N's vacation capsule

This year, I haven't had the pleasure of going for vacation yet, but last month, N took some time off and headed to Fiji! She was nice enough to share her vacation capsule with us!

I love the bright colors and the easy flow of all her outfits - so breezy! Perfect for the warm weather. And the hat, love it!! Seeing other people's vacation outfits makes me have outfit envy - I wish I could get outta town just to put together outfits for it!

Side note: you may have noticed that July and August have been capsule free months for both N and I because of the hot summer (we weren't prepared when we decided to do capsules) but we will be returning to our capsules in September. 

Time to replace: my trend wardrobe staple, leopard flats with loafers

My leopard print flats were originally purchased in 2012 as an item of trend. I wasn't keen on animal prints at the time but somehow these shoes captured my eye and I decided to give them a try. The first time I wore them, I fell in love and reserved them only for indoor wear at my office. After a year, I began to wear them every where and they soon became an integral part of my wardrobe. 

Cole Haan leopard flats

Now, in 2015, they are looking sad; the heels are worn down and the sole is beginning to part from the shoe and I'm sure it is only a matter of time before there will be an actual hole in it. The calf-hair has rubbed off on a few areas, but over all, it still looks great from far away. Yes, I have still been wearing them - I can't help myself, I just love them too much not to, and I need them in my life. I've been looking for the next perfect pair to replace them and so far, have had no luck. 

On Saturday,  while on the search for a new pair, I magically found some pretty amazing shoes at the Shoe Company - Town Shoes Tapered Loafers, made in Italy, for $80, originally selling for $160 (online they are on sale for $111.98). 

Town Shoes Tapered Loafer, made in Italy

I tried them on and they felt like butter; I loved them immediately but felt bad because I just purchased some black flats, 5 days ago. Considering I found them for $80 and they are very different from other shoes I own, I decided to take them home to see how they would fit in my wardrobe, and return them if it didn't work. I replaced all my outfits that had my leopard flats with these shoes, and they looked amazing; some looked even better than with the leopard! 

Conclusion - They stay. But, they stay on the condition that they are now my new trend wardrobe staple - one-in one-out rule! 

And I am banned from buying any shoes this year, and next year!

My dear leopard flats - you have been absolutely amazing and have opened my eyes and wardrobe to a whole new world. I will never forget you. You showed me how animal prints can give an outfit some oomph without being overwhelming, and can help complete an outfit - I am ever so grateful. You'e also shown me that it's worth the wait to find the perfect pair, so for the time being, I am substituting you with something entirely different until I can find the perfect pair that has brought me so much joy, as you have.

For my next pair, I'd ideally like more of a pointed toe, and it would be great if it could also have gold hardware.

Time to replace: my every day flats

Every year or so I purchase a pair of flats that are my go-to shoes - I wear them every day to commute to and from work, turn to them when I cannot think of any other shoes to wear, and wear them through all 4 seasons. They get worn about 85% of the year. Depending on the quality of them, they usually last me a good 1-2 years before they start to wear down to the point where the heel and sole split apart; because I like them to last as long as they can, I don't mind spending a little more on them, and I normally buy them in black, or a subtle metallic finish. 

The last pair I purchased was in April 2014 and they were Cole Haan silver wedges with Nike cushion technology. These are great as they are a darker silver and gave me a little height with the wedge, but still giving me a lot of comfort. They began to show wear in the sole a couple of months ago, and I've been getting away with them even though there are scuff marks because of the color, so I have been on the look out for a new pair of flats. 

Cole Haan silver wedges

I didn't expect to find something so soon, but on Monday, I happened to stumble across a pair of black Marc by Marc Jacobs Balle logodisc flats - not only are they super comfy (my first pair of MbMj shoes), but they are a neutral color, have an almond toe, and I bought them for less than $62. YES, THAT'S RIGHT. 

Marc by Marc Jacobs Balle logodisc flats

They originally retail for $220. I came across these by complete chance - I finished a meeting early and decided to check out the local Hudson's Bay since they are having one of their sales; sale items were an additional 25% off. These shoe were not placed in the sale/clearance section but they were on sale for $110. I had 2 questions for the sales associate - (1) did they have these in a 6.5 since these are 6 (they fit, but I wanted to compare the two because I'm normally a 6.5, smallest) and (2) is there an additional 25% off. The SA I asked thought there was an additional 50% off while the SA standing next to her told her to double check the additional discount as they are MbMj shoes; the first SA went to the back to check for sizes and came out and told me that these are the only pair they had since it was a return from another store, and that she would still honour the additional 50% off. I wasn't sure how she decided that it was an extra 50% off, but I think it was the fastest I ever paid for anything!

Now, since I've found replacements for my every day flats, I can exercise the one-in one-out rule and let the Cole Haan wedges go. 

I couldn't resist - the Canadian Tuxedo!

I was window shopping on the weekend and found this sleeveless chambray top and couldn't resist taking a photo of the typical Canadian Tuxedo - represent! The husband and I had a good laugh.

Side note: it was a nice top and had it been more my size, I would have added it to my wardrobe - of course to wear appropriately... of course ;)

One person's trash ....

... is another person's treasure. 

I've always dreamed of finding amazing vintage pieces. Where I live, the selection is hardly anything to write home about (so why am  I writing about it here...? Hrm....). Nevertheless, I never give up, and on one of my trips to drop off donations at my local Value Village, I decided to take a wander. 

I found THIS - 

A Christian Dior 'Poison' scarf/handkerchief/pocket square - I did some Google-ing while  was there to see what could be found about it, or how likely it is a fake, but what little research I found, tells me that it is likely a gift with purchase with the perfume, back in the 1980s. 

THRILLED. It is in perfect condition and even though there was a price tag punched through it, I easily managed to rub it out and it looks flawless. 

Best of all, I found it for $3.99 + 30% (because of my previous donations, I filled up my stamp card to receive a discount on an entire purchase). This put me back a total of $2.79 =) 

I will probably frame it 

One and the same - let's lighten that closet!

Can you account for every article of clothing you own? Yes? You sure? 

I'm glad I started this blog to capture milestones, and remind myself of what I previously thought. In one of my earlier posts, I wrote, "I didn’t have an insane amount of clothes to begin with ..."

I thought I didn't until I continued to find myself thinking "Oh yeah!" upon discovering a forgotten piece that was hiding in the back of my closet, or in the weird nook and crannies of my drawers. They weren't there because I didn't like them, or they didn't fit any more; some were actual wardrobe staples of mine! How could this happen? 

Was it because I actually had a lot of clothing? I argue against that, but who really knows haha. That aside, I think I figured it out.

My first major purge targeted items that I didn't like anymore, didn't fit, didn't flatter, etc, and the usual list goes on. What I didn't do was remove items that I had more than one kind of, or can be interchanged with one another. If they didn't fit the purge criteria, I kept them.

Where did my black pants go? I didn't even have to ask myself because there would already be another pair of black pants hanging right in front of me (or something I easily substituted it for). This leaves me with possibly 3-5 times the amount of items that essentially serve the same style purpose.

I recently did another round of purging and identified these duplicate or  interchangeable items - I picked 1 or 2 of my favourites from the bunch and culled the rest. My wardrobe has seen another significant purge, allowing me to better remember what I already own and preventing me from purchasing another item that might be too similar.

With even less now, it's much, much easier for me to exercise the one-in-one out rule because I actually only have 1 of that item that serves a more specific purpose, and also it helps me to better consider whether what I want to bring in will indeed enhance my wardrobe and style, is of variety, and won't simply just add to its numbers. 

4 seasons

When you're trying to minimize the number of items you own, living in a 4 season country makes things a little bit difficult. 

As I am trying to pare down what I own, I've found some items that work really well throughout all seasons.

Sheath dresses - my best friend. I rave about these on a regular basis (mostly because I'm a self-admitted, lazy dresser) but I've found they're just great for all temperatures. As-is plus some sandals make a great and easy light-weight look for spring and summer, and when it gets colder, I like to add a dress shirt underneath, or a sweater over top (the sweater over top look works really well because the 'skirt' part showing looks like a really well fitted pencil skirt and I don't need to re-adjust at all)

2 of my favourites, and most worn from my closet

Cardigans - a variety of materials and lengths are great for adding layers. I'm not exactly there yet, but if I really wanted to go to extreme lengths of minimalism, I would only keep/incorporate ivory cardigans in two different lengths and materials. I feel they work well in warmer weather because of the light color, but also in the colder months because it gives that winter wonderland sort of feel. Overall, ivory seems to be a great neutral.

Crop tops - now this one I JUST discovered but love it already. I'm not a crop top kind of person - I don't have the body, youth or guts to wear one haha, but I accidentally came across the perfect crop top for ME, that gave me an idea to wear it over top some of my more 'top revealing' dresses so that I could get double-duty out of them, and wear them to work. I not only managed to get a new arsenal of 'skirts' from my dresses, but also, got a top that works really well with pencil skirts where I don't have to tuck anything in. It's a boxier cut, so in the winter, I can even use it as a layer similar to a sweater vest, to give me extra warmth. 

I love that it's not super short so if I ever go on vacation,
I could wear it as an actual crop top and not feel self-conscious. 

I'll be posting more '4 season' posts in the future with more details and different outfits I put together  - stay tuned!

"When one door closes, another door opens... "

"... but we so often look so long and regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." - Alexander Graham Bell

He's right. 

It took me a long time to let go of my Cole Haans (and to be honest, ever since they have been sitting in the donations bag, I have had to hold myself back from putting them back into my collection) but this weekend, I was able to justify bringing a new pair of shoes into my collection (one-in, one-out rule!) and have found new love and a new summer wardrobe staple.

Behold - my new Franco Sarto Venezia flats!!! 

 

I bought these on Saturday on a way to a party because the sandals I was wearing at the time were really cutting into me (the fate of that one will have to be decided at a later time) and I happen to be at the mall picking up some last minute things and thought I would just check to see if they have something more comfortable for a low price. I found these beauties for a great price - $39.99 and couldn't past them up. They are so comfortable and a great shade of gray (maybe taupe?) to be a definite wardrobe staple for me. I couldn't ask for more. 

This is my first venture into Franco Sarto shoes (I've heard great things before) and definitely would want to look into this as a go-to brand (I'm very brand loyal, if you haven't noticed already).