Suit Yourself

February 16, 201514 Comments

With temperatures under -30C it would be ridiculous to even fathom the idea of heading outside to take photos, which is just as well, because I don’t think I could do this outfit justice under layers of scarves and coats. This 70s suit jacket is one of those articles of clothing I bought just because of it’s print and cut, but I did not give much thought to what would pair well with it, so up until very recently it had been collecting dust in my closet. I had very close to forgotten about it when I spied it with what felt like fresh eyes, and I instantly thought of pieces that would look perfect with it. There are not many things in my closet I have trouble styling, this jacket was one of the few that stumped me time and again. I guess when I had bought it I just didn’t own anything that looked right with it. I know a ton of bloggers suggest not buying something unless you can think of several ways to wear it, but I’m of the mind that if I feel the piece is special and unique (and fits me right), then I will buy it and find a way to make it work. I’d rather have my closet full of pieces that are dear to my heart and make me think outside the box in terms of styling instead of just playing it safe.

What about you guys? Do you have a set of rules for yourself when purchasing new pieces? Do you just pick whatever feels right and go with the flow?
Suit jacket: vintage via Public Butter
Blouse: thrifted
Skirt: vintage via Odd Finds General Store
Socks: H&M
Shoes: Seychelles

Light of My Life

February 14, 20157 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day dear friends! Valentine’s Day is not one of my favourite holidays, but I am a blogger, and bloggers (for the most part) love to do holiday-inspired posts, however they choose to interpret them. So I felt I may as well pay homage to the holiday in my own way – no real fuss, just one of my favourite dresses that feels very appropriate for this love-filled day, what with it’s romantic length, red and frillyness.

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Love, in all it’s forms, is incredibly important to me. Love is what drives me, always. In the past, present and future I have always imagined my life full of intense love, something I now realize is one of my greatest weaknesses and strengths. This desire for love, in all aspects of my life, in it’s purest of purest form, is unattainable. When something is that important to you, it will undoubtedly let you down – the expectations are just too high. That kind of love, the one I am talking about, is fleeting. It exists momentarily in our lives, magnificent and bright, but it fades to dull, eventually. All this may sound sad, depressing even, but I don’t mean for it to be. Quite the opposite. To allow love, of any kind, to come to you is to be brave and open. To acknowledge the extent to which it can carry you, but also drop you, and to just say, “I don’t give a fuck. I’m giving it my all”, is one of my favourite qualities in a person. It means fear does not limit you. My expectations may be too high, it may be the reason for much sadness, but I’m glad that love is what drives me…good things have always come from love, not love masked as fear, but real, pure love.

All I’m really trying to say on this Hallmark holiday is to let love into your lives everyday…whether that be love for yourself (super important), your family, friends, partner, art, animals, objects, religion…whatever it may be, be in love with it every single day. You’ll quickly see how beautiful this complex world is in all it’s simplicity.Dress: vintage via Public Butter

*want to try this hairstyle?! you can find a tutorial here.

Beauty / Heatless Waves

February 6, 20157 Comments

Continuing on with showing you guys my go-to hairstyles, these heatless waves are my most go-to hairstyle as it’s probably one of the easiest things you can do to make your straight hairs a little more interesting. This hairstyle may seem like a sort of “duh” hairstyle, but I honestly would have never thought of it if it wasn’t for my best friend (hi Kristen!) who used to braid her hair and leave it in over-night or for extended periods of time only to take the braid out and have these amazing waves (her hair is seriously the best). At the time I had quite short hair and was unable to braid it, so I made note for my future long hairs that this would be how I would get excellent waves with the littlest amount of effort (at the time I had been using a hair straightener to create waves), and now if I’m not ragging my hair at night, it’s in a braid. So here we go! Quick, easy, simple, but effective.FIRST STEP: Braid your hair…yes, that’s it. I like to do a side braid, but only because I have a real, real hard time doing a braid down the back of my head…but if you’re a magical human who can braid your hair from any angle, well go to town my dear friend. You are far more talented than I.Make use of said braid by doing stupid things with it.SECOND STEP: As with my previous tutorial, I sleep with my braid in at night so that when I wake up my hair is very nearly ready to go – probably the simplest of all steps, unless you have a hard time sleeping at night, but even so, that makes no difference to your beautiful hairs.THIRD STEP: In the morning I will sometimes hairspray the braid to ensure my waves stay wavy throughout the day, and like I do with my rags, I will use my blow dryer on my hair briefly, which also helps maintain your wavy babies – make sure to let your hair cool after you use the blow dryer.FOURTH STEP: Once I’ve taken my braid out and given my hair a wee brush, I often backcomb my hair so I have a bit more volume – my hair is quite thick and thus heavy, and so it can sort of just floop on my head like a giant shapeless mop.Ta-da! Easy peasy! I will note my waves could have been a bit better – if you don’t wash your hair for a few days and braid your hair every night, your waves, obviously, will be even more prominent.

Let me know if you guys are enjoying these tutorials. I’m thinking of including my daily makeup routine and other makeup/hair fun. Do you prefer written/picture tutorials like this, or are you more likely to watch a youtube video?

Give me your eyes, I need sunshine

February 2, 20159 Comments

For a little while I felt like I had lost myself with taking my outfit photos, specifically when it came to taking outdoor shots. It started to become an okay let’s just get this done situation (probably because it’s been so cold), and I really started to feel like the quality of my images had suffered, and ultimately, didn’t feel like me. For one reason or another – and I think I have said this before – the actual feeling and artistry of the images I share is just as important to me as showcasing the outfit, maybe even more so. I mean, I’m not saying I’m making waves in the blogging world or even producing the best possible photographs (I’m still a newbie) or doing something that different or new, but it’s incredibly important to me to stay true to who I am. I’ll probably never be one of those bloggers that enjoys taking my outfit photos in front of a solid backdrop, which is strange, because some of my favorite bloggers do just that and I love it. I think it all comes down to my personality type, I have a hard time letting anything just be simple. Everything I do, in all aspects of my life, needs to feel important, and full of passion and creativity, and I am almost never satisfied (and clearly I am incredibly dramatic. get over yourself Alex!). I guess it goes without saying (but I will say it) that my brain (and my life, to be honest) has been in a tumultuous state of sorts lately. But taking these photographs and being able to share them with you feels incredibly therapeutic because these images feel the most like me out of any photographs I have taken in a long while. They remind me that even if my world feels like it’s falling apart, I can create something beautiful all by myself that makes me feel good, and it’s as simple as that.

Blouse: vintage via Public Butter
Skirt: vintage via Common Sort
Tights: old pair of ballet tights
Boots: Samantha Pleet x Wolverine

The Life of a Dress

January 19, 2015January 19, 201513 Comments

I have such a hard time feeling okay about buying clothes that are not vintage or thrifted (this excludes independent designers). I’m not sure why – maybe they just don’t feel special…maybe I don’t like the idea of fast fashion – whatever it is, I actually feel like I have something against new clothes. Recently Forever 21 opened a location really close to my house and I thought, “okay, cool, I can take a peek, maybe they’ll have some cute things.” But the second I tried them on, I didn’t want any of them. It just didn’t feel like me. But say I were to find that same item in a thrift store and I liked it, I would probably buy it. Maybe hunting for clothes is part of my love for vintage and thrifting.

So it’s odd for me to say, but the only thing that is vintage in this entire look is my hat. This dress may look vintage – what with it’s 50s shape and fun novelty print – but it is indeed new. And it had me wondering…will I love this dress? Why shouldn’t I love this dress? I mean, when I saw it online, I fell for it almost immediately. But as soon as I knew a ton of others could purchase it, or that it doesn’t have an interesting past, it’s like my brain tried to sabotage my initial like for this dress, as if it was less special because it hadn’t been worn by another. But I’m glad I do own it. I am very fond of this dress. I no longer have any dresses with this silhouette in my closet – I sold all my 50s dresses with a similar silhouette long ago because I’m not really a 50s kind of girl (usually). But the length of this dress feels very 60s and it can act as a pinafore, which we all know I love. It may not have a history, but I’m the first home along it’s journey. I hope one day it will make some others girls happy. After all, all those vintage clothes I love so much now started out as new.

Hold do you feel about buying new vs old? Do you even care? I’d love to hear.

Dress c/o Larmoni
Blouse: H&M (old)
Socks: UO
Hat: vintage via Common Sort
Boots: Samantha Pleet x Wolverine