Thursday, March 29, 2012

God Save McQueen. We mean it, MAAAANNNN

I was sick yesterday so I didn't take an outfit post of me in my jammies with a red nose from blowing it too much. I had to come to work today since it was Budget Day in Canada. I don't work for the Federal government but some items in the budget will impact my Provincial department. I just finished a briefing note about that.

Some Canadian bureaucrats in Ottawa made this video. I wish I could refute it but I can't. The girl in the video has a very fashionable hat.


Enough about work type issues. Here's my outfit post for the day.



Top: Annie 50
Scarf: Alexander McQueen store in NYC
Skirt: anthropologie
Boots: Fluevog Wherever | Xie-Xie

I last wore this top here with a Desigual skirt. Red is my favourite colour but my friend noted the other day that I don't wear red very much. Looking back at my outfit posts, I see that isn't true. I guess I just don't see my friend very often. I should get her to read my blog.


I bought this skirt at anthropologie and I love the clothes that they sell but I'm probably going to be avoiding them for political reasons even though I'm not from the USA. I don't want my money going to help fund Rick Santorum's bid for the presidency.

Here's the scarf that I got at the Alexander McQueen store in NYC. It's freaking HUGE and I love it. It's so soft and I totally couldn't afford it but I also couldn't not afford to have it in my wardrobe.

















Here's my tights and boots. I bought these tights in Rekjavik a few years ago. The pattern is floral but it's hard to tell in this photo.

The combination of these boots and this skirt almost killed me a few times today. The heel of the boot kept getting caught in the skirt so I almost tripped getting of the bus, going up stairs and getting out of a car. I foiled death all day though. HA!

I'm off tomorrow but I'll try to get a "day off work" outfit photo.












Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The sky is grey, the sand is grey, and the ocean is grey

Last Thursday it was 28C. Today it was -12C. This yo-yo weather is making it difficult to plan what to wear. When I found out it was going to be so cold today I grabbed pants.


These are high-waisted pants that unfortunately get wrinkly rather quickly since I sit at a desk most of the day.

Blouse:  Marc O'Polo in Frankfurt, Germany
Pants: Noa Nao from eBay The Whiting Post
Boots: Fluevog Bellevues | Libby Smith

The pants are so comfortable which is super for a cold and yucky day. Some parts of the province experienced a blizzard today so I should count myself lucky that we just had flurries.



Here's a booty shot so you can see the details on the pants.

I really like the pattern on this blouse. It's sort of floral and sort of circular and sort of geometric. And it has slightly puffy sleeves which makes me happier than puffy sleeves reasonably should.







And a boot shot. Shabam! It's like a fabulous secret kept out of view.

These boots are made for walking.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Blue and orange

I built this outfit around these Melissa shoes that I got last week. I originally saw them in an email that I received from Coggles and I thought I'd see if I could find them in Canada.


Blouse: Orphanage Clothing via Twig and Hottie in Vancouver
Skirt: Banana Republic (thrifted)
Shoes: Melissa via GinzaQueen.com

They are surprisingly comfortable for 4" heels. The platform helps.

I last wore this skirt with teal here. I'm not sure if I'll be keeping this skirt much longer. It's not the most flattering thing I've ever worn.


It was the orange stripe on the back of the heel that enticed me into buying these. Fancy!

This blouse is actually two different tops fashioned together. I really like the idea of it but it's a little low cut for work. I was wearing a cardigan to keep covered up.

A few days ago, Sal from Already Pretty linked to my blog - specifically this post.

My blog posts usually get about 30-40 page views but this one got over 800. It was nice to experience the "Sal bump".

Friday, March 23, 2012

All Saints shirt

I really like the UK brand of clothing, All Saints, and I've ordered a few dresses and pants from their website. Unfortunately, I haven't had much luck figuring out their sizing so I've had to have things altered so they fit properly.

When I was in NY, I went into the All Saints Spatialfields store in Soho and tried on a few things so I can get a better idea about how things fit. I also bought the blouse in this post and a t-shirt.



Blouse: All Saints (NYC)
Belt: Le Chateau
Skirt: Reitmans
Shoes: Chie Mihara

Originally I had worn this blouse untucked but it was making a weird peplum effect that wasn't overly flattering so I tucked 'er in.

The blouse is pretty staid other than being asymmetrical and the way the fabric is cut with the lines angling in toward the middle. I figured it was quirky but not too crazy for work.

This denim skirt is just a cheapy skirt from Reitmans that is very stretchy. I think I need to replace it for one with more structure. I was fussing with this all day.


And I wore my favourite shoes today.

When I got on the elevator in my office building a woman said "I love your shoes. You always have very funky shoes like Fluevogs."  I'd never seen her before. I guess my shoes make an impact and people remember them. I'm elevator famous!



Looking back at this week, I think I should have signed up for the Super Stripes week challenge. I wore stripes on Monday, Wednesday (the vest is pin striped), and Friday.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Lilith

Today it was 28C. This is about 20C above the normal average for this time of year. It was apocalypticly hot. Fortunately it will be returning to normal temperatures for the rest of the week.

I was pretty overdressed for the weather.


Jacket: Lilith in Paris
Blouse: Pink in NYC
Pants: Lilith in NYC
Shoes: Fluevog Adrian | Alli

These pants are made out of the same fabric as the jumpsuit I wore on Monday. There's one suspender like strap that goes from the right front to the left back of the pants.

The fly on the pants is also angled and there are two buttons at the top. Am I the only one who often forgets to zip up the zipper on pants with two buttons on them? It's like I remember to do two things to fasten my pants and forget that there might be a third step.

(I may have had a few drinks before writing this post.)





I love this jacket. I'm not normally a blazer or a suit jacket kind of gal but this has an equestrian feel to it. And pockets! Loves me some pockets.

When I got home from work yesterday I had a nice package from Megan Mae.  In it was a cute little fabric bag and two brooches.



I got quite a few complements on this one today. Nice tartan fabric - I think from a dress from All Saints.  Thanks Megan! You're a sweetie. =)




In the first photo, these shoes make my feet look extra large. I'm guessing it's the angle of the camera?

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Vestage, vestuary, vestibule

Whenever I hear the word "vestibule" I think of Chandler from Friends being stuck in the ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre. I tried to embed this video here but it's been disabled: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvJIbvm596w

Anyway, the whole point of the "vest" words is that today I bought a vest from my friend Kim's clothing line called Orphanage. It's sold at a store called Indie Boutik Collective. Kim takes clothing and redesigns and repurposes it into unique, edgy and funky things. My husband has done some photography for her.









Vest: Orphanage Clothing
Shirt: Zellers
Skirt: ASOS
Shoes: Vivienne Westwood Anglomania for Melissa (from consignment store in NYC)

This vest used to be a men's suit jacket. I'm actually wearing it backwards (the other side has bust darts) but I like being able to use the pockets. It's pretty versatile.

I also own two other Orphanage shirts - one I bought at a store called Twig and Hottie in Vancouver and was so surprised to find Kim's clothing on the other coast.

I've worn this skirt two other times. I always seem to pair it with a black top. Will have to break out of that habit.






I've admired these shoes on eBay and on other blogs so when I saw these Melissa Three Strap Sandals in the window of a consignment store in NYC I was pretty thrilled. And they were my size! They are so comfortable, and awfully cute. I was concerned that these Melissa rubber shoes would be like the old jelly shoes from the 1980s that made people's feet sweat but they really don't. And you can wear them in the rain!

That's all for today. Remember - Gum is Perfection.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Alice in Wonderland or 1950s housewife

Today I went for a Mad Men 1950s housewife look.



Dress: Shabby Apple
Skirt worn as petticoat: Smart Set
Shoes: Fluevog Wonders | Ayers
Hosiery: Urban Outfitters

One coworker said I looked like Alice in Wonderland and another said I looked more like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (minus the red shoes).

Those descriptions are probably better than my original thought. Certainly Alice was a strong female character.

This photo is an attempt to show the back of the tights. The tights are polka dotted but have a lacy stripe up the back.

I saw some Urban Outfitters tights on another blog (Sunday Crossbow) and loved them but I seem to have ordered a different design. That's what happens when you try to buy something online on impulse. Oh well. They're still pretty.







This is the other pair of Fluevogs that I got in NYC. I tried on a pair of these in May in Vancouver but ultimately didn't buy them. This time I couldn't leave them behind. It doesn't even feel like I'm walking in heels. Soooo comfortable.







I just finished watching the finale for the Walking Dead. I have two observations that won't give anything away. 1. They never seem to miss when shooting at the walkers - even those who have no experience shooting a hand gun and 2. They never run out of ammunition.

Monday, March 19, 2012

New York roundup and outfit post

First of all - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER!!

So I spent most of last week in New York City. My husband was going down to do some photography so we went a few days earlier to spend some time in the city. I only got one outfit post the entire time I was there.




Yes, I know it's completely surprising that I visited the Fluevog store.

Blouse: ModCloth
Dress: Smoking Lily
Shoes: Fluevog Rivers
Purse: Roots Canada

I got two pairs of shoes, soon to be seen on the blog (one pair today). Across the street is my other favourite store, Lilith, where I also made a purchase or two.

One night we went to the opening of the Canadian Front movie series at MoMA and saw the movie Monsieur Lazhar which was very good. A friend of ours produced the movie Roller Town which we didn't see but he put our name on the list for the film after party. I asked about the dress code and was told "New York casual". I asked a few people what they thought that meant and was told "black".

So I did the opposite of black and wore my Charlotte Taylor ant dress.



Bad iPhone photo but you kind of get the idea. We didn't stay late at the party but we did meet a nice couple who recommended a restaurant to us - Raoul's - which was excellent. The food was very good and I had an absinthe as my pre-dinner cocktail. I recommend the asparagus/quinoa appetizer.


The next day while walking around we saw the strangest juxtaposition of stores.

Chanel - the epitome of elegance - across the street from Crocs - the epitome of bad. I refer you to the Manolo for a commentary on Crocs.

On Thursday night we went to see the Rangers play the Penguins which was significant because it was the return of Sidney Crosby, who apparently "sucks".

The Penguins won 5-2 and Crosby got an assist so I'm guessing Rangers fans define "suck" wrong. It was a fun evening even if I did fear for my life because I was cheering against the home team (just kidding).

On Friday, my last day there we walked around the Meatpacking district and I got to go into the store of my most favourite designer, Alexander McQueen.


So awesome! B bought me a scarf. Ieeeee! The guy in the store was super nice and I didn't feel like Pretty Woman when she went into all those stores and was snubbed because she was dressed poorly.

That's pretty much the highlights of my trip.Today I was back at work - back to all the DRAMA. GAH!



Shirt: Joe Fresh
Jumpsuit: Lilith
Shoes: Fluevog Gateway | Caspian

I'm not usually a jumpsuit fan because they so rarely look good (and they are so hard to manage when you have to use the bathroom). But I saw this and tried it on and it was love. True confession? I wore this 3 days in a row - that's probably why it's a little rumpled.


And these Fluevogs are my new favourites (face it, they're all my favourites). Someone said they look like "Nucky shoes" (a reference to Boardwalk Empire) and someone else said they were Nick Rhodes-esque. Both I take as complements.



This colour is so awesome and I can wear these with so many things. Love!













Friday, March 9, 2012

These blue shoes seem to suit me well, When I feel like hell

New shoes! New shoes! I got new shoes!



Sweater: Club Monaco
Dress: Fresh Baked Goods
Shoes: Fluevog Presence Hi | Desmond

These shoes are not something I would normally be drawn to but I'm so thrilled with them. They're canvas shoes covered in a super saturated wax coating. I felt very 1960s retro in my pointy stilettos.



Well, the heel isn't really a stiletto since it has a nice curved shape to it.

They aren't the most comfortable shoes but I'm reserving judgement until after I've worn them a few times.


The blue of the shoe matches the ribbons on my dress almost perfectly.

I've called this my crazy cat lady dress but now I think I'm going to call it my Downton Tabby dress since the cat portraits on the fabric are in the tradition of old British estates. And Downton Abbey is a brilliant show.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

But right now I'm gonna keep my pants on

I wore pants today! It's a fairly rare occurrence and generally gets a comment or two around the office.

I bought these pants from All Saints and they were huge so I had them taken in significantly. And they're still pretty big.

Necklace: Pretty Chic (gift)
Blouse: Club Monaco
Belt: Smart Set
Pants: All Saints
Socks: Sock Dreams
Shoes: Fluevog Together Hi | Benatar

Today was actually a warm day - +12C and sunny so I wore a lighter jacket and layered my new (to me) Smoking Lily hood over the coat.





I found this at Elsie's the same day that I bought the Smoking Lily dress that I wore last week. You can't tell in this photo but under the red cross is a screen print of an anatomically correct heart.


I had to really adjust the contrast on this so the heart would show since it's pretty subtle. It's nice to throw on over a spring jacket to add some extra warmth and ear protection.

Not a bad find!

I'm going to NYC next week so I'll hopefully remember to take photos and blog while I'm there. Expect a visit to Fluevog on Mulberry Street!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Now that's what I call a dead parrot

My coworker (Hi L) commented that this was a pretty short dress. I thought about that when I put it on this morning and considered layering a skirt underneath it but I felt that with the very opaque tights that it wasn't as revealing as it might be if I had bare legs.



Shirt: Smart Set
Dress: Desigual (in Paris)
Shoes: urbanoutfitters.com

 These shoes are nothing special. Just plain black strappy heels. The shoes aren't exactly quality or well made but they'll do.


I bought this dress in Paris last June. My husband and I were just walking around down Rue de Rivoli when I saw the Desigual store and having learned about Desigual from other fashion blogs like Already Pretty and Fashion for Nerds, I dragged B into the store.



He's the one who actually made me buy this dress and also a jacket.

I like the back the most with the eye, zebra and how the sides are cut to make this very slimming.

I have since learned that my Pacific coast twin, Sheila from Ephemera has the exact same dress. Since we seem to share the exact same taste in clothing, I was totally not surprised.














And there's a parrot...on my ass. An EX-PARROT!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Triangles, circles and squares

With this outfit I'm playing with a lot of patterns but trying to pull it all together with geometric shapes.

Top: Ricki's
Blouse: etsy
Skirt: Krista Larsen (from San Francisco)
Shoes: Fluevog Miracles | Meera

The asymmetrical blouse results in some triangular shapes when layered under this top. The skirt is sewn in pieces with a triangle in the middle where the pieces come together. The tights have lines that make diamonds and the shoes have different coloured leather inlays in triangles.





I usually decide what shoes I want to wear and build an outfit upwards. But I'm shoe obsessed. How do you build an outfit?

Monday, March 5, 2012

I stood beneath an orange sky

I finally gave in and faced the fact that I own too many shoes. On Saturday, I packed up two bags of shoes that I'd worn a few times and with which I have had issues (including this pair of Noa Noa shoes) so I thought it would be a good idea to try and earn some money off their sale.

I took them to a newish consignment store called Crimson & Clover (mostly) Consignment Boutique and the women who run the store seemed pretty excited by the things I had brought in and they only rejected two pairs. Hopefully this will pay for the two new pairs of Fluevogs I ordered last week. =)



While I was there, I saw this dress for $40.00.

Blouse: Winners
Wool dress: Crimson & Clover consignment (no name brand)
Slip: Vintage
Shoes: Fluevog Pin Up | Miss April

(I'm smiling like a dork because someone was watching me and I was very uncomfortable. Ooops.)

I've been looking to add some more orange into my wardrobe and this seemed to be subtle enough without being too *BAM* LOOK AT ME! I'M ORANGE. (Kind of like pajama dress from a few days ago.)















I'm not usually a fan of open toed shoes with tights but this grew on me today. The colours of the shoes are found in the pattern of the dress so it matches without being too matchy-matchy.

If you look closely on the dress, you can see a small motif of a shoe on the top left. Seems fitting.

Friday, March 2, 2012

You can't win them all

When will I learn not to try and dress casual on Casual Friday? It always ends up in Meh.



Sweater: Joe Fresh
Top: Zara via Value Village
Pants: Lilith from Paris
Shoes: Fly London

I really don't have much to say about this other than it's kind of blah.

I love these pants but I'm not sure of how to style them or what shoes will looked best with them.

I felt frumpy all day.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Polka dots and moonbeams

Happy March 1. Today is  my husband's birthday so a happy, happy 41st to my B. I bought him some tickets to see Cirque du Soleil which is coming here in May. We've seen a lot of Cirque shows - 1 in Lisbon, 3 in Las Vegas, and 1 here in town and they are all such amazing and wondrous shows. I'm looking forward to it! So I guess it's a present for me as much as it is for B.

May seems so far away right now because it's so cold out. FREEZING today. I wore this wool dress today but I probably should have worn wool pants.



Scarf: BHV in Paris
Sweater: Pretty Things Boutique
Dress: Smoking Lily from Elsie's
Shoes: Fluevog Get Up! | Barkerville

I was excited when I found this dress at a local used clothing store. It looks brand new. Apparently there's a woman in town who brings a lot of Smoking Lily clothes to this store. Score!

When I got this dress, I also got a cute little hood with a screen printed anatomical heart on it. I should probably wear it tomorrow since it's going to continue to be cold and snowy.



Here's the dress without the sweater. The shirt is from a store in Reykjavik, Iceland.

My hair is getting quite long. I'm really happy with the length now and I especially like my new thicker, straighter bangs. I'm feeling cute again.

Hope everyone else is feeling cute too.