Monthly Archives: December 2011

Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

As I was meandering through the mall sipping candy cane hot chocolate, admiring the storefront windows adorned in silver and red, and frantically trying to complete my gift list, I was taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells of the holidays.

My outfits are always influenced by the things around me and this time of year it’s so easy to be inspired!

At home as I sit by my fireplace beside the Christmas tree, stuffing my face with holiday goodies, I feel the need to dress to the occasion.

From oversized knits and cozy furs to flashy metallics and holiday colours, it’s hard to leave the house without a hint festivity.

Whatever holiday you celebrate, try adding a little jolly to your look.

For the last few days of December, pick bright reds the colour of Santa’s hat or deep reds like the cranberry sauce you slop on your turkey. Break into the new year in golds and silvers, and beat the cold in cuddly shawls and furry coats.

Not yet in the merry mood? Check out the photos below for a little holiday inspiration.

Gingerbread house building competition at the Hyatt Hotel featuring amateur bakers and professionals from all over the greater Vancouver area.

Getting our Christmas tree the real Canadian way at H&M Christmas Tree farm in Richmond.

Decorating the tree!

A wonderful holiday moment, my Grandpa teaching my brother how to tie his tie!

And when I wasn’t wearing flannel, these seasonal traditions inspired the outfits below.

Until next time…

xo

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Featured Fashionista: Janelle and her stylish future

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Meet Janelle Lee, a communications major at Carleton University with a polished sense of style who is working towards achieving her dream of becoming a part of the fashion industry.

Janelle is currently an intern for Campus Perks and their student oriented marketing company, but in the past she has worked in the fashion industry.

Janelle worked under Gillian Downes the founder of Frugal Fashion Week in Toronto, meeting with designers, writing press releases and styling shows. She also volunteered back stage at Toronto Fashion week.

She says her favourite part of participating in Toronto Fashion Week was working for the Pink Tartan Show, making sure the models were perfectly styled before heading onto the runway.

“I loved the atmosphere of working backstage. It was such a rush,” she says.

Before Janelle was worrying about models’ outfits backstage, she says she was obsessing about her own outfits from a young age.

“The night before school around age 6 or 7, my mom and I would pick out what I was wearing for school the next day,” she says.

Janelle spent much of her early life in between Canada and the Philippians and she says this has influenced her sense of style.

“It trained me to be a lot more conservative about the way I dress,” Janelle says.

Janelle calls her personal style polished, laughing as she explains her style is a reflection of her “neat freak” tendencies.

“My style is very feminine and chic. I like to keep it simple or add a dash of a little bit of something,” she says. “To me subtly goes a long way.”

Janelle owns a lipstick by MAC Cosmetics called “Kind Of Sexy” which she says sums up her style.

But, Janelle explains that she is trying to push her fashion boundaries this new year.

“My fashion resolution is to stray away from being to matchy matchy because I feel like I do that a lot,” she says.

As an adventurous young girl taking part in dragon boat races and yoga, Janelle says her hobbies and her desire to have a career in the fashion industry have inspired her to take more risks with her wardrobe.

As Janelle embarks on her latest personal style adventure and with the 1st of January approaching, it got me wondering what my fashion resolution should be! Do you have a fashion resolution?

xo

Featured Fashionista: Christine’s Closet

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After spending a Sunday afternoon chatting over coffee in this featured fashionista’s downtown apartment, I wasn’t surprised to learn that her wardrobe is largely inspired by old movies.

Christine Sirois, a fourth-year journalism and film studies student, prides herself in mixing clothes from multiple decades to create exciting outfits that are still appropriate for the cold Ottawa winters.

“Right now I am all about owning winter and walking that fine line between really rugged elements and really feminine elements,” she says, describing how she combines hunting boots with a vintage winter coat and a fur hat.

Although Christine never looks like she contemplates practicality over style, she asks herself when getting dressed in the morning, “will I freeze my butt off when I wait for the bus?”

Until she started practising journalism, her fashion sense wasn’t always so interesting; sticking to T-shirts, jeans and sneakers.

“Throughout university I have tried to be a bit more fashion forward, paying more attention to what I am wearing just because we are working as professionals in journalism school and trying to make a good impression when dealing with the public,” she says.

Christine, an American Apparel sales associate, says she spices up her outfits with accessories, like her glasses which she says are a big part of her style personality.

She says her favourite accessory is a vintage Oscar de la Renta scarf from her large silk scarf collection. Christine’s face lit up as she explained that she loves this piece because it goes with everything and it has a Hungarian crest, representing her heritage.

When comparing her wardrobe to the silver screen, it’s obvious she is a film buff.

“I took a course on the French new wave last semester, so I tried to model my fall looks after things I saw in those films because everyone dressed in a really chic European way and I find those silhouettes really flattering,” she says.

She says when she watches old movies she pays attention to the fashion at the time and finds herself asking how she can make those outfits work for her today.

Christine isn’t just inspired by the French new wave; she says she also loves pieces from the early ’60s, late ’70s and early ’80s.

“You can express yourself as bold or understatedly as you want and you can command a presence even before you open your mouth,” she says. “You can only make one first impression and carefully putting together your appearance is an easy way to do it.”

Until next time…

xo