Jan 16, 2014

OK OK - SO I'VE MISSED SOME LOOKS

   UGHH the curse of being busy has come upon me. So here are some of the looks that have been posted on various medias the past couple of weeks.
 
  You know when you just are so overwhelmed that all you really really really want to wear is a cotton t-shirt and jeans? That's been me all week. It's nice to get some shoots going and dress up so I know that not all is lost. All photos were taken by the lovely Sonia over at Natashya Photo (my partner in crime and Rage Market shoots).



  I don't really know what my personal style is because it changes constantly. I don't think there is ONE kind of look that I go for. I just kind of do whatever I feel like wearing in the moment. 

  Also can someone please buy the Chiffon Cape from RM because its so beautiful and I don't understand how it doesn't have a home yet…seriously. 

Jan 9, 2014

KIMONO WINTER QUEEN


 BUSY BUSY BUSY - So behind on the posts but here are some snapshots from the shoot I did today with Natashya Photo, featuring the beautiful kimono available on the Rage Market Etsy!  (If it never finds a home, not complaining though...looks great in my closet as well…)

Also Polar Vortex? As Canadians we find it reallllly amusing… twas' −40 here the other day, and we didn't bat an eye. Bring it cold front!





Jan 5, 2014

MODERN MENNONITE

  I don't know what it is with this hat - but I can't stop wearing it. It's my new crown jewel (no pun intended).

 So I woke up today and felt like dressing like a Mennonite Hamburglar, which sounds way more exciting then it looks. But I love this dress that I got at H&M, that came out with all their new spring stuff. I really love a good, bold, chunky stripe. Pair it with some good lip colour and accessories and you are golden!


SCHOOL DAZE

  

  So I bought this body suit from Nasty Gal a couple of months ago, and I want to wear it with EVERYTHING. It's so chic and sleek mixed with a bit of sexy. I paired it with a Rage Market vintage find, our Get Schooled vintage skirt. Oh and I threw in my crazy awesome Jeffrey Campbell's on - good. to. go. 

HYPE THE LOOK ON LOOKBOOK YA'LL! 









Jan 4, 2014

REFLECTIONS

  Winter is a complicated season. And if you live in Canada, the frustration of going onto month #4 of snow and blizzards can be a little disheartening. Living in Ontario, you learn that the weather can fluctuate (some days it's tundra, other days everything is melting and you along with it). But the clothes…winter clothes are my favourite. And perhaps it being because I do live in a colder climate having to do with this, I still like to think that being able to work with MORE makes it a fun season to dress for. 

  Thankfully, my photographer friend Sonia over at Natashya Photo knows how to make me look killer, even when I am freezing my ass off (don't be fooled, that jacket wasn't necessarily cut out for the weather we had this week). Here are some shots from today!











This is what a Canadian backyard in the dead of winter looks like by the way. Dead and cold. Like my heart (just kidding!!!) 

* Vintage Hat by Rage Market, Top by Nasty Gal, Jacket and Skirt by H&M, Shoes by Zara


Jan 3, 2014

SPRING FEVER - TREND REPORT


  To be honest, Spring is the one season that I always kind of struggle to dress for. Because I live in the Antarctic Tundra a.k.a Canada, you get pretty used to layering and trying to stay warm. You say snow day, I say sweater party. So whenever Spring rolls around, I kind of panic: I love the idea of all the goddamn snow melting, but how the hell am I supposed to dress for it? And for goodness sake's, shaving has to become somewhat of a necessity again?! On top of it, my already really pasty white legs…are glow sticks with no tights and a skirt. It's just a bundle of confusion. 

I followed the fashion weeks for S/S14' really closely this year though, and it kind of helped to get me pumped for all the pastel and floral and sheer happiness that is Spring. I think that maybe JUST MAYBE…this time around I may know what I am doing. Here are a few trends that I really dug, and that you will probably see in the upcoming launch of the Rage Market Spring line that I am in the midst of designing. I know S/S14' happened well over a month ago, but since this blog is new, let's recap. Spring is going to go a little like this:



 Nothing says Spring fever like some good ol' floral. This whole collage makes me want to stick some daisy's in my hair right NOW.



  Lilac is a color I saw a lot this time around on the run way. It was mixed with a many other light components, to give off a airy, super feminine look. Throw in some 90's neck lines (I totally have a black Fairweather top that my aunt gave me that she used to wear in the 90's that mirrors this)and you have my new fave trend. Pastel choices this time around were lilac's, baby pinks (think Charlotte Free's hair) and washed out blues. 



  BRAND PRINTS were HUGE this year. The interesting thing about this trend is that a lot of the designers that went for this don't usually do graphic branding on a lot of their pieces (with the exception of DKNY who does this quite frequently). Alexander Wang did an amazing job of doing this. Despite the repetitiveness of the print, it was subtle and still classic AW. 



  The bra-let (or anything cropped in the top department in general) was another trend that I spotted. Now, though this isn't for everyone, I do like how a lot of designers opted to pair this with something high waisted, to sort of elevate the over exposure of the midriff. Because let's face it, we don't all have the middle of a model (though god bless those of us who do, because lord knows I never will).

And the rest of them:
















GIVE ME JOAN SMALLS LEGS!!!

*Photos by via Harper's Bazaar. 

Jan 2, 2014

MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH: WHITE SHOES

 I think my obsession with white shoes definitely started in England, when I was over there this past summer. English street style is really forward, and they really don't give a shit if you do or don't like what they are wearing. They are English for Christ sakes…they do what they want. I bought a pair of canvas heeled lace up shoes at a shop called Office in Oxford. It's hilarious because I distinctly remember having shoes very similar to them when I was like 13, and hating them. If I could go back in time, I would kick my 13 year old self. Hard. 

 Those sentiments changed when I was in England though. The defined tread heel and perfect shade of white had me. I practically danced out of the shop. I felt like I was on an Alexa Chung level of fashion cool. Life has never been the same. I have boughten two other pairs of white lovelies since. And I want MORE. I honestly can say, reverting back to my usual black footwear just hasn't been the same. There is something about crisp white footwear that does it for me. 

The white shoes in question - English girls would be proud (Don't mind my bruised ankles. I can thank the streets of London, England for those)
Here are some other white treasures:

via Nasty Gal
via Timberland
via Unif Clothing
via Nasty Gal
 Jeffrey Campbell
via Acne Studios
via Tumblr
Alexander Wang S/S 14'
I would give my left arm for the Alexander Wang S/S 14' platforms. 


Alexander Wang S/S 14'
Like seriously…a limb. Just one. Swooooon.  

Jan 1, 2014

MY CLOSET: MYTH, LEGEND, MESS.








  I am not a neat person by nature. In fact, I am super un-organized in some respects. I read these DIY blogs and sift through decorator magazines, and loathe the women with their manicured nails and pearly white smiles, using scissors and glitter and the tears of angels to create cute and fun things to organize your life with. So naturally it occurred to me to make a resolution based around this for 2014 (since apparently that is the thing you do). So the first resolution of the year is to become neater and more organized, so much so in fact, that Martha Stewart would maybe want to eventually invite me over for dinner. So I decided the first step would be…my closet. My closet is revered as the mall away from the mall by some of my closest friends. Which is hilarious, because more then half of my wardrobe is vintage and or thrifted finds. Far from your local F21 (but I am totally guilty of owning various articles of clothing from F21, because admit it, we all are mall whores at some point). Anyways, it is loved by some and than feared by others…especially my mother. Actually, mostly my mother. 

  I have a plethora of vintage sequins, capes, shoes, bags, hats, jackets etc etc. All stuffed into a small, tiny space that can only be described as claustrophobic. Deathly even. At 24, I am more likely to be suffocated by a wall of sequined robes, then say, an act of murder carried out by a jealous lover I do not have. But I digress. It's bad. Something has to be done. 

  I find that my unorganized closet brings about many things: stress, clutter, and an onset feeling that I may one day end up on Hoarders. All of those things combined = not good. So what can I do about this predicament? Well, I have a many a time sold things online. And that has helped elevate space. But I am by nature a messy person. And when in the need of an outfit, it can only go from organized to really, really, really unorganized within a matter of seconds on a Monday morning as I get ready for work. Am I the only person who suffers from closet rage? Is this resolution not resolvable? Am I forever lost with poor organizational skills and owning too much clothing? Well for one, I am in the process of moving soon (give or take late spring, early summer). And in doing this, I will be set up with more space. But at the stage I am at now, moving would be a nightmare. So I need to think in the now.



  So we begin the now by doing one thing: TO THE INTERWEBS!! I have been doing some major surfing of particular blogs. One of my favourites is A Pair and A Spare. Geneva looks like what I wish I looked like in most of my dreams, where I have perfect skin and legs that go on for days. I always enjoyed her take on DIY…it's easy, and her blog is set up so it's super accessible to find older posts from projects she has done. The thing with these blogs is that they have all these fantastic ideas…for an expensive loft in a bigger city then where I am at right now, with crisply painted walls, and sheets that you can fall asleep in and dream about things that probably will happen since your life is so fantastic. But I did snag some cool ideas off her site. A few of them being:

THIS 

  After reading through most of these posts though, I came to one massive conclusion: none of these had to do with closets, and my future death by sequined robe was still imminent. My search wasn't taking me to things that were going to help me. So my continuing google crusade finally brought me HERE. I have no idea who this women is, but I do know that she has nice hair. And really, really expensive hand bags and living room rugs. All things I can appreciate, mostly because I don't have them.  So Arianna Belle (I guess it's possible that Belle IS her last name, but I am going to take a shot in the dark and say it's not) is this smiley lady with the smiley blog full of brightly lit photographs of apartments and houses nicer then my own. That being said, she has some pretty sweet organizational posts on her blog. It seems that she has contributing bloggers on her site. So for instance, a post might be about how Jocelyn organizers HER closet. And then Sandy. Then Katie. Then Meredith. So on etc. The first post that I really enjoyed was the DO'S AND DON'Ts OF ORGANIZATION. It was like stumbling upon the 10 Commandments of Organizational Bloggers. I learned some important things:

1) "DON’T give up before you even start" - Because backing out is for suckers. And let's be real: it's my fault that I own so much shit in the first place. So deal with it. I have to take it one day at a time. Kind of like rehab. Except I am detoxing myself of clutter and clothing worn 2 decades before me. 

2) "DO start with a vision." - I like the use of slated script for the word vision. When I was reading this bit, I read "vision" in a breathy voice. Like I am Heidi Klum, and I want you to really really start with a "vis-on". This bit went on to say that you need to set up some kind of plan. Some kind of map to follow in terms of what you want the end result to look like. Which is essentially why I was reading and collecting ideas off the damn blog in the first place. WINNING! 

3) "DO create sorting categories (Keep, Don’t Keep) as well as sub-categories." What? Sub-categories? I am a raging hoarding-vintage-maniac. And you want me to have SUB-CATEGORIES. Ok pretty blog…this time you win. I GUESS I could divide my stuff from sequined to non-sequined. 

4) "DON’T throw all unwanted items directly into the trash" - This is a rule I can get behind, since most of the stuff in my closet that I do decide to get rid of will either be posted for people to buy or donated. I do have good taste after all with clothing…and I would probably strangle myself if I felt the need to burn all the remnants in my backyard vs. actually doing something useful with them, like RECYCLE them. 

5) "DON’T talk yourself into keeping something that you already have enough of, you never use, puts you in a bad mood, doesn’t fit you, isn’t your style, and/or doesn’t serve a functional purpose for the life you have now." - Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit. THIS is where I hit a wall. I am one of those sentimental fashion people who buys things, and then doesn't wear them more then twice and then hates myself for seeing it hanging there in my closet, knowing full well it will just continue to hang there not worn. BUT IT'S SO NEW AND PRETTY AND I LIKE IT. "But why don't you wear it more often?" my brain will argue. Because I have a shopping problem brain. Duh. 

6) "DO keep items that you love, make you happy, and help you live your best life" - This one has me getting almost emotional. YES WE CAN!!! WE CAN DO IT!!! VICTORY!!! A NEW ME!!! LIFE WILL BE FANTASTIC!!! WHY DO I OWN SO MUCH SHIT THAT MAKES ME FEEL THAT WAY THOUGH!?!? NO STAY POSITIVE, WE CAN GET THROUGH THIS!!!! AHHHH!!

7) "DON’T keep more items than what actually fits into your space." - This one had me nodding my head like I had just come to terms with the gospel of the all knowing in the organizational closet world. God. I have been so blind. At this point, fantasy visions of what my closet will look like have started to flood my head. 

8) " DO work within your space means" - Isn't this essentially saying exactly the same thing as the point before this? Except with a DO instead of a DON'T? Whatever it makes me feel like I am invincible and that I will kick my unorganized closets ass to organized oblivion. 

Ok, so more like the 8 Commandments of Organizational Bloggers. But good points none the less. So, the conclusion I was met with was that I needed to step it up, man the hell up, and dive into my closet of horrors. All with the help of coiffed ladies on the internet with nice furniture. Bring it on 2014. Let the organization begin! 

*Updates of my closet adventure will be posted later on this week, as we trek step by step through embroidered pants and bedazzled vintage shoes, to the top of the mountain of organizational success. If you have any organizational blogs that you think would help me along the journey, feel free to forward them my way! 

You can find A Pair & A Spare here

You can find Arianna Belle here

Photo's via Nordic Feeling