Fresh faced and fancy free, ruffled play clothes and loose, sheer blouses; SPRING IS IN THE AIR. I wouldn’t venture out in this outfit just yet, but come late April I sure will. As for today I just couldn’t wait any longer! (So I wore it around my apartment.)

Wearing: Gifted JNBY silk/cotton blouse, Sirens ruffled skort, Rockport suede buckled boots.

This blouse is one of the most interesting pieces in my closet, being from JNBY (the new spring collection!), there are multiple ways to wear it (the majority of their clothes can be worn in more than one way). Here I have it tied back (it has two ties that be worn across the front, or in the back) so create a fitted silhouette, with the top buttons undone to create an open neckline. I’ve also tucked it in quite a bit so that my little ruffled skirt/shorts show, untucked it could be worn as a tunic. I adore multifunctional clothes! One day I’m feeling feminine, the next more androgynous and the shirt moves with me. The little skort is one of those pieces I refer to as play-clothes because you feel youthful wearing it and it evokes a mood of playfulness – perfect for warm nights. When the warm weather comes I tend to forgo a fully made up face in favor of a little bronzer and light lip gloss (this gloss, by MAC, is “man-friendly”: not sticky, light in pigment and sans sparkles).

Warm days are just around the corner!

Xo StyleStruck

P.S. Meow. I mean, tweet, tweet.

P.P.S. An adorable little song

Sunday morning was one of those morning when you know that something good must come to an end, like leaving Manhattan for home, and leaving the glamorous and exciting Ace Hotel for Vancouver’s quieter West End. I should have gotten up early that morning to pack, but those giant [...]]]>

Sunday morning was one of those morning when you know that something good must come to an end, like leaving Manhattan for home, and leaving the glamorous and exciting Ace Hotel for Vancouver’s quieter West End. I should have gotten up early that morning to pack, but those giant beds with enormous white down duvets and endless pillows trapped me, so I simply couldn’t get up. I paid for it half an hour later though when I was rushing around like a mad woman trying to stuff all of my new purchases into my already stuffed suitcase, (as usual, I brought double what I needed, but how is one supposed to know what she will feel like wearing?!). Luckily, I was traveling with a man whose suitcase was barely half full! In went my new 6″ heels, hair dryer, straightening iron, magazines and accessories. What someone might of thought had he had his suitcase searched at the air port haha… but Tommy is a sport! (Thanks Tommy!)

After barely getting my suitcase to zip up, we ditched our extremely heavy bags at the front desk and hopped in a cab to the West Village for brunch! We spotted a cute restaurant, Phillip Marie, that had the feel of a southern home and served “new American” cuisine. I chose the chicken, brie and pesto sandwich and a cup of hot coffee, perfect for a cloudy New York City day.

After brunch we wandered through the Village till we found the Rag & Bone shop, (above), where Tommy got a beautiful pair of leather sneakers and went halfers with me on a gorgeous navy Fall 2010 cashmere sweater which I will post about soon! (I’m in no shape for a photo shoot at the moment).  You can find Rag & Bone in Vancouver at Holt Renfrew, Misch, (womens) and at Gravity Pope, (mens and womens). Click here for an Elle.com mini-feature on David Neville, and here for Marcus Wainwright!) As if on cue, the rain started to come down and it was time to go back to the Ace to collect our bags and make our way to the dreaded airport, (I hate flying).

The travel experience was less than desirable. Because of the torrential rain, our flight was delayed 3 hours, meaning we would miss our connecting flight in Seattle that evening. Which did indeed happen, and thank you American Airlines for treating us like lowly customers-I will not be flying American Airlines any time soon. We found ourselves stranded in Seattle for the night with no option other than to pay for a night at one of the airport hotels, synthetic sheets anyone? Finally, on Monday morning we made it home, still wearing Sunday’s clothes. Luckily, I wore a cute outfit, though Tommy did point out that perhaps all white wasn’t the best for traveling. However, I made it home without a spec on those white clothes, and somehow still smiling. All in all, it was a wonderful trip that I won’t soon forget! 

Wearing: Cecico blouse, Sirens white jeans, Poetic License platform sandals (5″ for travelling), Gianni Chiarini leather carry-all, Marc by Marc Jacobs necklace, Michael Kors watch, bracelet bought from a street vendor in SoHo and aviators from a mid-town street vendor, ($3!!).

Thursday morning we woke up ready to hit the streets! Off to the Upper East Side for some “light” shopping, as in, I brought back a lip gloss from Chanel. But nonetheless, visiting Miu Miu, Prada and Chanel was [...]]]> In English, “Strutting up Park Avenue in six inch platforms.” 

Thursday morning we woke up ready to hit the streets! Off to the Upper East Side for some “light” shopping, as in, I brought back a lip gloss from Chanel. But nonetheless, visiting Miu Miu, Prada and Chanel was just grand. 

The Dior store was getting a facelift, so the exterior was covered by a giant quilted purse. Amazing.

Wearing: H&M army green top, Talula spandex tank, Marc by Marc Jacobs necklace, Macy’s enamel bangle, Urban Behaviour denim shorts, Gianna Chiarini leather carry-all, vintage Ray Bans and Chanel platform sandals.

For brunch we re-visited a favourite, Palace Restaurant. I couldn’t tell you where it is, but I know it’s right around the corner from Miu Miu (where sadly the shoes were fabulously impressive and also highly priced), and just down the street from Turnbull and Asser (a marvelous place to find lovely pocket squares for the gentleman in your life). Palace was full of lunching business types and women meeting to share gossip and news of their grandkids, a perfect midday stop for sugary, syrup-covered french toast! After brunch, we visited the Waldorf Hotel – I’ve never seen such amazing bathrooms! (Except for maybe at the Plaza.)

And to our third and final Upper East Side desination, Bergdorfs! I’ve really never seen a restaurant so glamorous and so full of glamorous people in my life. I could lunch there every day of my life.

My only picture of the Bergdorf’s restaurant and I’m mid-chat. Anyhow, it sure was a treat! By the way, my lunch consisted of pink champagne. After lunch I dragged poor Tommy through the shoe salon, which is more like an amazon of stilettos and leather and crystals. I practically needed blinders on, I was going shoe-crazy. Unlike the last time I visited the shoe salon though, this time I left with no bags. Plenty of wishes and wants though. (Summer 2008 my mother and visited NYC during the July sale season when I purchased a pair of leopard Manolo Blahnik flats, seen here, and Prada nude pumps, seen here. Swooon.) Of course since Bergdorf’s is just next door to the most fabulous hotel, I had to take a photo in front of the Plaza, ohh memories!

Yep, I changed into flats. Zara white leather flats. 

Fast forward about six hours and you would find me, along with a slew of other Vancouverites and hip New Yorkers sipping cocktails in the Ace Hotel lobby, which also doubles as a very popular bar in the evenings. The men went on to a bachelor party, (we went to NYC for a wedding, which happened Saturday), while one of the other boy’s girl and I marched off to the Meatpacking District to find some fun! And did we ever! I’m still waiting on the photo from Jen, but we met, and got a photo with, Lance Bass! It was all rather extraordinary the way our night panned out. We jumped in a cab from the Ace with the intention of getting out at a random spot in the Meatpacking District and getting a drink wherever looked good. It just so happened the cabbie let us off right in front of Ten June, a popular NYC club, (which, thanks to Miss Andrea Milner, I’ve been to before!). Of course, being only 10:15 or so, it was too early to go clubbing, so the bouncer told us to get a drink next door and come over around 11:30. Into the next lounge we went! Only after ordering a drink and grabbing a menu did I realize we had ended up at a spot I’ve been dying to go to for years, STK, a fantastic steak house and “it” spot, where we met Lance. 

Wearing: Sirens white t, Zara pleated leather skirt, Zara leather studded belt, Marc by Marc Jacobs quilted clutch, vintage ring and H&M stud bracelet, with matte bubblegum pink Rimmel lipstick. Martini by STK. (You can’t see my shoes, but they were Stuart Weitzman patent leather 5 inchers).

Afterwards it was off to Ten June where we danced the night away!

- End of Day 2 -

Spending Saturday morning tidying, running a few errands in a crop top and sans make up, which feels good. I’m not usually much of a crop top type, but I figured, with this heat, why the heck not? Although, this is probably the only time my belly button will [...]]]>

Spending Saturday morning tidying, running a few errands in a crop top and sans make up, which feels good. I’m not usually much of a crop top type, but I figured, with this heat, why the heck not? Although, this is probably the only time my belly button will feel so free, unless you catch me at the beach. 

Wearing: Vintage crop top, (a whopping $2 purchase), Sirens white denim, Zara flats, H&M sunnies.

And the latest home-decor addition to my little apartment:

A fierce feline! Rooowwwrr.

You may have noticed a new hot pink box to the right, I’m now on Formspring! The social media platform for asking bloggers all sorts of questions. So get to it, type into that little box and ask me something. Now I must go get fancied up for a wedding, it takes some time. 

Xo StyleStruck

Recently I did a blog post on a certain new pair of summer sandals, well, here are said sandals!! (Whoever said money can’t buy you happiness, I beg to differ with them. There are times when money can buy you a little happiness, and one of those times involves Chanel.)

Wearing a vintage silk top, Sirens jeans, Chanel shoes. Bracelet brand unknown, from Macy’s, H&M headband.

It’s been ages since I’ve done one of these types of outfit posts, it felt good today to get the camera out and snap some photos. I mean, get the Nikon out, stacking it on top of a huuuge pile of books that balanced on top of my stool, then setting the camera to a 10 second automatic timer, getting a shot, then running back and forth from pose to camera to check each shot. Oh, the life of a fashion blogger without her own personal photographer. Fun. : )

Xo StyleStruck

Well, today was my big day to accomplish all of the many things I [...]]]> Out and on the prowl for all things pretty. A casual Friday afternoon outfit. Oversized black cashmere sweater, white Sirens jeans, B. Makowsky leather bag, cheapie sunnies from Bang-On and black Aldo leather wedges. Mmm cozy.

Well, today was my big day to accomplish all of the many things I have been putting off all week. The day started off quite productive with a breakfast run to Waves, (mmm the apple muffins there are so tasty), the usual collection of newspapers, (whilst I prefer the internet, I still have a love for traditional media), two blog posts, and even a walk over to the Vancouver View office in Yaletown to pink up a few very heavy boxes of the latest issue for an event I’m helping with in mid-May. Pretty productive right? Well after I got home from the VV trip, I decided I deserved a little break and immediately got caught up with too much reality TV. Which turned into an absolutely necessary trip downtown to see what the shops had to offer. Luckily for the plastic in my purse most of what’s in stores now does not appeal to me. (ENOUGH PLEATHER ALREADY! Where are the classic, moderately priced clothes that are made of good quality fabrics with care in construction?? Does that even exist? Do I have to start making my own clothes??) 

It’s 9:15 pm and I haven’t even started on the laundry, or my homework… Good thing I’m taking a night off of being fabulous tonight, (meaning no dressing up and going out tonight!), though I am wearing a brilliantly subtle shade of Dior lipgloss that is littered with sparkles. I suppose that is rather glam, as is the new Vogue in my lap.

Okay, that’s it for now. Ta ta. 

VancouverisAwesome.com and Shine Nightclub present “An Awesome Showcase” of local Vancouver talent. A little excerpt from the organizers:

The three part visual arts show [...]]]> LOOKING FOR A HIP AND STYLISH EVENT TO ATTEND THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THOSE WINTER GAMES? Look no further!

VancouverisAwesome.com and Shine Nightclub present “An Awesome Showcase” of local Vancouver talent. A little excerpt from the organizers:

The three part visual arts show will feature Vancouver’s top established and up-and-coming artists, photographers and designers throughout the entire two weeks of the winter games.

Running from February 12 – 28, the show will be viewable to the public throughout the daytime and will offer visual displays for the night scene as well. When taking in the art works, daytime guests are also invited to slip into Shine’s cocktail lounge to relax and sip on tasty libations.

Each day for the duration of the showcase, Vancouver Is Awesome will be blogging live from the venue, giving the public up-to-date information on the event’s happenings and  sharing favourite Vancouver stories from the people who visit the exhibit.

Tuesday evening was the launch party of this fabulous event, which was put together in part by DelaCruz PR firm. The launch party was a gathering of Vancouver’s most artsy, from photographers, graphic designers and artists to bloggers, public relations people and various other reporters. 

The curator of An Awesome Showcase, Randy Laybourne and I. (I’m wearing: Bebe mesh and sequin top, Zara leather jacket, black ripped Sirens jeans and rose-gold Fossil watch).

I can’t think of a better venue for an exhibition like this, the art was displayed so effectively against the lit-up walls.

Four of the featured artists.

Kelly Litzenberger, photographer and Editor/Art Director at Concrete Skateboarding Magazine with one of his pieces. 

When I asked Kelly what his reasoning was for placing two panoramic images together, Kelly replied simply, “I don’t have a deep reason for doing this, I just thought they looked good together.” To me, this is art at its best. I’m not one for drawn out lengthy and philosophical meanings behind art. It’s either aesthetically pleasing to you, or it isn’t. And Kelly’s piece is! (Two panoramic images of the pond and path near it at Granville Island, taken from above on the Burrard St. Bridge).

Left: Another piece of panoramic photography by Kelly Litzenberger

The vibe in Shine was amazing, low lighting and lots of great people to meet, not to mention very visually stimulating, (I’m talking about the art. Although, for all the single ladies out there, this type of event was a prime spot for mingling).

STYLE at An Awesome Showcase:

Vancouver entreprenuer and Lily & Jae designer Jude Feller. It was a pleasure to meet this woman. Jude, Niki, (Blasina, of A Haute Mess) and I engaged in a very interesting discussion about Vancouver’s fashion industry, not only are these events fun, but also insightful. 

I have one word to describe photographer Christine McAvoy: adorable. And sweet, so maybe two words. Here Christine stands with one of her photographs. Christine will be blogging daily from the exhibit at Shine for the duration of the show, Feb.12-28. Check out here work here!

Fabulous PR woman, Melania Dela Cruz of Dela Cruz PR. 

Stylish Bloggerina, Niki Blasina of A Haute Mess. I had the pleasure of spending a good part of my evening viewing the exhibit with Niki, the girl is smart and will definitely go far in her chosen career of PR. 

And just a little reminder, this exhibit is running from February 12-28 at Shine Nightclub! Enjoy!

XO StyleStruck