Fun Stuff for Your Home!

Every now and then we all need a bit of a reprieve from the drags of the day-to-day, and what better way to wake up in the morning to the fun items that you can have on hand in your kitchen to make your morning breakfast like none other, such as: 
A sip of espresso from your Pantone espresso cup,

A soft boiled egg from your Alessi egg cup, 

And a perfectly popped piece of toast from your KitchenAid toaster.

Fun items that can deck out your kitchen and dining areas can bring a smile to your face, add a touch of whimsy and will be talk of your next gathering!  So be sure to inject your space with interesting pieces that speak to your inner artist, believe me, it'll be worth it!  Here are some of my favourite designers to help get you inspired to make that next fun purchase for your home:


Why not start your very own RITZENHOFF collection:

Or shop BODUM for inspiration:

How about ALESSI for starters:

Why not think about adding a dash of PANTONE into your life:

What could be more fun than adding FRED or UMBRA to your home:

Whatever designer you choose make sure that you let loose and embrace your inner child!  The possibilities are endless and believe me when I say that you'll be hooked!


Happy Shopping!

Fun Stuff!

We know how jewelery can add definition and style to an outfit, but it doesn't always have to be so serious.  Fun jewelery, when worn properly can add a touch of whimsy to any outfit.  I am dedicating this post to all the delightful trinkets out there!


When I was off on holidays I turned on the TV to the Tyra Banks Show.  She was demonstrating her talent to give beauty and fashion advice in less than 60 seconds - clearly the questions were given to her in advance as she not only had the responses down, she had the items to show off.  One girl had a question about jewelery and about pairing earrings and pendants (to be honest I sort of lost interest in the program by this point and started checking email, wondering why I still had the TV on) and Tyra showed off Pop-Out Jewelery.  I was fascinated!  They come as earrings and pendants and are in gold-tone, red, blue, green and black.  Check out Melissa Borrell Design on how to secure one of these bad-boys of your very own!

She also has a bunch of other cool items for sale including housewares, so be sure to take a peek.


Scouring the web for cool, fun and funky jewelery isn't very hard as there are so many options out there!  Rare Bird Finds was a great source for inspiration and they have different designers featured all over their website.  Here are just a few examples of the funky jewelry items they showcase:

There are so many options available both in shops and online so don't shy away from the fun stuff, we all need a little reprieve every now and then :)


Places to keep in mind:
Etsy.com
Supermarkethq.com
Anthropologie
Gypsy Jewellery + Accessories
Honey
Holt Renfrew
S.W.A.K. II
Magi Jewellery
Trove
+ many, many, many more!


Happy Shopping!

Cover-Up's: The Cropped Cardy

I've had a number of questions in relation to what can be paired with a dress to provide a bit of cover-up especially while at work.  To help answer this, I thought what better than to write a post dedicated to this topic! And on one of my most favourite forms of cover-up - the cropped cardigan!!


I have a confession to make, while growing up one of my least favourite things to be forced into wearing was a dress.  All I wanted to do was put on my jeans or shorts and play, I didn't want to have to be all dressed up and worry about not getting dirty.  Well those days have changed, and boy am I glad!  Feeling feminine in my adult years is liberating, and nothing says "feminine" other than wearing a dress.  I'll admit that the 50's have been providing me with (and fashion designers) inspiration for the dresses of today.  They are tailored and sleek, sophisticated and chic; they can be fitted or flowing but in the end dresses are the epitome of feminine style and one of my favourite clothing pieces that I wear as often as I can.


I've noticed that a lot of women share in my love affair with wearing dresses; more and more of us are wearing them into the office, and not just saving them for special occasions!  But what is appropriate to wear to work when it comes to dress styles?  What style of dress should be covered or can be worn without cover-up?  I'm here to help uncover the do's and don'ts when dawning your frocks in the working world.


Cover-Up's:
So many of us are familiar with wraps to help cover our shoulders, but lets face it, they really don't do a great job.  They're either too big or not big enough and we're constantly fidgeting with them because they've decided to slip off or end up trailing behind us.  In addition, a wrap covers up what we're aiming to show off - you in that dress!  Sure wraps are great and I'm not telling you to throw them out, but let's reconsider what can be used on a daily basis to provide us with a bit of cover, especially while at work.

The cropped cardigan is the cardigan reinvented, as I like to think of it.  This bad-boy (along with the shrug) is one that I use whenever I'm in need of coverage either at work or when I'm out.  A cropped cardy is a wonderful tool and one that I highly recommend.  I found my love-affair with cropped cardy's many years ago, just when they started emerging on the fashion scene.  Back then they were paired with long-sleeved button-up shirts and frilly tops, but I saw a use for them in adding to dresses in order to make them more "work appropriate".  Dresses that I would never dream of wearing to work were now starting to make appearances and I have never looked back.

I've had women ask me over the years how they can wear a cropped cardy with their dresses? What colours go? How long should the length be? And if the look was too juvenile.  Not only did I welcome these questions I saw them as a challenge, I needed to get the word out about cropped cardigans, dispel the myths and preach their benefits - one would think that I hold stocks because that is how adamant I am about them.  Back when the cropped cardy was emerging they were only available in basic black and white.  And as you know, black and white go with everything!  So these colours became the staple in my cropped cardy wardrobe.  But slowly I started branching out as the cropped cardigan market exploded in a plethora of colours.  Fashion designers were noticing the trend on the marketplace for them and made the right move in designing the cropped cardy in endless colours, styles, shapes, lengths and materials.  This was the perfect time to look at the cropped cardigan and get the word out that they're not just meant for tops, they need to be combined with dresses as well!

How to Wear your Cropped Cardy:
Okay so you've heard me going on about how great cropped cardy's are so let me give you some tips on how to wear them and what to pair them with.  I recommend wearing a cover-up (i.e. cropped cardy/shurg/bolero) when wearing the following style of dress/strap to the workplace:

• Halter Neck
• Spaghetti Straps
• Strapless
• Thin Straps
• Sheath

You could also wear a cropped cardy with a shift dress, a dress with thick straps or even a dress that has straps that cover most of your shoulders.  It is not necessary to wear a cropped cardy with dresses that have longer sleeves or that cover your upper half almost entirely.  Cropped cardy's are meant to be worn with dresses that show off the shoulders or enough of the shoulder that you would feel more comfortable covering up.


Cropped cardigans come in many lengths from mid-waist to upper-back, they have sleeve lengths from full to 3/4 and all the way up to just grazing the edge of your shoulder.  The key is to select a cropped cardigan style/length that is most comfortable for you and one that works with the season.  A longer sleeved cropped cardy might look odd on those 30 degree days; whereas a barely-there sleeve wouldn't work well in -30 degree days either.  Remember, the idea is to get a cropped version of the cardigan, so stay away from the traditional below the waist cardigan length.


When selecting a cropped cardigan to wear with your dresses I recommend that you select at least one in black and white to have in your closet.  I would even venture as far as to select a dark brown and charcoal cropped cardy, but these selections depend on the colours of your dresses.  I am a huge fan of pairing the untraditional and mixing colours that are complementary or analogous, and a lot of the time I select a cropped cardy colour based on a colour that is found in my dress.

I believe that the cropped cardigan (shrug or bolero) is a perfect solution to help provide a bit of modesty while in the workplace, they can be fun or sophisticated and I believe are far more functional than using a traditional wrap.  The cropped cardy becomes apart of your fashion statement and believe me when I say that you will not only thank me for giving you that extra little push into purchasing one, but that you will never go back to wearing wraps (aside from special occasions of course!).


Here are some shops to keep in mind when out scouring the racks for your cropped cardy purchase:
Esprit
Old Navy
Suzy Shier
Le Chateau
Ricki's
Winners
Jacob
H&M
Costa Blanca
All department stores
+ many more!


Happy Shopping!


Courtesy of:
Esprit
Nordstrom

Max it Out!

Hi again everyone!  Sorry for my hiatus from the blogging world, I was out of the country for a bit on work related matters and then I was away on vacation for a couple weeks which meant that I had to be truly on vacation and away from the computer!  But now I'm back and raring to go!!


While I was off vacationing I was taking the opportunity to check out the shops and although I knew that Maxi dresses were still popular, I was amazed to find how very popular they still are.  I thought this would be a great idea for a post, so here it goes:


Summer is the season for dresses; and even in the advent of the minidress reinvented the maxi dress is still a dominant player.  A maxi dress is a wonderful addition to any woman's wardrobe as they offer convenience, coverage and playfulness.  When the barometer rises so do the hemlines, but no one is saying that you can't opt for a full length flowy dress on those breezy summer days? But it's so hot why would I want to cover up with a full length dress, won't I be too hot you ask?  The key to wearing a maxi dress during the hot summer days is all in the fabric.  If you stick with natural fibers you'll avoid the suffocating factor. Keep synthetics for cooler evenings or fancy outings.  The maxi dress can be played up or kept simple, it's all in how you wear it and accessorize.  Here are some maxi dresses to help you get inspired to go out and get that next great look:


Casual

Dressier

 

 

TIP: Maxi dresses look wonderful on all different heights, you don't have to be tall (like me) to be able to pull off a maxi dress; the key is in the length and in proportions.  Ladies, if you are shorter, make sure that you take your dress to a seamstress to get it hemmed to an appropriate length, you don't want to be stepping on or tripping all over your dress all day!  If you're taller, make sure that the maxi dress is long enough.  What I mean by this is to make sure that the maxi dress falls at your ankle at the very minimum.  If the dress sits mid-calf the proportions will be off and the look won't be achieved.  So get out there and start trying on maxi dresses and wear them all over town!  Trust me, you'll thank me for it later.

Happy Shopping!

Courtesy of:

The Gap

Old Navy

Banana Republic

BCBG