It has been bitterly cold in Toronto. So keeping warm and cozy has been more important than ever. Which means a perfect excuse to adorn oneself in faux furs!!!
Regular hosiery options just wasn’t warm enough under this light Fall dress. So I’m wearing thick leggings with tall boots instead. Cover up as much of that skin as you can ladies. Instead of going bare-legged, consider wearing tights or thermal leggings beneath your skirt or dress. Not only does it look more climate-appropriate in formal situations, your legs will remain softer since they won’t be as exposed to the elements. Just like scarves, leggings and tights come in many different varieties, so it is nearly impossible not find a pair that will work with your outfit and mesh with your personality 😉
How I Got The Look: LBD from SexyPlus Clothing; Grey fur scarf from Indigo; Black boots from Payless; Black leggings and earrings from Old Navy.
Do you have a favourite Little Black Dress? Where’s it from and how to you style it? Tell me your tips and tricks by leaving a comment below.
WANNA see the other LBD’s I’ve talked about so far – click here and here.
Continuing with January’s Little Black Dress series on the blog today.
Today I took a cheap little summer office dress and transformed it into winter wear ….
LBD #2: Belted Merona from Target
This dress is pretty great. The long silver zipper down the back adds this simple, sexy quality to an otherwise pretty modest dress. These pictures don’t showcase the large buckle belt that comes with this dress.
My apologies for the poor photos quality in this post – it was pretty dark outside when I remembered to snap pics. Pardon my winter-bun-headed look ….its the only way to keep my hair from getting crazy static once the parka goes on.
Here’s a zoomed in look at this fabulous hot pink sweater I picked up on sale at Winners. It fit nicely under the dress as its quite light-weight and the details up the arms really add a little dazzle to break up this all-black look.
How I Got The Look: LBD from Target; Hot pink sweater from Winners; Glossy silver pumps from Payless; Sheer hosiery from Dollarama; Necklace & earring set from LOFT
Do you have a favourite Little Black Dress? Where’s it from and how to you style it? Tell me your tips and tricks by leaving a comment below.
WANNA see the other LBD’s I’ve talked about so far – click here.
I dunno about you friends, but January is officially Little Black Dress month for me. There has been WAYYY too much eating over the festive season … and this holiday weight is making me choose blacks over other fun colours in my wardrobe these days.
Lucky for me, I’ve got a lil’ Collection of LBDs that don’t nearly get enough of my attention all year round. So why not use this month to let them shine 🙂
LBD #1: Forever21+
Truth be told, I bought this dress as a Halloween Costume one year, when a girlfriend and I dressed as Robert Palmer girls. The best (and easiest) costume to pull off I tell ya.
What sold me about this dress was the different textures of fabric used. The top is this shiny poly-blend with a sweet little twist to the neckline which leads to off the shoulder sleeves, and the skirt portion is a ribbed cotton.
There is beauty in simplicity. I tried sticking to a head-to-to black … keeping the hose and heels black too. But in the end, I needed more — and that’s when this red blazer just kicked it up a notch.This giant pearl necklace is my absolute favourite (Your Big Sister’s Closet) – it just adds the perfect punch of sophistication to this entire outfit.
Do you have a favourite Little Black Dress? Where’s it from and how to you style it? Tell me your tips and tricks by leaving a comment below.
How I Got The Look: LBD from Forever21+; Red blazer from Jessica, Sears; Glossy black pumps from Payless; Sheer hosiery from Dollarama; Necklace from Your Big Sister’s Closet; Gold earrings from Ardene
This month (January 6th to be exact) Petite Plus, Meow!turns ONE YEAR old! I’m truly humbled by the positive response the blog has gotten so far. Thank you.
My very first outfit post, entitled: Peplum, Pencil Skirt and Pink Pumps really shows how green I was to the world of fashion blogging – complete with uncreative title, with no clue what I was really doing in terms of key words/tagging – simply publishing content with no one to read it, basically. Somewhere over the 170 blogpost write-ups of last year (yup…that’s how many there were), I think my personality, charm, wit and modesty 😉 began to come across – or at least I hope it has.
As much as I love fashion – I’ve never felt like an authority on anything fashion related. This Fashion & Lifestyle blog started as a fun outlet – and continues to be a place to capture all those things I’m passionate about, new things I discover and try, thoughts and general musing that take place in my life, with the occasional quote/comic that inspire and amuse me …. shared with readers in hopes that you’ll enjoy them too.
Two years ago, the world as I knew it was turned upside down, and I got an opportunity to reassess and really focus on me again. I began investing in higher quality fashionable pieces of clothing, shoes and accessories – decorating my outside in an effort to uplift my inside. The more ‘grey’ I felt, the more dressed up I would get, sticking to that old adage of ‘fake it ‘til I make it’…if I LOOKED happy and put-together then I’d eventually FEEL that way too. And it totally worked!
The last year of blogging has definitely helped boost my own self-image, self-love, body acceptance and self-confidence. And for that, I am forever grateful. As much as I loved my life last year – I often find myself asking “There’s gotta be more to life than THIS?”
I’m not really one for New Year Resolutions… but this year, my focus is simple: Getting and Staying Happy! 🙂
In an effort to figure out exactly how to get started with this lofty goal I applied the STOP-START-CONTINUE approach to behavioural change. It is also often used in feedback surveys in Adult Instruction (i.e., my day job). In business management before the new year begins management will often ask these three questions:
1. What can we STOP that is not producing the desired outcome?
2. What can we START doing to produce the results that we are looking for?
3. What are we doing that we should CONTINUE doing that is working/producing the desired results?
This same business principle can be applied to our own life in making this year the best year possible. In order for this to really be effective, we do need to set goals and monitor the progress so we can make corrections as they are needed, but this is a good start to turning an idea into action. Better than a New Year Resolution I think 🙂
OK. Now that I’ve explained the concept, let me apply it … and by capturing it on the blog it will keep me accountable to monitor the progress of each item – win:win.
2015 will be the year I willSTOP:
Making excuses for people. When people show you their true colours – believe them, the first time. This applies to everyone – friends – old and new, love interests, family members, co-workers and networking contacts. “Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who love you no matter what.”
Being overly critical of myself and of others, when it comes to my career-expectations. I need to adjust my expectations – personal fulfilment and satisfaction isn’t solely achieved in or by one’s work-life. And that’s ok.
2015 will be the year I will START:
Shopping Less and Travelling More – with or without a travel mate. Which means I gotta learn to drive. Drivers and pedestrians of Toronto streets, you’ve been warned. Dun dun dunnnn…
Turning off Netflix to read more. Perhaps we can start a virtual book club on PPMeow! Thoughts?
Cooking more using recipes I’ve never tried before. And sharing my culinary accomplishments and fails on the blog.
2015 will be the year I will CONTINUE:
Blogging and Instagram’ing regularly about What I Wore AND What I Did. Outfits of the Day, shopping sprees, fashion collaborations and new collection launches, as well as reviews of the various products I try, events I attend and other lifestyle activities I participate in …especially if for the first time.
Surrounding myself with positive, interesting, enthusiastic, fun people. Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously said that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. When it comes to relationships, we are greatly influenced — whether we like it or not — by those closest to us. It affects our way of thinking, our self-esteem, and our decisions. Positivity begets positivity. Negativity….ain’t nobody got time for that.
TA-DAH!!! There you have it. My Action Plan for 2015. Are these things above gonna make me get and keep me happy? Who knows. But it’s a good start for the New Year ahead for PPMeow! 🙂
Hoping this first week of 2015 is starting of right for each of you….and that you’ll continue to follow me & the blog on our adventures all year long.
What do you have planned to tackle and accomplish this year? Taking a look at things in your own life – what can you do to make this year better than last year? Would you try using this STOP-START-CONTINUE approach to help you do just that? Tell me about it in the comment section.
Happy New Year once again, and let me know what positive changes you are making in your life.
Here we are….the last day of 2014! And thus concludes my first year of blogging! Yay!!! 🙂
Thank you for reading, following and commenting. If you’ve got feedback or ideas you’d like me to explore/review in the new year … let me know in the comment section and I’ll do my very best to tackle them as blogposts in the New Year!
There have been 170 blogposts, not bad for the first year! I only really got the hang of publishing and alerting various social media channels towards the later part of the year, so I thought I’d pick out a few of my favourite posts that were maybe missed, or hidden by Facebook at the time.
Go Canada Go! The biggest news worthy thing I remember happening in 2014 is Team Canada winning gold, beating Sweden 3-0 in men’s Olympic hockey! Canada dominated moving into the finals! And at 6am on this Sunday in February bars everywhere opened their doors to die-hard Canadians who support our athletes by drinking beers and cheering at big screen TVs with complete strangers in unison. And to join the hoopla I dedicated an Outfit Of the Day to the win 🙂
Although I often write about fashion – What I Wore – I try to also focus on lifestyle too – What I Did while wearing it. Just as seeing someone who more resembles your body shape wearing an outfit you never thought to try yourself, I write about my adventures at trying something new in hopes that YOU might try it for yourself as well. There have been several specific LIFESTYLE posts around activities I’ve tried such as:
BollyFuze – Now What? a Bollywood dance based workout designed to get you up and moving! Each class runs an hour-long, blending together elements of Indian Classical, Modern Bollywood & Folk dance with main stream fitness techniques that gives you a full body workout. Best part – BollyFuze is designed for all levels, ages & abilities …and with the energetic beats of Bollywood you totally trick your body into getting fit with hip-shaking-fun!
Yoga I personally hadn’t practiced yoga in nearly two years before I found Studio Blue. I was super nervous to go back into the classroom with a bunch of wafer thin bun-headed girls, wearing nothing but LuLuLemon pants and sport bras that matched with zero sweat on their perfectly manicured eyebrows and likely full make-up faces (Why are People Afraid to Try Yoga?) But once I got over the initial ‘scare’ it yield a ton of benefits …. AND I even arranged for a PPMeow! $30 Pass EXCLUSIVE to YOU – my blog’s readers & followers 🙂
Swing Dancing I officially got bit by the swing fever bug at my first Rockabillie Concert… I signed up for classes the very next day. I’ve blogged about my very first swing lesson – describing myself as a hot mess. It was tricky at first, but week after week I felt more and more confident of the steps, felt myself improving and I couldn’t for class to learn the next big move. And now, honestly I dunno what I did without this fun dancing outlet in my life!!! There have been a number of different blogpost related to swing dancing … I love it so… simply type the words “swing dancing” into the search bar within the blog and you’ll find them all friends 😉
There have been a ton of outfit posts so I’ve created my first Flipagram to capture my faves ….it’s even set to my personal theme song:Golden by Jill Scott 🙂
Thank you again for reading, commenting, following and supporting Petite Plus, Meow! There are some exciting things in store for me and the blog in the upcoming months – as I’m declaring 2015 to be THE YEAR OF TRAVEL in my life. Stay tuned friends.
Wishing you a fantastic New Year’s Eve tonight, and may 2015 be our best year yet! xo
Curvy Canadian Ladies … designer plus size retailer TONI+ now introduces high style genuine leather European boots for women with wide calves and feet!!!
Just in time for the winter season too! 😉
THE PERFECT MEASURE:
You may think you know your shoe size, but do you truly know how to get the right boot fit for your unique shoe and calf? TONI+’s directions will help you to properly measure your feet and calves in 3 simple steps:
Step 1: Length of your foot – Measure the length of your foot
Step 2 – Width of your foot – Measure the width of the widest part of foot (from the ball to just beneath your little toe)
Step 3 – Calfsize – Measure the circumference of the fullest part of your calf
Measure both feet and calves for all 3 steps. It is normal for one foot and calf to be bigger than the other. Always use the larger measurement to gauge your boot size.
TONI+s footwear collection features a stylish 100% Italian leather options ranging from ankle and riding boots. And with this Personal Fit Code, they will ensure your boots fit perfectly. You can get professionally measured in-store or measure yourself at home using the above steps.
Click here to find a TONI+ location nearest you friends 🙂
My personal favourites are:
Sydney Niada – $275Verona Maxima – $410Bradford Roxy – $295
Do you struggle to find boots that fit your calves and feet? Where have you found the best selection and fit? Share with me in the comments below.
Earlier this month the Toronto Vintage Society gathered together to celebrate all things MERRY, KITSCHY and BRIGHT by turning the Cadillac Lounge into a winter cabin!
But what the heck do we mean by “Kitschy”? Good question!
“Kitsch”, according to Wikipedia, is; (/ˈkɪtʃ/; loanword from German) is a low-brow style of mass-produced art or design using popular or cultural icons. Kitsch generally includes unsubstantial or gaudy works or decoration, or works that are calculated to have popular appeal. Click here to read and see more about exactly what this means 🙂
The Event:
$5 at the Door got you entertainment galore!! 40s/50s themed decor and suggested dress code with Best (and kitschiest) Dressed prizes to be won! Along with vintage cocktails flowing all night and home made treats, handmade kitsch and vintage chachkas for sale!
The Cadillac Lounge transformed into our Kitschmas Cabin
The Toronto Vintage Society never does anything half-assed …. always FULL ass! 😛
Not only were we able to transform the Cadillac Lounge into a wintery holiday cabin, there was all kinds of fun entertainment all night long to get everyone into the festive spirit no matter what your ‘thing’ was. There was even a Nail Artist: Strawberry LIPs n TIPs creating one-of-a-kind holiday art one nail at a time!!
Loving my amazing Rudolph nail art – outstanding!!!
This party was non-stop entertainment which included…vintage vinyl and holidays classic movies played all night long by our very own DJ Tarana Pete…
DJ Tarana-Pete spinning vintage vinyl & holiday movie classics
PLUS Performances by ELVIS and his burlesquing alter ego – Blue Suede Sue. Then the adorable Miss Kitten Monroe.
Me with the talented Tia Brazda and delightful Kitten Monroe
AND performances by the Tia Brazda Swing Band with her hit song Christmas in Mexico!! Take a listen and get yourself a copy… Tis’ the season for this catchy toe-tapper of a tune 🙂
Ooooh…and there was plenty of swing dancing too!!!
Me with my skirt all a-twirl!
As you can see…..We PACKED the place! It was a spectacular night!!!
I’m pretty sure I managed to sell raffle tickets to every single person in here!
And to top it all off…..we even had an amazing Winter Wonderland of a photo booth setup with SANTA!
Click here for the full TVS Photo Booth album — each picture just jumps off the screen with happiness and joy!
If you didn’t make it out to the event, you can relive the fun – prepare to smile your faces off 🙂
Dancing went on until the wee hours of the morning …. AND there was even karaoke in the backroom!!!
Collage-o-Fun captured by my iPhone …
I’m not gonna lie, due to all the liquid courage (who knew apple cider and rum would be such a delicious combination) I may have gotten up on stage to belt a tune or two. There is evidence of this on someone’s phone…dun dun dunnnn 😮
What I Wore:
Photo Credit: Val Soo
I picked up this Alika Circle Polka Retro Dress during Tatyana‘s BOGO event – yup…BuyOne, GetOne FREE!!! This dress comes in a variety of solid colours that are just as lovely. But I really, really, really loved this black, white and red polka-dot pattern. And was determined to xmas-ify for THIS holiday event!
With an amazing lattice style around neckline and sleeves you really don’t need any accessories to jazz this frock up! The waist features a bow at the center that leads to its full circle skirt. There’s a three-eye-hook closures above the back zipper…which requires a buddy’s help, at least in my case 🙂
The Alika Circle Polka Retro Dress WITH crinoline
The dress on its own is quite lovely with the full circle skirt. But it gets even for amazing with a puffy red crinoline underneath! Plus, it hides any additional lumps & bumps that may have resulted due to vintage cookie eating the weeks before….click here to see what I mean. 😉
And I’m happy to say that EVERYTHING I’m wearing in this post came from Tatyana Boutique on West Queen West, in Toronto. To read more about Tatyana’s new Toronto location click here.
As lovely as everything looked all together, my outfit was incomplete. It was missing the much needed “Kitschy” factor.
AND THEN THIS HAPPENED…..a fabulous Poinsettia fascinator!!! Hand-made by the crafty curator of TVS, Miss Jacquie – isn’t it amazing? Totally helped perfect my look for the evening’s event! 🙂
Handmade Kitschy Poinsettia Fascinator …. I’m told that there are some available for sale at Damzel’s East location, FYI 😉
Earrings from Your Big Sister’s Closet; Hair flower made by Jacquie Jeffery
And ….TA-DAH! My vintage kitschmas look was complete!
Blurry end-of-the-night selfie
Extra Bonus to those reading this right now!!! Tatyana Boutique will happily give you 15% off until December 31st by mentioning this blogpost friends >>>>
Here we go – the very last outfit post of our week-long HolidayDoubleFeature collaboration series with Cassie of Style Cassentials.
We’ve been discussing and putting our own unique twists to some Holiday trends ALL week. Hope you’ve been enjoying it. If you missed any of my previous posts I’ll list them at the end of this one…so you can get yourself caught up and festive ready! 🙂
There’s bound to be a few dress-down weekend holiday house parties you’re gonna have to hit – and that’s what we’re focusing on with this last post we’re calling: Casual Cocktails!
I picked this soft pink lace trim top on sale from Penningtons a few months ago. It totally caught my eye with its mix-media textures, this top would go well with a skirt or dress pants, to the office on weekdays and totally works with jeans on the weekend.
The lovely lace trim and cool colour-blocking over soft pink sheer front and cotton back just makes this top oh-so unique.
Since this top has lots of interest to it, I was easily able to tone down the vibe of my outfit while still looking a bit ‘holiday fancy’ for a festive house party at the neighbours or whatever last min invites that may come your way for boozy egg nog and Christmas cookies 🙂
How I Got The Look: Sheer & cotton laced top from Penningtons; Navy tuxedo striped pixie pants from Old Navy; Brown suede booties from Reitmans; Faux fur bag from Aldo Accessories; Bow-tie earrings were gifted.
Cassie’s off-the-shoulder winter white sweater with lace skirt combo is oh-so romantic for the holidays. Head over to Style Cassentials for all the details on how Cassie has styled the trends. Or visit her Facebook page here.
Cassie of Style Cassentials
And just in case….if you’ve missed a few from thespecial HolidayDouble Feature? Not to fear…
Here we are – 2nd last outfit post in our special Holiday DoubleFeaturecollaborationwith Cassie of Style Cassentials.
The female tuxedo was seen on various designer runways, it’s also a look that’s been adopted by many celebrities on the red carpet. It is a great alternative to the cocktail dress for evening-wear.
Today we’re focusing on Tuxedo Glam! 🙂
Photo credit: Val Soo
By total fluke, turns out I had silver stud earrings that totally matched the studs down the lapel of this blazer! This cute little top-hat fascinator was a fabulous find at this year’s BIGDeal Toronto Blogger Consignment Sale.
Photo credit: Val Soo
I’ve had this tuxedo blazer for a year now, and have only worn it a handful of times for fear of spilling food on it and the dreaded dry cleaning bill it would result in. My sparkle heels added a touch of feminine glamour to the monochrome colour palette of this tuxedo look. It would be extra sleek if I went black on black or white on white tuxedo. But I really like the classic black n’ white combo.
When looking at how to wear tuxedo trend clothing, go for slim cut trousers and fitted blazers. Making sure your pieces are fitted to give you that tailored look when trying to pull off tuxedo glam. 🙂
How I Got The Look: Jessica Simpson bone n’ black lapel jacket + Thrifted black taffeta dress + Guess sparkle heels + sheer black hosiery + Top hat fascinator from BIGDeal Toronto Sale
Cassie’s floral pants make me crazy with floral envy!!! Loving the ivory tuxedo top & black tuxedo jacket. Head over to Style Cassentials for all the details on Cassie’s look or visit her Facebook page here.
Cassie of Style Cassentials
What do you think of the tuxedo trend? Do you have any tips for how to wear the tuxedo trend? Let me know in the Comment section below
And just in case….if you’ve missed a few from thespecial Holiday Double Feature? Not to fear…
We’re mid-week in our special HolidayDouble Featurecollaboration with Cassie of Style Cassentials.
What holiday series would be complete without talking about Sparkle & Shine? That’s exactly what we’re gonna focus on today. 🙂
Photo credit: Val Soo
There is A LOT of sequins in holiday wear this year. Don’t get me wrong…I love me some sequins!!! But everyone else is gonna be wearing it right now, and I would rather do something different this time around.
Knowing HOW to wear sequins can be a bit tricky. I’ve done a previous blogpost on How To Wear Sequins & Shine earlier this year, if you’re interested 😉
Photo credit: Rebecca Northcott Photography
For this holiday look, I decided to let the sparkle and shine show in my accessories, rather an my entire frock.
Photo credit: Val Soo
I found this peplum dress last year from AdditionElle and have come up with many uses for it, like say THE South Asian Princess Leia…. click here to see what I mean 😉
There is just something about wearing crisp winter whites that really steps up the glamour of an outfit. I wanted to use the ‘sparkle and shine’ factor sparingly for this holiday look.
This amazing sliver-gold-jewelled belt was found in a lovely boutique on West Queen West called Fashion Crimes (NOTE: this shop has recently closed it’s doors and will be reopening as a bespoke boutique elsewhere in Toronto in 2015).
I matched it up with this jewelled bracelet (Aldo Accessories) and gold drop earrings (Your Big Sister’s Closet) to jazz up this holiday outfit. And lastly, I decided to keep the heels a simple nude pump (Payless), to not distract from the rest of the look.
Photo credit: Val Soo
Cassie dazzles in her boyfriend jeans, black glitter heels, ivory camisole and black sequin jacket! Loving the statement necklace too! Head over to Style Cassentials for all the details on Cassie’s holiday outfit. Or visit her Facebook page here.
And just in case….if you’ve missed a few from thespecial Holiday Double Feature? Not to fear…
It has been bitterly cold in Toronto. So keeping warm and cozy has been more important than ever. Which means a perfect excuse to adorn oneself in faux furs!!!
Regular hosiery options just wasn’t warm enough under this light Fall dress. So I’m wearing thick leggings with tall boots instead. Cover up as much of that skin as you can ladies. Instead of going bare-legged, consider wearing tights or thermal leggings beneath your skirt or dress. Not only does it look more climate-appropriate in formal situations, your legs will remain softer since they won’t be as exposed to the elements. Just like scarves, leggings and tights come in many different varieties, so it is nearly impossible not find a pair that will work with your outfit and mesh with your personality 😉
Do you have a favourite Little Black Dress? Where’s it from and how to you style it? Tell me your tips and tricks by leaving a comment below.
Blurry end-of-the-night selfie
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