Reitmans – Page 3

Onesie for me

You must have notice all the hype around Jumpsuits and Rompers in plus sized fashion these days….especially for summer. Wondering what your thoughts are on them?

A few months ago I did a roundup post on this, trying to figure out if this trend is for me. Click here for my initial reactions to this plus-size fashion trend.

And then while perusing the sale racks of Reitmans this happened..

I wasn’t quite sure this trend was for me …. a onesie in any season seemed to be more trouble than it was worth. Plus, the length and hip-to-shoulder ratios would typically be all off on my petite-plus sized bod. Any any alterations that would be required would only increase the price point I was willing to pay for THIS fashion trend.

But this gem fit! I found it in straight-sizes as an XXL …it wasn’t too long at all, the shoulders were only slightly larger than required AND it was only $19! #winning 🙂

What I really like about this jumpsuit/onesie is the thoughtful details of the flattering v-neck and the added bonus POCKETS for your phone and lip gloss!

I could totally see myself taking this from DAY-TO-NIGHT with a chic blazer and pointy-toed pumps, to get this office/boardroom ready. Transition to evening cocktails or weekend fun with layers of gold jewelry and metallic sandals.

This jumpsuit could easily be a great option to keep your packing light on vacation. Pair it with simple flat sandals to stroll by day, and wedges for an evening look.

An additional bonus…is that there’s a slight elastic ankle, which allowed me to wear the pants shorter if I wanted to…like I did above. With the interesting dark navy pattern of the jumpsuit, I chose to keep all the other accessories simple and gold to standout a bit more, along with my white ceramic MK watch. And lastly, I added a skinny gold belt to the waist, as it is the only GOLD belt I own.

Sorry for the headphone cord getting in the way of this belt pic…

Ideally, I would have liked to have worn this onesie with a more substantial gold belt…like the ones I’ve been coveting on my Polyvore collage board:

How I Got the Look:

White cross body w/gold stud purse, gold drop earrings & gold coral necklace, Aldo Accessories; Gold & white sandals, Le Chateau; Navy patterned jumpsuit, Reitmans; Michael Kors watch; Gold skinny belt, Dressbarn (from an old dress)

THIS JUST IN…..Reitmans (one of my favourite retailers) just recently put these pics of me onto their store’s Instagram! Exciting!!!! 🙂

Screen Shot 2014-08-11 at 5.39.41 PM — Can you find me? **Squeal**

Who’s already jumped on this bandwagon? Rompers? Jumpsuits? Where from?

Share friends…use the Comments section … tell me everything! 🙂

Flower Power

“Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.”

Miranda Priestley’s famed catty retort from The Devil Wears Prada may live on in infamy, but truth be told I’m not the biggest fan of floral prints. And I’m seemingly late to the party with this trend this year….with summer in full bloom and all (see what I did there 😉 …)

These pink hibiscus earrings I picked up at last year’s Toronto Vintage Society‘s Tiki Party — were the inspiration for my outfit of the day.

I have a hard time finding a good lipstick/gloss that actually appears PINK once applied to my lips. This RIMMEL LONDON Stay Glossy Lip Gloss – Jewel In The Crown is actually perfect…and has become by go-to summer colour.

This outfit of the day had to do double-duty as a office appropriate work-outfit AND comfortable enough to Lindy Hop in immediately after work with SWING TORONTO in front of the Gazebo of St. James Park (King/Jarvis Sts)!

For dancing in the park….the heels had to go. Sooooo these navy flat peep-toes (Payless) worked out perfectly….

As you can see, dancing in St. James Park isn’t the easiest thing to do…..the grounds are pretty beat up and kinda tricky for dancing on. Not like that stopped us or anything. Check me out friends!!! 🙂

Special thanks to Liz for taking this perfect shot 🙂

Turns out Old Town Toronto took a bunch of pictures too. Check out a few during the swing lesson by Swing Toronto before the band went on…..click here for their full photo album of this event.

Swing Toronto’s lesson before the Band went on….Photo courtesy of Old Town Toronto

Love that this city has soooooo many outdoor music & dancing opportunities….

Here’s a few snaps from at Harbourfront Centre’s Dancing on the Pier event earlier this month. I love this city!!!

Dancing on the Pier a few weeks ago….with fellow Toronto Vintage Society sistas: Liz (The Vintage Inn) and Erin (Delovely Delightful)

Yet another Swing Dancing in the Streets pic…from 2014 The Beaches Jazz Festival (this past weekend) with Toronto Lindy Hop Can you find me? Click here for outfit details on this Seafoam Swirl dress

How I Got The Look:

Floral pencil skirt from H&M; Navy top from Reitmans; Navy flat peep-toes from Payless; Pink heels from MTNY; Purse from Your Big Sister’s Closet

Have you made it out to any outdoor music and dancing events in Toronto this summer? Which ones? Tell me all about the in the comments section friends!

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Hello, Yellow!

It was a gloomy partly cloudy day in Toronto … and surprisingly chilly for a July day.

With an afternoon full of meetings in the downtown core (yuck), my mood needed some lifting. So I decided that my outfit needed to be bright, loud and fresh.

Here’s what I came up with:

I’ve been searching for “the perfect yellow” – very difficult to find. Found this lovely light-weight sweater in the clearance rack ($14) at Reitmans in The Duffrin Mall the other day, figured I’d be saving it for the Fall, but today was just cool enough to unveil it.

My favourite parts of this outfit are the shoes and purse!!! Picked up both pieces LAST summer…..when I was totally obsessing over this amazing turquoise colour. Even my earrings match in this outfit. Aren’t these shoes just fantastic!!!! Gawd! I love them! 🙂

So….Waddya think?

Multiple patterns! Loud colours! Too much for an afternoon in the office? Maybe…..buuuut I don’t care.

I like it! It totally lifted my mood – and I’m ready to face these meetings with a “passionately neutral” approach 🙂

How I Got The Look:

Yellow & white stripped summer sweater from Reitmans; Grey checkered pencil skirt (click here to see skirt in other posts), Dorothy Perkins from The Hudson Bay Co.; Fabulous patterned peep-toed pumps from Nine West; Turquoise purse from Aldo Accessories; Earrings gifted.

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Dog Days of Summer

I’m a total city girl. Growing up cottage-less, I’ve never really got to enjoy “the great outdoors” much as a kid…and have only really started to appreciate being out in nature as an adult.

Before moving into a shoe-box sized condo, I owned a house in the East York/Upper Beaches area of Toronto with a standard mini-backyard with just the right amount of grass and greenery to lounge and laze about a summer afternoon, with the pup.

Sigh … I miss that lil’ green space. Nowadays, I’ve taken to keeping a picnic blanket, book and bottle of water pre-packed in a beach bag at my door so that when the mood strikes, me and The Bertso (that’s the pup) can re-create that zen-like lazy feeling in Trinity Bellwoods Park instead. Here’s what I wore on a recent lazy weekend afternoon:

How I Got The Look:

Orange Italian Leather sandals from Hudson Bay Co.; Lime floral tank from Lane Bryant; Jean skirt (with built-in shorts) from Reitmans; and a ridiculously large floppy sunhat from The Public Butter (vintage shop on West Queen W/Duffrin)

Moi, looking a lil’ dopey after 5-hours of sun worshiping

These Orange Italian Leather sandal’s life came to an end…sigh

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Rainy Day Office OOTD

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!

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How I Got The Look

Navy button-up sleeveless blouse from Reitmans

Navy polka dot blazer, Jessica Simpson from The Hudson Bay Company

White paisley Diva pants from Old Navy

Beige, tan & black platform sandals from NineWest

Black and white paten-leather purse from Kate Spade

White bib from Aldo Accessories, White ceramic Michael Kors watch, White & clear Birdcage umbrella from Shoppers Drug Mart

OOTD: Sea Foam Swirls

I have to admit, this past weekend with the release of Orange is the New Black season 2 on Netflix, I’ve been anti-social… or rather ‘selectively social’. In my defence I haven’t been feeling in tip top shape …and what better way to regain ones umph than by marathoning episodes of a fantastic show like this? 🙂

Monday, Monday – back to the grind. It is a absolutely beautiful day in Toronto today … which encouraged me to bust out this lovely sea foam swirl dress I picked up from Forever21 a few weeks ago…when I was on the hunt for a sea foam blazer. Alas, the blazer is still at large….but let’s look at how I took this fun, flirty, cut-out back dress from 9-5 and beyond 😉

Office Ready — I had to travel to the depths of Scarborough this morning to deliver a training session…but covering up the backless-ness of this fab patterned dress with a simple black open blazer (Reitmans), gave me the polished office appropriate look with this airy number, I think. I paired it with simple gold earrings and my MK bracelet watch, and my one of MANY new shoes from my recent cross-board shopping extravaganza trip. These brown wedge sandals are from Payless. Stay tuned for a blogpost on that all on its own friends…I did REAL good in the footwear department. Holla!

5pm and beyond: Remove the blazer….and head to your nearest patio STAT!

EASY PEASY, LEMON SQUEEZEY! What do you think of this sea foam colour on a darker skin tone like mine? Shall I still continue the hunt for a sea foam blazer or should I leave this colour alone? Would love to know your thoughts – share in the comment section.

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April Outerwear

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!

The Look: 3/4 Sleeved cobalt blue blazer, DressBarn; Purple leopard peep toed heels, NineWest; Berry bandage skirt, Forever21+; Lepoard peplum top, Reitmans; Bianca Tassel necklace, Stella & Dot; Gifted gold vintage earrings

Weather: Below Zero (-4) (Tuesday, April 15 2014)

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!

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#OOTD: April Showers

I just realized that I haven’t actually blogged about this particular outfit that I posted to Instagram a few weeks ago. Figured I’d do a ‘rainy-day’ outfit post seeing as we’re in April….and you know what they say, “April showers, bring May flowers”…

Toronto sure could use some springtime flowers already! Sigh…

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. They are still in great shape and continue to keep their waterproofy-ness…although I have noticed that I can’t wear them for too long, as they make my feet extremely warm. These boots have been my go-to for those early morning and last evening Dog-Walks, but I’ve worn them as part of an all-day outfit occasionally.

These pics were taken as I was getting ready to see a Saturday Mirvish matinée performance – fashionable & functional seeing as it was raining cats & dogs that afternoon. So I went for light, bright colours like this Robin’s egg blue card with this ‘hello yellow’ tank with solid navy w/Tuxedo stripe pants. The look was very plain, so I added this amazing springtime scarf I picked up at Winner’s to really tie everything together…in a bow 🙂

Did you like my rainy day look?

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What looks to you find challenging to put together? What would you to read about on PetitePlus, Meow?

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Take 1

Take 2

Take 3

How I Got The Look:

Springtime colourful scarf from Winners; Yellow tank from Reitmans

Robin’s egg blue cardi + Navy Diva pants from Old Navy

Paisley galoshes from Wal-Mart and vintage yellow swirl earrings from a #tvs friend

Herringbone jacket from Forever21+, seen here

Spring Weekend: Shawl + Hat

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;

Studio Blue Yoga

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!