I ask, should you or shouldn't you wear white after labour day?
It is an old rule for sure, but it has been a fairly respected rule to this day. Nowadays though, winter whites are a pretty big thing so that provides a certain amount of... well, uncertainty. After labour day certain things in white feel less appropriate to me (like white jeans), but others I'm totally fine with (dresses and suits). I also feel like going on vacation somewhere might cause the white rules to be more flexible, or living down south, but even then is that just making excuses?!
There is definitely a reason I am thinking about this... I'm not sure I'm done wearing my white heels that I got this summer... but I'm also not sure I can gather the courage to wear put them on and leave the house! Recently two of my fave style icons wore white heels - in fact, both of these looks were favourites of mine from last week!
I'm definitely admiring the heels and not thinking they're inappropriate! I think my stance is do what you want because now more than ever, there is so much freedom in fashion. I'm just not sure I'm ready for this one... yay or nay?
This Wednesday I wanted to share an article that made it's way around Facebook yesterday - so you may have seen it already...
The article is called "How to Get Flat Abs, Have Amazing Sex and Rule the World in 8 Easy Steps". It's genius in that it talks about how magazines and ads promote and promise these things that we're always looking for to be happy - also meaning we're not happy until we've achieved these things. As the author Kate Bartolotta states: "We chase this idea of "I will be happy when... " - I will be happy when I have a new car. I will be happy when I get
married. I will be happy when I get a better job. I will be happy when I
lose five pounds. What if instead we choose to be happy -- right now?"
Her argument? By simply reading the article your life is good. You can see, you're likely in a sheltered area of sorts, you have access to the internet, etc etc.
The full article can be found here, or read on to see her 8 tips to embrace how awesome life is:
1. Stop believing your bullshit.
All that stuff you tell yourself about how you are a commitment phobe
or a coward or lazy or not creative or unlucky? Stop it. It's bullshit,
and deep down you know it. We are all insecure 14 year olds at heart.
We're all scared. We all have dreams inside of us that we've tucked away
because somewhere along the line we tacked on those ideas about who we
are that buried that essential brilliant, childlike sense of wonder. The
more we stick to these scripts about who we are, the longer we live a
fraction of the life we could be living. Let it go. Be who you are
beneath the bullshit.
2. Be happy now.
Not because The Secret says so. Not because of some shiny
happy Oprah crap. But because we can choose to appreciate what is in our
lives instead of being angry or regretful about what we lack. It's a
small, significant shift in perspective. It's easier to look at what's
wrong or missing in our lives and believe that is the big picture -- but
it isn't. We can choose to let the beautiful parts set the tone.
3. Look at the stars.
It won't fix the economy. It won't stop wars. It won't give you flat
abs, or better sex or even help you figure out your relationship and
what you want to do with your life. But it's important. It helps you
remember that you and your problems are both infinitesimally small and
conversely, that you are a piece of an amazing and vast universe. I do
it daily -- it helps.
4. Let people in.
Truly. Tell people that you trust when you need help, or you're
depressed -- or you're happy and you want to share it with them.
Acknowledge that you care about them and let yourself feel it. Instead
of doing that other thing we sometimes do, which is to play it cool and
pretend we only care as much as the other person has admitted to caring,
and only open up half way. Go all in -- it's worth it.
5. Stop with the crazy making.
I got to a friend's doorstep the other day, slightly breathless and
nearly in tears after getting a little lost, physically and
existentially. She asked what was wrong and I started to explain and
then stopped myself and admitted, "I'm being stupid and have decided to
invent lots of problems in my head." Life is full of obstacles; we don't
need to create extra ones. A great corollary to this one is from The Four Agreements,
by Don Miguel Ruiz: Don't take things personally. Most of the time,
other people's choices and attitudes have absolutely nothing to do with
you. Unless you've been behaving like a jerk, in which case...
6. Learn to apologize.
Not the ridiculous, self-deprecating apologizing for who you are and for
existing that some people seem to do (what's up with that, anyway?).
The ability to sincerely apologize -- without ever interjecting the word
"but" -- is an essential skill for living around other human beings. If
you are going to be around other people, eventually you will need to
apologize. It's an important practice.
7. Practice gratitude.
Practice it out loud to the people around you. Practice it silently
when you bless your food. Practice it often. Gratitude is not a first
world only virtue. I saw a photo recently, of a girl in abject poverty,
surrounded by filth and destruction. Her face was completely lit up with
joy and gratitude as she played with a hula hoop she'd been given.
Gratitude is what makes what we have enough. Gratitude is the most basic
way to connect with that sense of being an integral part of the
vastness of the universe; as I mentioned with looking up at the stars,
it's that sense of wonder and humility, contrasted with celebrating our
connection to all of life.
8. Be kind.
Kurt Vonnegut said it best (though admittedly, and somewhat ashamedly
-- I am not a Vonnegut fan): "There's only one rule that I know of,
babies -- 'God damn it, you've got to be kind.'"
Kindness costs us nothing and pays exponential dividends. I can't
save the whole world. I can't bring peace to Syria. I can't fix the
environment or the health care system, and from the looks of it, I may
end up burning my dinner.
But I can be kind.
If the biggest thing we do in life is to extend love and kindness to
even one other human being, we have changed the world for the better.
And from me: love your life, because even when it's bad, life is good!
Source: The Huffington Post
Last night was the Emmy Awards! Before the show I tuned into the Red Carpet special and really loved all the fashion I was seeing. It was a good year for fashion. I also watched the first bit of the show (and rather enjoyed it - I love NPH) until I had to click away for the Dexter series finale... can you believe it's over?!?!?! Anyway, back to the Emmy's - from what I saw there were so many surprises when it came down to the award winners. Neil Patrick Harris said it well when he said "No one in America is winning their Emmy office pool". When it came to the fashion how ever, the only surprises I encountered were how many of the dresses I fell in love with! Very few disasters to be seen on the red carpet - Heidi Klum being the only one I can think of at the moment. There were some repeat style winners though like Allison Williams and Carrie Underwood, who always seem to rock something I love, but also some unexpected newbies to make my list like Christine Baranski and Anna Gunn. Here are my 8 faves (yes, eight, I had to share them all!) :
There you have it, my most favourite dresses from last night! Who topped your list of fave fashion from the evening?
One thing I actually say a lot is that: you shouldn't say you can't when you can. People don't think enough about what "can't" is. Unless you've tried, "can't" is a mentality. Even then most people with most things try and try again. Don't say "can't" when you mean "won't" or "don't want to". It's a cop-out, because (as cheesy as it sounds) you really CAN do just about anything you dream and put your mind to and work for.
Is it just me, or do you kind of wish you look down right now and be wearing these...
Just one more reason (or a pair of reasons if you will) that Fall is okay with me!
As I mentioned on Wednesday I've not been able to keep my finger on the pulse of NYFW as much as I normally like. I usually like to catch a live show or two online but haven't even seen one! I have been keeping tabs on all the action via Instagram though, and thought I'd summarize fashion week by sharing some of my fave pics...
Sources: Marie Claire, Rachel Zoe, Jessica Alba, Victoria Beckham, Rebecca Minkoff, Rach Parcell, Emily Jackson
Everybody and every body is different. So what works for one person, may not necessarily work for someone else but you know when something REALLY works for you? Like really really works? They say when you find the perfect white T-shirt for example, that you should buy more than one because finding a staple like that can be hard and is worth stocking up on!
Well, I seem to have found the perfect pant. Work pant to be specific. I don't shop at Gap a whole lot but last year I really tuned in to my work wardrobe and decided I was not as in love with my pants as I should be. The fit wasn't the best and I they weren't super comfortable to wear, and with work being such a big part of our day/lives, that didn't seem right. So I went on a hunt. After getting an email with a Gap discount (which if you don't know, come out ALL the time), I decided to take a look at their selection. I ordered a pair that looked good and they came and they were PERFECT! Wearing them is a pleasure! They look professional and they feel oh so incredibly comfortable. Big win. The pants in question: Gap's Modern Boot Pants.
The colour I got to start was navy because I didn't have a navy pant so while experimenting I was also looking to be practical by giving myself variety. I've since disposed of my black pants and replaced them with a black pair of these Gap ones! And any day now a camel pair should be arriving. I was hoping that the colours would make them different enough - not that people at work notice things like that - and I think they really do.
So now that I have found my trio of perfect pants, I had to share this wealth of information in case anyone is in need themselves! :)
Bonus: The Perfect Skirt
Last year I had to retire 2 black pencil skirts. One from Jacob and one from J.Crew. The Jacob one was super old and with age came problems with it's zipper. The J.Crew one had a problem with the vent area where it kept becoming unsewn and I wasn't super crazy about the material. A black pencil skirt is not only a CRUCIAL staple for work but I think in life! Every woman should have one. Enter Gap's Ponte Pencil Skirt. It is fitted and stretchy and comfortable. Another win.
WHOA this has been a crazy week! I feel like saying it's good and bad, but really it's all good. The only bad is that I am so busy at work this week (and will be again next week) that I've not been able to keep up with reading my fave blogs and writing my own! But here I am. I am finally getting around to checking out what's going on with Fashion Week - although I do follow the action on Instagram when I get a few seconds - but what has caught my eye is actually what's going on at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)...
I loved a couple of white hot outfits via Mila Kunis in Burberry Prorsum and Taylor Swift (still not a big fan but good fashion is hard to deny) in Calvin Klein Collection:
And some patterned beauties via Reese Witherspoon in Jason Wu and Scarlett Johansson in Vivienne Westwood:
Scarlett and Mila take the cake for me! What do you think?
This week my looks of the week include one super stylish street number and one super stunning red carpet number. First, we've got Olivia Palermo rocking a Catherine Malandrino dress which is under $100 and will be available at Kohls on September 27th. Why oh why doesn't Canada have a Kohls?!?! To me this is just a super cool dress and she styled it to perfection. Next, up Naomi Watts in a beautiful Versace gown at the London premiere of her upcoming movie, Diana. It's no secret I'm in love with white dresses and with such an interesting neckline this dress is just unreal to me! Doesn't she look so elegant yet fashion forward? Love.
NYFW Bonus!
Football isn't the only thing starting this week - New York Fashion Week has gotten underway and as an ode to that, here at 3 more looks - first we've got Kate Upton in an Altuzarra LBD with zipper detailing, Hillary Swank in Michael Kors, and Ashley Tisdale in Alice and Olivia!
Just a few of the many looks being pulled out for fashion week's opening events. I love fashion week and can't wait to see (and share) all the fashion still to come! Wouldn't it be a dream to be there? :)
Have a great weekend!
On Tuesday after this past long weekend, I posted about how mentally I feel like we're in fall, but I still hope to have an extended summer with a few primo days... while that remains unchanged I must say, it's not like we're in fall anymore. It IS fall. Why the strong stance you ask? Why today? Because friends, today is the day the NFL returns in all it's glory! My team doesn't play until Sunday, but that doesn't make today any less special!
Welcome back football. My Sunday's (sometimes Thursdays and Monday nights) have been lost without you...
How amazing are these J.Crew metallic heels? At $320 they will not be making their way into my closet anytime soon so gazing dreamily at this picture will have to do. I've also seen many a blogger sporting them so I also gladly live vicariously through them!
Once upon a time I had metallic pointy toed heels but they got pretty rough in the toe area and because of the silver metallic finish it stood out a lot - too much - so I had to get rid of them. They were Aldo and my hopes is that something similar (or similar to these - the ankle straps are adorable!) will come out because not only are they perfect for a formal occasion but I've seen them paired with distressed denim and man, that's chic! This is the "splurge", now where is the "save"... :)
I have not gone to school in a long while but still, even as a career woman, I can remember that back to school feeling... a little excitement and a little dread, but also definitely that feeling that summer is coming to an end. I know technically the end of summer/start of fall isn't until later this month (and I hope mother nature can squeeze out a few more beautiful weekends), but mentally it's kinda over. Summer is definitely my fave month. The sunshine and the heat just do it for me!
I will say this though, I do not mind fall. I think it's probably one of the most beautiful seasons! Also who doesn't love the leaves changing colour, fall clothes (big cozy sweaters and boots are the best), and even the smell of fall - all so good. For the most part, patios are still open too, you just might need to bring a jean jacket with you (and who doesn't love breaking out that jean jacket?). I think this year I am finding it harder to believe that September has arrived and summer is coming to an end because the weather hasn't been the most ideal... the sun and heat were not in full force as much as I would have liked. But you can't win 'em all - we've been very lucky in past summers... and hey, mother nature could actually surprise us still!
Where are you on this? Hoping summer will extend itself a bit more? Or ready to embrace fall?
