BAH!! Why is cleaning out one’s closet so dang hard!??!
If you’ve been following me for a while you know I’ve been declaring that I’m purging and organizing my closet for the last few months.
The truth is… this has been a slow-moving threat.
I’ve recently made some bold (and likely hasty) decisions about my bedroom furniture. Which lead to me tossing an old 6-drawered dresser, whose contents were very rarely visited over the last year …. which are now being donated to Clothesline and the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA).
But there were a few sweet finds that I just couldn’t part with. These choice pieces are what has created my Outfit of the Day for this post 🙂
I think I picked up this vest from a clothing swap among girlfriends way back when.
I remember wearing it with a crisp white collared shirt when I would have the occasional bartending gig.
What I really like about this vest is how it’s backless. 😉
And this hot pink sweater!!!! ❤
Y’all know how much I love the colour pink — this is my version of THE PERFECT PINK!
As you can see, its been worn and loved a lot as its now bally looking.
What’s really nice about this sweater is the lovely details on the arms…
What I like about this combo is how the solid vest helps ground the pattered pant and the bright pop of colour out against it.
How I Got The Look:
Vest, AdditionElle; Sweater, Winners; Pants, Old Navy; Shoes, Rockport
What do you think about this look? Should I keep these items or donate them?
Tell me you thoughts in the comment section below!
We’re mid-September, but instead of layers-upon-layers to keep us warm, the weather is keeping us in summer dresses!
And I’m loving it!!! 😀
Like this cutie-pie floral one I picked for $10!!!!!! From a little shop called Smart Set, maybe you’ve heard of it?
Smart Set recently had a CLOSING sale.
The Montreal-based retailer said it will shut 107 Smart Set stores over the next 12 to 18 months, including 31 by year end or early next year. Curious as to why, click here.
Only 31 of the locations will be closed completely. The remaining 76 will be converted to other company banners, which include Reitmans, Penningtons, Addition Elle and RW&Co., as well as Thyme maternity stores.
When I was in highschool, this was a shop I’d visit often. But I don’t think I step in one until a few weeks ago, when I saw the closing signs while I was on my lunch downtown.
Smart Set didn’t carry a plus-size line. So I was very surprised at finding an XL fit me.
What I really liked about this dress was the criss-cross deep-v back…
If I had a longer torso, you’d be able to see how the peek-a-boo criss-cross action should work. But for $10, it was coming home with me for sure…and my short-waisted self was gonna wear it anyway!!! 🙂
Oh, the hat … picked it up from Public Butter, on WQW. Click here for other looks in this hat 🙂
Were you a Smart Set fan? Are you sad about the news that Smart Set having closed?
How I Got The Look: Hat, Public Butter; Sandals, Berkinstock; Dress, Smart Set
Looking for other summertime simple looks … click here, here, here and here. 🙂
Suzy Shier is a Canadian retailer of women’s fashion with over 140 stores across the country.
When I was a teen, I remember shopping there as an in-betweenie size 15, I would be able to find a rare gem at a price I could afford on my minimum wage salary at the time. But, in my adult years I haven’t stepped a foot into one of their stores until the recent news: Suzy Shier was launching a plus size line! 😀
HAZZA! It’s about freakin’ time, right!?
There happens to be a Suzy Shier close to my office in downtown Toronto … so, I stopped by at lunch to peruse their offerings. I’ve got to say, the prints and patterns I was seeing were lovely, bright and fresh. Perfect for summer!! Thrilled, I began looking for my sizes – plus sizes.
Only to discover that there were none to be found. 😦
Some of the Regular Size options currently available online (www.suzysheir.com)A shopgirl informed me that only a select few locations carry the larger sizes, and that the downtown core wasn’t one of them. She did, however, let me know that some of the more ‘popular’ styles I see on the floor for regular sizes will be made in the plus sizes!
Feeling less inconvenienced by this news … I returned to my desk to launch their website to see what lovely fashions could be mine and where I needed to get them from.
As you can see from these two images => offerings for regular sizes vs. plus sizes aren’t nearly as “fun” for summer.
PLUS SIZE selection – mostly black and white….le sighNonetheless, I thought I should visit a location and see the plus size options up close and personally, as often you never really get a good feel for an item until you’ve actually tried it on yourself.
Using the handy-dandy store locator I discovered this: of the 140 stores – 3 are located in Toronto (First Canadian Place, Gerrard Square and Duffrin Mall) – and of those only 1 carries the plus size line. Grrrrr… Lucky for me, The Duffrin Mall is in my hood so getting to there isn’t a big deal.
Suzy Shier @ The Duffrin Mall
At first glance to the very back corner of the store seems dedicated to the plus size options – that looks colourful and plentiful. And as you can see … the prices are just right!
Suzy Shier+ section of the Duffrin Mall locationBut upon closer inspection, the pieces available on the floor didn’t really grab my attention – most were not my taste and most did not quite fit my body right. And I found that I needed to try on all three sizes (1x, 2x and 3x) as the sizing really changed from one item to the next.
My top two coveted items I had hoped to find in store from their website were the following:
Ok, before we get into all the pieces I tried on — let’s talk about the change-room situation at this location. Yikes!
They are pretty narrow, with one sad hook. Which ultimately forces you to make a decision: do you hang up your beloved purse and the clothes you are wearing OR the clothes you’d like to try on currently on hangers?
Oh! And to top it all off: no mirrors inside the wee room. Which means you must step out of the room, and strategically position its door while making sure it doesn’t lock you out of the room that now houses all your stuff, all in an effort to see your reflection on a mirror that hangs on THE BACK of your change-rooms door. #brutal
And what’s a girl to do in those moments when the outfit-tried-on is a complete disaster and you’d prefer not sharing the embarrassing moment with others by stepping outside of that room for a glance at that mirror? I can only imaging the number of unpurchased items simply because ladies wanted to avoid stepping out of the change-rooms in questionably fitting try-ons.
I had the added obstacle of having to compete with a rack of returns that cluttered up the narrow hallway between change-rooms in order to catch a glimpse of my reflection as I emerged from my change-room. Le sigh…
Here’s what caught my attention enough to want to try on:
Faux wrap aztek printed dress – I’m wearing a 3x …way too big on me and am clearly not impressed by the baggy boob situation. LOL!This navy scuba dress with beige lace wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t making me excited about it either… Meh! I dunno…
Scuba sheath dress with lace – I’m wearing a 3x – $30l did find the dress I was spotted online. It was on the sale rack (woot! woot!) but sadly it had a few pulled threads and only sizes 1x and 2x remained.
I would have liked to try on the 3x to see if it fit me a bit better – I’m not a fan of the boob-mashing-situation going on below.
Diamond print jacquard skater dress — I’m wearing 2x – $30Overall, I was a bit disappointed – especially because the shopgirl assured me that the plus sizes would be the same prints and styles shown in their regular line.
Which was not the case at all. And then to find out that the only Toronto location had cramped quarters for trying on items AND that they didn’t have all the sizes and styles as their website displayed for the plus line. Le sigh… 😦
What I Bought!
On my way out, I did find a size 2x in the faux wrap aztec printed dress. But the thought of having to go back into those cramped change-rooms AGAIN…. ew. No Thanks.
I guesstimated that I’d be safer to purchase this item a size smaller, and if worst case scenario… I’d simply return it if it didn’t fit right once I got it home. Right? Right!
BIG FYI #1:Suzy Shier has a strict Exchange Only policy (14-days). Absolutely zero Returns for cash back. **insert eye-roll emoji here**
BIG FYI #2: If you are hoping to do an exchange, know that you can ONLY exchange plus sized items to Suzy Shier stores with plus size options.
Yup. So, before you decide to spend your cold hard cash on a piece from this retailer, make sure you REALLY want it and that you like the way it fits, cuz there is no turning back once you fork out the $$. And with the sizing being so different from one piece to the next, ordering online without trying anything on IS NOT A WISE CHOICE here, don’t ya think?
Lucky for me, the 2x I purchased without trying on, fit like a dream! Even the exposed long zip down the back even lays flat from the top of neck to tail of hip! Very exciting news for my curvy self.
The neckline was still a bit big…or rather more revealing than I’d like. Thank goodness for safety pins for a quick fix 😉
Have any of you shopped Suzy Shier+ yet? Have you had much luck with fit, selection and style available to you? What are your thoughts on the pieces I tried on? Did I make the right choice?
Let me know in the comments section below.
I wore this number out this past weekend for BuzzontheBridge, part of 100in1Day event in Toronto –>
What a perfect sunny Saturday to be dancing Lindy Hop on the Wallace Bridge, followed by soaking up the rays with mimosas and Caesars on a patio! 🙂
April showers, bring May flowers…. or so they say.
You know what that means? Closet purge and spring cleaning!!! And just look what I found in the back of mine:
Kinda thrilled this dress I picked up a few summers ago from GAP in LA (size XXL) still fits!! What’s more exciting is that 2015’s springtime trend of sheer fabrics!
Seems like sheer fabrics are never going away and thank goodness for that! Not only do they jazz up tops and dresses but they make us feel like we’re wearing nothing at all. Keeping it light and airy…it’s a lovely feeling. 😉
Something NEW … picked these babies up for only $3.99!
In an effort to keep it springtime cute, yet weather appropriate (yes, it’s still pretty chilly in Toronto friends) I paired this cutie-pie green & yellow frock with a simple beige v-neck cropped cardi from Old Navy. And stepped up the dazzle with these new dangly earrings from Forever21, keeping the footwear simple and warm with my suede booties from Reitmans.
But I felt something was missing. So I tried a belt.
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. I very rarely ever wear jeans.
Don’t get me wrong – I love the look of denim! It’s just not the first think I of wearing. But for Fall they are pretty perfect for a causal vibe. (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! #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? Do you like mixing denims and patterns? 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. 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 – adding more “poof” to the top half of me just wasn’t cute. But then I came across this quilted vest at Old Navy (on sale for $15!) and it won me over! 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: 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
It’s been a while since I’ve taken any snaps on my balcony in front of this classic Petite Plus, Meow signature brick wall. Did you miss it? :p
PPMeow! 
