Halloweenies

Happy Early Halloween everyone!!!! I’m in Vancouver at the moment (frantically getting ready for a Halloween bar bash) and my vacation buddies, these two jokers,



knowing my love for the Crypt Keeper, picked me up this sweet gift. That’s all for now, Boils and Ghouls (see what I did there?) and I hope everyone has an amazing Halloween!

Blotting Tissues Review

The Wardrobe of a Shoe Thief

Remember when I mentioned a few days back that I went to a birthday and hijacked someone’s Fluevogs? Well this is what I wore. The wrap dress is from F21 and the clutch is from ModCloth.


I wore the same dress a week earlier to attend the weirdest piece of performance art I’ve ever seen (seriously, think sex crimes against Barbie’s, an international spy plot, and a mysterious blue sedan – all part of a sort of one woman play/piece of performance art). Anyway, it was weird but oddly enjoyable and it gave me a chance to wear this dress which I would ordinarily think is WAYYYY too short for everyday wear.





In unrelated, but bizarre news, the Hells Angels are suing Alexander McQueen (well, the company, not him personally) and Saks for allegedly selling items that use a symbol very similar to the club’s winged skeleton logo. Read the story here.

Cozy In a Chill

The weather in Canada is a bit chillier than I’m used to (I do love it though)! But it’s got me thinking about the onset of winter and keeping cozy and warm. I recently became aware of a great new company that makes cute and comfy lounge wear for women – it’s called CAngelz and I love the cute look of their pieces (and it’s an ethical company to boot).





What cozy clothes are you most looking forward to curling up in this winter?

Shoe Mania!!!!

I pretty much never wear pink so I’m still struggling a bit with how to style this top – but I think a blazer, shorts with tights, and black patent heels works.



I’ve also been experiencing a major case of shoe love lately.

Canada

I have arrived safe and sound in Canada for my mini-vacation and I’m already having an amazing time catching up with family and friends. I love being home! Right before I left I went out for drinks with some friends and I wore my silk floral patterned dress from ModCloth and nude wedges from Aldo. I’m kind of sad that I didn’t pack this dress…





I'm also loving the opulent juxtaposition of black and gold right now...

City Streets

When I went to New York for the day I dutifully packed my camera and carried it around all day and, of course, neglected to ever actually pull it out and take photos! Seriously, this is the only photo I took all day. This was snapped in the evening in SoHo when we were hunting around for a restaurant that a friend had recommended (we eventually found it and, man, was it delicious. And the signature cocktails that they make there were very strong and very good).

Saturday YouTube

This was the first product review I ever did, back in February, and part of me still thinks it was the best one.



This was a review I did about Veet waxing strips and it seems like everyone has an opinion about these things. Have any of you ever used them?



I first saw this one a few months ago and immediately starting sharing it with friends - I laugh every time!



This is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. It's a real hot dog. Trust me.

Turning Winter Woes Into Wins

One of the things that I mourn the most in the winter is the absence of flirty frocks – as soon as the gray skies and wintery winds kick in the fashion landscape seems to become more and more barren. It’s an especially sad situation in my hometown in northern Canada and, since I am planning to spend most of November there, I’ve been thinking about the drab coats, frizzy hair, and depressing scarves that I usually see there during the winter months.

But winter doesn’t have to result in the banishment of dresses and cute shoes! Granted, tottering around in high heels on icy streets may not be the best idea (and usually results in a series of rather ungraceful spills) and bare legs in minus zero temperatures are also not an option, but there are still plenty of fun and fashion forward looks that one can execute in the midst of an arctic chill. Cute tights and graceful flats with embellishments can be a great way to make a fashion statement while staying warm and navigating the frigid streets. Winter also doesn’t have to result in the total banishment of dresses in favor of slacks and jeans (although I love me a good pair of jeans and boots in the cold).

A dress made from a warm material with a v-neck, a cozy cardigan, and a statement necklace can be a great way to stay chic in a chilly climate. And while a warm coat is obviously a winter essential, there’s no need for it be a frumpy and drab affair. Houndstooth can be a fabulous way to incorporate a bit of color and pattern (without looking like a lunatic for wearing a parka covered with a penguin pattern – yes, I’ve seen someone in just such a coat) into your winter wardrobe and cinched waist or belt adds shape in spite of all the layers that you may be wearing under it.

Auden on Saturday

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

W.H. Auden

A Layered Life

Who doesn’t love layering in the fall? Shirt: GAP / Vest: H&M / Scarf: F21 / Shoes: Steve Madden / Jeans: Thrifted.





Also, what did people think of the Alexander McQueen S/S 2011 runway show? Here are a few of my favorite looks from the collection (all photos by Jonas Gustavsson and Peter Stigter for the LA Times). I personally really enjoyed Sarah Burton’s work – I felt it had the same theatricality and spectacle that make McQueen such a favorite but also incorporate a softer feel, almost more sober.

Flying Into Fall

Flying into fall in a dress from Rock Steady (found on www.shopplasticland.com), zipper embellished boots from DSW (I can't tell the brand), and a hooded sweatshirt from H&M. I shot these as soon as I rolled in from the library so ignore the backpack (although inside of it I do have a book about puritanism and the emergence of antinomianism in early modern England that is hilariously titled "Blown by the Spirit").





And, dear readers, eShakti is having a fantastic sale right now on their wide collection of ready to wear items (I got my hands on this lovely black dress), so check it out if you are so inclined.

Neutrals and Nudes

Now that some cooler weather has come my way, I’m starting to fall in love with Fall (okay, I was always in love with Fall) and the neutral color palette of browns and grays it brings. Jumper: TK Maxx / Shoes: Aldo.

I also read this interesting story about some scarves produced by Anthropologie and wanted to share.

To further mark the changing of the leaves, I was reading a collection of Robert Frost poems and came across this lovely verse:

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold,
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Won't You Come To My Tea Party?

Fall finally feels like it has arrived but last week, during the humidity, I decided to embrace the heat and give summer one last hurrah. I figured the best way to do that was an impromptu backyard tea party and a ruffled blouse from Forever 21, capris from Ann Taylor, a gold pendant from ModCloth, sandals from Chinese Laundry, a cardigan from Zara, and my staple academic tote bag.





In other news, I came across this interesting article about the future of fashion shows and wanted to share.

Halloweenies

I may be the biggest fan of Halloween ever and this year I am doubly excited because I have some BIG plans. This year I will be traveling to my hometown (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) from October 20-November 17 and I will be spending Halloween with my three of my very best friends in the world in Vancouver, British Columbia. We found some cheap plane tickets from Edmonton to Vancouver, got a decent deal on a hotel room for five nights and so, right smack in the middle of my trip home, I will be jetting off for a five day vacation with my BFF and a few others! In honor of it being October (the season of all things witchy and the greatest time of the year as far as I’m concerned), I’ve pulled together a few old photos to do a Halloween retrospective. These are some of my favorite costumes that I’ve put together over the last six or seven years. Does anyone else have Halloween plans yet? Costume ideas? Or are you just not that into it?

Valkyrie

Catra (remember She-ra?)

Malificent

Clytemnestra

Zombie Prom

Reagan (The Exorcist)

Reagan (The Exorcist)

The Corpse Bride