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)

Aren’t you suite!

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I’m gonna let you in on a little secret.. One of my and Davis’ favourite pastimes is watching the Disney Channel together.  I know, so romantic, right? Seriously, who doesn’t love corny humour, unnecessary havoc and uncomplicated “issues” that resolve within a half hour? Life should be such!  Now that the cat is out of the bag with regard to my choice of dates, I might as well tell you that while most of the fashion blogosphere enjoy Gossip Girl, I have a soft spot for The Suite Life on Deck.

From Sharetv.org

The character of London Tipton, played by Brenda Song, inspires me to be adventurous with fashion. She can get quite costumey (borderline disco ball) on the show, but her confidence allows her to execute each outfit with so much pizzazz. Every episode is an expressive and interesting look!  I fully identify with the philosophy that fashion should be fun.  Do you agree?

I am wearing..

Silk scarf: Vintage
Silk top: Club Monaco
Skirt: Mom’s closet

snap CRACKLE pop

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I find myself frantically trying to wear all my velvet items as often as humanly possible before it gets warm again.  Oh yes, you remember correctly, I was also the wuss who complained about the cold weather just a few weeks ago.  I can’t seem to make up my mind about many things in life, including the following:

I picked up this bottle of China Glaze Crackle (Cracked Concrete) a couple of months ago when the collection first launched.  These work the same way as OPI’s Black Shatter if you are more familiar with that product.  The nail polish, once applied, will automatically “crack”, revealing the base colour you wear underneath.  To be honest, I only purchased it for novelty reasons.  I actually didn’t like most of the pictures I saw online.

So I tried it for the first time last night on top of OPI’s Birthday Babe (an aluminum-like silver), and I was pleasantly surprised.  I don’t hate it!  I am not completely convinced that I will use it a second time, but at least I haven’t removed it yet.

 

I am wearing..

Top: H&M
Necklace: Forever 21
Skirt: Hong Kong
Belt: BCBG

Hint of Print

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I found the weirdest thing in my mom’s closet: a printed floral skinny belt.

I am print-adverse when I dress up, even though I love looking at prints and patterns on others. Maybe because I’m always afraid it will look weird on me (like how horizontal stripes make a person look wider, or how large florals make a person look like they’re wearing a muumuu). Whenever I find a really pretty print, I always try to minimize it. It’s not something I’m proud of, it’s just a self-conscious trait of mine.

Anyway, I’m taking advantage of this strange printed belt and adding it to an otherwise boring outfit consisting of plain solid colours. It’s so unusual… most people would use a solid belt to breakup a printed dress or something, but this is just really a freak of vintage!

And I love that it’s the kind you aren’t limited to belt holes. I think belt holes are evil!! They’re like an indication that you’re too skinny or too big. This is the kind where you just slide it in and tighten according to however comfortable you feel. That’s how all belts should be like…

What I’m Wearing:

T-shirt: Gap
Pants: Vintage (mom’s)
Belt: Vintage (mom’s)
Purse: Vintage (Etsy)
Shoes: Korean brand (eBay)

 

Dress to focus

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I learned from a research study (I’m trying to find the exact source and link!) that candidates who dress professionally actually convey an elevated level of poise and self-confidence during telephone interviews.

Please excuse the low-quality photos. I haven’t been too keen on bringing along my DSLR with me everywhere and the iPhone has been my newest photography stand-in thing.

This scarf always makes me look like a flight attendant... I kind of like that look hehe.

 

Through my countless years (okay, four) in university I’ve wondered why I study better at school or at a café rather than at home. I realized it wasn’t just the environment that had influence in my ability to focus on assignments/studying/reading. It was a combination of all that plus dressing up!

To save time and money from going out, I decided to try it by dressing up in my going-out-to-study clothes and getting down to business:

Can you tell I took this in a bathroom? Haha...

 

It worked, a little better than wearing pyjamas, at least! However, only dressing up doesn’t beat having a “time limit” (cafés have to close up at the end of the night!) and the pressure of a public atmosphere (I feel shameful for going on Facebook or Twitter in a study spot). But try it! Wear what you’d wear outside and see how it goes… :)

I am wearing:

Blazer: Zara
Skirt: Zara
Shirt: The Gap
Scarf: My mom’s
Shoes: Naya (omg these were the most expensive flats I’ve ever bought but they’re sooo comfy)

Is that old skirt new?

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I am about to make a shocking confession.  Brace yourself.  Are you ready?  Okay I’m just gonna blurt it out..  I’m not a fan of vintage shopping. There, I said it.  It was blasphemy to your ears, wasn’t it?  This skirt is one of the very few vintage purchases I’ve made in my life, and I only picked it up because I felt like I needed “vintage” experience as a fashion blogger.  Davis was also there to give me an extra boost.  I absolutely adore clothes from the past eras, but I can’t get past the smell of vintage stores and the thought of putting on something previously owned by a stranger.  Thank God my mom was a stylish woman, otherwise I would forever be deprived of beautiful things of the past.

I must say though, after wearing this skirt a few times, I’ve gathered up a bit of courage to give this vintage thing another try.  In the name of fashion, I shall prevail!!  Gahhhhh Justine, I need your help.

What are your honest thoughts about vintage shopping?  Perhaps you have some tips to help me appreciate this “art”?

 

I am wearing..

Blouse: Mom’s closet
Belt: Mom’s closet
Skirt: 69 Vintage Store (on Queen St W, Toronto)
Shawl Cardigan: GAP

Marching to the bohemian beat

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Is March 2nd a special day?  Apparently, there are 6 people in my life who are having a birthday today.  I honestly believe a substance gets emitted into the atmosphere at precisely 00:00 on the second day of the third month every year to make all babies pop out at once.  Said substance is also responsible for my bohemian look of today.  I usually don’t do no boho, but I am telling you it was the something in the air.  The government just doesn’t want you to know.

Now that I’ve let out classified information from the pentagon, I am sure the FBI will be launching a series of investigation.  It is my only wish that special agents Mulder and Scully would be handling the case.



I am wearing..

Top: Forever21
Pants: Initial (from Hong Kong)
Purse/Clutch: Mellie Bianco
Necklace: Urban Behaviour

Hey, nice outfit!

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I had a heavy night of conversation with my girl friends and realized we’ve reached that age where we begin to talk about the quickly-approaching future — owning property, being particular about our careers, plans for marriage/family/children/etc. We start to see how others play the game of life — the conventional ways and the very bold ways. I think I am the type to do the bold, unconventional path but probably cave in to the pressure of eventually “settling down”. At this tender age of my early 20′s, of course right now I want to be independent and have no one to answer to, or no one’s schedule to accommodate. But later on, I will probably yearn to care for someone and raise a child. It’s like people who hit their 30′s will have that desire to kick in naturally. Maybe I’ll get a dog or cat to fulfill the desire.

I feel like I might do a disfavour to society if I have children and not be fully prepared to raise him/her. But then again — is anyone prepared to raise a child? You need a license to drive a car, but no license to have children. For eternity people have searched for the answer to why people choose to have children. Some have explained that it is the ultimate sign of love and selflessness, and if you’re in your 30′s or 40′s and still childless, it means you are afraid of going through the pain and suffering of being a parent. Well, excuse me for sparing you a child that probably doesn’t get enough love or attention.

I don’t know. I think my thoughts about marriage and children will change. I will probably want them later on. Right now I just feel like people get married and have children because they don’t know what else to do with their lives. Our society is so dependent on templates and following historical patterns because it is the safest thing and only thing to do in life. And women are told that, biologically, the chance to have children will disappear before they are emotionally ready. That’s too bad.

It’s interesting to see how needs and goals in life change every couple years. In high school, having a boyfriend was the most important thing to me. And now, the most important thing is whether I will have a fulfilling career that isn’t soul crushing. In a couple years, the most important thing to me will probably be what house to buy and whether I can still eat cheesecake.

Ahh, I don’t know what I’m putting such a loaded thought into this blog. I guess I just want to see who actually comes here to read text and who will just say, “hey, nice outfit!” lol. HI!!!

I am wearing:

Blouse: Vintage (Etsy)
Sweater: Gap
Pants: Sears by Attitude
Shoes: Kenneth Cole 925 Silver Belle