Ri-Ri Attire

As you can probably tell by the title, this is what I wore to see Rihanna in concert last week. This was my second time seeing her and I was blown away yet again. This show was definitely a bigger production and I felt like she had matured a bit from her Loud days. She played all my favourites including Rude Boy, Man Down, Mother Mary, and the classic Umbrella. I was dancing and crying and laughing all at once and I loved every minute of it. 

My favourite outfit of her show. This Givenchy jumpsuit is to die for. It was a good fit for singing her hit "Diamonds", I'd say.

My outfit:  Meet my new mom jeans. Aren't they so cool? They're super comfortable and I love how 80s they look. They can be dressed up or down and go with just about everything. That being said, they will only be making an appearance on weekends and some evenings. I simply adore my new sunnies. I firmly believe that cat-eye is the only shape for me. My fur bag is hated on by just about everyone but I don't care because I love it so much. It's faux fur and I got it for $2 at Value Village.

Big thanks to my photographer: Rosie of Secondhand-Rose.

sunnies: aldo, $13

tank top: unsure, closet

jeans: value village, $10

necklace: value village, $1

heels: aldo, $35
purse: value village, $2

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Momentum

I am truly blessed to have a lot of really amazing, extremely talented and humble people in my life. I've introduced you to a few of them so far and I am so SO excited for you to meet Niya. We've been friends since high school and although we've both been very busy throughout college and university, we always managed to stay in touch and everytime we see eachother, it feels as if nearly no time has gone by. Aren't those the best relationships?

Niya is such a talented artist. The entire time I've known her, she has always been very passionate about art. She has been studying for the past four years at the University of Ottawa in the Fine Arts program. Two weeks ago, I attended her final art show, Momentum, where the entire arts building was filled with the student's work. When I finally found Niya's exhibit, I felt a sense of WOW. When you first see her work, you almost feel confused at how beautiful it is. Her paintings look so real, like a photograph, and it took me a minute to realize that it was a painting. It was emotional seeing her work because I know how hard she worked on each piece and I know how passionate she is. Now I'm no artsy-fartsy lady so I won't be speaking in any fancy lingo to describe her paintings but to me, they are SO pretty to look at and I perceived them as showcasing "boring" scenes in a beautiful way, which I thought was a brilliant idea.

I'll stop blabbing now and let you see for yourself.

PAUSE. Can we discuss what a bombshell this woman is? LOOK AT THIS JUMPSUIT. Ah. maz. ing. 

WE ARE FIERCE. She worrrrrks that jumpsuit. Stunna. 

My outfit. Pretty casual yet vibrant. 

All photos taken by myself or Lisa Kidd.

outfit details:

coat: vintage, kensington market shop (toronto), $10

blouse: value village, $8

pants: joe fresh, rikochet resale, $7

boots: dr. martens, gifted

purse: valentina, winners, $26

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It's in the genes.

This past weekend was incredibly refreshing and relaxing- two words you wouldn't have heard me use to describe my weekends in a while. Relaxing, sure. Refreshing, though, is a very special word. Feeling refreshed- to me- means seeing, hearing and learning something new. I drove down to my aunt Bev's house in Pembroke (about 1.5 hrs away) for a night. We both adore fashion, design, and are into eating healthy so we had lots to talk about and there was a lot I learnt from her. I think a love for fashion must be ingrained in our genes as my grandmother had an amazing sense of style (and still does), many of the paintings in my aunts house were either done by her or my grandmother, and my great grandmother used to make the most beautiful clothes. She first gave me a tour (see below her beautifully decorated abode), we then chatted and caught up, went out for dinner, and returned to her house to rummage through all her old fashion illustrations and favourite fashion books (she's got a tonne!) Sunday morning was spend turning my $1 piece of white rabbit fur into a beautiful and glamorous clutch (stay tuned for the pictures). 
She's so talented. And I know that word gets thrown around a lot, especially in fashion, but this lady IS talented. We have a similar sense of fashion and tend to like a lot of the same things when it comes to fashion and personal style. I regret not taking any pictures of her fashion sketches and pieces she's made because I don't think I can convey how beautiful her work is in words. To give a bit of back story- she once lived in Toronto, working in the Toronto Fashion Incubator and as an assistant to Arthur Mendonca but now works as an engineer. So she knows her stuff and she's very good at it. I loved going through all her work and hearing all her amazing stories. I can't wait to spend many more weekends with her- we were both so glad we made the time to get together and really get to know each other. If you're lucky enough to have relatives near you that you haven't got around to visiting, go now! You'll never be not busy so make time and go. You'll be surprised at the good it'll do.

Dining room.

Chandelier at night. 

Living room.

"Americans in Paris" - living room.

Living room- adore this ottoman. 

Just a few of her fashion books in the "Paris" themed room (guest room).

My grandmother in 1959, guest room. How classy?

Paris.

Paris.

Caramel in Paris.

Aunt Bev. 

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Truth About Houndstooth & Hiatus Triumph

Shopping hiatus triumph: AT LAST. My two-month shopping hiatus has come to an end. It was way harder than I anticipated. The most difficult temptation to fight was the thrift store. I even let myself step foot in a thrift shop a few times when my friends were going and that was HELL. During one such visit I found three amazing items that I still don't believe I'll ever find again. I do know that there are millions of other great finds out there, though. The first week my hiatus ended I must've gone shopping five times. Since then, I'm happy to report, I've slowed down. The hiatus allowed me to really wear my clothes and fall back in love with them. It was exactly what I needed and helped me to appreciate shopping again. Stay tuned for a haul video of what I've bought since! 

The outfit: The truth about houndstooth is that you can pair it with like-minded houndstooth's (sp?) and it will look fabulous. For this work ensemble, I paired my newly thrifted green houndstooth blazer with my orange houndstooth turtle neck and circle printed navy pants. For accessories, I played the muted orange up with a bright orange/clear necklace and orange/silver vintage ring. I paired the outfit with my new black leather purse and booties. My vintage-inspired glasses were a nice touch to the retro look that I aspire to everyday. 

outfit specs:

blazer: vintage, salvation army, $6

top: vintage, value village, $4

pants: gap, $15

boots: expressions, the bay, $20

necklace: h&m, $17

purse: bianca, value village, $5

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Bejeweled collar kinda night.

These pictures are from Rosie's birthday. To celebrate her 21st birthday, we went out to her favourite bar called Zaphods. They played my favourite dance song "212" and the night was complete for me. 


My outfit

I love the gold and black combination and I felt the multi-coloured jewels added some vibrancy. I originally purchased the skirt for my sister but she didn't like how it looked on so I've inherited it. The necklace was a Christmas gift from Rosie and I simply adore it. 

You'll also notice my coat- it's my first new winter coat in years and I love it so much. It's unique and exactly what I was looking for. I'd call it an investment piece because I paid more than I usually would for a coat but I know I'll wear it for years and years to come. 

Instagram pic: Me and Rosie

 necklace: h&m, gifted

bodysuit: american apparel, rikochet resale, $13

 skirt: h&m, $20

boots: durango, value village, $10

coat: creenstone, rikochet resale, $260

ear muffs: Chinatown shop in Toronto, $5

                                                  

All pictures taken by Rosie.

                                                       

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