Playing Hooky

Wearing vintage navy coat and mink collar, old turtleneck from Uniqlo, and Marques’Almeida x Topshop skirt

Sometimes when my outfit is cute and the workload is manageable, I like to wander outside of my office and act like a goof while my good friend and talented fashion editor, Karolyne Ellacott snaps pics of me. While this means sacrificing above average locations for convenience and time, it is a necessary thing I’ve come to terms with in order to show you my daily looks. This one, in particular, has been difficult to keep to myself. I recently threw caution to the wind and purchased this Marques’Almeida x Topshop skirt against my better judgment. I am a practical shopper. All of my purchases are budgeted for and I don’t like wasting funds on items that are sold at an insane markup purely for marketing/branding reasons. This is why I usually don’t fuck with brand collaborations. But… Honestly I  had this skirt saved on my computer for two months. Although it is a lot of $ for such a small amount of fabric, the denim felt sturdy and the cut of the garment is divine. I love how the hem flares ever so slightly at the bottom and how it sits on my hips. Every woman needs a denim skirt, especially one as cute as this blah blah blah… I’m so good at rationalizing impulse purchases to myself.

Images by Karolyne Ellacott

Desert Star

Photography: Caroline Mackintosh
Styling: Scarlet Moreno
Publication: Oyster Mag

Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong hemisphere. The idea of ringing in the New Year under clear skies and with seasonal temperatures is just so much more appealing than icy winds and wearing a million layers of black clothes. Give me summer sun, desert sand, and shimmery bare nipples over everything.

Pre-fall 2015, pt. 2

10 Crosby Derek Lam

10 Crosby Derek Lam

10 Crosby Derek Lam

Elizabeth and James

Elizabeth and James

Elizabeth and James

MM6

MM6

Sally LaPointe

Sally LaPointe

Sally LaPointe

Samuji

Samuji

Samuji

One of the best things about the in-between collections, namely pre-fall and resort, is the chance to see the clothes outside of a runway setting. Sure, big name designers with big budgets like Raf Simons for Christian Dior use their funds for big productions regardless of the season. But for smaller houses like Sally LaPointe and Samuji, seen above, they spend their funds on lookbooks instead. This is a plus, because it gives fashion editors and appreciators the opportunity to see designers communicate their aesthetic through more than the clothes themselves. Everything from the makeup to the styling, from the shooting location to the amount of light used in the photography, is an expression of the designers’ vision.

Sally LaPointe opted for late night office party vibes. Photographs featured flash, giving the model and background high sheen. Floors are white and furry. The result is off-kilter glam, much like the clothes themselves. MM6 looks like it was shot in an old fashioned elevator, which makes sense given the worker’s uniform look of the collection. I loved the soft, romantic look of the Samuji lookbook. The model’s styling is very gamine, but also seems inspired by vintage Hollywood. This was a thoughtful match for the classically cut, subtle femininity of the collection. Elizabeth and James went with a clean and classic, albeit expected background: hardwood floors and brick walls. It’s a bit boring, but exactly what you need to let such simple clothes shine.

All images via style.com

Verner SS15

Hot lookbook alert. This one comes courtesy of Australian designer Ingrid Verner, from the brand’s SS15 collection called Eat Cake. Inspired by French couture shapes and a more relaxed, Australian approach to dressing, the range features boxy tops and roomy trousers in fresh cotton for maximum easiness/coziness. That the clothes also look like nurse’s uniforms is definitely a plus for me.

Images via Verner

Street Scene

I love you, Internet, for sharing with us all of your riches. Some of these riches can be seen here, taken from a few of my favourite places to visit to find inspiration in my daily life. One thing I love about street style is that it gives us the opportunity to see how people clothe themselves beyond our immediate environment. The differences are cultural, class-based, and also related to climate. (I don’t need to explain how the moderately-incomed folks find inspiration/aspiration from expensively-dressed industry people, shot outside of shows during fashion week.) Seeing how Kaitlyn Ham from Modern Legacy is dressing herself these days in Australia is especially a welcome change. I am legit so sick and tired of layers and hats and scarves already and it’s not even January.

Images via modern legacy, eckhaus latta, tommy ton, emma elwin, soop soop, anOther mag, dazed digital, oyster mag, the haute pursuit, maria van nguyen, cos, and tumblr

Holiday Humdrum

In winter, there are days when I find myself wearing the same outfit every day of the week. These days, that outfit usually consists of ripped jeans with a wool or cashmere sweater in a neutral shade, rounded out by sneakers or a pair of modestly heeled ankle boots. In fashion speak, this is called “uniform dressing”, but I think “lazy dressing” is probably more accurate. To make the ensemble look like I actually put some effort into it, I like to wear a shiny ring and my favourite pearl earrings, which you can still cop online.

The weather in Toronto lately has been a nightmare for people with seasonal effective disorder and street style photographers. No sun for days, just endless fog and pissing rain. As someone that’s just starting to learn how to shoot style pics, this has been a challenge, but not one without rewards. It’s given me the chance to try different settings on the DSLR for indoor and nighttime settings, with varying levels of success.

These photos were taken over the past week in and around my apartment and work. I’m wearing black denim by Topshop, booties by H&M, and vintage wool sweater in most of the photos, and a vintage denim jacket as a dress with Zara boots in the second to last image. Say hi to my Christmas tree, which is doing a surprising lot to brighten my mood.

Images by Karolyne Ellacott, Eric Davis, and The Pack

Pre-fall 2015

3.1 Philip Lim3.1 Philip Lim

Baja East

Chloé

Chloé

Derek LamDerek Lam Derek Lam

Raf Simons for Christian Dior

EdunEdun

MaiyetMaiyet

Oh pre-fall. That stylistically ambiguous season between Autumn Winter and Spring Summer. Is it late summer? Is it post-winter? Or is it all just a made-up season in between the massive production of AW and SS runway shows—much like Resort—designed to increase sales for brands while not adhering to any season at all?

Judging by the wide variety of looks seen above, I’m willing to bet on the latter. Pulled from a few of the better collections I came across, these looks run the gamut from luxe furs to barely-there crop tops. Raf Simons even presented his Dior runway show with fake snow. As ridiculous as the idea of snow before fall is, it’s important to judge pre-fall for what it is—seasonless collections that stay on the shelves longer than AW and SS collections, which means it’s even more important that these pieces make money.

As such, designers tend to experiment less with pre-fall and resort collections, which can be good or bad. For brands like 3.1 Philip Lim, Chloé, and Derek Lam, going back to classics worked in their favour, as all three collections were elegant and wearable without being bland. The Dior collection not as successful, in my opinion. Although there were some stunning textures (that patent blue coat tho) and the sequin layers were a bold touch, there wasn’t a whole lot from the collection that I actually wanted to wear. I wasn’t a fan of the exaggerated hips, which screamed “a man designed this”. Not many women want to wear a garment that accentuates their hips, even someone with a shapeless body like me. The runway show itself, which took place in Tokyo last week, was spectacular, as was the eye make-up, milkmaid braids, and soundtrack. Simons employed a lot of techniques that were historic to the House of Dior, but it felt like he spent more effort on the process and the presentation than on the designs themselves. I will say that the clothes look a million times better in motion though, so be sure to check out the complete runway show. Maybe I’m just complaining because I much preferred Raf Simons as a menswear designer and creative director at Jil Sander.

Stay tuned for coverage of more collections in the coming days.

All images via style.com

U make me wanna soop

Images via soopsoop.ca

Much of the east coast in Canada and the U.S. got hit with a major snowstorm today. Sigh. To cope with what will soon be non-stop bitter days and damp walks, I visited one of my favourite Toronto boutiques / e-commerce sites, SOOP SOOP. I won’t gush too much about the shop’s well-curated collection of new and vintage pieces, as I’ve done so and worn their wares plenty of times before. Instead, I picked a few of my favourite items currently available online and in stores, and plopped them right here for your interest. Inspired by thoughts of spring days at the park and summer parties at the beach, I chose pastel crop tops, slouchy rainbow joggers, and plush accessories for maximum cuteness. I especially love the lilac neoprene top by Shallowww and the kitty backpack by Lazy Oaf. Check out their brick and mortar store on Dundas West if you’re in Toronto, or their wicked Tumblr if you’re on the world wide web.

Smoke Rings

Wearing vintage silk T-shirt, fringe skirt & skater shoes by H&M.

Some outfit snaps of my past week. Really loving this fringe skirt, especially paired with sensible shoes and a bag-like top. Good for tempering the flamenco dancer look, if you know what I mean. I snuck some other snaps in there. I hope you’ll be patient with my cat / quasi-arty pics as I get more accustomed to this camera. But, like, if you don’t enjoy cat pics, maybe it’s time for some much needed self-reflection.

True North

Forget Kim K’s oily bum. The biggest piece of fashion news within the past year, at least among Torontonians, was when Vogue magazine named Toronto’s Queen West as the second coolest street style neighbouhood on the planet. This was surprising not because Queen West isn’t fashionable. It really really is. But what I was more shocked about was that the world actually thinks about Canada.

Thanks, Drake.

To celebrate the shout-out, and this diverse lil’ neighbourhood that I call home, San Francisco’s Lone Wolf magazine put together a street style-inspired editorial featuring Canadian models and shot in the Queen West area (duh). Although many of these looks photographed by Alkan Emin aren’t exactly what I’d personally wear, I just can’t ever say no to a well-framed street style photo. And of course, the white skirt paired with the high top black sneakers is right up my alley.