Events – Page 5

Stella & Dot: Spring/Summer Lookbook (Part 1 of 3)

Friends – about three weeks ago, as you can see from my Instagram pic below, I went to my mailbox and squeeled with delight to find the 2014 Spring/Summer Stella & Dot Lookbook had arrived!!! Even my pup, Bert seemed excited 🙂

I dunno about y’all … but I might love jewellery and accessories a little more than I love clothes. Why? Because they ALWAYS fit!!! If you’re like me, you’re used to going up and down in weight constantly. Which often means money spent on fab pieces of clothing only getting worn once or twice before it’s too big or too small to look “good” on you anymore. Buuuuut when you buy a lovely piece of jewellery or a fab pair of shoes or an amazing purse/scarf/hat…typically, no matter when you wear it again, it’s gonna look as fantastic on you, as the day you bought it!

Two years ago I got introduced to this fabulous line of jewellery and accessories through a girlfriend who hosted a Stella & Dot Party. Think Tupperware party meets the uber chic & fashionable. It is here that I met the lovely and stylish Amy Lazar Kleiman, Independent Stylist for Stella & Dot. And we became fast friends!

I’ve come to own and love many Stella & Dot pieces over the last few years … many of which I’ve incorporated into outfit posts on this blog already [See Shades of Grey for Spring, #BOPO Art Installation, Cherry Bomb, Pretty in Pink, and Navy Polkadots] . Now, if you’re new to discovering your love for Stella & Dot, you may be taken aback at the price-points of their items. I was too at first. But what I’ve come to really appreicate is the uniqueness of the jewellery – you are NOT gonna to find everyone and their sister wearing these pieces when you’re out and about, like you will if you’re wearing cheap costume jewellery of the Reitmans, AdditionElle and Forever21’s out there. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all over the “Buy 2 get 1 free” deals on the sale racks of these spots too, but Stella & Dot’s quality and selection really is far superior than anything you’d find at the mall.

The best part about purchasing any thing Stella & Dot is the hassle free return policy, the low flat shipping rate and the fact that they stand behind the quality of their goods. The Bianca Tassel was one of my first and still beloved pieces I purchased. It goes with basically everything and I wore it often. Sadly, I’ve had bad luck with loosing a bobble or two. I alerted Amy, my Stella & Dot Stylist, and she took care of everything! Within a week I had a BRAND NEW Bianca Tassel Necklace at my door to replace the broken one – easy peasy!

With Spring just around the corner …. Amy and I will be bringing the readers and followers of Petite Plus, Meow! some exciting opportunities and a contest in a 3-Part Blog Stella & Dot Post! Exciting!!!!

Part I: Getting YOU your very own Lookbook! Although the links I’ve provided within this post will take you to the Stella & Dot online catalogue, isn’t is always sooooo much better when you have an actual, tangible, touchable catalogue in your hands to doggie-ear pages of all the items you need and wish to make yours? Of course it is! 🙂

Want one? Click here and Amy will send one to you straight away….for FREE!

I’ve got a few ideas as to what we should Giveaway to one lucky winner – but I’d love to hear what ya’ll like the best from Stella & Dot’s Spring/Summer Collection. Use the Comments section below and let me know what you’d love to win (include the catelogue page# too so others can check out what might be on the short-list of prize to be won!!)

In the meantime…..

I just launched a Facebook Page to help spread the word about this blog – LIKE me. 🙂

AND….If you haven’t officially started following PetitePlus, Meow! on WordPress….START!

Stay tuned for Part II: Contest Giveaway from Stella & Dot ….. weeeeeeeee!

Dashing Doll, Daper Dude & Classy Couple

Last week I posted about being invited to represent TVS at ELECTRO SWING TO Sweethearts & Singles Valentine’s Event, where I was asked to judge their FASHION CONTEST of vintage 1920-50s style.

I got to unveil one of my dresses from my mini-haul from Damzel’s 50% off sale and my lindy-hop-inspired flats from my recent mini-shoe haul for this event as the winter weather seemed to be cooperating that evening in Toronto….weee!

Went with the black & white shoes + the red houndstooth collared dress – the collar can be worn open or buttoned up to create a lovely diamond-shaped peekaboo, like I wore it. The 3/4 length sleeves and a full skirt with super-convenient pockets for my iPhone for photo-taking, this dress was perfect pick for the vintage swing vibe for the night!

I even tried at making faux victory rolls in my hair – which was uber difficult considering I’ve got baby-fine hair.

I brought along my handsome eligible bachelor friend, George – by far the daper-est man I know, as my +1 so that I wouldn’t be lonely on the dance floor like last time. Plus, he was kind enough to be my paparazzi whilst I was on stage being Vanna and awarding best dressed awards 🙂

Richard aka MedicineMan, Revival Bar’s event organizer, met us at the door at 9pm where we pow-wowed quickly about how the event would roll out, how the contest and prizing would work. And then the fun began — Lindy Hop lessons, fantastic live music from The Denielle Bassels Band , plus mingling and schmoozing around the room with the fabulous attendees to chat up what Toronto Vintage Society was all about and how they could join/get involved AND of course, tapping those who were on my short-list of BEST DRESSED for the night!

The Fashion Contest categories and winners were the following:

DASHING DOLL

The top three from left to right were: Lauren Dixon, Rebecca Lee McDermid and Betty Quirk.

Winner of a fab LCBO g/c for “Dashing Doll” of the night was — Betty Quirk!

DAPER DUDE

The top three from left to right were: Alex Hunter, Jack Check and Matt Szulczewski

Winner of a fab LCBO g/c for “Daper Dude” of the night was — Alex Hunter!

CLASSY COUPLE

The Winners of a fab Loveless shopping g/c for “Classy Couple” of the night was Leelando Mitchel & Sevvy Skellington!

Overall, it was a fantastic way to spend Valentine’s Day dancing to eletro swing tunes, chatting with vintage inspired peeps while representing the Toronto Vintage Society.

UPDATE: The lovely and talented Rebecca Northcott took a few professional shots of my outfit after the event…so I’m including them now, as they totally trump my sad iPhone ones. Thank you Bexx!

How I got The Look:

Red houndstooth collared dress by CherryVelvet, from Doll Factory by Damzels (Roncesvalles/Dundas W Sts.)

Black n’ white lindy-hop flats by Restricted, from Winners (ScotiaPlaza)

White & gold bib from Aldo Accessories

Photo credit: Rebecca Northcott, Rebecca Northcott Photography

Electro Swing TO: Sweethearts & Singles Speakeasy

Guess who’s just been invited to represent the Toronto Vintage Society at this fab ELECTRO SWING TO’s sweethearts & singles vintage speakeasy shindig?

Moi!

I’ll be juding the FASHION CONTEST! Looking for the most DASHING DOLL & DAPPER DUDE, and also the most CLASSY COUPLE! Fabulous prizes to be won by our generous event sponsors!

Wanna come? Check out the deets below, and come!

——–
Featuring
——–

DENIELLE BASSELS QUINTET ~ Swing Jazz Diva
LINDY HOP REVOLUTION ~ Swing Dance Session
DJ MEDICINEMAN ~ Vintage Beats & Bebop Whomp
THE GREAT GRANTSBY ~ Swing Hop House & Retro Visuals
CHARLIE QUINN ~ Burlesque Striptease
TORONTO VINTAGE SOCIETY ~ Fashion Contest for Best Dressed Singles & Couple

Friday, February 14
Revival Bar
Doors @ 9:00pm
$15 advance @ http://electroswingvalentine.eventbrite.com/

Early Bird: $15 (no fees)
Door: $20

Early bird tickets are limited. And yes, all tickets include the swing lesson session!

Dress to excess in 1920s & 30s vintage style!

Where: Revival Bar

783 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M6G 1C5

View Map · Get Directions

#BoPo Art Installation

Earlier this month I blogged about my friend Karen and her hubs, Peter’s store anniversary party. Their store, Your Big Sister’s Closet turned 1 this month and I was asked to be a window model for their Body Positivity Art Installation. The concept was to make plus sized women more visible and to address what is not usually addressed.

I have to admit, putting myself out there in the “real world” was harder than in the virtual one I’ve created via this blog, but it was a great opportunity to make a statement. Me, along with a few others, were asked to wear whatever fabulous clothes we looked and felt great in, and were to stand in their store-front window holding up a sign that has either displayed our weight or measurements or some other indication that we were a curvy, bodacious lady, and an adjective that describes ourselves. So for instance, Karen’s sign read: Size 20 & Fabulous!

Originally when Karen reached out to me as “one of the most #bopo ladies in the city she knows.”.. I have to say, I didn’t know if that was a good thing or bad thing. And upon researching ‘bopo’ via Urban Dictionary, I was very alarmed at its definition. But Google said #bopo stood for Body Positivity, which relieved my initial concerns – once I stopped laughing hysterically. (Wanna know what was so funny? Check out Urban Dictionary’s def here … Ahem! No doubt that would certainly draw a crowd and make the news! But for all the wrong reasons, haha!)

Karen lined up a designer who came from NYC for a trunk show called Curvy Couture – showcasing bras right up to H cup – Hooray! Along with a full candy bar, coffee and complimentary hair touch-ups and nail care all day from event sponsor Donato Salon + Spa. Check out my “before” and “after” shots – big thank you to Michelle & Tracy for making and keeping me pretty all day!

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet amazing, positive and beautiful women!

Even networked with other plus fashion bloggers and hob-knobbed with Toronto celebs like Sheena Snively from MTV and the Full Figured Model, Ophilia Alleyne.

Together we brought awareness to the public promoting a simple message: ALL BODIES ARE GOOD BODIES! My sign read: Curvy & Confident!

Sizeism is widely considered to be the last socially acceptable form of prejudice. Body shaming happens every day, all over the city. This Art Installation entitled “There’s No Right Way to Have a Body” was meant to bring awareness surrounding our society’s obsession with size and size shaming.

Overall, it was a Saturday well spent being ogled as a full-figured beauty in the window of Your Big Sister’s Closet! 🙂

How I got The Look:

Mint & black lace sheer hi-lo top from Carpe Diem, Your Big Sister’s Closet (Dundas W/Clendenan Sts.)

Black crop top from Forever21+, Toronto Eaton Center

Solid black leggings from Old Navy, Toronto Eaton Center

Grey tall boots from Payless

Silver Medina bib necklace from Stella & Dot

Silver sparkle drop earrings from Bitter Sweet

Epic Sale Haul + AGO’s First Thursdays

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Epic Sale that Doll Factory by Damzels was having this week. Yesterday this sale finally hit the 50% off mark on ALL items store-wide! I hit the Roncy location to find that all the clothes were cleverly sorted by size (huge win) and I was surprised to see that the plus size selection was sprawled across multiple racks, rather than a single sad corner hidden in the back of a store

The store’s staff were fab, as always. At one point I had several shopgirls dotting on me running my collection of ‘try-ons’ into the fitting room. I’m usually a solid size 18. Depending on the style and cut of the dress, how much stretch/room there is in the hips and boobs are the ultimately what determine’s the size I’ll fit into. The trick with shopping in a boutique shop like this one is that you MUST try on EVERYTHING, as the size you typically are won’t necessarily be the size you’ll fit into flatteringly.

After trying on nearly half of their plus size racks, turns out I’m able to fit into their size 12s, 14s and XLs too.

My mini-haul at 50% off included the following:

I’ll be sure to provide ya’ll details on each dress once I’ve made them into outfits in upcoming blog posts friends…stay tuned. 🙂

That evening I had tickets for the Art Gallery of Ontario, AGO’s First Thursday’s event and decided to wear something from my above haul!

There were upwards of 500 tickets sold for this event! And everyone was dressed very well and oh-so trendy. My gf and I noticed how many fashion toques were among the crowd — you get to hide your greasy-static-ridden-hair, whilst keeping toasty warm — think we both need to jump on this bandwagon soonest!

As we people-watched and got drinks at the bar, I immediately spotted MY black n’ white high-waisted flared skirt glide past me several times that night. Sigh…it’s a gorgeous skirt. I ain’t mad at her for buying and wearing it. But this is the problem with finding fashionable-plus-petite-pieces in shops like Forever21 – since they’re super cheap it makes it super easy for EVERYONE to buy it too!

That’s why when boutique shops like Doll Factory by Damzels have sales, it’s an excellent time to scoop up fab deals on outfits that ONLY YOU will have. 🙂

Tons of fun at the AGO last night. Check out our foodie-sculptures, the live band complete with electric xylophone and duelling DJs. Thursdays’ are clearly the New Friday!

How I got The Look:

Zebra patterned long-sleeved sweater dress from Aryeh, Doll Factory by Damzels (Roncessvales & Dundas W Sts.)

Cherry pendent necklace & matching earings from Jubly-Umph Originals, Doll Factory by Damzels (Roncessvales & Dundas W Sts.)

Rocker-chick buckle+zipper booties from Aldo

Your Big Sister’s Closet – Anniversary Party

Oooooo! Guess who’s just been asked to be a Body Positive Window Model for this fantastic Curvy Fashionista boutique in The Junction next weekend?

MOI!!!

Karen and her hubs, Peter, are celebrating their store’s 1st Anniversary!

Make sure you stop-by for some candy, refreshments, fab deals on shopping and of course to wave to me. I’ll be the chick in the window 🙂

Hope to see you there! xo

#Dusted

Here we go…the first post- NYE-party invite in January!

My friend Randy Kahlon, one of the three masterminds and DJs of DustyStarr Productions, will be spinning big tunes all night to launch the opening of a new restaurant in the Beaches: Atelier Bistro Lounge.

Style Code in effect – woot! woot! I haven’t decided on an outfit just yet…but will def post pics post event! 🙂

Event Details below:

GUEST LIST AVAILABLE: info@dustystarr.com

“DINNER & COCKTAILS @ 8PM
19+ 2 FLOOR EVENT @ 10PM
TICKETS AT THE DOOR (entry free with dinner)
STYLE CODE IN EFFECT

5 STAR CHEFS
DRINK SPECIALS
TWO FLOORS OF MUSIC

BOOK OFF THE 26th AND LET’S GET #DUSTED

VIEW MENU –> http://atelierbistro.com/dinner-menu/

Cover Photo

Toronto Vintage Society: “Looks” from 2013 Events

Early last year I finally climbed onto the MAD MEN band wagon, bulk watching season after season via Netflix and totally fell in love with it ALL! The beautiful vintage furniture, fab accessories plus the amazing dresses and hairstyles. A tasty eyeful of Don Draper didn’t hurt either…*hubba hubba* Having ample amounts of both, any era where hips & tits were celebrated and embraced is where I need to be! So I began Googling and Pintrest-ing to see how I could incorporate vintage inspired looks into my wardrobe… affordably.

I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a fantastic little MeetUp group called Toronto Vintage Society (TVS) – whose members host events, post photos and news on shops and shows to inspire people to get out and make vintage/retro more than a hobby…make it a lifestyle! Now…I’m a total novice when it comes to the love of all things vintage. It takes me a minute to get that the talk of ‘surf’ is not taking place in the water, and getting involved with an Easter Parade does not involve floats. I’ve taken the business approach of “fake it, til’ you make it” when it comes to vintage inspired looks.

By hanging out with the awesome peeps from this fab group #TVS I’ve gotten a chance to discover Toronto’s rockabilly world of brunch and burlesque, attend a 1920s Gatsby Garden Party, a Tiki-Tacky Surfs-up shindig, and capped off the year with a fabulous Vintage Holiday get-together complete with karaoke x-mas carols. Each of these events needed a very specific outfit of course. Take a look at what the past year has yielded in terms of Rockabilly/Vintage/Retro “looks” from my closet.

Gatsby Garden Party – Spadina House Museum, Toronto
How I got the Look:
Dress with pearl collar from DressBarn
Cream floral fascinator from Your Big Sister’s Closet, Dundas W. Toronto
Cat-eye sunglasses from Spring

Tiki Tacky Party – Cadillac Lounge, Toronto
How I got the Look:
Hair Flowers from The Bay
Floral Dress from AdditonElle

Vintage Holiday Party – Toronto
How I got The Look:
Dress swing dress from Collectif, Rosie the Rebel Dovercourt/Bloor Sts
Grey leopard cardi from Reitmans
Black n’ white t-strap shoes from Naturalizer
Black feather & net facinator from Aldo

If you’re curious about what the TVS is all about and what exciting things we have lined up for 2014…check us out at:

http://www.meetup.com/Vintage-Retro-Society-Toronto

Welcome to Petite Plus, Meow!

Hiya friends!

For the last few years now I’ve learned and managed to embrace my plus sized-busty-vertically challenged bod with zeal by making sure I “dress with style” for everyday, regardless of having an occasion!

Many people have suggested, even urged, for me to start blogging about my fashion finds and looks that I put together for myself. Not having ever felt like I was an authority on anything fashion related…I simply accepted the comments as compliments and never took them too seriously.

I’ve been finding recently however, with all the fashion blogging sites I personally follow, none of them really speak from a petite (short) plus sized large busted woman of color’s perspective. So, here I am hoping to fill that void/niche with this Fashion & Lifestyle blog. 🙂

My name is Irene….and I welcome you to Petite Plus, Meow!

Contact email: petiteplusmeow@gmail.com