Spring Forward

Photo credit: Rebecca Northcott Photography

Spring has officially sprung!  Which means the fun of transitioning your winter pieces into springtime ones begins!

I picked up this amazing green Fanny Midi Skirt from Tatyana Boutique way back when.

I went bold and tried mixing 3 different patterns in this outfit: Checkered Shirt. Floral Purse. Fanny Skirt.

This gorgeous vintage purse was an amazing find at the Toronto Vintage Clothing Show …click here to see more on that

But, I also had a more tamer option….

Outfit Deets: Purse, Aldo Accessories; Glossy Pumps, Payless Shoes; Skirt, Tatyana Boutique

This high waist circle skirt featuring a fan design on green fabric with pockets and pleating detail around the waist is what continues to make this skirt one of my beloved pieces of my closet ❤ ❤ ❤

It was a pricey piece…so I’m thrilled to be able to make it work for springtime too!

Wanna see this Fanny Skirt styled in different ways?  Click here and here and here 🙂

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How I Got The Look: Checkered shirt, H&M+; Fanny skirt, Tatyana Boutique; Purse, Aldo Accessories; Glossy pumps, Payless Shoes; Bracelets and necklaces are super old

No matter what the season, it seems you can’t really got wrong with a checkered shirt.  I found this one at H&M+ … anything black n’ white makes it really easy to pattern mix with.

Want more on mixing patterns, click here, here and here. 😉
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Ha!  I think I was trying to Lindyhop on carpet for this shot.  Leave it to the artsy eye of Rebecca Northcott to capture the silly moment perfectly. xo

What do you think of this look?  How do you transition pieces from your winter wardrobe to spring?

Tell me your thoughts in the comment section below.

Photo credit: Rebecca Northcott Photography

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Swing Out To Victory – 1940s Dinner/Dance

SWING OUT TO VICTORY! is an annual dinner-dance held at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.  You don’t need to be a dancer!   There are tons who come out just go to absorb the experience in a great museum setting with people dressed in their vintage finery.
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The superb Toronto All-Star Big Band performed nostalgic tunes from the 1930s and 40s all night underneath the famous Avro Lancaster (last in Canada) – the main focus of the event.
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This was going to be my first ‘away’ dance … and I was excited to get all decked out in ALL of my 1940s gear!

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Finding vintage plus-sized pieces hasn’t been too easy.  But I did have some luck at this Spring’s Toronto Vintage Clothing Show, where I picked up this floral belted day-dress, along with these new-vintage (i.e. never been worn) Celebrity  bow-tie heels. The white gloves are from 69Vintage, and the purse was a vintage gift (thanks JJ!).  The only non-vintage piece was my fascinator, which I picked up from the Your Big Sisters Closet.

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In an effort to make this dress more ‘1940s evening appropriate’ …  I was on the hunt for a fur stole.  Lucky for me, my vintage loving friends (thanks Erin & Joy) discovered that The Public Butter (a vintage shop on WQW) had a ton of them for sale!

I picked up this beautiful mink fur with a patterned, in perfect condition, lining for only $40!

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The beautiful vintage mink fur stole I picked up – in mint condition from The Public Butter, $40!

The hair is always my biggest challenge.  Liz, of The Vintage Inn, gave me a great easy tip and I was able to create this vintage back-roll…which held up pretty well all night!

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A gaggle of us carpooled our way just outside of Hamilton, in our 40s finest …. stopping to have dinner at Swiss Chalet, we be Klassly like dat….yup – classy with a ‘k’.  And then we were off to dance among the planes with uniformed men 🙂

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Lovely 1940s fashions, airplanes and furs with some fabulous ladies! Special thanks to Erin for bringing along her camera to capture some of these fab snaps!
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A little sweaty faced after all the dancing

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At some point in the middle of the fantastic night, a delightful lady handed me a card and said I was her choice for “Best Dressed” of the evening…and would be called up on stage for the competition!  Woot! Woot!

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Geez…check out my Best Dress competition – 7 ft tall goddess with perfect pin-up hair…
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Best Dress Contestants were me, 7ft pin-up goddess and Winston Churchill

 

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2nd prize winner of a giant basket of goodies for the Best Dressed Contest!
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Moi – a la 1940s. Photo credit: Shermette … click the link to see her blogpost recap on this event.

 

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Is there a panda behind my head? “I always feel like somebody’s watching me”….
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Toronto Vintage Society ladies totally ambushed this uniformed crewmen into this shot. He doesn’t seem to mind too much though 🙂

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Dancing to the always magically big band music of Toronto All Star Big Band,  surrounded by the planes at The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum,  among veterans and friends dressed in vintage finery and WINNING 2nd place in the best dressed contest ….. what a fantastic night!!!    Can’t wait for next year! 🙂

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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!
Profs II-53At 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.

Profs II-52But 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 😉

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Since this dress is relatively plain, I thought I’d step up the dazzle-factor with giant jewellery!

Profs II-57This 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.
Profs II-51I 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 😉

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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)?

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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!!! 😉
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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

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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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Fall Double Feature: Blooms on Black

Happy Hump Day!!!  I hope you’ve been enjoying and  following my Fall Fashion series in collaboration with Cassie from Style Cassentials.

We’re discussing fall trends this week – if you missed any of my previous posts, you can check them out here, here and here.

Today we are talking about Blooms on Black!

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I haven’t always been a big fan of florals, but this Fall, I’m starting to re-think this….considering we’re only at Hump Day Wednesday with this special blog series, and I’ve already worn blooms-on-black twice!  (Click here to see how I incorporated florals with leather earlier this week.)

Profs II-06This Dorothy Perkins metallic floral top is adorable and feminine…perfect for evening or date night.

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I’m really feeling gold this Fall … in accessories like watches, bangles, necklaces, earrings.  Get yourself some GOLD friends!

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In an effort to really play up the gold elements of this top, I paired it with a simple black pencil skirt and my giant pearl necklace…

Profs II-12…keeping my purse and shoes simple matte black.

The back of this top is really the showstopper – don’t you think? 🙂  Dorothy Perkins – A UK company that sells some really beautiful, classic plus size pieces that are high quality and that you are sure to have in your wardrobe for years to come. Many of the items are wardrobe staples. Excellent quality and they sell Canadian sizes 14-18, as well as straight sizes.  Lucky for me The Hudson Bay Co. carry her line and I got to scoop up this fab top without online hassles!

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How I Got The Look:

Floral ivory & metallic toned top from Dorothy Perkins; black pencil skirt from Old Navy; open toed pumps from Diesel; Giant pearls from Your Big Sister’s Closet;  vintage bracelets from Toronto Vintage Clothing Show; black purse gifted

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How cute is Cassie in this terrific felt hat!?  The blue hues with yellow blooms on black in this dress is just lovely.  Plus those amazing gold earrings….Love. It!

Head over to Style Cassentials for all the details on how Cassie has styled the trends.

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Cassie of Style Cassentials

What are your thoughts around wearing florals in Fall?  How would you incorporate this trend into your wardrobe this season?  Use the comments section and tell me all about it…

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Photo credit: Lawrence Kerr of LawrenceKerrPhotography.com

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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

 

 

As You Like It

Summer in Toronto is not complete without attending at least one Shakespere-in-the-Park ‘pay-what-you-can’ event! Pack a picnic, a blanket and a friend or two and it’s a perfect night of outdoor theatre.   This year, CanadianStage is offering both comedy and tragedy in High Park.  The shows will be playing on alternate nights through the summer.   Last week, a gf  via Facebook invite with a whopping 20+ of us who RSVPd a solid “YES, I’M IN”, were due to go.   Which only yielded a total of three persons who – actually –  physically – showed up to see  the light-hearted As You Like It under the stars.   (Why do people suck?  Let’s leave that difficult to answer question for another day, shall we?) 😉highpark_racoon2_1300x800

Witheth me doth be the most loveliest of maidens; healthy and svetly Sara and lusty and strong Natalie and in the bushes did lurk musical talents of a local school of young violinists.   We were merry and gay and mosquito burdened. It was a joyous night had by all.

The performance doesn’t begin until about 8pm (dusk-ish).  I got there an hour earlier to secure seats whilst the others were en route from their offices.  The three of us managed to get fabulous dead-center seats of the graduated earth seating  – cleverly lining our sit-on blanket with a $1 shower curtain  to keep the damp out.

Dressing for summer evenings in Toronto hasn’t been easy this year with unseasonably cooler nights.  Which means one must think about serious versatility when outfit planning to sit on one’s ass for 2+ hours, while the sun disappears and you’re left shivering cuddled under a blanket, while trying to stay cute. Plus, we can’t forget the inevitable use of a portapotty – dun dun dunnnnn.. 🙂

Keeping all of this in mind, here’s what I came up with to help keep me summer cute & comfortable while the sun was in full-force ,while protecting my freshly washed hair from bugs…

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How I Got the Look:  White patterned crop top and Tribal pants both from Forever21; Pink leather floral sandals (uber old from The Bay);  Aviator sunnies from ElleHardware; Headscarf is vintage, picked it up at the Toronto Vintage Clothing Show earlier this year.

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My headscarf was a last-minute addition to my outfit of the day.   Since much of my outfit was a simple black N white colour scheme….I made sure that the scarf had loud vibrant colours in it – a Summery punch, if you will.    With light rain threats in the forecast that evening, I simply wanted to protect my hair…but didn’t want to wear a hat and possibly be an irritating obstacle to another play-goer with the unfortunate luck of sitting behind me in the park.  So this seemed to be the best solution.

I wanted to do wear a more sophisticated head wrap but alas, none of them looked right on my pea-head.  Maybe, with practice, I’ll rock a few more of these techniques in the near future — thoughts? 🙂

Fab video of 12 wraps in under 7-mins

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Shakespeare isn’t everyones cupa tea … I never read/studied this particular play in school before, and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it…and I didn’t even need to read the Coles Notes before hand. 🙂

There were some fantastic lines in this one…with some hilarious female characters, one of whom is AUDREY who won me over with the following line:

I am not a slut, though I thank the gods I am foul.

Over the past few years, I’ve been more of a “skirts and dresses kinda gal”….but for sitting outdoors at dusk with bugs and cool temperatures, and the possible use of a portapotty at some point in the evening, made pants the best option!  These are lovely and light for summer-daytime, keeps your legs from getting bitten by bugs in the evening and comfortable enough to be sitting crossed legged cuddling on and under a blanket.

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Are you a fan of theatre – outdoor theatre?

Which ones have you been to….any recommends for me?

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