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{ Another shot from the photo shoot with Jamie Lauren this past week – setting up this business was a huge goal for 2011! Wearing: H&M mens sweater, New Look shirt, Joe Fresh sequin shorts, Browns ID booties, Fossil watch, Storey Design leather bow bracelets }
With this impending new year comes the opportunity to redefine yourself! This is what I love about a new year, there’s something rather satisfactory about the idea of a fresh start. Deciding to re-organize your life or take on a new look is somehow less exciting in say, October. (Although, September does have a bit of the same allure, as Candy Pratts Price famously said in The September Issue: “September is the January of fashion.”) And so, I’m going to spend the next few days thinking about what I want my life to look like in 2012. I’ll start now:
1. I am going to commit to staying with an exercise routine. A classic example, yet somehow so hard to maintain! But having a job that entails sitting at a computer all day encourages the pounds to hit and stick, particularly around the waist and hip regions. Pounds be gone this new year!
2. I will be proactive with new ideas and get them going immediately, not sit them on a shelf in my brain where they will inevitably be lost. An idea is just never as good a month later. Maybe they have shelf lives.
3. I would like to write a book. I don’t know about what (there’s a mother of a problem) and I don’t know if it’ll really be my strength, but I have always dreamt of writing a book. I’m going to have to sit myself down and start scribbling.
4. I will NOT leave the house in sweat pants this new year. Now, it only happened a handful of times, but nonetheless it is unacceptable. I will not give up my Uggs though.
5. I will not procrastinate. Yeah right – that’s setting myself up for failure. Okay, I will procrastinate less! And not on the important things. I will be aggressive, be, be aggressive.
6. I will read more books (both novels and real-life accounts) so as to broaden my worldly knowledge and increase my vocabulary.
There we have it so far, the list that I hope will keep me in check in 2012 and make it a big, very-accomplishing type of year! Tell me, what have you got on the agenda books for 2012??
{ Wearing: Zara leather bomber jacket, Mexx fair isle (c/o Courtney Boutique), Momentous Moments shirt (c/o), Armani Exchange pants (c/o), ShoeMint Jolly booties (c/o, ps. this bootie also comes in leopard!!), Frances Cobiasia bag, Ralph Lauren scarf, Marc by Marc Jacobs Necklace, Camera necklace purchased in Paris, H&M men’s aviators, Stella & Dot ring }
2 sleeps until Christmas!! And just before that magical day arrives, I have some FABULOUS news for you shoppers! ShoeMint, StyleMint and JewelMint are now officially shipping to Canada as of December 26th! Hellloo shopping from home on Boxing Day! Quelle chance! These wedges, appropriately named the Jolly, because they make me so, are part of a 2012 collection designed by Rachel Bilson and manufactured by Steve Madden! *Awesome collaboration*
StyleMint, as we all know, features a line of perfectly comfortable and stylish tees from those Olsen sisters, while JewelMint gives us access to the tastes of Kate Bosworth and stylist Cher Coulter for all things jewelry. And signing up for these sites is the best part – you are presented with a range of images and styles and pick out the ones that suit you best, the sites then gauge your style and curates a selection for you to choose from! I’m always interested to see what they’ll recommend for me! What’ll they recommend for you??
I wish you a merry, merry Christmas and a fabulous new year! You’ve earned it. 2012, here we come! Bisous mes chéris!
{Joe’s holiday make-up collection. As a big fan of the make up, I must note that every product is of excellent quality – matching and sometimes beating out that of the designer beauty items}
{Joe Fresh make up artist Shelley Hilliard gives me a bold eye look – evidently we both have a penchant for cats}
{Oooh I want those candles! Hellloo SuperStore!}
{Home collection above and dinnerware (including the nutcrackers), by Joe at SuperStore. Rather chic, non?}
{One thing (among many) that makes Joe Fresh a favourite is their range of textures and statement pieces. They provide such a fantastic collection of pieces that can make any typical outfit rather interesting, like the tangerine sweater above, or the gold sequin skirt. By the way, I want that.)
Thank you to Joe Fresh for a wonderful rainy afternoon! #BigFan.
{Barefoot Contessa soy candle (c/o)}
{I’ve been searching for some sort of pen and pencil holder lately, and this packaging for the Barefoot Contessa candle works perfectly! (And by works, I mean matches, aesthetics tend to trump functionality at this haus)}
{New make up brushes c/o Joe Fresh – I’m particularly delighted with the lipstick brush, as I accidently smushed a good portion of my Chantecaille lipstick into the cap. Don’t you just hate that?? Especially when it’s about $15 worth of lipstick smushed into the cap…}
{My fascination with nutcrackers grows. My Christmas decorating is done in two ways: 1) with nutcrackers and 2) with all things winter wonderland ie: white, crystal or frosted}
{A miniature moose head for the wall, currently sitting on a side table, from Front & Co, home of some of the best window displays in town!}
{Dior heart-shaped bowl (a crystal version here) with mini candy canes and my new favorite accessory: Social Experiment ring (c/o)}
{Pink fur earmuffs from Holt Renfrew – another fabulous pair here - lucite hook rack from Urban Barn}
{A delicious vaseline based lip balm by Perfumeria Gal, c/o Barefoot Contessa, hand towel from HomeSense}
{Making plans – a moment before heading out to last night’s London Drugs Revlon & Almay event at Sugar Studios – picture tweeted here! They sent a white stretch limo to pick us up… I could get used to that! Wearing: JNBY sweater dress (c/o), La Senza stockings, Zara boots}
Oh, and have a look at this: APT with LSD featuring Aerin Lauder – hello glamorous.
And one more thing that makes me happeee happy: a card, that along with five others, is on its way to San Francisco to the home of a favourite fashion blogger… (Get yours here)
I knew Olivia Palermo was planning a website, but I didn’t know it was already launched!
Have a look for yourself, Olivia Palermo’s Style Blog & Website.
I’ve only read a few articles thus far, but so far I am enjoying it! (Above: She’s carrying the “it” Jonathon Saunders for Smythson iPad case. Gahh I want.)
Note to Palermo: Just please Olivia, give us your daily outfits. (Right now they’re about weekly as I can tell.) That’s what we all want. (As well as what really happened on that catwalk and with that letter to all the socialites… Real or fake?!)
I know you love to dress up and get your holiday mingle on, so here are TWO FABULOUS, and I mean fabulous, events for you this Christmas season!
JOY IT UP AT THE GAP
PERKS: 25% off GAP‘s new holiday collection (PERFECT for your Christmas shopping!) get braided at Blo’s Braid Bar, treats from Frankie’s Candy Bar and Jones Soda as well as beats from DJ Ana. A SWAG BAG with $50 purchase and 10 of those bags will contain a FREE pair of premium denim! (Valued up to $79.95!) You could win a GAP outfit at the party, valued up to $500 (swoon) and the TheStyleSpy.com team will be revealing their holiday looks and insider styling tips! The PERFECT girls night. So in!
Hashtag for the party: #GapxStyleSpy
Want to share the event with your followers? Tweet the love!:
“RSVP Now! @GapCanadaPR & @TheStyleSpy Shopping Party, Tues, Nov 22, 5-8pm, Robson St ow.ly/i/l4Wh #GapxStyleSpy #Vancouver”
Want to attend? RSVP to Lisa@TaitPR.com
REDISCOVER LE CHATEAU WITH LUISA RINO OF FLARE MAGAZINE
Le Chateau isn’t the same store you knew a few (or more) years ago. Get the inside scoop on this major Canadian brand’s new look at the Holiday Style event on November 19th! From 1-4pm you’ll be treated to delicious nibbles, free manicures and hair touch-ups from Suki’s (my favourite salon!) AND the first 100 guests to meet Luisa will enjoy an exclusive $25 gift towards any purchase of clothing or footwear made during the event!
More info on this one coming!
I know, it’s a lot of stupendous all at once, isn’t it?? Now go get your outfits ready!
{Wearing: mystery turtleneck sweater dress (folded up to shorten – there is no tag in it and I don’t know where I got it), Basix II dress (London – last seen here), BCBG Max Azria heels and Zara bag – sooo excited to mean the man of the hour! So excited.}
{A guest’s Chanel bag and watch – the bag was begging to be photographed}
{Meeting Wu}
- All clothes and accessories above displayed: Jason Wu -
What a fabulous event. Thank you very much to the ladies at The Bay for including me in such a gorgeous evening. His clothes are just a dream – and to think he’s from Vancouver! What a treat. Ooh, and look out for more event photos on B Insider!
{An invitation as fabulous as the clothes themselves}
{Wearing: H&M mens sweater (current), Merona shirt from Target (circa… 2006… here’s a newer, better one), Zara pleated leather skirt (similar here), Browns ID boots, scarf from a rack in Sears (again, circa the old-er days, 2007. Similar here – I want this one too!), vintage Raybans, Fossil watch}
I spent the day reliving Constance Prep from the early days of Gossip Girl. Anyone else miss Blair’s shiny red gloss, endless supply of headbands and her daily take on the Constance neck tie? I do. Besides the fashion, you know what else makes me miss the first seasons of GG? How bad the new ones are. It’s become a real soap. But I still watch, for Blair.
T-minus 1 hour and 57 minutes until Jason Wu makes his appearance at The Room at The Bay and I haven’t a clue what should be worn for such fashion royalty. There isn’t a designer I love more (even King Karl sits behind Wu in my line up). Remember the lace head pieces from his Fall 2011 presentation? Too good. Now I’m getting myself worked up. I am literally sitting at my desk half dressed (put those thoughts away!) because I can’t make a decision. Part of me wants to wear purple cords. Shut up, Olivia, bad idea, bad idea… but maybe if I paired them with sequins… and silver heels, Chanel heels! But is that weird if I wear Chanel to see Wu? If only I owned some Wu then all my problems would be solved! Perhaps I should nip out to Holts and get some Wu… and then not eat for a week month. No. Nuts. I’m nuts. … But if I didn’t eat for a month then I could actually fit into the Wu… How’d you like that? A few seconds inside my head, imagine what it’s like to live in here all the time.
I shall take a million and one photos tonight. Off to battle the closet. Au revoir!
{Cape from Winners, Talula jacket, Bilby & Moss shirt (c/o), H&M denim, Cougar Pillow boots (Limited Edition) (c/o), Pashmina scarf, toque stolen from Boyfriend – it was cold!}
We leave Edmonton today after five days here, back to Vancouver! I wore this the day we arrived, lots of layers and my take on a less formal outdoors look.
Looking forward to being back in town, and for all the events coming up! November 9th is the Blogger MeetUp featuring fashion bloggers! (And yours truly!) MeetUp organizer Raul Pacheco (a.k.a. @Hummingbird604), did a nice write up about the event on his blog Hummingbird 604! We’re going to talk about attending events, the blogging community and what it’s like to receive those awful PR pitches. We promise it’ll be an interesting event!
Wednesday, November 9 at The Network Hub 422 Richards St. 3rd floor – doors open at 6:30pm, the panel starts at 7pm.
AND it’s time to announce a winner for the CircleCraft Christmas Market ticket winner! Congratulations to: Holly Ostler! (FYI: My winners are always chosen at random, I thank everyone for entering! Lookout for another giveaway coming soon!)
{With Lucy Wilson-Storey at Vancouver Fashion Week. Wearing: Vintage fur vest, 2 elles sweater (Paris), Forever 21 skirt, Zara boots & belt and Fossil watch. Over my vest I wore my black leather bomber jacket (last seen here), also from Zara. Lucy is wearing a vintage fur coat and made her yellow ostrich-embossed leather clutch. Holy DIY.}
{At the Joseph Ribkoff show, where Miss America walked}
{Miss America and Ribkoff regional rep Shawn Costello and Lyndi Barrett of Lj PR}
And then there was a little interview:
The music was a little loud, so I’ll let you know what I asked him. For starters, I’m quite certain I said something along the lines of: “So, have you been to Vancouver before?” to which Shawn replied, “Yes, actually I live here” and so I said, “oh… but with the brand?!” (Save. See, I thought he was in from Montreal.) We went on a bit about how Joseph Ribkoff is a Canadian brand that is manufactured in Canada (well done!), which led into me getting my Nancy Grace on and asking: “We have a Miss Canada, right?” Yes, we do,” “why don’t you sponsor Miss Canada too?” Well gosh Olivia, go and put your high heeled foot in your mouth. Why I would ask such a nice guy like Mr. Costello a question for head office I don’t know, but there you are. And of course, as eloquently as a Miss America pageant contestant Mr. Costello answered: “Well, if that opportunity comes up we would of course love to look into it!” I think we have a winner for Mr. Canada! ;)
After the show photographer Landgero emailed me with some shots he took of me, here is my favourite:
** My giveaway for the TWO TICKETS to Circle Craft’s Christmas Market is still going on! You have until Sunday night to enter! CLICK HERE to enter! **
{Blair Eadie Bee of Atlantic-Pacific mixing leopard and burgundy. Oh, if only we were still wearing shorts on our bit of the West Coast too.}
{Garance Dore‘s piece on her love of yoga pants – too funny and a must read for us Vancouverites who are more than known to live in our yoga pants}
{News just recently broke that J.Crew big boss Jenna Lyons has left her husband for a woman. You can read the Forbes article here, or the Huffington Post article here. I’d rather re-visit her fabulous taste for interior design, brought to us by Habitually Chic.}
{The Glitter Guide‘s Glitter Girl feature on Laney Crowell of Downtown Romantic}
DID YOU KNOW that on Fridays Yew at the Four Seasons hosts Foxxy Fridays! (Which is put on in collaboration with Creme de la Creme Grand Wedding Showcase (pictured above), so there is no doubt it will be fabulous. Remember that night I had at Yew with Creme de la Creme… heaven.) AND THAT TONIGHT is the Halloween Bridesmaid Edition of Foxxy Friday!
Details: Show up at YEW between 5:30 and 6:30 pm in any preworn Bridesmaid dress (the more outrageous the better)! All who attend in bridesmaids attire will be treated to Foxxy Friday cocktails and bites and will have a big chance at winning the “Ultimate Bridesmaid Tea Party!” (Valued at $400.) FYI: You must be in attendance at the Nov. 6 Creme de le Creme Grand Wedding Showcase to qualify to win the “Ultimate Tea Party” and must be part of a wedding planned before Nov. 6 2012.
Today is the last day to enter The Doctor’s Closet and Alicia Fashionista‘s LOVE + MARK’D stationery giveaways! They’re both giving away a set of 4 cards – which the winner gets to choose from this big and fabulous selection!
Bisous!
Zara trousers and Pierre Cardin clutch. (Really love them.)
{Wearing: Vintage Karen Kane blouse (previously owned by my Mum), Zara trousers, Manolo Blahnik flats, vintage Pierre Cardin clutch, Michael Kors and Fossil watches, iPad case from a tiny shop in Paris and sunglasses from who-knows-where, coral lipstick by Anna Sui}
Last night I accompanied Dress for Success board member and good friend Liz Sperandeo to Y.E.S! Vancouver‘s Room With a View event at The Room in The Bay. The event featured a fashion presentation of The Room’s hottest fall pieces, a ridiculously good raffle ticket prize offering and models we could not only relate to, but admire: women with a deep philanthropic mission walked the runway. I must say I clapped aggressively for Heather White when she took her turn to walk! Heather is fab-u-lous. (Pictured below walking the runway and with me shortly after the presentation.)
{Making my exit after the event wearing: Tevrow + Chase jacket, sweater from another tiny Parisian shop – brand unknown – Zara trousers, Ballin shoes and Pierre Cardin clutch}
Happy Monday! The Doctor’s Closet and I have a treat for you today: a giveaway!
Click to visit The Doctor’s Closet and learn how to enter – it’s as easy as a few clicks! The winner will be announced Friday – good luck! Xo
Want to see more LOVE + MARK’D stationery? Check out my boutique!
Tom Ford Fall/Winter 2011
The Business of Fashion & Karl
Twitter with the bloggers
Last Wednesday night The Bay hosted an intimate sit down with Jeanne Beker in the Platinum Suite at The Room before her public appearance. Being a little late I had to slip in as nonchalantly as possible, and try to contain my excitement at getting to have a real sit-down conversation with the woman I have admired and watched interview the fashion greats for the past ten years. Jeanne is just as fabulous and as personable as you would expect. We were given the opportunity to ask her whatever we liked. I really enjoyed that her answers were direct and thoughtful and she was refreshingly honest about the industry. One of my questions was: “how do you start getting dressed in the morning?” Jeanne said she starts with pretty intimates and some fab heels – always heels. (I was asking in reference to Jenna Lyons saying she dresses starting with shoes that her son picks out for her. Cute!) A little way along our 45 minutes with Jeanne, Lisa of Solo Lisa asked her what was in her bag – here it is!
That’s me asking what kind of lipstick she has, the answer: (at the 0:42 mark) No. 25, Vendome
{Wearing: Zara coat, Bedo blouse, BCBG Max Azria pants, necklace from Macy’s, Joe Fresh nail colour. We shall assume Jeanne was wearing pieces from her Edit collection!}
Read more about Jeanne’s visit to Vancouver and The Bay on B Insider, The Bay’s blog! Major (may-jor) thanks to the ladies in charge at The Bay who put this together!
By Suzanne Timmins and Lisa Tant at The Bay. Below are five of my favourite looks shown on Friday night. (Event was blog-posted here!)
{Trend: (Above & Below) Mixing prints – LOVE!}
{Trend: (Above & Below) Mens wear inspired}
{Trend: Layered, Boho-grunge}
What is something wonderful that you’re doing today? From sitting down with a new glossy to taking your dog (or other pet, Marie has been known to venture out on a leash…), for a walk in this brilliant Vancouver weather we’re having today or putting on your favourite bright lipstick, make sure you do something that makes you smile. Every day. Bisous!
{Wearing: Vintage sequin top, Tara Jarmon blouse, Talula Babaton trousers, Via Spiga shoes, Franchi clutch, Zara leather jacket (in hand)}
The Hudsons Bay Co. is really upping their fashion game. And thank goodness for that, we Vancouver fashionistas/os have needed an alternative to Holts for quite some time now. (While I think bad mouthing Holts is like sacrilege, there is a distinct feeling you get when you walk into that store that no matter how many Holts-bought items you are wearing that day, you somehow still don’t feel good enough to be there. Do you feel that there? I think it has something to do with the attitudes of the salespeople. It’s really quite off-putting.) But anyhow, The Bay has certainly become a competing high-fashion destination! With an incredible shoe selection (with an even better price range), and every designer you could want, the pickings are enormous and very well thought out, not to mention the fact that we now have our very own The Room in Vancouver! Clearly the buyers at The Bay have well-honed skills. Speaking of which, last night The Bay held a Fall Trend Report with Lisa Tant (EIC of Flare Magazine), and Suzanne Timmins (Fashion Director of The Bay, pictured with me below – follow her on Twitter! And an online letter from her here), both in from Toronto for the event. The report was a collection of wearable and real-woman friendly trends like 60s mod shifts with kitten heels (yay!), colour-blocking with bright wool coats and furs and print-mixing (my FAVOURITE!). Bravo ladies on a fabulous presentation, it was my favourite fashion show I’ve seen in ages. Pictures to come!
Happy shopping ladies! See some great stuff at The Bay? I would love to know! Tweet me!: @StyleStruck
Sometimes fab-tastic emails hit my inbox; one landed last week from Flare’s Assistant Digital Editor, Ryan Michael Chung. Flare Magazine was looking to do a feature on their site with Canadian bloggers wearing Canadian designers! So I eagerly packed up my Joe Fresh, my boyfriend (photographer and serious giver of support and good laughs! And dream boat. He knew yesterday was a big day and so came home with the enormous Harper’s Bazaar Greatest Hits coffee table book! Swoon.), and my camera and headed off for the Lions Gate Bridge – a quintessential Vancouver landmark for a seriously Canadian piece!
{Wearing: Joe Fresh blouse, trousers and nail colour, Zara belt, Ballin shoes, Michael Kors watch, the nameplate necklace was a gift from my Mum}
Big thank you to Flare Magazine and the digital team for asking me to be a part of this wonderful feature!
Yesterday was my official launch of LOVE + MARK’D stationery and in the spirit and excitement of launching a new business I’m offering 25% off my card sets until Saturday! Use coupon code: stylestruck at checkout for your discount! Major thanks to those of you who have placed orders already! Your support is fantastic and I love you. Really.
{A LOVE + MARK’D birthday card!}
Also, don’t forget about my Kensie sweater GIVEAWAY with Courtney Boutique! Tweet, tweet, tweet to enter!
Coming in at 100 characters, the tweet-to-win!: “I just entered to win the @CourtneyBoutiq x @StyleStruck Fall sweater giveaway! http://stylestruck.ca/?p=5457″
Last Thursday at 3:30 pm I made my way through the doors of Sears, through the make-up department and over to a growing crowd of people. In the middle of the crowd, amongst media, fans, security guards and PR people was Jay Manuel, looking nothing less than fabulous giving an appearance for his new collection of woman’s apparel, Attitude (sold exclusively through Sears). Very aptly named as Jay can serve up some attitude (well, that’s what I saw on Top Model anyway), but in person he is a very generous and interesting person, not to mention gracious. Along with the other “fashion media” I was sent over to a corner of black carpet and a huge step-and-repeat to wait for our chance to interview Mr. Manuel. Interview? What interview… shoot, shoot, shoot, I can’t remember what the email said from the PR lady… So obviously I didn’t have any interview questions prepared, but I thought “I’ll just wing it! There’s no way I’m missing out on this – I like clothes, he likes clothes, I’m sure we’ll have loads to talk about!” And thank goodness, we did. Below is my impromptu interview filmed on my iPad (thank you to Meagan!!), with the Jay Manuel. Please do forgive the sound quality as the DJ was blaring his music (even while the TV crews interviewed…).
{Wearing: 3.1 Phillip Lim dress – which Jay said he loved! – last seen here, Mossimo trench, Marc by Marc Jacobs shoes and vintage bag}
My questions: (I can’t give you exactly word for word what was said, so this is the gist of how he answered the questions. These answers are not to be quoted.)
What is the thing that you best bring to women’s fashion?
Jay said as a child he had had a new tailored suit every year (and still has them!), and thus really understands a good fit, particularly of a suit. He has included some fantastic suitings on his collection.
What do you think of clothes becoming more demure and modest? I mentioned that from looking at his collection I could tell his clothes were more conservative – uh oh, wrong word! He cut in and made sure to let me know that his clothes are still sexy! Indeed they are, but I definitely appreciate that he chose to use sophisticated (better word), cuts and styles that show off a woman’s body, but don’t literally show it.
Jay said that he thinks women want to feel sexy and empowered in their clothing and that doesn’t have to mean showing a lot of skin. That is done through great tailoring, the right fabrics and the details that really make a piece. In one of the suit jackets he said they did a great shoulder detail where the seam (to the sleeve), is raised and tucked to give a stronger shoulder silhouette. He said he thinks women feel most confident when they feel good in what they’re wearing. (We sure do Jay!)
Maybe you want some more: An interview about the collection from Toronto
And a note: I’ve created a Galleries link in the left column where I will be posting collections of photos. I’ve put one up already! Love to know your thoughts on the new look of my blog! Xo
