Beige is Beautiful

I don't know about where you are, but here in Toronto it is freezing today. And when spring lets you down like that, sometimes you just don't feel like wearing bright, sunny spring colours. You feel like wearing black, or beige. Or both.

Mayle Mariachi Sun bag, Vanessa Bruno long waistcoat, Intermix jeans, F-Troupe canvas lace-ups, Monsoon Accessorize vintage fan comb

Of course, you'd still be freezing, but when you look this good, who needs to maintain their internal temperature?

-Emily

Edited to add -
If you're Holly who left a comment a couple posts previously about Queen's, I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner! Somehow I missed your comment all this time. It may be a little late for you now, but here's the short (-ish) answer to your questions: yes it is quite cold, and winter does drag on a very long time, which is made worse by the fact that the weather is very often quite wet. But I know a couple people who have come from California and neither of them seem to find the weather to be a deal-breaker; I think they kind of enjoy the novelty of winter. Just so long as you dress warmly and have both winter boots and rubber boots, it's definitely manageable. Which brings me to my next point about style - I definitely wasn't totally right in my impression of what Queen's style would be, but there are some things that just seem to come with living on a campus. Everyone seems to dress super-casual all the time (yes, often sweatpants and uggs), so sometimes you can feel out of place wearing a dress to class, or in the cafeteria. But there isn't some kind of style hegemony, there's plenty of variety - well, some variety - and there's no real pressure to dress like everyone else. People just tend to start dressing the same because they forget what other people in the outside world wear. I wouldn't say I consciously dressed differently because of where I was, but I think I did start dressing a bit more casually, and saving things like colourful tights for going out, whereas at home I'd wear them during the week. Hope that was helpful, and if you're still making your decision, and you'd like any more information, just leave an email address in the comments, and I promise to respond much faster!

Androgynous Spring

Thought I'd share an outfit, because of the lack of posting lately. I'm in exams right now, so it'll be a while before my brain is equipped for blogging. Mostly it's only equipped for minimal studying, and a whole lot of One Tree Hill. So this outfit owes its leather jacket to Peyton, obviously. Love her look this season.

Hope everyone's enjoying the beginning of spring!

-Emily

P.S. This outfit is very wishful indeed, because the clothes and the shoes are from La Garçonne. If you're looking for something to do, I highly recommend a little window shopping at www.lagarconne.com. And they don't even pay me to say that!

Get Your Green On

Happy (early) St. Patrick's day! The celebrations for this momentous holiday began yesterday, here, with the first of many "green tie" parties. So I bought this American Apparel skirt (because I live there, basically).



It was $42, but you can wear it three ways! As a short tube dress....



As a high-waisted skirt (which I could perhaps wear to work)...



And as a super-high skirt so that it kind of looks like you're wearing a colour-blocked dress!



So $42/3 = ... I have no idea! But I do know it is a GREAT deal. Everything should be convertible.

I'll be wearing my green skirt like in the last picture, with a white tank top, a gold headband (gold = leprechauns = irish, you see) .... and a light-up shamrock shotglass on a chain around my neck. Yes, this will not be a sophisticated look. But it's St. Patrick's day weekend! Get your party on, readers!

If anyone finds a short green jumpsuit (which I think is just the ultimate in St. Patrick's day ensembles), let me know! If I see anyone wearing one this weekend, I will be - forgive the pun, readers, I am so sorry - GREEN with envy.

Have a great weekend...don't drink and drive!
xo-
Emily

Soundtrack to My Personal Fashion Show

This is venturing away from our usual territory, but it's a Friday, so all bets are off. I don't know about you guys, but pretty much my favourite part of going out is getting ready, mainly because when I'm trying on outfits, doing my hair and makeup, and starting my pre-drink, I always listen to a killer dressing-up soundtrack. I like dance music and electronica when I'm getting ready, and I thought I'd share my top ten, and then possibly - if there are any readers out there - you might like to share what music inspires you when you are doing your eyeliner, teasing your hair, changing your top three times, and generally getting psyched up for a night out.

Here are my faves, in no particular order:
1. The Looks - MSTRKRFT
2. Stripper - Soho Dolls
3. Fashion - David Bowie
4. Rockets in the Sky - Benassi Bros
5. Moi Lolita (D.J. Omri remix) - Alizée
6. Easy Love - MSTRKRFT
7. Super Stylin' - Groove Armada
8. Kiss You Off - Scissor Sisters
9. Magick (Simian remix) - Klaxons
10. Are You the One? - The Presets

I hope everyone has an excellent Friday night, and that even if you don't go anywhere, you dress up and have your own little dance party! It truly is the best part.

xo -
Emily

Oscars Schmoscars

image from the sartorialist

I move that for next year's Oscars, the academy forgoes inviting all these talented actors, and film-industry people, and invites people with red carpet talent, instead. Wouldn't you love to see Carine Roitfield interviewed by Ryan Seacrest? And so what if Diane Kruger, and Kate Bosworth haven't exactly been in any award-worthy roles - they know how to dress up and be photographed, and do it better than this year's crop of nominees, presenters, and hangers-on.

For anyone else who was thoroughly unimpressed with this year's red-carpet fashion, who would you rather see? And who do you think should forgo their spot?

xo -
Emily

P.S. All right, it wasn't a total loss. I thought Cameron Diaz in pink Dior, Heidi Klum in red, and Penelope Cruz in black Chanel HC looked great, especially in comparison with the strapless satin wasteland around them.

Gossip Girl Goes Dollar Store

I hope I'm not alone in saying that I think Gossip Girl is ridiculously entertaining. I'm dying for new episodes, because I know Blair is going to make the best comeback ever. I love Blair's attitude, her beyond-girly outfits, and most of all - her headbands. Almost singlehandedly, Gossip Girl has revitalized the headband among teen girls, as Blair and co. wear them religiously, and look great doing it. Different patterns, styles, and occasions, but always a headband.

Shopping in Kingston (where I go to school) leaves a lot to be desired, but the one thing you can always count on is being able to find great headbands at the dollar store. So almost every week, I find myself buying yet another - and I can't even feel bad about it, because not only do I wear them constantly, but they're only a dollar! It's awesome.

My Macbook and I did a very sophisticated little photoshoot, so I could show off my collection. It's expanded quite rapidly.

I have my going-out headbands, which consist of 1 gold sequined dollar-store find, one repurposed black satin sash belt, and one repurposed gold cord belt.







Then I have this white patent one (dollar store find, of course) for summer, or for when I'm going for an Alice-in-Wonderland vibe, as I quite often am.



Pink mock-croc for when I'm feeling wild. (Maybe I need to get out more.)



And of course my everday-wear headbands. My absolute favourite, new from Dollarama, glossy brown mock-croc with black trim:



Another classic one, black mock-ostrich (I love the fake exotics, as you may have guessed.)



Narrow tangerine-coloured band, an old one that is shockingly not from the dollar store. I only recently started wearing it again because I dyed my hair a darker brown and the colour looks great on it, if I may say so myself.



And a woven brown "leather," for those days when I feel my headband really should match my boots.



That's the whole collection so far, but I'm sure I'll be adding to it shortly. On my to-buy list: red for that very-Blair look, plaid for the schoolgirl vibe, and one of those chain & ribbon ones that look uncomfortable, but cute.

I just love a good headband, particularly when it's practically free! It makes me look more demure and innocent when I'm up to something nefarious, as well as being handy for keeping hair out of one's eyes, and adding interest to an otherwise boring outfit.

If you're a headband-lover who has stayed away from the trend because you (quite wisely) think they're usually overpriced then get thee to a dollar store! Or try tying belts or ribbons around your head. It's a great way to waste some time, and to get use out of pretty ribbons and sashes you'd otherwise have no use for.

-Emily

Lanvin S/S 08

I love Alber Elbaz for Lanvin, and I really love a good advertising campaign. I saw both the above ads (featuring Olga Sherer) on multiple blogs before I saw them in person, and although I thought they were gorgeous, I wasn't blown away. It wasn't until I saw the first one in Vogue that I really fell in love with this campaign. I then had to track down the next ad in Harper's Bazaar, so that I could tear them out and pay homage to the genius of these images. Ta-da!:



I put them on the useless cupboards above my closet in my res room, so that I can literally fall asleep staring at them. I'm afraid over-exposure may set in eventually, but right now I'm still enthralled by them and by how much better they make my closet area look.

And speaking of enthralled, I suggest you watch this video of the Lanvin S/S 08 show! My attention span is normally very short, so I do photos better than video, but in this case it was well worth it.

<3 Emily

Missed Opportunities

Christenson & Sigerson faux-fur trim parka, Rykiel Homme silk knit scarf, American Eagle wool peacoat mini, Urban Outfitters mittens, Report ankle boots

I elected not to buy Report ankle boots (above), even though they were on sale for $38 at Winner's, because I was feeling too poor after Christmas and post-Christmas shopping. And the day before, I neglected to buy that military-esque "peacoat mini" from American Eagle, although it was on sale for $15, because the lines were too long.

And now, I am stuck in Kingston, with no opportunities to spend money, and I wish I'd bought them both. So I torture myself by playing with my "wishful wardrobe" (hehe) on Polyvore. But it's really not as satisfying as you might think. I urge anyone who can get their hands on any great sale items to just buy, buy, buy! Because soon the sales are over, and believe me, you'll be sorry you didn't. (Unless of course, you are trying to pay off credit card debt, which is probably a worthier endeavour.)

Two posts in two days! Is 2008 the beginning of better blogging?? (Yes!)

<3 Emily

2008: Like Last Year, Only Better

This Saturday, getting the new year off to a good start, I'll be turning 19! This means that I am of legal drinking age in Ontario, which vastly improves my options of things to do on the weekends in Kingston, and just generally will improve my quality of life. For this momentous occasion, I splurged and spent ten dollars ($10!!!) on this dress from Costa Blanca in the post-Christmas sales:



I bought a few other fun things in the Boxing Week extravaganza, like this giant cardigan from Joe Fresh (which usually disappoints, but had a few great things this time):



This was also a Christmas of scarves for me. This is a good thing, because it's basically mandatory to wear a scarf to Development Studies, and I'm afraid my selection has gotten repetitive. The plaid one, a present from Christina, is my favourite, but they're all great - fringed and patterned à la Balenciaga! (Well, sort of.)



And that's MY recent fashion news. In the outside world, there has been a great deal more, but if I wrote about that, I wouldn't be writing about myself - which is double the fun!

Just kidding ... kind of.

Yrs in 2008,

-Emily

I Want Keira Knightley's Job

I'm not a big fan of Keira Knightley as an actress (she's no Elizabeth Bennet, IMO), nor do I generally appreciate her style. But I do think her Rodarte dress is stunning. (Even her excessive skinniness couldn't ruin it.) I hate the word, but - it's so ethereal! The best part is the back. This dress is just so fairytale-esque, and really that is just what we need in the middle of winter.



What I really need right now is practical snowboots. But what I really want is an impractical fairy-princess dress. Seems reasonable, no?

-Emily