I belted it this time, hiding about 8 inches of extra fabric at the waist but I think I need to just commit and take it in and hem it up. I'm very careful not to make rash alterations decisions on my good vintage but after two plus years of owning it, I can't claim I am being thoughtful. I'm just being lazy. 

Essays on Berets

Beret? Joe Fresh Sweater? Zara (similar gold or black) Plaid shirt? Maison Scotch (very similar here) Trench? Vintage Etienne Aignier, thrifted (same one on etsy here) Bag and sunglasses? Thrifted 

Boots? c/o La Canadienne  (here) Scarf? Gift

Matt fell for the cliché because when he saw me in my beret, he told me I looked like a cute French girl.  Two points to him for the unsolicited compliment but when I see myself in a beret, I think more acorn than Frenchwoman. I would have given him 3 points if he told me I looked like a cute acorn. 

I did some research on the world wide web to see what the co-relation is between acorns and berets and how the beret got to be the stereotype for French fashion. Turns out that while the beret has varied historical references throughout many parts of the world, they, sadly, were never inspired by acorns. I could now write an essay on the detailed history of the beret for you but no one wants to read essays on a Friday. Especially not a Friday in December...
On that note, have a fantastic weekend!

Just Fine

Jacket? Tahari (tweed and leather version here) Jeans? French Connection (pricey but similar here) Shoes? Ash Bag? Vintage from my Mama Sweater? Mexx, thrifted Sunglasses? Moschino (here)

I think it's fair to start off any post about a weekend in December by saying 'What a busy weekend!' (I know, this post is on a Thursday and I'm talking about last weekend, but sometimes you just gotta backtrack). It's like the Mayans might be right about this whole 2012 thing and we need to make sure we all see each other this month. 

Last weekend was particularly busy because my friend and I spent a day with Help Portrait. I had never heard of Help Portrait until my sister-in-law asked me to come out to help and you don't say no to family. Here's a link that fully explains Help Portrait, but basically, it's a day set up to give individuals and families in your community who might not ordinarily be able to afford to have their portrait taken, a chance to be in front of the camera. 

My friend and I spent the day doing make-up. And... I'm not a make-up artist. I certainly enjoy playing with make-up and the spackling of my own face but I am by no means a professional. I was a little nervous and my hands might have had a little shake at first. And in case you were wondering, shaking hands do not make make-up application any easier. I'm so glad someone lent us a complete Arbonne make-up kit because the professionalism I lost with my shaking hands was made up for by having a real impressive kit laid out beside us. 

And we ended up doing just fine. And having an amazing day. The participants were pampered, the photography set-ups were a calm and fun place, the photographers got some amazing shots and the excitement was palpable as people waited for their pictures to print. 

If the Mayan calendar is wrong, I really hope to be able to be part of Help Portrait again in 2013. Next time, I'll leave the nerves at home...

This Week I Thrifted

Yesterday I had a pretty successful day at the thrift store. I took my time and made some big decisions in order to narrow my cart of goodness down to 4 items. I took those items to the cash and discovered that 3 of the pieces were actually 50% off. I struggled mightily to restrain myself from leaning over the counter to plant a big kiss on the lady behind the cash. Good thing I learned about personal boundaries at some point...
If you follow me on Instagram (myeditblog) then you will know one of the pieces I found was a vintage Etienne Aigner trench coat with burgandy leather details (here is the exact one on Etsy). Do I need another trench?
Please stop with the hard questions...

I also found this dress.

What? Silk Wayne Clark (Canadian high end designer) polka dot dress
Where? Talize
How much? $6.50

At first I could not figure out what that extra piece of material at the waist was, but in true Jentine-in-a-thrift-state-of-mind moment, I figure I would just make it work (did I just refer to myself in the third person? hmmmm...). This unabashedly optimistic attitude in the thrift store can be both a good and bad thing. But I knew I had to make it work because I couldn't leave a silk, full circle, polka dot skirt behind.

Side note. Full circle skirts are a beautiful thing. When they are cut in a nice material, they fall so flatteringly and their twirl potential is incomparable.
Anyways, when I put the dress on, I saw that the extra piece of material was actually a waist sash.
So what we have here, is a perfect summer dress with a slight drop waist...

Cue wistful longing for summery days. Which are a long way away from this December 11...

Caped Crusader

Cape? Thrifted Purse? c/o Jess Rizzuti (here 20% off with promo code zutifam2012) Tunic? Thrifted and altered 

Boots? ? , Holt Renfrew Last Call (similar here) Beanie? Roots (here) Cuff? Auction

A wooly, wintery, white cape is not only an alliteration, it is also an awesome thing. My brother may have made a quiet snide remark about me wearing a blanket, but that can't snuff out my enthusiasm for this cape. Besides its wolly, wintery deliciousness, I like the cape even more because of the details. Like the big pockets cleverly designed right into the arm holes. And the fact that the whole cape has leather piping, even along the inside. Sigh. I just love little quality details. They make me want to derail every conversation so I can show you the inside of my clothing and you can admire the handiwork. Lucky you, I have a blog, so I can keep conversation derailing to a minimum.
And speaking of quality... this purse. When Jess Rizzuti offered to send me a purse, I did an unabashed happy dance. I honestly felt pretty special; like the last girl standing getting a rose on The Bachelor but actually more special because this purse and I will be together longer than any of those reality couples. But seriously, every one of the bags in her collection is beautiful. They are manufactured in New York, made with a conscious effort to be low impact on the environment and did I already mention, beautiful? And when I said I was going to keep conversation derailing to a minimum, I lied. Because if you see my purse and I out together, I will make you touch the leather. Like butter....

Patch

Necklace? Musana Pants? Maison Scotch Sweater? Maison Scotch (crew neck here or v-neck here, both on sale) Boots? Aldo (similar in suede here) Jacket? Thrifted 

Pretty happy to see that my leather star shaped elbow patches made it unto an outfit post (second last picture!). I love this sweater but without the elbow patches, it's just a nice grey sweater. With the elbow patches though, it's a pretty awesome, nice grey sweater. 

I, admittedly, have a thing for elbow patches. One day I am going to wear my plaid shirt... with elbow patches, under this sweater... with elbow patches, and wear my wool blazer... with elbow patches, over top of it all. That will be the day I wear three layers of elbow patches and I shall mark it on the calendar as a day of achievement. 

I also like how my Musana necklace (bottom right of linked page) adds a bit of happy colour to some of my winter drab clothes. It's so easy to reach for dark colours in the colder months but we can fight that urge, one necklace at a time. Especially when that necklace is made with love by ladies in Uganda. 

*pictures by my brother:)

Suit Up

Pants? Winners (similar here) Jacket? Talbots, thrifted (similar vintage) Necklace? c/o Name Necklace

Clutch? Thrifted Shoes? Ralph Lauren, DSW (here)

I loved these pants when I wore them with the white wool bomber (which is now almost 50% off here) last time but I think I love them even more as a full-on suit. This is a whole lot of look and I did have a mini mirror moment where I told my reflection I had to fully commit if I were to set foot out the door.

I also asked Matt if he was embarrassed by my outfit and he told me no. It was a rhetorical question. I would never have changed if he had said yes and he would never have said yes. 

Besides the excitement of discovering that my vintage blazer matched my new-ish pants exactly, I was also excited to bust out a necklace with my name on it. I mean, if your name is Emily, Ashley or Jessica, this is probably not a significant moment. But if your parents have blessed you with an odd name, like, let's say... Jentine and the only thing you ever owned that had your name on it was a shirt with puffy paint back in grade 2, then this necklace is a big deal...

Tukula

When my friend Meredith asked me to design a piece of jewellery for the Ugandan jewellery company Musana, I said yes almost immediately. Musana is a jewellery company based in Lugazi, Uganda that employs local women to provide them with financial stability and education. All their supplies are locally sourced and the profits are all put back into the community.

Excited with the possibilities in accessory design, I high tailed it to the library to take out all the books on jewellery making that I could find. I was going to design something crazy, complicated, awesome... 

And then, somewhere along the way, I thankfully realized this was less about me and my foray into jewellery design and more about Musana. I went back to their aesthetic and decided to intertwine two complementary colours to make a necklace that is cheerful, bold and super wearable (it's available here, bottom right of the page). It was Meredith's idea to add the tag with the word 'Tukula' on it. Tukula meaning 'we grow', something Musana hopes to continue doing within their community and also as an indirect nod to my landscaping roots. 

Honestly, I designed the necklace because it was an honour to be asked and because I thought it could be a fun project. It feels nice to know that having a fashion blog can lead to the opportunity to help promote a very worthy company. But it all felt a little abstract and far removed until I had the chance to chat to the ladies working for Musana.

Suddenly, it wasn't about the necklace colours or the fuzzy feelings you get when you help out, it was about giving these ladies the opportunity for a better life. And chatting to them via the magic powers of the internets made that hit home. The ladies sang songs for me, explained their daily routines and asked me about my life in Canada. I explained that we were having a beautiful autumn and they had to google pictures of autumn colours because the concept of turning leaves was so foreign to them.

I remember one woman especially. She just had this sparkle in her eye... it sounds cheesy but it's the first thing you notice about her. Her name was Florence and her name stuck with me, in part because we used to live on a Florence Street a few years ago. When this necklace arrived from Uganda, it contained an introduction card to one of the workers of Musana and it was an interesting coincidence that this card was about Florence. Her story is a hard one. An abusive first marriage, a second marriage that left her widowed and now a third marriage to a man that won't support her children from her previous relationships. This is going to sound so trite, but when I think of Matt not supporting me, I think of him not feeling like taking outfit pictures because we are in a rush or he's tired. Yes, that is my example of Matt's lack of support. For Florence, her husband's lack of support means that children go without. It is, quite frankly, mind blowing. 

Please think about supporting Musana this Christmas season. You can buy the necklace as a gift for a loved one or maybe as a gift for yourself. As the oft overused expression goes... Treat Yo Self (I will even forgive the use of said expression if you purchase said necklace because the greater good outweighs the annoyance factor.)

Big thanks to Musana for letting me partner with them in this! And of course, thank you to you, for reading and for caring...

*Thanks to my brother for taking pictures!