BBQ invitations are in full force … and I’m lovin’ it!
So fun, flirty, light-weight summer dresses is what I’m all over when it comes to going from the heat of daytime sun into the wee hours of late night drinking in someone’s backyard or balcony.
Like this easy-peasy summertime look I put together the other weekend:
Waddya think of this cute lil’ cherry tote I picked up from Forever21? Not only is it oh-so cute…. It’s perfect for BYOB and for carrying along pot-luck contributions to shindigs 🙂
Depending on what time these BBQ get-to-gethers take place have ultimately been the determining factor on whether I’m bringing along sun-protection aka a HAT!
I picked up this simple wicker fedora from The Public Butter (vintage shop on WQW) and it has worked with basically ever summer outfit I’ve thrown together.
Don’t believe me? Take a look at Exhibits A, B and C below:
Exhibit A: Best Summer Fedora Ever!Exhibit B: Best Summer Fedora Ever!Exhibit C: Best Summer Fedora Ever! (Too much sun & sangria this day) 🙂
How I Got The Look:
Layered strapless dress from Old Navy; Navy peep-toed flats from Payless Shoes; Wicker Fedora from The Public Butter; Cherry Tote from Forever21; Seashell necklace, earrings and bracelet souvenirs from Dominican Republic, Cuba & Halifax, respectively 😉
What’s your easy-peasy Summertime BBQ outfit of choice friends? Tell me in the comments section!
I have to say that I’ve been really, really good about NOT making too many additional outfit purchase since my Cross Boarder Shopping Extravaganza earlier this summer. Buuuuuuut, every now and again, usually when I finally make it into the office downtown, I maybe find an amazing piece or two that is simply too lovely to pass on.
Like this amazing sleeveless deep-V faux-wrap dress I saw hanging in a Winners rack just as I was leaving. There isn’t much of a plus-size selection at many of the locations in the downtown core, or so I’ve found. This dress that I fell in love with for instance, was a XL in straight sizes. Dun dun dun…..
I didn’t even have time to try it on – just held it up against my body. I decided that the DBA (designated-boob-area) was ample enough, the pattern and fabric forgiving enough, that I just ran it over to the checkout and hoped for the best.
Later that week I found myself running errands in The Duffrin Mall (who, I must say, have really stepped-it-up from the frightening array of shops it housed from my memories as a teen), and discovered these fab booties on sale at Reitmans…… regular price $60 — marked down to $14.99!!!!!!
A little accessories love: Suede Booties from Reitmans; Jean jacket from Old Nay; Bow earrings and vintage purse were gifted & thrifted.New Sunnies!!! My first Aviators…from ElleHardware
And like that a country line-dancing outfit was born! 🙂
I rocked this outfit and made my way to Boots N’ Bourbon for their Thursday Night lesson + 1/2 priced appies and $5 beers!
Happy to say I wasn’t a complete disaster on the dance-floor. Thank goodness for all the vid clips from my previous blogpost: Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy!
Giddy Up!
How I Got The Look:
Dress from Winners (Wellington/Yonge); Jean jacket from Old Navy; Booties from Reitmans; Aviator sunglasses from Elle Hardware (West Queen West); Bow earrings were a gift and vintage suede purse thrifted/gifted.
Rainy Hump Day in Toronto … which led me to put together this multi-patterned fresh office look of navy and white + a combination of polka dots, stripes and paisley. Yup – three patterns, one outfit. AND White Pants!!! Crazytown, I know! 🙂
At first glance, the outfit looks pretty monochromatic and simple. Navy button-up sleeveless blouse with fabulous white bib, and white pants with wedge platform sandals.
But, if you look real close, these crisp white pants have a delightful paisley pattern on them. I introduced a third pattern by unveiling my new paten-leather Kate Spade purse today (isn’t she a beauty — another spectacular find on my recent cross-border shopping trip – click here for a blogpost on my haul from that extravaganza folks!)
Like most offices, it’s either freezing cold or ridiculously hot – so keeping a blazer handy always works well, and gives you that polished look in case you’re pulled into a meeting last-minute. Today, I went with my navy polka dot ¾ sleeved blazer which is perfect for summer time wear, as the lining is cotton. #winning 😉
Overall, this was a pretty functional and fashionable office outfit – minus the pain of breaking in new shoes. Picked up these fantastic beige-tan-black platforms in that same shopping trip (click here for blogpost)….but as you can see, they’ve massacred my left-foot’s baby toe. #fashionbeforefunction.
My hair started out looking relatively lovely….buuuut throughout the workday it got rained-on repeatedly while running in between buildings from meeting to meeting. The hair situation continued to diminish, finally it ending up getting tied back and outta-da-way. Sigh…
How do you keep yourself looking versatile and cute on rainy days friends? Tell me all about it in the Comments section below!
It’s a full week of rain in Toronto … and although I’ll happily take it over snow, I’m always looking for alternatives so I can avoid carrying around a giant umbrella to get from A to B in the city.
I have the best pair of galoshes!!! These pink paisley rubber boots basically screamed “Irene” when I scored them a million years ago from Wal-Mart.
But sometimes, a girl doesn’t want to be in humid rubber boots all day. Plus, these boots don’t exactly go with ever look and outfit. 😉
So here’s what I put together as a Rainy Day Alternative recently … in an effort to rid myself of an umbrella and galoshes.
The solution: A giant hat + booties!
Now naturally, this alternative is only good if the temperature is warmish (15+) and rain not too heavy so your footwear doesn’t get ruined. Since my jacket was 3/4 sleeved (and extremely light), pairing it with this fun scarf helped give me that extra bit of warmth. If you wanna see the many other ways to tie a scarf, I’ve got you covered in that link 🙂
Since the overall colour scheme was pretty simple and muted, I thought I’d add a pop of colour by wearing this HOT Pink gold studded belt to give my outfit some pizzazz!
I’ve been all over this circle scarf I picked up back in November from Aldo (I even mentioned it in my Interview upon being nominated for a 2014 LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD). It’s a light-weight simple beige toned bird patterned scarf, that I find myself adding to any and all outfits I whip up, especially on the weekends for running errands or impromptu meet-ups for brunch, drinks and the like.
Like the look? What are your solutions to looking cute in the rain?
How I Got The Look:
Bird circle scarf, Aldo Accessories (click here for related other posts)
Pink paisley galoshes, Wal-Mart (click here for related other posts)
3/4 sleeved brown jacket, AdditionElle
Black n’ white striped long-sleeved dress, Old Navy
Hot pink studded belt, Your Big Sister’s Closet
Large cream brimmed hat, Toronto Vintage Clothing Show(click here for related other posts)
Faux cowboy booties, Payless( click here for related other posts)
If you’re a fellow Toronotonian….than you must be feeling the pain of the constant weather flux from +21 degrees one day to a chilly -4 the very next.
I personally refuse to wear a winter coat in April! However, a girl needs more than one piece of outerwear to make it through this fickle weather comfortably. So here’s how I’ve managed to come up with creative solutions based on the weather forecast.
Weather: High Teens (+18) (Monday, April 14 2014)
I managed to get to and from the office WITHOUT a proper coat. This little cobalt blue blazer (along with a ‘just incase’ silk scarf) was all I needed in terms of outerwear to the office yesterday! Plus, zero hosiery was required – so peep toed heels had to make an appearance too!
I awoke to snow-covered rooftops, strong winds and heavy flurries this morning, as I walked my pup. So I was forced to pull out my wool Fall coat, pink pashmina and large brimmed hat (plus booties) to make it in into the office today. Seems my poor hat hasn’t been stored properly, but I think it still worked well regardless of the extra floppy one side 🙂
The Look: Black hat with leopard ribbon, Winners; Camel wool coat, Old Navy; Pink pashmina, Necessities; Purse, Guess; Black leather bow tie gloves, Danier
Weather: Single digits (+4) (Wednesday, April 16 2014)
Anticipating tomorrow’s weather, I think I’m gonna wear my shawl + hat combo to the office, making sure my under layers are warm enough to get me by (thinking a lightweight sweater and ankle length pants) … but who knows what my mood will lead me to outfit-wise when I wake friends 😉
The Look:Houndstooth shawl, Reitmans; Black belt, Lane Bryant; Hat from Vintage Clothing Show (forget which booth)
How have you been managing keeping your outerwear fashionable and functional while the weather decides if we’re finally going to let go of Winter and fully embrace Spring/Summer?
Use the Comments section – tell me!
Have you LIKE’d the Facebook Page yet? ….. if you haven’t…you really should! 🙂
I must control my shopping! I must control my shopping!
This has become my yoga mantra these days. But everywhere you look there are lovely spring fashions and sometimes it causes me to lose my mind. Especially when the prices are under $29!!!
My newest weakness is Forever21+. I try so hard to limit my purchases from this spot, as the price point is TOO perfect that EVERY SINGLE plus size diva in Toronto is gonna be rocking the same outfit. Buuuuut, I’m only human….and there’s no harm in trying things on…right? Right!
I tried on three items recently: this purple halter dress ($29), pink blush lacey dress ($29) and this green maxi dress ($17).
Did I leave empty handed? NOPE! Another mini-haul for moi!!! Only two of the three dresses above…and this cutie-pie cherry-rope bag ($12)!!!!
I love pink!!! I would wear pink head to toe everyday if I could. So this pink blush lace dress needed to be worn ASAP!! Just wore it to the office this Monday, with a grey cardi to keep it more professional and warm enough for spring weather 🙂
How I got The Look: Dress from Forever21+; Grey cardi from Old Navy; Mint-toed nude pumps from Hudson Bay Co.; Necklace from One Girl Who (St. Clair W/Bathurst Sts.)
I was fortunate to have met Stefanie Augusteijn a few years ago B.B.B. (Before Becoming a Blogger). When I moved to midtown Toronto, her boutique SexyPlusClothing was walking distance for me when it was located just south of Rosedale subway station on Yonge St.
She’s recently relocated this fab shop. This past weekend a friend of mine and I took a Saturday morning road trip out to Mississauga to be a part of Stefanie’s Grand Reopening & 5-Year Store Anniversary Party!
There were promises of Fresh New Spring Arrivals + Buy One Get One 50% offers along with Fashion and Beauty Prizes…and best of all Gourmet Cake and Refreshments!
Don’t let the outside fool you – the store is beautiful! And Stefanie designed it all herself!!! The fresh, bright off-white of the entire space and hardwood floors with pops of that SexyPlus signature pinks all over the place, along with the familiar alphabet artwork of Lime Green Squid just make you feel all smiley. 🙂
Lime Green Squid’s artworkCloser Look of Lime Green Squid’s artwork. A few of these framed pieces were given away to a few lucky customers of SexyPlus Clothing.
“Dress for the weather you want, not the weather you have!”
Decided on wearing this green & black maxi dress w/skinny black belt ($17 Forever21+) with a cropped cardi ($10 Old Navy) combo with my grey moto leather jacket (Winners) and Rocker-girl boots (Aldo) … regardless of the snow flurries that followed us from Toronto to Mississauga that morning. My hair was uncooperative this morning as you can see. Sigh…
Here’s a few snaps of all the shopping fun that was had at this beautifully renovated boutique for plus sized babes:
Me with Stefanie, owner of SexyPlus Clothing
Special shoutouts to go the lovely shop-girls, Dream Taylor and Sabrina who were uber attentive and helpful, providing honest opinions and encouragement once you’re ready to emerge from the change rooms. I tried on several pieces, including this lovely ‘Hello Yellow’ dress, this Black n’ White stripped number and this Tiki inspired beach-ready dress:
I even became the SexyPlus “Guinea pig” for trying on the new Convertible Maxi dress, as Stefanie transformed this lovely navy chevron patterned fabulousness whilst on my body for all to see the many different looks this one piece was capable of. Please ignore the giant bra straps that are taking away from the loveliness of this dress – clearly I was not prepared to be apart of this impromptu fashion show 🙂
Check out the pics below to see what this Marie Convertible dress in navy chevron can do:
It was a delightful afternoon….but as you can see from my face in the above pic, I was clearly torn as to which pieces I wanted to take home with me. I limited myself to only ONE new purchase of all the items above – I’ve got myself on a strict budget as my closet is bursting at the seams these days with all my recent mini-hauls.
Finally, I decided to buy the Captain’s Bodycon dress – it’s made in Canada!
Waddya think? Did I make the right decision? (Oh…ignore the moustache socks also…lol!)
SexyPlus Clothing’s new location: 5100 Maingate Drive, Unit 14 Mississauga, ON —- with lots of FREE parking friends. If you get a chance, you should def make the trip out to see what pretty fashions need to be yours!
From SexyPlus Clothing: The Captain’s Bodycon dress – it’s made in Canada!
It finally happened! Toronto got an actual SPRING weather weekend! Hooray!
So this Sunday I ditched my winter coat for a belted shawl + hat look instead.
I was invited to a photoshoot at High Park…and was asked to wear pastel colours for makeup. I’m not a big makeup kinda girl in the first place, but I was a bit intimidated of how to make pastels work for my darker complexion. With the help of Google and with Rimmel having a sale at Shoppers….here’s my attempt at pastel eyes and lips for the day.
Waddya think?
In hindsight, the light grey lacy-back sweatshirt and silk scarf I wore under the houndstooth shawl did not keep me warm enough….especially after 7pm once the sun went down. But, fashion before function, right? Right!
How I Got The Look:
Outter: Shawl from Reitmans; Cobalt pants from Old Navy; Rhinestone nude flats from Payless; Black belt from Lane Bryant; Hat from Vintage Clothing Show
Inner: Grey lace sweatshirt from Pennington’s; Oriental printed scarf from Vintage Clothing Show;
You maybe remember me going on and on about this cutie red anchor sweater in a recent post.
Well I found this fab lil’ navy pencil skirt with red anchor print from Old Navy too – it was on sale for $17 (Reg. #25…still a steal!). I’ve already worn it so much, I just haven’t posted about it. So here I go!
Mostly I’ve worn this skirt in a more dressed down weekend look – like below with this lacy-back sweatshirt I picked up on sale from Pennington’s around Boxing Day Sales time.
Pennington’s MBLM line seems to size things very generously – I was very excited to find out that I was a size 0 in this sweatshirt that I had to Intsagram about it immediately from the change-room!
To take this cutie-pie skirt to the office, I decided to mix patterns pairing the anchors with a collared blue pinstriped shirt (DressBarn ages ago).
I belted it and wore my red pumps (from Aldo) and my cherry accessory set to complete the office-day look.
I really love how it turned out! What do you think?
Since my BollyFuze classes ended in Fall, I’ve been missing group exercise. And with spring around the corner, I wanted to try something new. So when I came across another GroupOn deal for yoga classes in my hood, thought I’d check it out.
Studio Blue Yoga (located on Dundas St. West, just before Duffrin) conveniently has a their class schedule and descriptions available online, where you can BOOK your session. And they offer their first class for FREE! So before I cash in my GroupOn voucher, I could check them out before committing.
I personally haven’t practiced yoga in nearly two years. At one point I got pretty good with my breathing and balance work, and even got to be a pretty flexible girl. But, two years is a looooong time and this chick ain’t as bendy as she used to be. 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. Meanwhile, I would be drenched in sweat gasping for air in the corner, whist doing my rendition of downward dog pose, or worse… I imagined.
I started to do some digging for reviews on this place. Wanted to know what other people thought of the studio, the instructors, the clientele. And I discovered that this studio was brand spankin’ new… 5-weeks old in fact. Their website is simple and friendly. There I found the little helpful reminders section (see image above) that helped me shake that scardy-cat voice in the back of my head. The location is amazing, walking distance from my place. The classes offered variety and options on various days of the week. And I didn’t have to commit cash until I tried it out first. SOLD! I searched my storage unit for my lime green yoga mat and I booked my first class!
The complimentary class I chose was a Tuesday evening class called: Foundations Flow — A beginner friendly and comprehensive class with a focus on anatomy. Includes Sun Salutations, Downward Dog flows and other fundamental postures. Suitable for all levels. I got to the studio a bit early in hopes to chat with the owner and checkout the space for this blog review. The bright, welcoming logo painted directly onto their walls can be seen from across Dundas St West, which was much appreciated for this first-timer looking for the location. I was greeted by Jess, a yoga instructor and the owner of Studio Blue and she gave me a tour of the facilities and how everything worked … plus a mug of ginger tea.
Once you’ve checked in and signed their health & safety waiver, there is a long hallway filled with original artwork that was all photographed in their fancy space. Sliding pocket-doors lead you into a lovely large space that is toasty warm.
The entire yoga studio space has been fitted with ceiling heaters that warm up the objects in the room, so much so that I mistakenly thought the floors were heated. Patrons need to bring their own yoga mats, towels and bottles of water as none of that is provided there. However, there are yoga blocks available to help support you if you need them – they came in super handy for me as I relearn how to perform all the yoga poses. There’s even a raised stage area at the front of the room for the instructor of the class, which I thought was a brilliant idea.
Towards the back of the studio there are separate change rooms for men and women, complete with benches, cubbies for your stuff and showers within each. Unisex washrooms and a water-fountain station to refill bottles are back there too. Super handy and convenient for those of us rushing to class after work.
The 75-min Tuesday night class was a mixed group of 6 people, where we focused on breathing and balance in our movements and poses. Since we were a small, but mighty few we got to do some exercises against the wall that really allowed the body to stretch completely by way of a half-moon pose. My balance and breathing needs a lot of work. But by the end of the class I found myself seriously relaxed, my whole body felt like butta and I floated home in a peaceful yoga bubble. I had the most sound sleep that night that I’ve had in a long time. I think there’s something to this yoga thang!
I’ve always had a hard time spending money on ‘name brand’ gym clothes – so most of what I wear when working out are tops that have been demoted from my regular wardrobe and yoga pants when on sale from various retailers. Usually a Target or Wamart and occasionally a Reitmans or Old Navy. Here’s what I wore to my first yoga class at Studio Blue:
Tops: demoted pink button-up Tee from Old Navy, long-sleeve activewear from Puma (on sale at Winners)
Bottoms: Yogalife black capri pants from Reitmans
In hindsight, wearing a top with buttons for anything exercise related is a total no-no for me. With all the different poses involved, twists and body movements those buttons did not want to say buttoned. The ‘girls’ got in the way of some of the poses done while on the mat, to be expected. Next time, I will have to consider wearing a tight-fitting tank underneath instead, to avoid “t-shirt creep”.
I loved the class! I’m definitely cashing in my voucher and going again! This time I might try one of their more high-energy classes…soooo many to choose from…excited! If only there was a Cuddle Pose + nap time to end every class with…hummmm. I’ll make that suggestion at my next class and see what I can do friends 😉
How many of y’all practice Yoga? How many of you have thought about it, but feel a little intimidated to try? Share your thoughts and experiences with me in the ‘comments’…let’s start a discussion!
Weather: Below Zero (-4) (Tuesday, April 15 2014)
She’s recently relocated this fab shop. This past weekend a friend of mine and I took a Saturday morning road trip out to Mississauga to be a part of Stefanie’s Grand Reopening & 5-Year Store Anniversary Party!
PPMeow! 