Here we go… Keepin’ It Causal continues on the blog with yet another quilted vest from Old Navy – they were only $15…had to get it in black as well 😉  (Click here to see the other colour I got.)
Zoomed in view of the various patterns mixed into this casual look!
I tried taking a close up so that you are able to see the different fabrics, textures and patterns that help create more ‘interest’ in this causal look 🙂
For Fall especially, try not to be afraid of bright colours. Â Fabulous colors make an otherwise ordinary outfit totally vibrant. Since I kept the footwear simple and black, I went for bright yellow and a multi-coloured scarf for some pizzazz.
This was another quickie outfit – comfortable enough for window shopping on WQW (West Queen West), yet polished enough for a casual lunch out somewhere too 😉
There we go …playful prints for Fall. Â What do you think of this look? Â Yay or Nay? Use the Comments section, tell me your thoughts.
Continuing with casual looks on the blog today.  Fall and Sweater Weather seem to go hand-in-hand.  Turns out most of my outfit is from Reitmans today.
I think I put this look together for some errand running and grocery shopping.  Since this is a short-sleeved sweater, had the weather been cooler I could easily worn a long-sleeved tee underneath to make this look work without additional outerwear wearability. 🙂
I just love this stripped glossy patten leather Kate Spade NY purse!  (As I’m sure you know by now, as it seems to make an appearance is many of my outfit posts lately – click here, here, here, here.)  It just give any outfit a more polished look I think. 🙂How I Got The Look:  Sweater, white tee & capri activewear bottoms all from Reitmans; Sneakers from Ardene; Necklace gifted and stripped glossy patten leather purse from Kate Spade New York
If you’re looking for more Sweater Weather inspirations click here, here, here and here.
For the past few years I’ve totally been a skirts and dresses kinda gal. Â I very rarely ever wear jeans.
Don’t get me wrong – I love the look of denim! Â It’s just not the first think I of wearing. Â But for Fall they are pretty perfect for a causal vibe. Â (Click here to see how I incorporated denim previously this week.)
I picked up this faux hoodie-denim jacket from The Hudson Bay Co. this spring from the Jessica Simpson Collection.
I wasn’t sure if mixing dark with light denim would work — but I like how it turned out.  Since I kept the colours pretty simple throughout the outfit, adding the pink plaid pop of colour in the footwear and scarf  really worked out nicely 🙂  (Click here to see the shoes and here for the hoodie-jacket in other looks)
This jacket doesn’t quite keep me warm enough for the cool Fall temperatures — so a hat not only helps keep the heat in, but also helps facilitate me not brushing or doing my hair! Â #winning
How I Got The Look:  faux hoodie-denim jacket, Jessica Simpson Collection;  Black n’ white striped tee from HBC; Plaid loafers from Payless; Dark bootleg jeans from Old Navy; Scarf and knit hat from Ardene; Stripped paten leather purse, Kate Spade NY
What do you think of this casual look? Â Do you like mixing denims and patterns? Â Use the Comments section…tell me your thoughts.
Last week we focused on office appropriate looks on the blog. So, this week I thought we should focus on creating more casual looks instead!
As you know – I’m a minimal makeup kinda girl who hates brushing her hair. Check out how purrrfect my Swarovski PAW jewellery looks…just enough casual bling 😉
Truth be told, I have a much easier time dressing up than I do dressing down. Â Maybe because I work from home mostly, anytime I have an excuse to leave the house, I wanna get all dolled up rather than dressed down.
So dedicating this week to more Casual Looks is a good challenge for me 🙂
I’ve always shied away from these puffer vests – Â adding more “poof” to the top half of me just wasn’t cute. Â But then I came across this quilted vest at Old Navy (on sale for $15!) and it won me over! Â I think it worked out well with this denim & plaid combo for Fall. (For other plaid looks click here, here and here.)
I put this outfit together for an afternoon of mall-window-shopping. 😉 They are kind of perfect for the weather we’ve been having in Toronto lately too.
Waddya think…you likee?
How I Got The Look:Â Plaid leggings from Ardene; Hunter green quilted vest & Denim long-sleeved shirt from Old Navy; Brown suede booties from Reitmans; Grey cross body purse from Michael Kors;Swarosvski PAWS Jewellery from MyBeaded Designs
So beautiful that I was able to get away with simply wearing my new blush blazer (from Dorothy Perkins) as outerwear alone over this long sleeved sheer dress to the office.
I’m still learning how to use my Mac for photo editing … just figured out how to insert these talk bubbles above 🙂
How I Got The Look:
Dress and earrings from Old Navy (click here to see the dress in other looks); Blush blazer from Dorothy Perkins; Shoes from Winners (click here), purse from Guess, watch from Michael Kors
Thus concludes the week of office appropriate looks as promised. Â What did you think of this one?
If you’ve missed the others this week click here, here and here.
Since I’m usually a work-from-home kinda gal …. these last few days of having to get up, dressed and out the door to go into the office has created a lot of alarm clock anxiety in my life. Â I find myself waking up multiple times in the wee hours of the morning (4am, 5am, 6am..) freaked out thinking I’ve overslept.
Well, this fear became my reality the other day, when I opened my eyes to see that it was 8:14am and I was still cozy under my comforter with my first meeting downtown beginning at 9am!
What’s a girl to do outfit wise when time is NOT on her side?
It’s Office Jumpsuit time!
How perfectly did this selection work out.  No need to worry about coordinating tops to bottoms.  No need for hosiery.  Just cover it up with a cardi or a blazer and BOOM – office ready!
As I was running late, I chose to go with my light leather jacket (Danier) and simply wore it all day as a chic blazer to help bring this Summer jumpsuit Fall wearability.  [SIDE NOTE:  This lamb skinned jacket hasn’t fit me in years – and now it zips up and everything! Woot! Woot!]
Now, I wasn’t always so keen on this onsie-look.  Click here for my initial reactions to this plus-size fashion trend.  Click here to see how I wore this jumpsuit in the Summer months.
Some general rules I think need to be followed to take a jumpsuit into office wear:
Choose a jumpsuit that is simple and basic. Â No sparkles. Nothing with a deep-v – keep ‘the girls’ workplace appropriate.
Cover up with a jacket, blazer or cardi to create a more conservative look and neckline.
Keep your jewellery and accessories simple.
I would have loved to rock some pointy toed heels with this look to give me some height and make my legs look longer, buuuuuut as you know I was running late. Â So flats that matched my purse was all I could swing I’m afraid. Â Plus, they facilitated in my mad dash into the downtown core as fast as my little legs would carry me!
Who’s already jumped on bringing a Jumpsuit to the office? Would love to know what you did to make it work for you.  Use the Comments section … tell me everything!  🙂
How I Got The Look:Â Jumpsuit from Reitmans; Purse from Kate Spade New York; Jacket from Danier Leather; Swarovski PAWS Jewellery by MyBeaded Designs; Shoes thrifted
The week began with a post I called Edgy Officewear — there was quite a few comments on the PPMeow Facebook Page encouraging me to do more office appropriate looks on the blog. (Thank you for the feedback and interaction … it really does help me create content that YOU want to see & read…so keep those comments coming!)
It just so happens that I’ve got to head into the office 3 days in a row this week.  HAZZA!!!  If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you know that I’m one of those fortunate/unfortunate people who get to work from home most days…so planning work wear this week was a real treat for me.  Nerdy-Nerdsony thing to say – yes, yes, I know. 🙂
I’ve been more daring these days with mixing patterns in my looks. Â When I first picked up this fabulous stripped cropped blazer from one of the many blogger racks at this year’s BigDeal Toronto event, my first thoughts were…
BEETLEJUICE! BEETLEJUICE! BEETLEJUICE!
But the cropped style of this blazer and the classic black n’ white combo really hooked me …..and the price: Â $10!!! Â Yup! Â It needed to come home with moi! Â (Stay tuned for a complete event recap blogpost for BigDeal Toronto soon friends).
Being both petite (short) AND plus sized, finding perfectly fitting dress pants are the biggest nightmare ever. Â Buuuuuut I have fallen in love with Old Navy’s Pixie Pants … they fit perfectly even after several washes. Â (Click here to read my post on discovering this line of fabulous pants.)
Let me apologize for the gloomy photoshoot – it was a rainy day in Toronto and I only remembered to take pictures of this outfit AFTER a full day at the office…hence the wear down of makeup and disastrous hair.  I was pooped!  I dunno how you normies do it – going into the office everyday!  Ew! 😉
How I Got The Look:
Striped cropped blazer, Forever21+; Black jewelled tank, Reitmans; Red pants, Old Navy; Leopard fur heels, Calvin Klein; Michael Kors bracelet watch and simple gold earrings.
Finding office-appropriate outfits, that you actually like,  for your plus-size bod can be a challenge.
If you’re like me, you want your clothing to feel and look fabulous, but also to stay within your office’s set dress code.
This sleeveless moto dress is new for Fall from Pennington’s. Â I picked it up with one of my birthday coupons on a customer appreciation night, and saved BIG!!!
Loving the edgy-chic style of this dress!
Faux-leather inserts, a full front zipper and front pockets. Pairing it with pumps and minimal jewellery helped me take it to the office.
But wearing it with studded booties and a statement necklace, I could totally take this dress elsewhere in the evening.And by wearing something long-sleeved underneath, I could take this dress into Winter while giving it a totally different look. Â Right?
I see this piece as making many appearances over the next few months my friends. 😉
What do you think of this look? Â Where would you wear it? As office wear….night-out wear….both…and how? Â Tell me your thoughts in the Comments section!
How I Got The Look:
Sleeveless Moto Dress from Penningtons (click here it’s currently on sale!); Jade earrings from Stelal & Dot; Kate Spade purse; Pink pumps from Nine West
I LOVE PINK!  I’d wear it head-to-toe everyday if I could! 😛
So when I found this delightful acid pink dress among the rather drab colour pallets of 2014’s Fall Fashions at AdditionElle last month at the Stockyards Grand Opening – I was over the moon with excitement! At the time of taking these photos, the weather did not require hosiery.  So I matched up this dress with my NineWest purple leopard peep-toed pumps.
But for Fall/Winter,  I totally plan on paring this look with booties and dark tights. I was recently sent some hosiery from Sonsee – these would be perfect for taking this look into the winter months.  Unlike shape-wear – Sonsee is both comfortable & smoothing with broad ranges in sizing, products and seasonal colours.  Stay tuned for that product review on the blog soon friends 😉
Since this dress is relatively plain, I thought I’d step up the dazzle-factor with giant jewellery!
This gorgeous statement necklace by Victorious Me, I picked up at SexyPlus Clothing’s Blogger Fall Preview …. I managed to find a perfectly matching set of earrings cheaply from Ardene. I unveiled this frock at the Damzel’s 20th Anniversary Gala – adding some vintage effort to my hair and created a mini-bumper-bang (click here for the vid that helped me create it).  Along with my Torrid gold studded black suede sling-backs and my fantastic black petit point 1960s purse (from The Vintage Domain).  Â
You can really notice my sun-tanned face when you compare the pics from the event to the ones taken by LawrenceKerrPhotography …. stay tuned for a vacation recap post coming soon friends 😉
Follow me on Instragram to see more pictures from the event I attended 🙂
Remember when I was torn on wether I should buy this wool + leather jacket from Retmains a little while back (please ignore the floral leggings and laundry basket in the background)?
Well, your Facebook feedback helped me make the right decision I think —- just look at how great it is with this acid pink frock!
Thanks for the good advice friends!!! 😉
How I Got The Look:
Acid pink swing dress from AdditionElle; Statement necklace from SexyPlus Clothing; Earrings from Ardene; Hosiery from Sonsee; Wool + Leather jacket from Reitmans; Shoes: NineWest purple leopard peep-toed pumps; Torrid gold studded black suede sling-back heels
What are your thoughts on this loud acid pink dress? How would you style it for Fall and Winter? Â Tell me using the Comment section below…
DAMZELS have been helping Toronto celebrate our inner Pin Up girl for 20 Years!
The Damzels Themselves!
That is 20 years of designing and procuring women’s clothing for alt/vintage/pin up/rockabilly/repro scene.  Not only has their presence helped to solidify a place for us in Toronto, but they have given back to their alt/cult community time and time again.
Brief History (more info in the interview below)
Damzels in this Dress; designed by Kelly Freeman and Rory Lindo, were a vintage/rock n roll inspired dress label that before opening retail stores in Leslieville and Roncesvalles (popular neighbourhoods in Toronto), sold their dress brand wholesale to boutiques. Their dresses were sold across Canada, the US, and internationally. The Damzel collections have been shown during Toronto Fashion Week, featured on Fashion Television, Canada’s Next Top Model and even Much Music (Canadian Version of MTV).
 Have you LIKE’d the Petite Plus, Meow’s
This gorgeous statement necklace by Victorious Me, I picked up at 
I unveiled this frock at the 
PPMeow! 