Thursday 27 September 2012

M'Oda 'OperanDUH

So the past few weeks I've been getting these emails. It's not totally abnormal for me to sign up for some website, forget about it then complain when I receive emails that I actually signed up for to begin with.

But every day for the past few weeks I have been getting an email from a company called M'Oda 'Operandi. At first I would just spam spam spam and delete delete delete. But the other day I decided to open the email and what I found, opened my eyes and changed my life forever. (That may be a small exaggeration...)

Basically what this site does is take the same method for buying luxury cars and applies it to buying luxury clothes. If you know me, then you know that luxury clothes is not only something I drool over during the day, but also dream about at night. ("So I had this dream that I got the new moto-cross pants by Rag and Bone, except they weren't that electric blue colour, they were like, taupe or something...I think I like the blue better." Like I had any say in what colour those pants are...)

For those of us who don't buy luxury cars on a regular basis, (cut to my red '05 Ford Focus) the concept is, that you pay for half the item a full season before it comes out and then once the item is released, you pay the remainder and the car gets delivered to you.

Seeing Charles finance things like guitars has always made me wonder why there was never a program to finance clothes. Some may argue that a CREDIT CARD is a way to finance clothes, but I mean real financing.

M'Oda 'Operandi seems to have read my mind and created a website where you pay 50 per cent down on clothing right off the runway. (So in Fall you would be paying half for Spring items and vice versa.) Once the item is made by the designer, you pay the other 50 per cent and M'Oda 'Operandi ships the items to you.

HOW. BRILLIANT. DOES. THIS. SOUND.

If had lots of money, (which I don't) it would be so worthwhile to shop for designer clothes strictly by this means. Think about it, you're guaranteeing yourself designer pieces right when they come out. And being able to make a down payment gives you time to save your money and not feel like you're taking such a hit in the wallet.

M'Oda 'Operandi deserves a Nobel Prize... (ok, maybe that's taking it a little far.)





Sunday 23 September 2012

Boots Boots Boots Boots EVERYBODY!



Looking through my shoe closet right now, it would appear that I have an obsession. Which, at this time of year is kind of good. But kind of sad at the same time because my shoe collection is lacking in other departments.

What I'm talking about is my love of boots. After yanking out all the boots that I own, I realize that I have 9 pairs of boots. By all "shopping addict" standards, 9 pairs of something is not really THAT excessive. But for me, it is.

Looking at all these suckers, I feel like I've got all the bases covered, glitter booties (from the vlogger sale a few weeks ago!), suede booties, knee high boots, rubber boots, combat boots and even cowboy boots.

But the other day...
I was at the Rideau Centre and saw the most gorgeous pair of gold and black booties at the new store Little Burgundy. They look so much like the Chloe Susanna bootie that the only thing that tipped me off that they weren't them, was the price! Although the price was still a little steep for my current budget, they are still in the back of my mind!

Hello beautiful...
I also saw these AMAZING capped toe booties at Zara that resemble these Alice and Olivia boots, except instead of gold, they are capped with silver. WAAAAANT.

Like this only silver!

So I think the moral of this story is that a Canadian girl can never have too many boots and that I need to save some money to add these lovelies to my collection. 

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Top Trousers

From Left to Right: Rebecca Minkoff Gavin Pleated Pants, 10 Crosby Derek Lam Colourblock Wide Leg Trouser,  Alice + Olivis Front Zip Leggings with Leather Panels, Elizabeth and James Metallic Winston Tux Pants


I'm obsessed with the idea of a pair of trousers with a racing stripe down the leg. I think it brings youth to something that's supposed to be super sophisticated. All the Top Gear reruns we're watching on Netflix must be influencing my choice in fashion. I am loving the racing stripes, motorcycle jackets and stylized boots. Everything can be made cooler by adding leather and zippers. Non?

Tuesday 18 September 2012

Vlogger Haul.

I have been so fabulously busy this week I can't even begin to tell you how exciting it is. School is starting to a get a little intense, but I'm really excited to work really hard and just ROCK IT. Work is also quite busy and my volunteer commitments are starting to get a bit cray too, but to be honest, despite how tired I am and how much I may complain about not having free time, I am truly loving every minute of it.

I was also given the amazing opportunity to compete as a finalist for the Place d'Orleans Fashion Vlogger Search this past weekend. It was such a fun day! Not only did I get $200 to buy the latest fall trends from the mall, but I also got to meet some really cool bloggers from around the city! Since the main reason I started this little blog was to become more involved with the fashion community in Ottawa, I think taking part in the Vlogger Search was a success! Even though I didn't win (Congrats Amanda!) I still had the best time and came away with some great items!

Our task for the day was to buy items that illustrated four things: A hot fall colour, shape, texture, and pattern. We were given an hour and a half and $200 to "go nuts".

My Haul! And Baxter, apparently trying to let me know he likes the jacket best.

The thing about cats is that if you lay anything down anywhere, they will lay on top of it. Science!




One of the first things I picked was this amazing leather jacket from Dynamite, even though it's mostly white, it's still hot for fall. Not wearing white after Labour Day is so over and this jacket is going to look amazing once it cools down a bit.

I then got these great booties from Spring. To be honest, normally I am a bit of a shoe snob. If they cost less than $100 bucks, the snob in me assumes that they're garbage and I move on. These booties were less than $100 and I LOVE THEM. I think bringing sequins into the day is a great trend to try out and everyone needs a pair of these black newbury booties. These ones in particular remind me of these Guiseppe Zanotti mixed texture booties, except, ya know, a fraction of the price!

I also hit up Urban Planet, which, I can actually say I haven't set foot in an Urban Planet since one opened in my hometown like 6 years ago, but I was surprised to find some really cute accessories! AND FOR CHEAP. Impressive!

I'd really like to thank Place d'Orleans for inviting me to be a finalist. And congrats to all other girls, who also got a bunch of fabulous stuff!!


Wednesday 12 September 2012

Say NO to dry-cleaning!

Silk is undoubtedly one of the nicest fabrics to have in your closet. It can be worn in the summer, the fall, the winter, anytime really. It gives a really polished and sophisticated and luxurious feel to any outfit.

But what I don't love about silk is the fact that wearing it, makes me sweat. And sweating, means I have to wash it more often than I would say, a pair of jeans. And washing silk usually means dry-cleaning silk.

I called around a couple places in town this weekend to find out exactly how much they were charging for dry-cleaning silk and I was really shocked. Most places the average cost for dry cleaning a silk blouse is $11, for a silk dress it's around $25. Here I was with a bag FULL of things to dry clean. I had five silk tops, two dresses and a pair of silk shorts.

If you do the math, thats OVER $100 just to clean clothes that I've already probably overpaid for anyways. I don't know about you, but the thought of paying $100 to be able to wear my silk clothes again just makes me shudder. I don't have $100 to spend on CLEANING something. So my clothes sat in their dry-cleaning bag, untouched. The days turned into weeks, the weeks turned into months and I am still no closer to wanting to get any of this junk dry-cleaned.

So, sick and tired of seeing this dry cleaning bag gather dust in my room and refusing to spend $100 on something like this. I consulted a fabric, sewing and knitting expert, (I texted Charles' Mum) asking her to help me with handwashing some of these dreaded silk things. She sent me to a couple links that talked about how to best go about it. And from those links I kind of created my own version of hand-washing.

I will say though, before anyone tries this, do not hold me responsible if your silks get ruined! I am a firm believer that clothing has a mind of it's own and if it wants to react badly to something. It will. ;)

Most of the tutorials I saw online suggested using detergents like Woolite. Since I'm cheap, I just used a TEENY TINY amount of Tide in some bowls in my kitchen. For some reason the idea of washing clothes in sinks just upsets me. No matter how many times I clean the sink, it will always be the place where I spit my toothpaste into.



I had one bowl full of my tiny amount of detergent and lukewarm water, and a second bowl for rinsing just full of water.

Here is the most expensive pile of clothes EVER. Over $100 just to CLEAN all this. BALONEY.

So after I swooshed around one of the shirts in the detergent bowl for a little bit, I rinsed it off in the rinsing bowl a bit. You kind of have to be careful because sometimes the colours will run which will freak you out at first, because the water in the bowls will turn colours, but if the blouse or dress is a solid colour, I don't think it's an issue. Or at least, it wasn't an issue with my stuff.



After the rinsing was done, I would put the shirt on a clean towel on my dining room table and just kind of roll it up like a flap-jack! (I don't know if anyone else ate flap-jacks as a kid, but they're like really thin pancakes that you roll up)

A flap-jack with a really expensive silk shirt lining.
They also said in most of the websites I saw, that you shouldn't hang your silk in the sun because it can damage it. So I hung all my items in my creepy poorly-lit bathroom!


My results were pretty good. Washing my stuff this way got the job done and cost about 1/100th of what I would have had to pay at the dry cleaners. I think when I do it again I'll probably add a little vinegar to the mix. I've been told by several people that vinegar is like the be-all end-all miracle cleaner. So I will just have to try that!

Do you have any tips for cleaning "dry clean only" stuff??!?!!?!


Monday 10 September 2012

VOTE!

Hey Everyone! The voting has started for the Place d'Orleans Vlogger Search! Go here and vote for meeeeee! :)

Saturday 8 September 2012

Little Brag.

I don't mean to sound like a braggart, but I'm going to brag for a second. Simply because I AM SO DARN EXCITED. This week has been really fabulous. I started school, which seems like it is going to be challenging and wonderful all at the same time, I also found out that I have been hired as a PR intern for Ottawa Fashion Week, AND have found out that I am one of the Social Media Editors for the Algonquin Times!

It's been a week literally FULL of amazing things. I spent all summer in some sort of rut, not feeling fulfilled creatively and wishing I had more to occupy my time, and now in one week, all of my wishes have been granted. Luckiest girl ever. I am so excited for the insanity.

I also entered in a Vlogger Search competition at Place d'Orleans. The winner gets to be the vlogger for  the mall and wins $300 per month to shop with! Hello dream contest! The voting starts on MONDAY for this thing, so you can bet that I will be bugging everyone to get on there and VOTE FOR ME TO WIN! :)

Check out my vlog here and see what awesome buys I found at Place d'Orleans!! And don't forget to vote on MONDAY!!

http://apps.facebook.com/vloggersearch/gallery/entry/29



Friday 7 September 2012

Rachel Comey is My New Best Friend

With NYFW going on right now, the blogging world is abuzz with everything fashion. But for those of us at home, nowhere near the epicenter of all things fashion, does NYFW really mean anything? I'm really halfheartedly following the coverage. Sure, I'm interested in seeing the new collections and maybe finding some new designers to add to my list of, "If I wasn't broke as f*ck I'd want to buy your clothes", but things like watching bloggers "prep" for these events or read posts about how to get snapped by a street style photographer, is just not very interesting to me.

That being said, during my fashion-blog perusing today I did happen to see the latest from Rachel Comey. I had never heard of her before like a month ago but once I saw some of her designs, I immediately felt an affinity for her. I love clothes that are chic and have a sort of "boyish" sense to them.

These designs just feel so...COOL. It's like wearing them you will be that girl you see who looks great but isn't too fussy about fashion. It's all just very effortless, while still being dynamic and interesting. The shoes alone look like they could take any old Plain-Jane outfit beyond the stratosphere of cool.

Here are some of my favourite looks from the show this week.




(Photos from Fashionista)

But what really caught my eye a month ago was the Fall collection. (I always love Fall more than Spring!)




(Photos from Style.com)

Thursday 6 September 2012

First and Second

I never wanted to be one of those people who was all, "omg you guys I've just been so busy lately!" But for the past two days, it's been kind of true. I wanted to show you what I actually ended up wearing on the first day of school, but since Tuesday my days have been a little too congested with school and work for me to take some time and shoot proper pictures of myself. Vanity shots are low on my list of priorities this week.

I have been going from work to school and back again with trips home at night to sleep and clean the apartment. I love being so busy this far. And things are only going to get BUSIER. Fabulous!

Anyways, even though I didn't have a moment to document my first day of school outfit, I thought I'd pull up some Stylebook images and give you a general idea of the route I took with the first and second day.


On the first day I went for a kind of...business casual look. Which was appropriate because I was going from work to school. During the day it was a bit hot for my blazer, but in the evening I had a class in what I can only describe as a refrigerator. So I was glad I had it.


The second day was just straight-up school. (Until I found out I had a four hour break between classes, so I went to work and did stuff there!) I decided break the cardinal rule of not wearing white after Labour Day, and I wore my white jeans. Even though it was wicked hot out, I still transitioned the look into fall by wearing an oxblood coloured t-shirt and a denim shirt in case I ran into any more frigid classrooms. (I didn't) 

So far I am really enjoying the course. It's exciting to think that after all the planning and thinking, that I am actually doing something right now that can possibly CHANGE MY LIFE FOREVER. It gives me chills!


Tuesday 4 September 2012

Band Photos





Over the weekend I got to shoot band photos for Right by Midnight. With their new album coming out in October and their album release party at the end of September, it's great to see all of their (and can I also say "my") hard work come together! (And that guy holding the guitar is pretty cute too! ;P)

So if you're looking to support some local music and a really amazing, hard working band, come out to their Album launch party on September 28th! If you're interested in tickets let me know! :)



Monday 3 September 2012

I won't always love these selfish things


I feel like I've been hiding behind my own insecurities for far too long. One of my old favourite activities, shopping, has become a daunting chore. I don't look forward to going to the mall like I used to. I dread it. Because I feel like no matter how much I love fashion. It will never be for me what I want it to be.  Not because I lack the imagination it takes to be creative in the wardrobe or because I don't "get" it. But instead because I am constantly comparing myself and the things I do to things that have already been done by others who I look up to or perceive as being better than myself. 

That being said, this could be some "end of summer" blues talkin' or it could also be this cold I can't seem to shake, but I've been bummed lately! Although Fall seems to be the season where I shine the most. And I really cannot wait to start livin' the dream. Positive, creative thinking from now on!

:)