Outfit of the Day: Feathers and Flowers

Hey Guys!

I wore this outfit to teach a couple of days back. I really love this hat, which I found at a thrift store, after it had inexplicably been relinquished by its original owner... Why someone would get rid of this I have no idea - it's absolutely amazing. It's in perfect condition and looks as though it's never been worn. I have the most luck at thrift stores!

The lace top is something I picked up from Wal-Mart's G21 section. They actually go up to a 2X now, which is fantastic. I find most of the George stuff to be a bit too old-fashioned/not cute, but I am always seeing stuff I like in the G21 section. I wandered in there when Peter was browsing in the electronics section one day and I noticed that they had bumped up their sizes to the 2X, which made me happy. When they used to have 725 Originals, they had a full range of inclusive plus sizes, which I loved. Then, when they changed their private label brand to George (for middle-ish aged women) and G21 (an unmistakeable reference to another brand with 21 in its name, geared toward the younger generation), they did away with the plus sizes on their "younger" brand, and only offered plus sizes for George. I used to like George + more, but I find that the quality has really gone down lately, and the selection of items offered in the plus range are getting more and more matronly, which is why I am really glad to see Wal-Mart extend the sizing of their more youthful line. I would love to see Wal-Mart offer up to a 3 or even 4X, much like they did when 725 Originals was around. But I really love this lace top, which was rather economically priced at $9. The XXLs sell out pretty quickly, so make sure you buy as soon as you see something you like, or you are bound to be disappointed. One other quibble I have is that the G21 bikinis only go up to an XL. But the tankinis and the one-pieces go up to an XXL. I want some bikini love too! Not just Tankinis. BIKINIS. My stomach, too, would like to see the light of day. I hope Wal-Mart will begin to sell bikinis in at least an XXL. I went to Old Navy this past weekend to try some on as well, but the only bikinis in XXL were the drab gray ones. :( I guess I am going to have to buy online for that... I also got a skirt from G21 with an awesome bird print on it that I will share with you in my next Outfit of the Day post. The really nice people behind the @WalmartCanada twitter helped locate it for me and reroute it to a nearby store. I saw it in Lou Lou Magazine and I absolutely had to have it, but like 3 of the stores that were the closest to me were all sold out. So I was really pleased they were able to help.

Anyway, without further ado, my outfit:

Shoes and Lace Top - Wal-Mart/Tights - Courtesy of We Love Colors/Skirt, Necklace and Bolero - Forever 21+/Belt - Dots/Hat - Vintage from the thrift store

Outfit of the Day: Just Chillin'

Horrible post title, right? I am trying to be a bit clever, because when I wore this casual outfit I pretty much froze my buns off outside. I am tired of my winter coat already! I can't really complain, though. The weather here has been unseasonably warm, and we've had very little snow. Since it's almost mid-February, I hope we're going to kind of miss a true Canadian winter here in Toronto. Though I hear it's very bad in Western Europe, especially France. How are you guys doing over there? Comment ca va dans Paris?

I picked up this really cool jacket, that is, ironically, from Paris, on one of my thrift store adventures. I adore the shape of it, and the fabric is really good quality. The tag says size EUR 36 - which translates to a US size 6-8, but it clearly fits me perfectly. All the buttons do up, it's not tight anywhere, and quite honestly, I probably wouldn't like it if it was noticeably bigger on me, since it's already fairly over-sized. It just goes to show you - never determine whether something will fit you based on the number on the tag alone. Especially when thrifting. If you like something, pick it up and gauge it's actual size against your body; you'll have so much more luck thrifting this way. I paired the jacket with a purple cami and a colourful floral scarf (I can't wait for Spring), and finished off the look with my black skinnies and simple flats. Peter was laughing at me because my hair was (rather unintentionally) having a Justin Bieber day. And I was like - baby, baby, baby, NO! Hahaha. Of course he didn't point this out until AFTER he had taken the pictures and there was really nothing to be done about it. I say :P to you, sir... :P

Jacket - Thrifted/Cami and Jeans - Forever 21+/Shoes - Lane Bryant/Purse and Scarf - CBX

Outfit of the Day - The Cool Teacher

Hey Everyone,

Here is another outfit of the day post, again for teaching. Seems like that's all I do! I really wanted to be at Toronto Fashion Week and I am so sad I didn't get tickets, but my life is just so busy at the moment and I couldn't make it happen :(

I titled this post as "The Cool Teacher" because I feel a little rocker girl-ish in this outfit, but in an understated, teacherly, professional way... What do you guys think?

Dress - Courtesy of Kmart LYS/Jacket and Bracelets - Forever 21+/Belt - Dots/Boots - Courtesy of Torrid/Necklace - Courtesy of Penningtons/Earrings - Hand me downs from my mom/Mini-Briefcase - Thrifted

I also want to congratulate my friend and fellow blogger, Alison Little from 'Round Raglan Road for winning the Addition Elle blogger styling challenge with this look!

Awesome work, lady! Your looks were fantastic, and I am so happy for you! Congrats!

Another Teaching Outfit of the Day and Kmart Love Your Size, Love Your Style

Hey Everyone!

This is yet another teaching outfit... Sorry I'm not doing things that are a bit more interesting that I can tell you about! I do have a couple of really awesome things coming up at the beginning of next month, so make sure you stay tuned for that! I am really excited about it, and can't wait to tell you all what the surprise is! 

I wore this outfit to school, and I noticed a couple of the uber-fashionable international students from Hong Kong checking out my outfit in appreciation, and that's always a good sign! The cape sweater was sent to me by the very fabulous Nicole, designer of Kmart's wonderful Love Your Style, Love Your Size brand. Recently, I found out that Kmart has begun to ship to Canada through Sears (since they are owned by the same company), and I was SO excited because I wanted my LYS stuff - I got introduced to Kmart LYS (and Nicole) at Full Figured Fashion Week and I have been so sad that I haven't been able to get pieces from their collection ever since. I was so disappointed when I saw that, for some reason, the LYS brand was not included as something that Kmart ships here. I contacted Nicole to ask her what was up right away! She's still looking into it, and hopefully we'll hear something back soon and LYS will be available here! I love their stuff. Nicole sent me several samples from the collection to curb my cravings for LYS in the meantime, and you'll be seeing a lot of those on here over the next little while. I am all set for Fall now because of the lovely stuff she sent. Thanks Nicole and LYS! Hopefully we'll be able to shop with you soon!

Cape Sweater - Courtesy of Kmart LYS/Bodysuit - ASOS Curve/Skirt - Thrifted/Shoes and Purse - CBX/Tights - Addition Elle/Necklace - Laura/Bracelets and Earrings - Forever 21

Outfit of the Day - Teaching in Vintage

Hey Everyone!

I wore this outfit to teach in - actually, I was teaching Little Red Riding Hood - funnily enough! I picked up this pink '70s vintage dress and the earrings the last time I went thrifting, and I got the tights from Addition Elle and I love the colour!

Cape - ASOS Curve/Earrings, Necklace, Dress, and Belt - Thrifted/Scarf and Boots - CBX/Tights - Addition Elle

I'm pretty sure these boots are on their last legs! The heels are going all wonky. Oh well. I am pretty hard on my shoes. Whenever I find a comfy pair I wear them like all the time until they are totally worn out. I was lucky enough to have Torrid send me some fabulous boots which I just got today that you'll probably be seeing a lot of soon!

I also wanted to let you guys know about a giveaway going on that's being hosted by my favourite beauty bloggers over at Beauty Crazed Canada! The prize is a $150 gift card for Penningtons! It is open to Canadian entrants and will be going on until October 14th. Check it out here!

What do you think of my vintage look?

Curvy Canadian (and Peter) go on a wine tour in Niagara with iYellow Wine Club

Hey Everyone,

I have been totally lucky with winning stuff (up until lately I was the person who would say, "aww, I never win anything..."), and the main reason has been twitter! I won free tickets to go to the Toronto premiere of Bill Cunningham, New York, a wristband to meet Jay Manuel and preview his Fall collection, and recently, I also won 2 tickets for a Niagara wine tour with iYellow Wine Club and In Liberty Village on Twitter. I have you guys to thank, too, because it was a "whoever-gets-the-most-retweets-wins contest," and all you tweeters out there came together to help me win. You are the best twitter friends ever! Thank you so much. Peter and I had such a great time, and I wore something pretty because I thought there would be some really nice photo ops, and I was right. It was a beautiful day.

Getting on the bus...

Stop one was Chateau Des Charmes winery. It was all set up for a wedding and it looked really beautiful.

The wines were lovely. I especially liked their Cab Franc. Delicious. Angela, who was leading the tour, gave us a wonderful tutorial on how to taste wine properly, and it was really interesting. It allowed me to appreciate a lot more of the flavours in each wine. It's a five step process - first, look at the wine and appreciate its colour. Next, swirl the wine to help it aerate. Then, appreciate the aroma of the wine. Sip (some people take a little breath of air with the wine in their mouth to get more of the flavours to come through - it works, suprisingly. But this gets much more difficult to do without dribbling on yourself after you've had a few glasses. Trust me.). Finally, savour it...

Our next stop was a rather popular Ontario winery called Inniskillin. They are well-known for their ice wines, but their whites are really lovely too. My favourite wine here was the P3 (so-named because it is a blend of 3 different pinot varietals). The P3 is sadly not available at the LCBO - only at the winery.

That's the wine grower in the back explaining different elements of the wine's production. Very knowledgeable guy! We were actually given the opportunity to go out to the vine and taste the grapes used in the wine-making. So cool!

Down in the wine cellar...

Then it was off to Southbrook Winery - the only Eco-Diverse winery in Canada, and one of very few in the world. They use lambs to help prune leaves from their vines (so cute) and they make blankets out of their wool every year that you can buy in the winery's shop. I didn't get to see any lambs, though, which made me a little bit sad. I wanted to pet one! All of their wines are eco-friendly, and all the ones we tried were vegan, as well.

The part of this that was the most fun, is that Peter, my partner, is not a drinker. He honestly never drinks, but for this occasion, he agreed to come with me and enjoy himself... He ended up totally inebriated. I am Irish, so all these tastings didn't affect me too much... but Peter?:

Poor guy! LOL.

Outside there was a beautiful reflecting pond, and I decided to take some shots of my outfit in front of it. I absolutely love how these ones turned out! What do you think?

Sweater - Zellers/Cape - ASOS Curve/Scarf and Boots- CBX/Jeans - Forever 21+/Purse and Earrings - Thrifted

I also took some shots of my accessories so you guys could get a better look at them...

After that we visited the aptly-named Creekside Winery and got to enjoy a tasting on their lovely (Creekside) patio. My favourite wine of theirs was the 2007 Merlot. Apparently 2007 was a good year for Ontario Reds.

Our last stop, at Vineland Winery, was easily my favourite. There was such a beautiful atmosphere there and Brian, the winegrower, was so approachable and demonstrated such a passion for his craft. These were also my favourite wines of the day. We liked it so much, we picked up a bottle of their Elevation Cabernet as a hostess gift for my mom for Thanksgiving... I know she'll love it!

 

This is Angela Aiello (does the name iYellow make sense now?), the founder of iYellow Wine Club and our tour guide, rolling up her sleeves and pouring us some great sparkling wine to taste. Love that t-shirt!

This shot was actually taken by Brian, the winegrower! He was so awesome and down-to-earth!

Their fantastic cellar:

And the man himself, the winegrower, Brian Schmidt, @benchwineguy, explaining some aspects of the wine to us.

And the beautiful grounds:

And just one last picture of me with Angela, and we were headed back to Toronto!

It was a lovely day, and I have to thank Angela at iYellow Wine Club, as well as the great people at In Liberty Village, and all the lovely people that we met at the different wineries, who made our experience wonderful.

After we got back to Toronto, we wanted to make sure we got to take part in Nuit Blanche, Toronto's annual all-night art festival. Unfortunately, it has gone SO downhill over the past three years. There is too much corporate sponsor presence (Chevy had displays all down Yonge Street, and this space used to be used for ART - which is the reason why I am there in the first place). Also, many people use the event as an excuse to just stay up roaming the streets of Toronto all night while completely drunk, and are not interested in the art at all. That makes it so much harder for those of us who are there for the art to enjoy it and get around to the different exhibits. It's turned into more of a carnival/mardi gras festival than an art festival, and after having attended every event annually up until now, I am finally saying that I have given up on it as an art event and I won't be returning next year. I think all the good artists have also realized that the event has become something of a joke. It's sad, because it used to be a wonderful opportunity for artists to exhibit and make their art accessible to a wider community. Oh well... Hopefully there will be some less popular art events coming up in Toronto in the near future that I can attend (so that I can actually see some art)! At least the weather is such that I was finally able to break out my cape again. I love my ASOS Curve cape!!!

So what do you think of my post, darlings? Are there any wine drinkers out there? Have you tried any of these wines? Did any of you try to see art at Nuit Blanche (urgh)?

Six Take: No H8

Hey Everyone,

So me, and my fellow six-take bloggers, Rikke from Sticky, Sweet Danish, Jessica from tooMANYsequins, Jessica from Chic in Every City, Yoli from Diva in Deep Thought, and Sarah from Queen Sized Flava made in Montreal, have decided to write a post entitled "No H8" to promote greater understanding, acceptance, and love of others and what you might perceive to be their differences. We were inspired to do this after one of us endured hateful and abusive messages through one of our social media networks. We must show others that we will not be intimidated by their hatred, and that's what this post is all about.

Like many women who self-identify as fat, I was bullied mercilessly as a child. Other kids would call me "tub of lard" or "connect the dots" (because of my freckles) and I was often the object of other kids' cruel and elaborate schemes, one which involved getting a boy to pretend he liked me, me letting my guard down, and them pulling the rug from underneath me. These experiences left me scarred and lacking self-esteem entirely, and I found it difficult to believe that anyone would ever like me or even want to be friends with me. I suffered from two particularly traumatic physical assaults at school which resulted to my mother pulling me out of that school and registering me at another. The second school was somewhat better, though not by much. I internalized much of the bullying that had become a daily expectation; I became introverted and focused intensely on my studies to distract myself from the constant abuse from my peers. I think I also felt that if I wasn't pretty, that I should at least be smart, so that I could have something going for me...

When High School started, the aggressiveness of the Middle School bullying had dissipated, but there was a whole new sort of passive aggressive judgement that was rampant. I was lucky enough to go to a school where uniforms were required, so I didn't have to try as hard to keep up with all the brand names everyone was wearing, but on casual days, where we were invited not to wear our uniforms, you could tell that there was a lot of judgement going on regarding who was wearing what. There were also a few prank phone calls to my house. I thank my lucky stars daily that I don't have to be in High School in the Facebook era. Who knows what sort of trauma that could cause. People are so callous online. They think that the distance created by the medium of the computer gives them license to berate people, when if faced with the same thing one is critiquing in person, the berater would simply remain silent on the issue. The distance between people in an online discourse is no excuse for one to treat another poorly. Even in online environments, people should treat each other with the same respect that they would observe in-person.

Recently, there was a hashtag trending on twitter - "#onlyfatpeople." Some fat-haters began to put hateful messages after the hashtag - things like "order a diet coke with a supersize combo at McDonalds because they are 'watching their weight.'" There were a number of other terrible comments which I won't reiterate here, partially because I don't want them to function as a trigger for anyone, and also because I don't want to dignify their terrible message by re-broadcasting it. Quite frankly, those idiots and their hateful messages are not worth my time. I posted a response to this hashtag on twitter and had a number of people congratulate me for standing up to these bullies (and got about 100 new followers - welcome, by the way, if my response is what brought you here), and also a number of bullies trying to force me back into submission by way of body-shaming me. After experiencing this journey of self-acceptance, a self-acceptance that has come by way of the scripto-therapy that this blog has given me, I found myself steeled against their bold and impudent attacks. I was not affected by it. I recognize that their hatred comes from their own deficiencies, and I accept their difference in opinion. So I politely (and eloquently) told them to f*@# off. I have come to love myself and nothing can change that now. I am me, and I will be me, and I don't care what anyone says about it. I use fashion as a language to express who I am to the world. I will no longer be shy, and I will no longer submit to body policing by others who would force me into striving towards an ideal female normalized body that I would never be able to healthily (mentally or physically) inhabit.

So the pictures that accompany this post are not themed. They are just me being me, and being totally happy with who I am and what I have on and what that says about me. I can't help it if others are going to be hateful, though I can control my reaction to it. In my own life, however, I have adopted the principle of No H8, and I hope all of you will too. We are all people with hearts and hopes, dreams and desires, families and friends, and no one wants to feel the sting of hatred and we should strive for peace and understanding always.

Jacket - Forever 21+/Skirt - Thrifted/Petticoat - Sofistafunk/Shoes - Honest Ed's/Top - Redress NYC/Sunglasses - Vintage Clothing Sale in York, UK

Remember:

Above all else, to thine own self be true.
- Shakespeare

You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
- Siddartha Gauttama

Life isn't about finding yourself.
Life is about creating yourself.
- George Bernard Shaw


You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.
- Winston Churchill


No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

New Line: Attitude Jay Manuel for Sears Canada

Hey everyone,

If you are as avid a fashion magazine reader as I am, you will have seen the new campaign for Jay Manuel's new line, Attitude, with Sears Canada - Sorry to the US peeps on here, it has launched in Canada first, with possibilities of expansion into the US stores at some point in the future - when does this ever happen? Usually it's the other way around!

For those of you who didn't know, Jay Manuel (also known as "Mr. Jay" on the show America's Next Top Model), is actually Canadian - born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario. Gotta love homegrown talent!

Anyways, I've seen a picture of this amazing coat in a campaign in this month's Flare, Elle Canada, and Fashion magazines, and I was like, woah, that's an amazing coat.

But like I do with most things I see in fashion magazines, I looked and passed over it, assuming it would not be available in my size and be way out of my price range. Well, I was wrong on both counts. For once, I am happy to admit it! The line actually goes up to a size 18. The most expensive piece in the range is actually this coat, which retails for $229.99, and is currently on sale online for 40% off (until tomorrow). Trust me when I say I am having the hardest of times not breaking out my credit card right now.

How did I find all of this out, you might (not) wonder... Well, I actually was fortunate enough to win tickets to an event where I got to preview the line and meet Mr. Jay himself, courtesy of Fashion Magazine Canada! I have been very lucky through twitter! Up until now, I have not won many things, but I keep getting goodies by retweeting things! I love it!

Jay talked about how he was pleased that he could offer the line to a wider size range of women, and explained that if a piece wasn't going to look good on women at any size, then he simply wouldn't put it in his collection. He also reiterated one of Coco Chanel's oft quoted design principles; that fashion is not about size, but about proportion, and that a woman can be stylish at any size. Have I mentioned that I <3 him? The presentation of the collection was really wonderful, and a montage began before a short (5 look) runway show. The montage showed Jay working with other designers, models, etc., and Billie Holiday's song, "I'll be Seeing You," set the mood for the nostalgic collection, which evokes 1970s luxury. I was very excited to see the collection, especially after finding out the garments would fit and hearing Jay talk about it. The collection is really lovely and I am hoping I will get to see a full fashion show of the collections Spring 2012 looks at LG Toronto Fashion Week in October.

Here are a few pictures I was able to snap while watching the show...They are a little unclear since I was a bit far back and because the models were moving... But you get the idea.

Aren't all of the looks pretty? I really love that Winter white suit, and I am also loving the pink and black jackets! After the runway show, I actually got to meet Jay and get his autograph. He is such a nice, down-to-earth person! We talked about the line, and how I was really happy to see a designer step outside of the ends-at-size-14 business model. He was really receptive to everything I had to say and he was totally nice. The first thing he did when he saw me was say "look at you! So chic!" and said he really liked my outfit, and that he especially loved my hat. I was totally blushing, because that means like, a lot, you know? Coming from him...! Anyways, I did put a bit of extra effort (read: I pulled every piece out of my closet mixing and remixing and ended up with clothes strewn all over my room) into my outfit that day because I knew I was meeting Jay, and the fashion context allowed me to be a bit more bold with my choices. I decided to go with a monochromatic look because monochromatic dressing was quite pervasive on the Fall 2011 runways (and is actually carrying over into the Spring 2012 collections). Think of it as the antithesis to colour blocking! You can see some pictures of what I'm talking about from Lanvin's, Blumarine's, and Michael Kors' Fall 2011 collections. You don't have to worry about being all "matchy-matchy" anymore - it's in this season!

I was a bit nervous to try this look out for myself, because it is kind of dramatic, and I was wondering how people on the streetcar would respond to it. It was fine. I think I added the touches of brown because I couldn't fully commit to everything being one colour. Baby steps... LOL.

Hat, Belt, and Earrings - Thrifted/Dress and Bracelets - Forever 21/Purse - CBX/Shrug - Dots/Tights - Addition Elle/Shoes - Payless

And I finally got to meet Jay, which you can tell from my expression in the picture below that I'm really happy about... LOL. It was a great event. Thanks to Fashion Magazine for giving me the wristband!