Manic Monday

Howdie all. Hope you all had a super weekend and Father's Day if you're in North America. I was visiting family, hence the quiet.

First, I don't usually declare my dislike of certain fashion trends but I have to share this. Wedge sneakers? Hate. Wedge sneakers with velcro? Hate with all the fires of hell. Ladies!? Please rethink this trend....

Ok, now that I've got that off my chest and all the wedge sneaker lovers have left in a huff, here's my Monday outfit.

Dress: Trapper Jane (last worn here)
Shoes: Fluevog Rules Low | Joni

Sadly, this dress never gets any love. Other than from me. I totally love this dress even if no one else seems to see how fabulous it is.

Great print? check
Swirrly skirt? check
Pockets? CHECK!

Last week I was on the hunt for sandals with closed toes. Alas, none were to be found, so I went to Fluevog and bought these Joni sandals and another pair of sandals which I'm sure will show up soon.

I walked to work and back again (6km) today and my feet feel great.

They aren't my usual style but I'm surprisingly happy as heck with them. Thank you to Heather and Brian at the Queen Street store!

Of course, sense I bought these, I have found about 4 pairs of closed toe sandals. I'm resisting buying any more sandals though.

Today I wore these rings. I found this one that says "I'm Evil" at Pretty Chic in Guelph this weekend. I always find something of interest when I go there and I totally fell in love with this ring when I saw it. It goes well with my raven claw ring.











In other news, my second favourite band (after Duran Duran), White Lies, has a new album coming out in August. I bought tickets to see them in October!! So excited!!

Here's their latest song, Getting Even. I may have listened to it obsessively this past week.

Complete opposites

In the last two days I've worn outfits that were completely opposite. One colourful, one black/white. One floral, one spectacles. One a dress and one....a dress.  Ok, so they aren't totally opposite.

June 11

Cardigan: Target
Dress: Hello Miss from Body Blue
Belt: Megan Mae
Shoes: Marc (last worn here)

Could I BE wearing any more colour? </Chandler>

I added this obi belt on a whim to cover the elastic waist and I think it actually goes quite well. It adds a little visual interest.

I bought this cardigan at Target on the weekend to replace my "workhorse" red cardigan that is on its last legs. I think it will do well. 

And blue hose and green shoes? Unexpected? One of my coworkers said that this is her favourite outfit of mine so far.

On my walk home it was a bit windy. And this skirt is pretty short. I may have flashed people on my walk down Queen Street.


























June 12

Today? Not as colourful but still with the mixing of patterns.

Cardigan: Target
Dress: Eva Franco (last worn here)
Shoes: Fluevog Integrity | Arabella

I bought this polka dot cardigan to replace this one that is on its last legs. It would seem that I'm hard on cardigans.

A woman stopped me on the street to tell me that she liked my dress. I love it when that happens. :) Who doesn't like a little validation in life?

Happy Hump Day!

Tardy

Last week I didn't seem to get much blogging done. I wish I could say I was totally busy but alas, I'm afraid I was just lazy. I'll try to get caught up here.

June 3rd

Dress: Ziliotto  on Queen Street
Shoes: Fluevog Prepare | Guide (last worn here)
Bracelet: Susana Erazo (bought at Ziliotto)

Saw this dress in the window of Ziliotto for a few days. I walk past the store twice a day - on my way to work, and on my way home. One day last week I decided to go in and try it on. I first tried the medium but I ended up going for the large since I wanted it to be a little less fitted and a little more drapey. The sales girl and the Queen St store is a treat. She remembered me from when I bought the grey skirt and the red leather cuff and she is very helpful.

The best parts of the dress, of course, are the pockets. Or the polka dots. Or the red colour.

Here's an outtake. I'm standing among the cube farm. The lighting is terrible and the location is pretty crap. Let's move on shall we?































June 4th

Last time I wore this dress I was considering getting rid of it. But obviously I packed it when I moved to Toronto.

Dress: from Reykjavik (last worn here)
Belt: Rudsak
Shoes: Aldo (last worn here)

This dress obviously works better belted. I popped into Rudsak on Queen Street last week and their leather belts were on sale so I picked up this obi. I almost bought a wider version but this one seemed to work best since it has a small slit in which to feed the tie.

So this belt has convinced me to keep this dress a little while longer.















June 6th

Cardigan: Pretty Thing Boutique
Jumpsuit: Lilith (last worn here)
Shoes: Marks and Spencer from Chosen Vintage on Queen Street

I may have finally found a replacement for this cardigan at Target on the weekend. I haven't chucked this out quite yet but hopefully I can after replacing it with the Target version.

I'm not sure what to do with this jumpsuit. I like it BUT going to the bathroom in a pain in the butt.

From the back it almost looks like a skirt but I have Lilith pants that make the same effect. Do I really need both? I'm not sure I could recover the cost of the jumpsuit through consignment so I might as well keep it.

The shoes?  I saw them in the window of a vintage store very close to my apartment.

Buttony! They had them marked as a size 8.5 but they fit me perfectly. I've worn them 3 days and each time they were extremely comfortable and resulted in no blisters.

Red

Suede

buttons

What else could I want????












June 10

I forgot to take photos on Friday but I wore this dress. I went to my parent's house for the weekend. I have officially been to my parent's house more in 2013 than I was in the last 2 years. Crazy!

Dress: anthropologie (last worn here)
Belt: Megan Mae 
Tights: Target
Shoes: Miz Mooz (last worn here)

This doesn't really work. These tights looked azure but they seem more purple here. I felt a little uncomfortable all day. This isn't my best combo.

It looks a litle better from the back.

I'm not happy with my hair right now. The salon where I had my hair done didn't feel right. Everyone had terrible hair! A new place opened on a street close to me so I'm thinking of trying them out.  Though my displeasure could be a result of the rain and humidity.

Here's my flair.

Bracelet: Susana Erazo from Ziliotto
Pin: given to me by a coworker making fun of the Mayor of Toronto Rob Ford
Necklace: Birthday Gift from a good friend

I LOVE this necklace. Love it! It reminds me of my dear sweet kitty Merlin. 

Rewind to Friday

This is what I wore on May 31st. Friday after work I went out with a friend for A drink which turned into THREE when it started to pour rain. After the rain stopped I tawdled home and found myself eating tacos at a wine bar after I stopped to pat a dog in a doorway. Whoops. Hence, this post is a little late.

Dress: Lilikoi from Chartreuse Style (last worn here)
Shoes: Alexander McQueen (last worn here)

I decided to wear a tank top underneath this to provide more coverage without having to wear a cardigan like I did last time.

I love how flowy this skirt is. This will probably be my favourite summer dress.

I could wear a nice crinoline under this on days that aren't 30C, as it was on Friday.

And since these shoes have skulls on them I tried to make my bling match.

Embrace peculiarity indeed.

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Buy me a martini

Just back home from dinner at a diner nearby. Burger, poutine, and cherry pie with ice cream. I am very full.

It's too darn hot, too darn hot here so going out to a place with air conditioning was a good idea but I ate too much.

Dress: Bettie Page via Modcloth (last worn here)
Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens (last worn here)

A hot day called for a sleeveless dress. I take medication that tends to make me sweat so avoiding the dreaded "pit stain" is important to me. Seems like I'm going to need to get a few more sleeveless dresses if it's already 30C at the end of May.

This dress has cocktail glasses on it and I got it from Modcloth a year or more ago. It's a nice bright yellow, as are these shoes.

I had a secret under the dress. This very relevant slip.

Buy me a martini, indeed! Alas, I stuck with beer tonight. Hope everyone is keeping cool.

Monday night excitement!

So here's what I wore to work yesterday. La la la la la.

Dress: from Fresh Collective a few years ago (then called Fresh Baked Goods) (last worn here)
Tights: American Apparel
Shoes: Fluevog Big Presence | Desmond (last worn here)

La la la. Here's the back.

Someone at work asked me how I found tights the exact same colour as my shoes. Just luck!
































After work, I walked home and though I perfectly intended to wear this out at night to a MOST EXCITING EVENT but I ended up having a wardrobe crisis and I changed because I had been invited to a party. At the Fluevog store. In the Distillery District.

WHERE THIS HAPPENED!!!!!!

Yeah, that's John Fluevog and me. Whateves.  Just a normal everyday thing.

Except it WASN'T! It was so very exciting! I was so nervous and I may have been a little star struck. That's strange isn't it? The manager, Andrew, was so sweet in coming with me to get my photo taken and then John signed my shoes.

My crazy vintage purple pointy toed Fluevogs that I got in ebay a few years ago. I'm so glad I changed and wore these because I learned that these were from a shoe line in the 1990s.

Really, he was very gracious and lovely. I'm glad I finally got to meet him. My only regret? I forgot to tell him that we share a birthday!  I think he was in Toronto for the Air Canada announcement since Fluevog will be providing the shoes for the new flight attendant uniforms.

I hope his staff don't think I'm totally crazy. I didn't stay very long since there was a big crowd and I'm not good in crowds. I'm very happy that I was invited to this event.

And here's what I wore today. Blah blah blah.

Cardigan: my purple one I wear all the time
Dress: Dorothy Perkins (last worn here)
Tights: Pretty Polly from Peek Brooklyn
Shoes: Fluevog Bellevues | Laura Evans (last worn here)

When I bought these shoes I had no idea how perfectly they would match this dress but they do. It's the pink buckle that really pulls it together. You're a genius John Fluevog!

A few months ago I won a $100 gift code from Peek Brooklyn these are one of the pairs of tights I purchased. Pretty Polly tights are great quality. I've worn these about 4 times and they look as perfect as when I opened the package.

So very cheeky!

Anyway, that's my story!

Catching up

Sorry for the radio silence. I've been enjoying living in the city and spending more time outside of my apartment than inside. This is probably a good thing since my apartment is in a basement so it's not exactly bright. It's great for sleeping but not so great for the Vitamin D acquisition.

Although this was a short week, it was a busy one. Not just with work but with the socialization which is good since I tend to be a hermit if I'm not forced to interact with people.

Here's Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday's outfits. I skipped Thursday since I was totally uncomfortable all day.

May 21

Cardigan: Club Monaco (last worn here)
T-shirt: Joe Fresh (worn a lot)
Skirt: Smoking Lily (last worn here)
Shoes: Fluevog Mini | Gorgeous (last worn here)

Pretty nondescript and totally serviceable. Jersey t-shirt, jersey skirt,

I feel a little bit guilty about wearing Joe Fresh ever since the Bangladesh clothing factory collapse. Such a terrible tragedy where so many people died in the aid of making cheap clothing for those of us in North  America. I haven't shopped at Joe Fresh or any of the other companies that were linked to that terrible event in quite a while. Now that I'm in Toronto I've been trying to shop at store that sell locally made items. They might cost more but I know I'm supporting my community.

Some people asked to see a close up of the necklace that I mentioned here.

I love it! My sister really knows me. :)






























May 22

On Wednesday, I wore this. <Chandler Bing> Could I BE any more stripey?</Chandler Bing>

Jacket: The Gap (hangs head in shame)
Shirt: Melissa Bolduc from Fresh Collective (last worn here)
Skirt: Melissa Bolduc from Fresh Collective
Shoes: Vivienne Westwood for Melissa (last worn here)


I wore these shoes because it was supposed to rain. It did a little bit but not much when I was outside.

Maybe I should recreate this with some similarly stripey shoes?

Look! There's a stripey underskirt! Yes, I'm so matchy matchy!

I've bought a few things from Fresh Collective since I moved to Toronto.  I walk past it's Queen Street store twice a day so it's quite enticing to just pop in. I must put blinders on!


























May 24

Dress: Bitter Root Vintage on etsy (last worn here)
Boots: Fluevog Hope | Desire (last worn here)

Today I had to brief my new Deputy Minister on some stuff and then we had a lunch to say goodbye to a coworker and then cake for a coworker birthday. Lots of socializing. That can be too much for a "highly sensitive person". 

I'm very used to briefing senior officials so I wasn't too worried about that. However I ended up on quite the sugar high after the birthday cake.  WHOOOOOO!!!!!!!

I like that I work with more people in my new job than I did in my old job. Everyone is pretty awesome too. It's really helping me leave my hermit lifestyle behind.

I'm currently watching the Ottawa-Pittsburgh hockey game. I'm conflicted because I kinda want Ottawa to win so a Canadian team will still be in the playoffs but I like Pittsburgh because Sidney Crosby is from Nova Scotia. Realistically I should say "Go Pittsburgh" but in my heart I want Ottawa to win.

Happy Weekend everyone!