Magic hour

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The best time to take outfit photos (and any photos for that matter) is at around 4:00-5:00 in the afternoon. That’s when the sun sets and the light is just right (if it isn’t overcast/cloudy). If you miss it, you miss it. But there is always tomorrow.

These huge hipster glasses have my new prescription (I’m nearsighted) and got them free from Clearly Contacts (well, I had to pay for shipping which was like $15-$17). They have promotions for free glasses (select frames) every so often. I keep a lookout for  promotional codes from Smart Canucks. The funny thing is, Clearly Contacts never had freebie promos for contact lenses, even though their business name sounds like they’re all about contacts, clearly (ha!). It’s like that restaurant with the words “express donuts” in the name, but they don’t sell donuts (???) and are well-known for their quick chow mein lunches.

I’m trying not to depend on my glasses so much, but it’s really hard. I find that I even need to wear them when I’m in front of the computer! And the screen isn’t even that far away from me! I guess my eyesight is getting worse…

I kind of got a little overboard at Forever21 and suddenly bought 5 dresses from there in a span of 4 weeks! I don’t know, I never really bought dresses from there since I know they don’t last long and probably made by sweatshop workers, but they’re so cute!! And I guess, like the rest of the middle class, I passively feed the exploitative system and perpetuate bad business practices because I think “they’re so cute!”.

I try to stop and think — is wearing cute clothes a priority over ethical consumption? But it’s too late, the credit card has been swiped and the ethical shopper in me had lost. But the battle was already lost when I stepped into the store.

Now I’m trying to just spend my lunch hours with bubbly new co-workers and have insightful conversations, rather than walk around the big mall like an Olympic sport. Like any addiction or bad habit, the first step is to replace those bad activities with something else (hopefully better), and take other conscious steps to ween off of it. Baby steps….

I am wearing:

Dress: Forever 21
Purse: Vintage
Shoes: Korea
Glasses: Clearly Contacts

Review: HANA Titanium Ionic 1.5″ Flat Iron

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The awesome folks over at Misikko sent us the awesome HANA Titanium Ionic 1.5″ Flat Iron with all the tools to help us with our hair woes. Included was a heat-proof pad and storage pouch, to prevent burning of countertops (in case you set it on a plastic-y tablecloth). It’s handy when you’re done using the flat iron and need to put it away quickly while it’s still hot.

Justine’s hair is naturally super straight, in search for the natural kinks and waves that Chris has!

 

 

We normally use hair straighteners that have ceramic plates. The plates change colour when the iron is hot. New to titanium straighteners, we consulted the instruction guide and found that there is a red LED indicator light (see above picture) that starts out as a steady/still red light. It blinks when the desired temperature is reached. If the light is off but the switch is set to On, the iron is decreasing temperature to a lower setting. Good to know!

We timed the heat-up time and the straightener took about 1 minute, 30 seconds to go from 0 to 370 degrees.

Once heated up, we got iron-happy and used it to add curls to Justine’s pin straight hair, and straighten Chris’ kinks and waves.  The plates are very smooth,which allow for the hair to glide through without any tugging.

Overall, the HANA Titanium Ionic 1.5″ Flat Iron performed well and we appreciate that it maintained its heat throughout its use. The adjustable heat dial allows users to choose a temperature that best suits their hair type. Hotter if your hair is healthier, cooler if your hair is damaged. It heats as low as 140 degrees fahrenheit to as hot as 450 degrees fahrenheit. Despite the hot temperatures that it can reach, it is energy efficient at only 38 Watts. It also has a 360 swivel cord to prevent cord tangling and accidents caused by cord tangling.

The heat up time may be considered too long for some people in the rush in the morning, but we found it is an improvement from our early experience with drugstore flat irons that took 5-10 minutes to heat up (and sometimes they wouldn’t heat to desired temperatures!). It is a great iron for those who are making that jump from drugstore irons to salon-quality irons.

Thanks again to the folks at Misikko!

Strange but familiar

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One of the many good things about keeping a fashion blog is I feel like I can venture way out of my comfort zone, wear crazy thingies and then write it off as “something to post about on my blog”.  For this reason, I’ve felt “empowered” to experiment with a lot of styles, whether it’s androgyny, sickly-sweet, prep or what-in-the-living-heck-is-that.  It turns out, I like’em all!  My point is, try something new!  Know your body and get creative with adorning it.

Maxi skirts were a significant part of my wardrobe during my high school days.   I’m at a point in my life now where I’m very much ALL ABOUT THE PANTS, but I can totally live with this maxi business too.  I’ll even give you a wink of reassurance.

I am wearing..

Top:  Club Monaco
Maxi Skirt:  BCBG
Clutch:  Zara

Casual Fridays

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Casual Fridays in an office setting are such a nightmare.  Is it smart casual or business casual?  What do those terms even mean?  Should I wear my grungy jeans?  Are tees appropriate?  Can I come in with a faux hawk?  Fortunately, my office isn’t too uptight when it comes to dress code, so I define Casual Fridays as Comfortable Fridays.  However, the style culture of every workplace is different, so here are 2 casual tips to follow when you’re scratching your head on a Thursday night wondering how to present yourself on the chillest day of the week:

1. Minimal effort to get ready, put on and stay in

Dude, it’s Casual Friday.  Take advantage of it.  You don’t have to show up in a suit.  Besides, why bust out an iron when you don’t need to?  Let your hair down!

2. VIP-proof

Step away from those yoga pants (aka bane of my existence) and flip-flops.  The question is, would you want to be in the outfit if someone important comes through the door?  You never know who you will see during the course of your day.  A colleague of mine came in with a graphic tee, capris and dirty crocs on a Friday only to be surprised by a request to present to the Board of Directors.  Oops.

The only rules I like to follow are my own, so here’s a Friday outfit that is both easy and presentable.  In keeping with my style goal of going easy on the denim, I’ve ditched the jeans and put on something nauti. (ha.. ha…)

I am wearing:

Cardigan:  BCBG – This is one of my favourite pieces in my closet.  It’s super resort – kinda makes me feel like I am on an exotic getaway even when all I am doing is slave away at my desk.
Top:  Zara
Pants:  Urban Behaviour
Purse:  Vintage J&ANS Dolce & Gabbana purse from a family friend

Colour whirlwind

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I hope I’ve drilled it into your brain by now that my love for fashion actually originated from an undying devotion to make-up art.  So yes, this will be another one of those posts where I go on and on about the artistic inspiration I find in strawberry sundaes, Mozart’s piano concertos, sunflowers petals, the laughter of children and silver unicorns.

Just kidding.  I did want to show you this look though.

 

I wore this to play a music gig involving an awesome musician from Hong Kong who does rock and electropop.  Quite genre-appropriate, don’t you think?  Can you believe that it was my brilliant counterpart Davis who came up with this colour combination?  I should ask for his input more often.

 

If you’re in Toronto and want some makeup done this summer, give me a shout!

I am wearing..

Brows: Shu Uemura Hard Formula in Seal Brown 02
Eyeshadows: Some pink eyeshadow from Inglot, MAC Rule (orange), MAC Copperplate (grey), MAC Blanc Type (off-white highlight), MAC Satellite Dreams (purple), Lise Watier Duo Shadow & Glitter in Smokey Silver
Eyeliner: MAC Blacktrack Fluidline
Lashes: Ardell #120

Don’t sweat the small stuff

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Yikes, my last post was on April 26. I really don’t know where the entire month of May went, or the first half of 2011 for that matter.

For the most part, I’ve been alright. I’ve been going through the usual tough stuff that any 20-something goes through, and the unusual tough stuff that I’d rather not get into. The things that make us vulnerable are the things that can make us so strong. At the end of the day, if I have the freedom to express myself with art and style, I am thankful and grateful. There is no more that I could ask for.

I guess these thoughts are sinking in after I lost a lot of material things that brought me so much stress, and at the same time, I lost a lot people and things that were irreplaceable. I had several wake up calls which came in just in time. Without making this too cryptic or serious, the positive side is that I learned a lot of lessons and I feel that I value different things. Now all I need to do is keep it going, and make sure I don’t fall back into old bad habits.

These shoes are so cute but they gave me a blister today. Note to self: only wear these with cotton/wool tights or socks.

I am wearing:

Cardigan sweater: Heritage 1981
Dress: Vintage
Shoes: eBay

Time poverty, fashion poverty?

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If time poverty is defined as having little leisure time as a result of working long hours, then fashion poverty would mean a wardrobe so consumed by work clothes that the proportion of leisure (aka fun) clothes becomes depressingly minuscule.  I don’t even know what to wear on weekends anymore.  Talking about minuscule, I was overcome by sudden urge to get my hair hacked off a few weeks ago.  Not sure what was going through my mind..  I think I forgot to eat oatmeal in the morning or something  like that.

I am wearing..

Blazer: H&M (I was surprised to see this at H&M.  The construction is solid and quality superb!)
Pants: Halston
Belt: BCBG
Silk Scarf: Pierre Cardin
Purse/Clutch: Street vendor in Hong Kong

Guide: X marks the stupid

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Wipe that goofy grin off your face and focus on the words I am about to tell you.  I want you to drop everything you are doing and execute the following immediately.  Failure in compliance will result in a wack in the head with a Dr. Marten boot.  Trust me, it’s for your own good.

  1. Run to your closet
    Even if you’re not at home, you’ll just have to run back.
  2. Gather all coats, jackets, skirts or tops that sport a slit, vent or pleat
    Some common places to look include the tail of a coat and the side of a skirt.
  3. Identify any threads in the form of an X holding the slit together
  4. If you find said dreadful X on a garment you have worn out in public, proceed to hang your head in shame
  5. Snip the thread off with a pair of scissors at once
    Use your teeth if you have to.  Seriously.
  6. Remove any remnants of this mark of stupidity
  7. Vow to cut every X out of your life
    Hey, I sound like a relationship advice columist!

The loose X stitch is only meant to keep the slit or vent flat so it doesn’t get wrinkled during shipping or display.  Once the garment reaches your home, the X will have served its purpose in life and should go on to die a glorious death.

You might think I am causing a big fuss, but this seemingly innocent X can do a lot of harm.  A well-suited man wearing Ferragamo shoes and a Rolex can look like a fool in a second the moment he turns around and reveals the tack stitch he didn’t remove.  A classy lady sporting a beautifully-fitted pencil skirt would not be able to walk gracefully if the stitch were still holding the slit together.  No matter how polished the rest of you looks, the X will undo it all.  Danger danger! Threads are threats!

If you are X free, extend your arms so I can give you a virtual hug.  Friends don’t let friends leave their threads uncut and you are certainly a friend of Tiny Tines!



When Tiny Tines met Tommy and Anna

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Justine and Christine met Tommy and Anna!

In case you’ve been living under a rock (well, that rock had better be chic and speak French), Tommy Ton is the photographer behind the noted fashion blog Jak & Jil and Anna Dello Russo the editor-at-large and creative consultant for Vogue Japan.  ADR, aka the boldest, fiercest and baddest chick in town, is known for her overstated fashion sense and numerous outfit changes at any single event.  She is the very definition of maximalism and never fails to turn heads with her flashy lavishness.  If she were a dessert, she would be a 7-layer triple chocolate cake with a more-than-generous portion of fudge sauce served on a plate made out of chocolate to be consumed under a sea of chocolate sauce.

On April 25 2011, a colourful miracle happened here in Toronto in the form of a photo exhibition hosted by The Room @ The Bay on Queen Street displaying Tommy’s images of his muse Anna.  As if that’s not exciting enough, Anna and Tommy actually landed on the ground of our humble city and Tiny Tines seized the opportunity to meet and chat with them.  Overjoyed we were, at the chance to break free from the torture of final exams and a boring life of a 9-5er.

Justine got a good shot of the shoes!  What a Tommy shot.


Justine’s Anecdote: When we approached the table for autographs, I asked Tommy what was his favourite lens. His answer: a 18-200mm zoom to be ready for anything.

You’d think that someone who dresses in million dollar outfits and owns 4,000 pairs of shoes would be snobby and hard to talk to.  Not at all.  She greeted all her fans with warmth and as much sincerity as she puts into her every ensemble.  Many who attended the event put on fun outfits to welcome Anna which was so quite refreshing compared to the everyday street fashion of Toronto.

We were thrilled to finally meet Tiny Tines’ long-time blogger friends such as Laura of For Those About to Shop (left) and Sharon of Backseat Stylers (right).  Photographs to document this monumental moment were in order.

It’s worth noting that the sweet guy who took the picture of Tiny Tines and Backseat Styler is Rui Amaral, the mastermind behind the concept of this brilliant event who approached the Hudson’s bay company to make it happen.  Rui, you genius you.

“Fashion is a MUSE, you must seduce her.”

Oh Anna, I think you do more than just seduce her.  You and her have become one flesh.  Thank you for inspiring Toronto to jump out of its rut of humdrum into a world of endless fashion dreams!

 

Outfit photography: Lots of Light

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By weekday I am a full-time business management student, by weekend I am a photographer that shoots figure skating and the occasional self-outfit photo. Sports photography (especially indoor sports) requires super fast lenses that are ridiculously expensive (but worthwhile for the work I want to do). Outfit photos, I’ve learned, do not need anything fancy. I’m serious!

The day my Canon Rebel T2i broke down (I’m sending it to repairs), I took a very close look at all the lenses I had. I purchased a lot of third-party lenses by Sigma (with a Canon mount) to avoid having to pay triple the price for a Canon lens. The end result was a lot of lenses (I was up to 5, a lot for an amateur photographer) and none of them were really up to my satisfaction. Some had trouble focusing in low-light settings, some were just plain too heavy for the little they did…. I sucked it up over the weekend and decided to trade in all my Sigma lenses. I barely used them for those reasons.

These photos were taken with the Canon 18-55mm kit lens that came with the Rebel XT and taken with the Rebel XT body.

These shots were taken in a very dark room on a cloudy day.

What I Did:

  • Opened the curtains allllll the way so I could let in as much light as possible
  • Slowed down the shutter speed
  • Bumped up the ISO to 1600
  • Stood really still

That’s it really takes to expose a photo correctly with very little available light!

Not to mention, the 18-55mm kit lens is SO light in comparison to my other lenses for sports photography (the one I mainly use for figure skating weighs about 5 lbs. and I use it for 3-5 hours at a time — it’s literally like weight lifting!).

Anyway, the lesson here is that you don’t need anything expensive to produce good photographs of outfits.

All you really need is:

LOTS OF LIGHT!

What I wore:

Cardigan: Urban Outfitters
Blouse: Sears
Shorts: High school uniform pants turned into shorts
Shoes: Korean brand (eBay)