I don’t often get excited about bags. I used to have a serious collection of them, but over time I stopped finding purses that I liked, which eventually led to me only having a few purses to rotate between (woe is me…my life is so hard…). However, every time I see a Mansur Gavriel purse, I remember that purses can actually be covetable. I’m really a vintage purse girl at heart, but when I buy new, these are the styles I enjoy; solid colours, roomy and the option between handbag or shoulder. Aside from the purses being truly beautiful, it’s this FW ’15 lookbook that is the real gem twinkling in my eyes (thanks to Daria for sharing on her blog first). What a fun way to present bags! While I’ve never been a huge fan of minimalism, this is the type minimalism I enjoy; it’s eye catching, colourful and abstract in the simplest way.
Category: Inspiration
Collection: L’Orla Resort 2016
My love for Orla Kiely is no secret around these parts, so when I heard she was collaborating on a Resort 2016 collection called L’Orla with super stylist and founder of Lula Magazine Leith Clark, I knew it would be something right up my alley. As you can imagine, it’s another vintage-inspired collection, however, finding inspiration from the 70s, which feels fresh and new for Orla. After spending the majority of my high school days in mostly black #gothlife, my relationship with black garments ceased to exist, for a long time. Only very recently have I started to feel a connection to black again, so this collection has got my very excited and wishing to get my mitts on midi length black dresses that feel both sophisticated and youthful (ie. adorable!). While this may be a Resort collection, these are just the types of dresses I’d love to be wearing come Fall/Winter; replace the t-bar heels with some lace-up boots, add a cute mid-length trapeze coat and we’ve got a perfect Fall/Winter outfit on our hands.
What do you guys think about the collection? Love it? Hate it? What’s your favourite?
To Be Adored
Way back before I even considered starting my own fashion blog, back when I first just discovered fashion blogs were a thing, which then became obsessively reading through the archives of bloggers such as Rhiannon, Tavi, Arabelle etc., I came across the label TBA (To Be Adored) and fell madly in love. I only recently got thinking about this label again since I hadn’t seen anything from them in years. I did a little browsing and ended up on their site which was incredibly disappointing, but then it lead me to their FB page, which is where I found all their old lookbooks and remembered why I loved this label so much. I think, for me, TBA started going wrong in 2013, but that could just be a matter of taste. Before then, they were very much vintage inspired, girly without being over the top and what felt like to me, care free. TBA was the kind of girl I wanted to be, through and through. So, I thought I’d share some looks from TBA SS ’11 collection because that was the season that got me hooked and I feel it is still very relevant to my style now.
Do you guys remember TBA? What was your favourite season?
Paint Nite
Last week myself and 3 friends were invited to attend Paint Nite, a nightly 2 hour (roughly) event that blends artistic painting and drinking cocktails (or whatever you want) at local bistros in Toronto and the GTA. It’s lead by a performing artist who guides everyone in the class step by step through blank canvas to “masterpiece”. I must admit, when I first got the invite I wasn’t so sure about it. I mean, I cannot paint, or at least I thought I could not. But Paint Nite specifically boasts that you need no skill whatsoever, which left me feeling a little more reassured. When we got to the class we were seated together, each with a blank canvas in front of us, oil paints in blue, red, yellow, black and white, two paint brushes and an apron. The painting we were to paint that evening was “white tulips”, which I knew ahead of time because you can choose which event you attend based on the painting, day or location you prefer. The thing that is really nice about this event is that you have total creative freedom – you can follow the teacher’s instructions as much or as little as you like. I mostly followed every instruction given, just mixing colours how I preferred, but Ryan painted something totally from his own imagination, so that gives you a good idea of how much freedom and choice you have.
I came away from the evening feeling pretty proud. I don’t think I had picked up a paint brush since I was a child, let alone actually paint something I felt was pretty decent looking. I’ve always felt like a creative person – I dance and choreograph pieces, I write and I’m clearly into photography, but I have always shied away from arts like drawing and painting; it often feels like a skill set I just don’t have. But this sort of showed me that if given some direction, it is likely something I could learn to be decent at. I doubt I’ll ever become a painter, but this opportunity has made me interested in trying some other art forms…I’ve now done pottery and painting…I wonder what’s next?!
If you are interested in giving Paint Nite a go (and I really think you should) I am offering 35% off with the code INSTA. You can book online here.
*I was given 4 complimentary tickets to Paint Nite in exchange for social media posts, but all thoughts and opinions are my own, obvs
Collection / Vivetta Resort 2016
Has there ever been a more fun and inspiring collection than Vivetta Resort 2016? Well maybe, but I am absolutely smitten with this collection, so it’s being placed at the very top of collection favourites to date. The obvious thing to love about Vivetta is the surrealist elements of her designs – the hands collars are ingenious – they are forward thinking yet actually wearable, and undeniably adorable. The collection was styled by superstar stylist, Leith Clark, and I absolutely adore how she has paired pastels with bold colours, creating incredibly striking visuals that just enhance the surrealist nature of the collection. I personally love mixing pastels with more primary colours, so this is a collection after my own heart. I wish I could pick one look that is my favourite, but I genuinely love them all equally. However, I will say, those ankle strap heels with bows are to.die.for.
What are your favourites? Let me know in the comments below.
okay andie 
