Winter fruits

Dearest friends, welcome to Winter!  We’re getting sub-zero temperatures in Toronto and a bit of that fluffy white stuff that some people seem to be a fan of.  Like my girl Justine, I too haven’t bought anything new in the longest time.  You can expect to see some extremely old stuff being worn in the next little while because I likely won’t be acquiring much of anything this season.  Now that I’m someone’s fiancée, my mind is always thinking about the dough I can save for the future.  Sigh.. is this what growing up is all about?  So boring.  haha

Not ready to grow up yet!

I am wearing..

Blazer:  H&M
“Fruity” top:  Zara
Pants:  Initial (Hong Kong)
Shoes:  Zara

Falling for Cougar Boots

Matchstick has graciously offered to send me a pair of Pillow Boots from Cougar Boots to review and style.  Of course I jumped at the chance!  It’s illegal to say no to shoes.  Besides, I am all about supporting companies which spring from my country’s red and white grounds.  I have utmost faith that a Canadian company would turn out a boot worthy of engaging in battle with our cold and wet elements.  Hardcore as these Pillow Boots are (pillows are SO hardcore!), they have a soft and cushion-y inside too.  I felt so comfortably protected and invincible that I wanted right away to jump into a big pile of snow, but I guess nature can’t be hurried.

The Pillow Boots come in a variety of colours, but the tan with red fleece lining is LIMITED EDITION!  Can’t ever go wrong with Limited Edition.  (Side story, in the makeup world, we call them “LE”.  And we looooove our LEs!)

I can imagine getting a lot of use out of these when the snow hits.  Check out the store locator to find out where to purchase yours!

I am wearing..

Top:  Zara
Blazer:  Yeou-Ya (Korean brand)
Shorts:  Stella McCartney for GAP kids
Necklace:  Street Vendor in Toronto

Special thanks to Davis for snapping these shots!

Strange but familiar

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

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

Dress to focus

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)

Put some pants on!

My affection for pants predates any fashion awareness.  Not that I had a word of complaint when mom put me in cutesy skirts and dresses, I just really envied the boys who created havoc freely without the worry of diaper flash (what a fashion faux pas!).  Jeans had no love from me though; I thought the material was too stiff and rough.  In my high school years, while everyone was rocking flare jeans (yes, I’m old), I wore stuff like orange modrobes (the ones with the seatbelt-like buckle), baggy red pants, white dress pants and pink fleece sweats.  Fast forward to today, my sense of adventure with trousers remains.  I could easily do without wearing denim for the rest of my life, but deep depression would reduce me to a pantless mess if I had to live without my beloved pants collection.  Now that you got me talking about my favourite thing in the world, I am seriously considering busting out said orange modrobes!  One of these days, my friends..

Here’s a trouser with a different silhouette than usual.  I’m totally nailing Style Goal #4!

The pockets won me over.

I am wearing..

Sweater: Mom’s
Pants:
H&M
Belt: Nanni
Boots: Zara

Black and white make blue?

I’d like to tell you that I put a lot of thought into this look.. you know.. like how the checkered pants would be ace with the striped top, a black silk scarf a great finishing touch and the blue shoe a delicious pop…

The truth is, I was running mega late so I grabbed what intuitively made sense at the time, fumbled at putting it all on and flew out the door with not so much even a glance at the mirror.  I didn’t notice how interesting the outfit turned out until I came home from after an 8-hour day of work and took a closer look into the mirror to examine my increasingly prominent dark circles.  I need to adopt this grab-and-go method of dressing more often!

I’m wearing..

Top: Zara (I got this 4 years ago.  Can’t believe the stripes trend is still going strong!)
Pants: H&M
Belt: Hugo Boss
Silk Scarf: Diesel
Shoes: Oxbridge Town from Hong Kong