Spring is finally upon us and I for one cannot wait to be rid of winter! As the dreary months labour on I can't help but feel a twinge of excitement knowing that soon I'll be able to put away my winter wardrobe and break out the lighter items for spring/summer. Now is the time to start thinking about what new items you'd like to incorporate into your spring wardrobe.
The shops have begun their winter clear-out and have been making room for all the new spring arrivals so it's the optimal time to get out there and start scouring the stores! One trend that you're going to notice is that colour has really made a statement this season. The runways proved that to us late in the fall when they showcased their spring/summer lines, and the stores have not disappointed! With the winter months starting to become a distant memory and with the advent of warmer weather I will start a series about colour in all forms, from clothing to accessories and even items for the home - all to get you in the mood and thinking about what colours to add to your ever growing collection.
With March being a very unpredictable month (especially here in Canada), it makes it very difficult to dress appropriately, but do not fret. You can start to pack away those bulky sweaters and darker coloured pieces to make way for lighter fabrics and colourful fashions. Your best defense against the "lion" that is March is to dress in layers, and dressing in layers you must! A spring inspired top will still look great underneath a long-sleeved cardigan and pants. Likewise, a spring-inspired dress will still look great with dark hose and a fitted jacket. There are many options for battling that winter to spring transition.
Colour is your friend
In my next few posts I'm going to focus on one specific colour, but to start things off I want to express how important it is to bring colour into your world. Colour helps to brighten, define, express and showcase who we are, it provides the wearer with confidence and the people around us are magnetically drawn to it. Basics like black, white, brown and grey are all staples that we should have in our closets but as I have stressed before, don't stick to only those hues. Branch out and you will be hooked on colour, it will become addictive (just don't go overboard). Various shades and palates, depths and contrasts are all out there waiting for you to try on. Keep in mind that not all colours are complementing on all skin tones so be sure you try on the pieces to get a good idea of whether it is suited to you. But all-in-all colour really is your friend and in my opinion a life-long companion.
Get out there and start browsing the racks to find those next items to add to your wardrobe. Just remember to add a dash of yellow, a hint of green, a dollop of blue, a pinch of pink and a fleck of purple to whatever it is that you end up getting - you'll thank me for it!
Happy Shopping!
...my next post will be focused on the colour Blue, so stay tuned!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
The New Vintage
There's a saying that "everything old is new again" and when I first heard that many years ago I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My initial reaction was "why would anyone want anything old, when they can have new"...well my friends, I eat my own words! I have been bitten by the vintage bug and I can't get enough. There's something magical about procuring an item that was previously loved, adorned or used from those days gone by. What's even more delicious about these vintage goods is when you find one and purchase it for a steal and then come to realize its current value is ten times what you paid for it is truly a delight!
This has happened to me. I was quite skeptical at first wandering through garage sales, antique shops and thrift stores looking at items that appeared vintage but I just wasn't entirely sure about the whole lure. It took a couple of times going back to different places and those I've been in before until the bug bit me. I'm hooked! someone call an intervention because I am going online and searching through the stacks and racks to find those vintage pieces that I adore...one thrill was when I found a vintage lucite and bakelite Majestic handbag for $6 at a local thrift shop and learned that it retailed online for upwards of $300!! What a joy, and best of all is that I bought it because I fell in love with it and I'm going to use it.
Loving it is the key. When you go out to scour the local swap meets and garage sales (the season is soon upon us) don't only pick up those things that you think would fetch you a pretty penny for only just pennies. Make sure you're paying for pieces that you love and that you'll use. It helps to have a good eye when looking through piles of old dishes to spot the one that strikes you and to know that the mark on the reverse could be something worth investigating. But all in all, make sure that you walk away with pieces that you are going to give a second life to.
I've been looking mainly for pieces that I can incorporate into my home such as serving ware, glassware, pottery, etc. Pieces that I can easily adapt with what I currently own to give it that shabby-chic vintage vibe without looking like I just walked out of the 1970s. I have a preference for pieces that are from the 1950s (all thanks to Mad Men of course!) but items from the 60s-70s-80s or even earlier are all workable in the day-to-day or even for that special occasion. Below is an example of a modern plain white china place setting from Wedgwood (Wedgwood White pattern), you'll find it outlined by the blue box:
As you can see I've found some fun/funky/retro vintage pieces online that could easily be incorporated with the everyday Wedgwood place setting. Why not swap out the white lunch plates and opt for that bright vintage stoneware plate in yellow and orange (Stonehenge Midwinter Sun pattern). But why stop there when you could easily add in those yummy yellow 1940s sherbet glasses made by Hazel Atlas (Moderntone Platonite) in place of a regular bowl or even re-purpose them as drinking glasses. The possibilities and options are truly endless, you just need to keep an open mind and sometimes use some elbow grease to get those pieces into your collection.
Bowls and serving ware are always good investments because we can never have too many of those! Decorative glass and crystal dishes, vases and bowls are beautiful on display in your home as well as silver plated trays and pottery which also make lovely additions. Be sure to take your time and go to different locations to find those treasures, give them a look over and you'll be delighted when you get home, clean them up and display/use them...you'll start to wonder why you've never done this before!
Happy treasure hunting & shopping!
Courtesy of:
Wedgwood
This has happened to me. I was quite skeptical at first wandering through garage sales, antique shops and thrift stores looking at items that appeared vintage but I just wasn't entirely sure about the whole lure. It took a couple of times going back to different places and those I've been in before until the bug bit me. I'm hooked! someone call an intervention because I am going online and searching through the stacks and racks to find those vintage pieces that I adore...one thrill was when I found a vintage lucite and bakelite Majestic handbag for $6 at a local thrift shop and learned that it retailed online for upwards of $300!! What a joy, and best of all is that I bought it because I fell in love with it and I'm going to use it.
Loving it is the key. When you go out to scour the local swap meets and garage sales (the season is soon upon us) don't only pick up those things that you think would fetch you a pretty penny for only just pennies. Make sure you're paying for pieces that you love and that you'll use. It helps to have a good eye when looking through piles of old dishes to spot the one that strikes you and to know that the mark on the reverse could be something worth investigating. But all in all, make sure that you walk away with pieces that you are going to give a second life to.
I've been looking mainly for pieces that I can incorporate into my home such as serving ware, glassware, pottery, etc. Pieces that I can easily adapt with what I currently own to give it that shabby-chic vintage vibe without looking like I just walked out of the 1970s. I have a preference for pieces that are from the 1950s (all thanks to Mad Men of course!) but items from the 60s-70s-80s or even earlier are all workable in the day-to-day or even for that special occasion. Below is an example of a modern plain white china place setting from Wedgwood (Wedgwood White pattern), you'll find it outlined by the blue box:
Bowls and serving ware are always good investments because we can never have too many of those! Decorative glass and crystal dishes, vases and bowls are beautiful on display in your home as well as silver plated trays and pottery which also make lovely additions. Be sure to take your time and go to different locations to find those treasures, give them a look over and you'll be delighted when you get home, clean them up and display/use them...you'll start to wonder why you've never done this before!
Happy treasure hunting & shopping!
Courtesy of:
Wedgwood
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Red Carpet Glam
Many of us caught some (if not all) of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards this past Sunday, and for most of us the thrill of watching everyone grace the red carpet in their Sunday best (no pun intended) is always exhilarating - well at least for me it is!
I congratulate the winners of the evening, but for me the highlight is watching the ladies all gussied up in their beautiful gowns saunter down that glorious red carpet - oh to be one of them! Not to mention how yummy the men looked all decked out in their best.
As I'm sure many of you saw, or by now have read, that there were hits and misses at the Oscars (as there always are) but hopefully many of us will agree the majority of those guests for that famed golden man were by far at their best. I am so pleased year after year to see more and more women taking to the red carpet in anything but black and this year was no exception. While red and shades of purple hit the stage so did regal blues, metallics, neutrals and even pale yellow. Now of course there were black gowns on site and yes even some of them took my breath away, but this year in my opinion was the year of colour!
Some of my red carpet favourites were:
As you can see from the dresses above the choices for your next soiree are endless. I always love to look at the ladies on the red carpet sporting their beautiful designer dresses and then I stop to take stock of what our local retailers have in their stock, after all they take their inspiration from the red carpets and runways of the world. Part of the fun of shopping for a great dress is trying on different styles, lengths and of course colours! One of the greatest joys is knowing that colour illuminates so wear your red, blue, purple, etc. coloured dresses and make sure you wear them with pride, because trust me, the complements will abound!
Happy Shopping
Courtesy of:
BCBG Max Azria
Le Chateau
I congratulate the winners of the evening, but for me the highlight is watching the ladies all gussied up in their beautiful gowns saunter down that glorious red carpet - oh to be one of them! Not to mention how yummy the men looked all decked out in their best.
As I'm sure many of you saw, or by now have read, that there were hits and misses at the Oscars (as there always are) but hopefully many of us will agree the majority of those guests for that famed golden man were by far at their best. I am so pleased year after year to see more and more women taking to the red carpet in anything but black and this year was no exception. While red and shades of purple hit the stage so did regal blues, metallics, neutrals and even pale yellow. Now of course there were black gowns on site and yes even some of them took my breath away, but this year in my opinion was the year of colour!
Some of my red carpet favourites were:
- Mila Kunis in an etherial lilac Elie Sabb
- Gwyneth Paltrow in a stunning gold Calvin Klein floor length number
- Scarlett Johansson in a lacy eggplant Dolce and Gabbana figure-hugging stunner
- Reese Witherspoon in a stunning black and white Valentino
- Hilary Swank in an ombre Gucci Premier Couture angelical number
- Sandra Bullock in red strapless Vera Wang
- Jennifer Lawrence in a simple yet elegant red Calvin Klein
- Natalie Portman in a gauzy plum Rodarte gown
- Amy Adams in a sparkling sapphire L'Wren Scott number - wasn't too keen on the necklace mind you
Images courtesy of starpulse.com & justjared.buzznet.com
I can always rely on BCBG Max Azria to have stunning dresses and although they can come with a less-than-modest price tag this designer is a go-to for me for inspiration and runway looks for less. I picked a few from the designer's rack to give you an idea about how the red carpet looks above can even be found within our own backyard, you just have to get out there and look:
Other prime retailers for scoring similar red carpet looks for more modest budgets include Le Chateau, who have kept up over the years with the latest red carpet trends and this season is no less of an example:
As you can see from the dresses above the choices for your next soiree are endless. I always love to look at the ladies on the red carpet sporting their beautiful designer dresses and then I stop to take stock of what our local retailers have in their stock, after all they take their inspiration from the red carpets and runways of the world. Part of the fun of shopping for a great dress is trying on different styles, lengths and of course colours! One of the greatest joys is knowing that colour illuminates so wear your red, blue, purple, etc. coloured dresses and make sure you wear them with pride, because trust me, the complements will abound!
Happy Shopping
Courtesy of:
BCBG Max Azria
Le Chateau
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