Lawrence Kerr Photography

Birthday Frock

Doesn’t this dress just scream: FALL IS HERE!?

Gawd!! I fell in love with this on the hangers at Tatyana Boutique – before they closed their Toronto location – which means up to 80% discounts on all their gorgeous frocks.

So I picked up this bad boy…and have been patiently waiting for my birthday to wear it. 🙂

Not like I ever need an excuse to treat myself to a new frock …teeheee 😛 ….

But if you’ve got a looming birthday on the horizon – that is an EXCELLENT excuse to treat = a new outfit!

At the time of purchasing this dress, I didn’t really have any plans to celebrate my birthday. All I knew was that this dress needed to be mine.

Click here for more deets of the exact moment this dress stole my heart! ❤ ❤ ❤

Just look at the fun and sassy lace embellishment around the entire neckline ….. ❤

This dress came with a sweet little deep green ribbon belt…. which I chose to wear in my hair instead of around my waist.

Now Toronto’s still pretty lucky with the weather we’ve been getting. So for true birthday purposes wearing this dress solo was perfect!!!

But with Fall officially here now, a girl’s gotta come up with ideas to keep cute + warm.

Here’s my plans for this dress into cooler temperatures….until the snow hits, that is:

How I Got The Look:

Mirabelle Dress, Tatyana Boutique; Glossy Beige Pumps, Payless Shoes; Fur Collared Sweater, Reitmans

Photo credit: Lawrence Kerr of LawrenceKerrPhotography.com

What I Did

September babies are the best!!! Turns out several of my peeps are fellow September babies.

So what better way to celebrate ALL of their birthdays than by one big ol’ party doing all the things we each love:

Day Drinking – Patio Potlucking – BBQ’ing – Cake Eating – Dancing – Pole’ing – Hot Tubbing too!!!

14333173_10153980251919072_1790328659050317031_n — It’s not a party until there’s a POLE! Giddy Up! 😉

There you have it friends – celebrating turning 29 for the umpteenth time with patio fun, good friends and the perfect weather day!!!

Curious about my birthday outfits from previous years? Click here, here and here 🙂

Make a Wish! ~~ Happy Birthday to ALL the September Babies out there! xo

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Semi-Sheer Fall Florals

This summer I found myself some maxi dresses that I made work for my petite height. Click here and here to see what I mean.

As the weather cools to Fall temperatures … I’m doing my best to avoid jackets, leggings and pantyhose for as long as possible.

Maxi dresses are a perfect solution to doing just that! 😉
I’ve worn this semi-sheer maxi dress many times this summer …. and YUP it can be also be worn as a coverup with your swimsuit!

The 3/4 sleeves with buttoned cuffs are perfect for coverage, without being too heavy and warm for Fall.

I traded the sandals for my zippered black boots to go with the daring vibe of this sheer frock. The boots and fringe purse I paired it with kinda adds some edginess to the allover floral print.

There are a lot of nice little details of this dress:

The entire front is buttoned… I chose to keep it unbuttoned to mid-thigh to allow my shorts to peek out at I move.

The V-neckline highlights the girls … being chesty the buttons tended to gap, so I chose to wear a plunge bra for maximum cleavage and just embraced it! 😉

And the elasticized waist just sinches me in at the right spots, showing off that coveted hourglass figure. ❤ ❤ ❤

Being 5’2 … this dress is hella long without the heels of these boots. But I’ve worn it with flats by tying little knots on the end of each side bottoms and it works beautifully!

I see myself creating new Fall looks as the weather gets colder by wearing this frock with skinny jeans or leggings …hmmm

Lawrence Kerr Photography -4878 — This dress moves beautifully! Just look at some for these great windy shots taken by Lawerence Kerr Photography. ❤

How I Got The Look:

Semi-sheer maxi dress, Forever21+; Fringe purse, Aldo Accessories; Boots, Aldo; Dance shorts, Wal-mart; Plunge bra, Penningtons

What do you think about this sheer floral maxi style?

How would you rock one? What are your thoughts on how I styled it? Tell me in the comments below!

Photo credit: Lawrence Kerr of LawrenceKerrPhotography.com

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Ok friends….seems like Fall came and went in a blink of an eye and we’ve already been thrown into Winter weather. I thought before we start focusing on winter wear, we’d take a look at some of the trending colours and vibes in Fall fashion on the blog.

Here’s a roundup of a few I personally have embraced over the last few months of blogposts. Each image is linked to this individual post, just click on it for more details on the look 🙂

Proofs-14 — The Classic Combo: Black n’ White

Fall (and Winter) is perfect for ‘Sweater Weather’ …. so here are a few looks incorporating just that – sweater glamour:

Transition Summer into Fall with sweater love

The big patterns I noticed and loved the most this Fall have been BLOOMS ON BLACK and PLAID!

plus size fashion for fall — Blooms on Black

and last, but not least….is LEATHER!! It was everywhere:

Loving the leather at the hems and shoulders of this Newsprint Navy frock

Warming up my leather moto with a black n’ white plaid poncho

Wearing a leather jacket as a blazer to take a jumpsuit to the office

Profs II-62 — Leatherette panels and collar for some edgy office wear

leather plus size fashion — Adding leather to dark florals

And of course a combination of everything above to transition a maxi skirt for sweater weather and leather — a little teaser of an upcoming blogpost friends 😉

Transitioning Maxi into Fall wear — Transitioning Maxi into Fall/Winter wear

Waddya think of this Farewell to Fall roundup? Think there’s potential to take some well into the Winter months too.

Any stand out as your personal favourites? Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts!

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Edgy Officewear

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. 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. Right?

I see this piece as making many appearances over the next few months my friends. 😉

What do you think of this look? Where would you wear it? As office wear….night-out wear….both…and how? 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

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Acid Pink!

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).

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 😉

Damzels20th Anniversary — 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? Tell me using the Comment section below…

Photo credit: Lawrence Kerr of LawrenceKerrPhotography.com

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Playful Plaid

Last month I ran a special 7-day long Fall Double Feature collaboration series with Style Cassentials, where we explored and put our own twists on upcoming trends for Fall.

One of the big trends this season is being Mad for Plaid! Today I’m taking a more playful approach to plaid 🙂

There has been a sudden spike in Toronto temperatures lately, which means getting into full on Fall garb on 20+ degree days, just doesn’t make sense. So for today’s outfit of the day I decided to wear a sheer plaid shirt, with leggings for an easy, casual look.

Typically early mornings and evenings tend to be cooler – quick. So in an effort to combat the sudden dips in temps … this light jean jacket and wooly wonderful-ness of this infinity scarf are perfect solutions! 🙂

How I Got The Look:

Jean jacket from Old Navy; Thick wool infinity scarf from Aldo Accessories; Black n’ white sheer plaid shirt from Reitmans; Leather calf leggings from Forever21+; Large cream Coach bag; Beige + sea foam toed heels from The Hudson Bay Co.; jewelled studded flats from Payless; extra thick infinity scarf from Aldo; and vintage bracelets from Spring’s Toronto Vintage Clothing Show

What do you think of this look? How would you incorporate plaid into your Fall looks? Use the Comments section and tell me your thoughts!

Photo credit: Lawrence Kerr of LawrenceKerrPhotography.com

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Lindyworks 2014!

Lindyworks is Toronto Lindy Hop’s annual weekend of workshop wonderfulness! It’s all about Lindy Hop and Vernacular Jazz dancing. Having only begun my own Swing Dancing love affair (began this past spring, click here for that)…. this was my first workshop ever! I was uber nervous about being surrounded by actual dancers for an entire weekend (three days) of solid dance instruction to challenge and inspire dancers during the day and to practice your newly acquired skills at evening parties that feature the best LIVE swing bands.

THE WORKSHOPS:

The organizers of Lindyworks 2014, along with our fantastic guest instructors: Evita Arce & Michael Jagger AND Sylwia Bielec & Alain Fragman Photo credit: KHPhotography

10380575_10152495933878392_4840689755558176843_o — From NYC, Evita Arce & Michael Jagger

10358978_10152495937648392_2291017049027731490_o — Evita Arce & Michael Jagger

1529982_10152495936143392_85710616048455447_o — From Montreal, Sylwia Bielec & Alain Fragman

Moi… in sweaty-workshop-mode … learning new moves and improving on technique

10710548_10152495934848392_6482043646179483170_n — Photo credit: KHPhotography

Not quite sure what I’m doing looking at the ceiling … perhaps that’s my own ‘personal styling’ of a dance move…

Love this one…. “I saw you…with her… Wag our finger in unison”... STOMP OFF! 🙂

10648328_10152495936473392_3783599186581861487_o — Photo credit: KHPhotography

Thank goodness for KHPhotograpy for capturing these moments – all I had to show at the end of workshop day 1, was the following Facebook post:

Screen Shot 2014-09-28 at 6.09.11 PM — Sweaty Workshop Selfie vs. Douvercout House Ready Selfie

Lucky for me and for PPMeow! readers that Kahlil Heslop (of KHPhotography), friend and fellow Lindy Hopper, captured the evening and events perfectly!!!

Here are a few perfect snaps that just make my heart oh-so happy with memories of a fantastic 3-days of Workshops, Competitions, Performances and Social Dancing.

THE COMPETITIONS:

10694225_10152495922738392_9190570128261616255_o — Photo credit: KHPhotography

Check out my gf Erin and her partner Luis (our instructor at Lindy Hop Revolution). She began in Beginner Lessons with me…and now here she is competing in her FIRST competition!!! I’m soooo proud of her!!

10662184_10152495922633392_1685239887962739980_o — Photo credit: KHPhotography

They TIED for 3rd place I’m told! Woot! Woot! I may have been an extremely vocal cheering section – She is my hero! 🙂

10003630_10152495922618392_2524301440749902596_o — Check out the hip action on my instructor Luis…He’s Spanish – his hips don’t lie 😉 Photo credit: KHPhotography

ROUND #1

ROUND #2

PERFORMANCES BY ALAIN & SYLWIA:

FOLLOWED BY PERFORMANCES BY MICHAEL & EVITA:

I just love the look on everyones faces! Still can’t believe I got to social dance with Michael (Mic) Jagger – ha! He’s oh-so-very-fantastically! **swoon**

Lindy Hop – the most fun you can have with your clothes on. 😉

For Kahlil’s full photo album of Lindyworks 2014 shots click here.

Click here for JT Photography’s photo album for Toronto Lindy Hop

Now that you’ve seen “What I Did”….let’s talk about “What I Wore” to the Saturday Night Lindyworks Dance at The Douvercourt House – hosted by Toronto Lindy Hop .

This lovely dress was on sale at the time I was looking for my the perfect dress for Tiki Lani Lanai with TVS.

If you look really closely at the pattern of this dress, you’ll notice they are little chat bubbles/text bubbles.

Plus giant buttons and a lil’ collar…..Too cute, right?

How I Got The Look: Dress from Cherry Velvet Plus; Belt & Shoes from Winners -these were not wore whilst dancing 😉 – and the 50s vintage sweater was thrifted from Goodwill.

Outfit photo credit: Lawrence Kerr of LawrenceKerrPhotography.com

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Birthday Blues in Newsprint Navy

I picked up this navy Jax Leatherette newsprint dress from SexyPlus Clothing last month at the Fall Preview Blogger Exclusive.

As you saw last week during my Fall Double Feature collaboration series, both Leather and Blue Hues are trending this season. This dress combines them both perfectly.

I’m loving the leather details on the shoulders and above the hems of both sides of this dress.

This Zebra clutch is my new favourite piece right now, I try to bring it along with me whenever I can 🙂It was my birthday last week and I got to unveil this dress over that weekend.

Another year older – uggh – and not at all wiser. Or maybe not as wise as I hoped to be at this point. But in these pics I don’t look a day over 28 😉

Must be magical camera tricks of LawrenceKerrPhotography – I’m loving the images from this shoot!

I’ve been having mixed emotions about turning older this year.

Not really being up to organizing & celebrating a non-milestone born-day, I took the day off instead and spent some quality time with me, myself and Irene 😉

The lovely Elmwood Spa – a true urban oasis – treated me for a birthday lunch, which I ate in my plush robe & slippers. After that I was rubbed down by a giant man, whom I’ve decided to remember as spectacularly handsome ;), for an 80-min Hot Stone Massage followed by Water Therapies which included pool, steam room and the hot tub. I was determine not to leave until I looked like a raisin!!

PPMeow at Elmwood Spa — Lunching in fluffy robes and drinking in the afternoon ….Happy Birthday indeed!

In the evening a gf and I met up for dinner (tap pas and sangrias at Carmen – delicious!), followed by tickets to see HEDWIG and the Angry Inch at the Lower Ossington Theatre where we were entertained by talented rock bands, drinking and great singing by an interesting transsexual with lots of stories and rock songs. The performance was fantastic! Buuuuut the story, which I found sad, went over my head. I had to come home and google exactly what I just spend the last 90-mins sitting through.

I got a lovely birthday card that read:

In this world where things move so fast and change before our eyes, I take comfort in the precious and few things that are constant and true…your friendship is one thing I can count on; one thing I keep safe inside my heart. I celebrate you on your birthday and I honour the friendship we share day after day, year after year.

Between this card, invitations to dinners, brunches and drinks, and the numerous phone calls, voicemails, texts and the 101+ Facebook messages of Birthday Wishes – I felt pretty damn’d loved all day. I’m a very blessed and lucky girl! 🙂

Overall, a pretty freakin’ fantastic birthday weekend!!!

And now, let the next 365 days of this new year in the life & times of Irene be awesome! Cheers!

How I Got The Look:

Blue suede platform shoes from Payless; Zebra clutch from AlterEgo Clothing; Newsprint Jax Dress from SexyPlus Clothing; Leaf earrings from …yikes, I don’t remember friends, they are super old.

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Photo credit: Lawrence Kerr of LawrenceKerrPhotography.com

Fall Double Feature: Sporty Chic

Here it is folks ….. the LAST outfit post from our week long Fall Double Feature special. Hazza!!!

I hope you’ve been enjoying and following this FIRST SERIES on PPMeow! Cassie from Style Cassentials and I had so much fun putting together this collaboration. And we’d love to know what you thought too (use the comments section below to do just that, friends).

We’ve been discussing and putting our own unique twists to Fall trends ALL week. 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 Fall ready! 🙂

Let us end this series by being Sporty Chic!

Waddya think of this triple-split shot taken by *LawreneceKerrPhotography* …whist I was ‘getting camera ready’ in the mirror? Kinda clever huh…

This was the hardest of all the Fall looks for me to put together this week, from my existing wardrobe.

Truth be told, dressing down or sporty isn’t something I do regularly. Seeing as I work from home, I revel in the opportunities to leave the house — and when I do I always wanna dress up, rather than dress down 🙂

So this was a good challenge for me.

My entire mauve-toned outfit is from Reitmans. I’ve totally become a skirt-and-dresses-type-of-chick days, so I paired this simple pencil skirt with a tri-coloured striped button down v-neck cardi. For some reason anything in a stripe seems ‘sporty’ to me …

Of course, these high-top platform sneaks help give the whole look a more casual-sporty-vibe. I try to avoid wearing sweaters with jackets in the Fall – so in an effort to keep warm for Fall temperatures, a simple black n’ white patterned pashmina scarf worked out perfectly. And then for a third pattern, my zebra clutch.

How I Got The Look:

Tri-colour stripped cardi & mauve skirt from Reitmans; High-top kicks from Torrid; Zebra clutch from AlterEgo Clothing and the black n’ white pashmina scarf and hoop earrings were gifted

How much do you love this diagonal zip jacket Miss Cassie is wearing? And that fabulous cuff – LOVE IT! Head over to Style Cassentials for all the details on how Cassie has styled the trends. Or visit her Facebook page here.

And just in case….if you’ve missed a few from the special Fall Double Feature? Not to fear…

Loving Leather click here; Sweater Glamour click here; Modern Monochrome click here;

Blooms on Black click here; Blue Hues click here; Mad for Plaid click here

Photo credit: Lawrence Kerr of LawrenceKerrPhotography.com

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Fall Double Feature: Mad for Plaid

Friday! FriDAY! FRIDAY!

We’ve made it through yet another workweek friends…and have gotten to nearly a week’s worth of Fall Fashion trends in my special Double Feature collaboration series with Cassie from Style Cassentials.

We’re discussing fall trends this week – if you missed any of my previous posts I’ve list them at the end of this one…so you can get yourself caught up 🙂

Today we are Mad for Plaid!

I just love the extra large collar of this black sweater. The details like the single collar button and the cable knitting down the front of the sweater, being different than the arms and back of this piece, add a bit more flare to this office-all-business look.

If you’ve been following this Fall Double Feature series….you’ll notice how many of these trends are overlapping. Like this one..combining Sweater Glamour and with Plaid.

This sangria deep red colour is popping up all over in Fall trends this season. Which is lucky for me…as these adorable red booties have not gotten enough showtime in my office, nor has this glossy alligator purse. 🙂

How I Got The Look:

Long pencil skirt from LauraPetite; Black waffled collared sweater from Sears; Sangria red booties from NineWest; Sangria red alligator purse from Elmwood Spa (yes…they occasionally have purses, accessories and footwear for sale near the exit)

Cassie chose to showcase a black and white thin glen plaid pattern in both a blazer option and sheer shirt. See how many of these Fall trends we’ve been talking about all week can easily overlap each other and totally work!!! Love how she’s incorporating Blooms on Black with the Mad for Plaid trend in her blazer look. Head over to Style Cassentials for all the details on how Cassie has styled the trends. Or visit her Facebook page here.

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Photo credit: Lawrence Kerr of LawrenceKerrPhotography.com

Have you missed a few from the special Fall Double Feature? Not to fear…

Loving Leather click here

Sweater Glamour click here

Modern Monochrome click here

Blooms on Black click here

Blue Hues click here

Tag: Lawrence Kerr Photography

Birthday Frock

How I Got The Look:

What I Did

Semi-Sheer Fall Florals

How I Got The Look:

Farewell to Fall: Round Up!

Edgy Officewear

Acid Pink!

Playful Plaid

Lindyworks 2014!

Birthday Blues in Newsprint Navy

Fall Double Feature: Sporty Chic

Fall Double Feature: Mad for Plaid

How I Got The Look:

What I Did

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