Showing posts with label Fashion Friday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fashion Friday. Show all posts

Friday, April 1, 2011

design YOUR look - My Spring Dream

I decided to enter the "design YOUR look" contest over at Jess LC because the prizes are amazing! (her blog and jewelry are amazing too, check out her site if you have not already). I think I am now addicted to Polyvore, though, which is not good. Too much time wasted on here already! Back to the grindstone - anyway hope you like my set!

SOOOOO glad it's the weekend - man, work has been busy this week. The days have just flown, too, which doesn't help when you have lots to do (why does that happen anyway?! Can someone explain this phenomenon?!). Going to see our local Symphony do a Beatles tribute tonight (yess!) with my mom and sister (+ sushi for supper!). Tomorrow I'll be housekeeping, running errands and hopefully going for a hike and out for supper. Nothing set in stone though, just a nice relaxing weekend.

I've officially reached the 5 lb mark for weight loss (as of Wednesday), which I'm very excited about! I fell off the wagon the last two weeks and have been struggling to get back on track but I think I've got my mojo back, thank goodness!

What are your plans this weekend?

TopShop stripe cardigan
$80 - topshop.com

Lace top
$30 - delias.com

Old Navy wedge shoes
$33 - oldnavy.gap.com

Tote bag
$25 - ae.com

Ronald Pineau studded belt
$400 - barneys.com

Goorin logo hat
28 GBP - urbanexcess.com


Friday, January 14, 2011

Fashion Friday: Man, I feel like a woman*

My favourite outfit this week happened mid-week, which is odd because (and I think I can speak for everyone when I say this) Wednesday is not normally the "peak" day of the week for me. In fact, quite the opposite ("slump" day). Like, you are far away from the weekend on either end, which is slightly depressing.



Anyhoo, I really love this blazer - it's so comfy and instantly makes whatever I throw it onto more polished (I'm definitely seeing a pattern here in what clothes I like/why I wear pieces because I keep writing the same thing every week). It has shoulder pads, which actually I HATE, but these ones aren't too bad. I find the wider shoulder actually quite flattering (I have really small shoulders so I probably should wear padding, but for some reason they always make me feel like a linebacker).



Another pair of flats! Yes, I wear flats a lot. Most of the time actually. I have wide feet and I'm on the go alot so I just can't realistically wear heels like, ever. I LIKE heels and have many cute pairs but I only wear them if I know I'm going to be sitting alot. What I like about these is they closely resemble these popular Tory Burch pair, but were probably 1/5 of the price (thank you, Hudson's Bay Company, which -for the uninitiated-is a great store. Speaking of which, did my fellow Canadians hear that Target is buying up Zellers and about 200 Zellers stores across Canada will be replaced by Targets?! I'm sorry for Zellers, but I'm not going to lie, super excited! I love Target!).

These pants are great too - I got them for (get this) $14.99 on Boxing Day! They are a stretch black cargo pant from Reitmans, which is a chain that sells these great "comfort fit" pants with a comfortable waistline (no buttons or zippers, wide band). And best of all, I didn't have to HEM them! You don't even understand how excited I get when that happens, because...well, it never happens (I'm 5 foot nothing, y'all. No one makes pants for midgets like me so I always have to cut about 4 inches off my pants before I can wear them).



This t-shirt is another one I've had for years - I love the necklace detail on it. It's - you guessed it - comfortable yet polished! Obviously this is my fashion mantra!
I really like menswear looks on women. I don't really know why, I just think pieces like wide-leg trousers, blazers, tweed vests, hats, etc, work really well on women's figures. I find that, since I am curvy and I never like to be too dressy or too "done", menswear looks give me a balance in styling and flatter my shape. I look much better in tailored clothes with some shape - anything too flouncy or fluttery just makes me look like A) a five-year-old, or B) a super-fat five-year-old (either way = bad).

I guess in a way, this kind of look remind me of the '70's a lot, too. Man, I love the '70's. And I didn't even live through them (not even close). Have you ever felt a "connection" to a particular decade? Like you feel as though you should have been there for it? That's how I feel about the '70's. Well, and the '60's too. The '80's were a lot of things, but not a great one for fashion (lets be honest here).

Just look what this look did for Woody Allen's career:
If you don't know who this is, then I'm sorry you need to read more magazines and watch more movies. Now!
This look is a little TOO masculine for my taste, though. The key for me is to incorporate lady-like accessories when I wear menswear, to ensure I don't look silly (like I'm wearing my dad's clothes). As you can see above, my flats and jeweled top tone down the masculinity/sharpness of the blazer and pants. It's a great trend to follow if you want to look effortless and not too dressed up.

Here's some other gals who I think pull off the women-in-menswear look perfectly!

Via Harper's
Janelle Monae is just adorable! I would look completely ridiculous in the outfits she wears, but her look suits her perfectly and is really stylish (and she wears pretty much ALL menswear ALL the time)

Via here
Ralph Lauren Rugby
LOVE the middle look. Via here.
Another icon of menswear for women (Marlene Dietrich).
Have a stylish weekend!

*please excuse the stupid title. I'm not really a Shania Twain fan in particular, it just worked for the post. This is the most originality I can manage for a Friday, sorry.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Fashion Fridays: Baby, It's Cold Outside

That's right, Fashion Fridays are back, baby! Back in November I decided to start doing weekly fashion posts on Friday featuring my fav outfit from the week, as well as some favs from the webs and general discussions about fashion, etc. Well, I did that exactlyyyyyy once. I hate to use the usual excuse but I just got busy and I found it too time-consuming to take outfit photos. Plus, I did not really have proper equipment to take decent outfit photos in the first place.

But it's a new year and I have a new attitude (read: I now don't give a crap about the above things). I thought 'who cares?!'. I wanna do fashion posts so I'm gonna do fashion posts! Lack of time and equipment be damned! This isn't freaking Vogue - no one expects magazine-quality photos from you! It's my blog, I like fashion, so I'm going to blog about fashion. Period. I'm excited to bring it back! (can't ya tell?!)

I was soooo not feeling motivated to look nice this week - it's only a 4-day week and it is post-11-day-vacation. However, it seemed as the week went on I woke up a little bit more, which meant that by the time Friday came, I actually felt like putting effort in! Hence my fav outfit of the week being from Friday! There's just something about Fridays anyway, isn't there? I don't know about you but I always feel more laid-back and upbeat on Fridays and I think that translates into what I wear those days.


Why, yes, that IS my closet behind me hence the closed doors. Trust me, you don't want to see in there. You will have nightmares for a week and I can't live with that on my conscience (besides, the clash of clothing would distract from my ugly mug, and that would just be tragic *rolls eyes*).


I have had most of these pieces for a while and tend to fall back on them when I'm not sure what to wear. I think I've said this before but I freaking love these jeggings. Yes, that's right, I wear jeggings. I'm one of THOSE girls. Now, don't judge! They can be cute and flattering if you wear them the right way! Plus, they actually look quite polished (as long as you don't wear them with a giant sweatshirt) and they are really comfortable. I was feeling a bit girly and artsy today, hence the necklace and shoes.

I LOVE these shoes! They are so comfy, and lets face it, super cute! Plus they go with everything, and you can throw them on with any outfit and it instantly looks more cute, girly and polished.


I'm not feeling the most motivated to put outfits together lately also because it's FREAKING COLD!! Have I mentioned I hate winter and cold? Well, I do. The only good thing about the cold in terms of fashion is you can create visual interest with cozy layers and I do love winter accessories. One of my current favourites is hats. Like this one I just got on Boxing Day:


I LOVE this colour. For some reason I just love the look of these slouchy berets; I have no idea why. Maybe they make me feel french or something. I also just bought this little number:


I just love the feathers on this hat! So cute! And this hat is like the shoes above, it goes with everything and makes any outfit look instantly polished. Not to sound conceited, but I'm one of those people that looks good in hats, but I just never used to wear them often because they made my hair a staticky-frizzy mess. I'm embracing them more and more over time though (especially since they are great for days you don't want to wash or style your hair, but don't wish to look like a homeless person!). My 2nd favourite winter accessory is definitely scarves, and I have WAY too many of them.

I realize cold is something I should be used to since I'm Canadian and have lived with half a year of winter since birth, but I'm sorry you just NEVER get used to it, I don't care what anyone says. I'm always shocked when I run into tourists or see license plates from places like California and Florida around here - I always want to go up to those people and just ask "what the bleep are you doing here?! I mean it's a great place to visit, but do you realize you have summer year-round?! A) why would you want to leave that behind and, B) would it have KILLED you to bring some of that shiz up here with you?! Gawd!!

Anyway, I'm always fascinated by ladies who can manage to look great in the winter because it's really tough. Case in point:

Glamorous, right? Here are some ladies who actually do cold-weather dressing well:

OMG her hat looks just like mine! I guess it does make me look French!

I really want to stroke her hat like a kitty...is that wrong?

Ahhhh I really really want her cape! Alas I lack money, but if I had any I would probably buy this one.


Have a fashionable (and toasty) weekend!

 

Friday, November 5, 2010

Fashion Friday: No Slouch

Well, I've decided to start adding some new features to Ye Olde Blog. You probably have noticed I've started doing Manic Monday posts, which are short and sweet notes about random sites, photos, stories, people, places or things that are on my mind that day or that I just think are cool and want to share.

But I also have been thinking for a while that I want to somehow incorporate one of my favourite things into my posts. After all, this blog is a reflection of me, a chance to share what I like, don't like and what inspires me. I feel like I can sometimes get heavy on "opinion" and "reflection" posts and even though I AM an opinionated and reflective person, that's not all I am. I also have a fun, creative, art-loving side that I feel like I want to share more of.

Fashion is a major interest of mine - I love putting outfits together, trying out new trends, reading fashion magazines, watching fashion reality tv and runway shows. Pretty much anything fashion-related, I love. I also have FAR more clothing than one person should ever need in a lifetime, but as I always say, I could be spending money on far more destructive things, now couldn't I?!

I love style blogs and most of the blogs I actually follow are style blogs. I love seeing how "real" girls put outfits together and make their wardrobes work on a budget. I've often played around with the idea of starting a style blog but for many reasons that's not something I want to do right now - I don't have the proper camera or equipment to take good-looking photos, I don't have the time or patience to take photos of myself and post EVERY day, I don't want my blog to be ALL about style (there are many things I love and talk about here and I don't want to narrow my focus too much), and I feel like there's SO many style blogs out there that mine would just get lost in the shuffle and I didn't want to be just a "bandwagon-jumper".

However, I've been reading enough style blogs (and regular blogs) now to know that everyone has their own style, personality, schedule and preferences and it's possible to placate these things while also incorporating style into other hobbies (like blogging). I realized (as I mentioned) I really want to share my style and create more opportunities to interact with other fashionistas, and I can do that without posting every day or only posting about fashion. I realized I can incorporate fashion into this blog as little as once a week, at least to start out, without being a follower and without losing sight of how I see this blog - namely as a forum to share and discuss my passions, my life and my community.

So, without further ado I'd like to present my first Fashion Fridays post! I've decided once a week (YES on Fridays! How did you guess, you smartie pants, you?!) I will post my favourite outfit from the week, as well as one or two favourite outfits from the interwebs. I will probably centre the chosen outfits and discussion around a specific theme each week depending on what mood I'm in or what I experienced. I'm excited to make this addition to the blog and see where it goes.

Now please bare with me and my less-than-stellar photography - as I said I'm poor little Matchgirl and have a camera but don't actually have a tripod or anyone to assist me, which makes it tough to take photos of yourself and your outfit! I'm planning on getting a tripod as soon as I can, but I'd be lying if I said it is a financial priority at the moment (there are little things like...oh...rent and food that are kinda important to take care of first). I also didn't use the flash for these because I find the flash isn't so flattering sometimes - it can sometimes make one look all glowy and show every single pore and that's not really a look I wanna go for.

Anyway, I may not have fancy photos and sponsors and such, but I have passion for fashion and that's way more important in the end anyway. Plus it takes a lot of guts to take photos of yourself you're not entirely happy with and post them for the world to see, right? Besides, it's my blog so it's my rules and anyone who doesn't like it can go find another corner of the interwebs to stalk - mmkay?? (wait, where are you going?! Don't leave me...)


I love this scarf - I love me a good print - and I also love leggings. I don't care what anyone says, they are so comfy and they can be flattering as long as you wear them the right way (i.e. cover your ass and hips). I'm a major shrimp (5 ft nothing, baby) so any way I can make my legs look slimmer and longer I will try! I got the idea to cinch my scarf in the middle from one of my fav style blogs, Second Skin. I totally copied her idea (tee hee). She always looks so put together, yet comfortable, and this was kind of my theme for this week (well it's kinda how I try to dress everyday). I love the look of wearing a slouchy top with a slim, streamlined bottom, and I like layering pieces to add visual interest and colour (but not TOO much).


I LOVE LOVE LOVE these boots. Ladies, you have no freakin idea how hard it is for me to find boots that fit my ample calves (read: impossible). Picked these up at the Bay a couple of months ago (though there are already some scratches in the faux leather - grrr - ah well, get what you pay for).

Now for a couple of ladies' outfits that caught my eye this week and that I think are great examples of the slouchy-chic look:

I love the colours here and the fun print - as I said it's wearable and comfy but also cute and polished. Brit girls just have the best style - they don't take themselves so seriously

This outfit looks sooo cozy and warm, but also polished. She look like a young, hip sea captain or something, know what I mean?
Have a stylin' weekend all!! And I promise I won't be so long-winded next time, yeesh!