The Duchess is Here!

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, has arrived in Canada and continues to turn it up on the fashion front.  She mixed some of her favourites with some Canadian designers, which was a classy touch.  She wasn't over the top with hats or fascinators, but still looked chic.  I was a little disappointed at the lack of colour in her outfits, but it's only Day 1 of the tour.

To board the plane, she choose a navy blazer from Canadian designer Smythe, over a navy shift from one of my favourites, Roland Mouret.  Her bag is from Mulberry.

She changed while on the plane and stepped out in this gorgeous sheath from another Canadian designer, Erdem Moralioglu.  The pumps are from L.K. Bennett.

For the evening event where she mingled with some of Canada's top youth leaders, she choose a printed dress from Issa (who also made the famous blue engagement announcement dress) and wedge heels which we've also seen her in before.

I am so excited to see what she wears next.  I also loved how people who were waiting for a single glimpse of the Royal couple got into the spirit.  Will & Kate are definitely inspiring some new trends.  I am going to have to invest in some hats & fascinators very soon!

Positive Energy

I've been a bit down lately.  Maybe it's because the playoffs are over, maybe it's the lack of real summer weather in Vancouver, maybe it's just plain being tired.  I'm not sure, but the other day at work, my boss said to me "hmm, that's your pissed off face isn't it?  I've seen that a few times this week!".  Umm, oops!  That's when I knew that my bad mood was not a secret anymore and probably mostly had to do with some frustrating events happening at work.  Without getting into too much boring detail, basically I work in a department that is barely two years old but has 10X the number of customers as it did when it was first launched.  To say we've grown in multiples over a short period of time would be an understatement.

I joined that department about 5 months back and it was an eye-opening experience, especially coming from a place where my team & department rocked the company basically.  It has been a tough few months adjusting and I don't think I will be a 100% adjusted for a while.  But in the interim, I realized I have to find a way to not let the frustrations get to me.  So I am on a quest to find something that relaxes me every day.  Some people swear by exercise...this group does not include me!  Some people like a glass of wine to unwind.  A good option but not too sure about the extra calories.  And what happens if you have an extra crappy day...does that mean you have two glasses or three or four depending on the level of frustration?  I can see that getting out of hand pretty quickly :P!!!  And as for shopping, well no comment there cause I already do too much of that.

While I mull this over, for now I'm just going to try to put as much positive energy out in the world as I can and hope it comes back to me.  While doing some researching, I found this great blog with some fun quotes:  http://www.jongordon.com/ebusposter.html .  I love "Enjoy the Ride...Because you only have one!"

In the end, I do strongly believe it is all about choosing the state of mind you want to be in and I will choose to be positive.  I just may need a glass of wine or a new purse to get myself there ;).

The Duchess is Coming!

In less than 48 hours, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, will arrive in Canada for a 10 day tour.  It is her first official visit as a member of the royal family.  I am super excited to see what she's going to wear.  According to the NY Times Style section, she is styling 40 outfits on her own for this trip.

I was playing around on Polyvore the other day, and found some princess-like pieces I can totally see her wearing:

I can see her wearing this when stepping off the plane.  This shade of purple (or is it blue?) would look great with her dark hair and blue eyes



Pretty much every colour would work on her skin tone, though we don't often see her in bolder colours like the purple sheath or the green dress.

I am sure there will be an opportunity for her to wear a gown and I would love to see her in the printed Alexander McQueen.  I know SJP has already worn the dress in public, but a girl can dream!  

Whatever she ends up wearing, all eyes will be on the Duchess in just a few days!

Hermes Birkin - the "IT" bag of all "IT" bags

The Hermes Birkin bag has been around for 30 years, but continues to be the "IT" bag of all the "IT" bags out there.  No matter what any designer puts out for next season or any season going forward, the Birkin will continue to be the "you have arrived in the real fashion world" purchase for any purse lover, including me.  Yes, crazy as it sounds, I lust after this bag, even if it is a minimum $10,000 to purchase one.  There is something about this bag that is so classic but so fashion forward that I love.

Recently, the exclusivity of who can purchase a Birkin seems to have changed.  The rumour was that there was a 7 year wait to buy one, but it could be a shorter list if you knew the right people.  Now, it seems like every Kardashian owns one, not to mention the Hilary Duffs of the world see the Birkin as a tote to stuff all your crap in.

Kim Kardashian with one of her many Birkins

Hilary Duff.  This picture makes me angry, so no comment. (Ok one comment: Who the EFF treats a $10,000 bag like that??? ARGH!)

So perhaps the Birkin is not as exclusive as before, but I still dream about adding this bag to my collection.  My favourite is this cream coloured one with silver hardware, but truth be told, I would be one happy lady if I had one in every colour!

Rihanna LOUD tour

I was lucky enough to get tickets for Rihanna's first of two LOUD tour stops in Vancouver.   I'm a huge fan because she's the badass chick that you want to be like but also seems like a down to earth girly girl that anyone could relate to.  

Anyway, it was an AMAZING concert.  My friends & I had so much fun singing along and dancing to all her hits.  She has a great voice that holds up even when she's dancing and running all over the stage, which is much more than we can expect from most big name artists (hello, Britney!).  The whole set & production were top notch.  Totally worth the price of a ticket!

I also loved some of her outfits. She's got the skin tone and body to pretty much pull off anything, and she's not afraid to take risks.  My favourite is the yellow dress with tan over the knee boots, though all the outfits had something eye catching and unique about them.  Can't wait until she comes back for another show!

This was her outfit for her ballad portion of the show, where she sang "Take a Bow" and other slower numbers.

I think she wore this for her encore where she sang "Umbrella" to close out the show.

Her "Rihanna Navy" outfit she wore for "Raining Men".  No Niki Minaj to duet with her, but she still rocked the song on her own!

I loved the neon pink and yellow booties she wore for some of the dance numbers.  

Going Gaga for Wimbeldon

To say Lady Gaga has conquered the music world is a an obvious statement.  She has an amazing voice and her message is uplifting.  Not to mention the girl puts on quite a live show (I was at one of her concerts last year in Vancouver - it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to).  Somewhat shockingly, she is also all over the fashion world.  She was recently honoured by the CFDA and she has walked the runways of Paris.  I say this is shocking because her style is wayyyyy out there on a consistent basis (hello, meat dress!) and my thought was the fashion elite would not want anything to do with her.  Well, I have been wrong before and I am wrong on that one!

Gaga's stylist, Nichola Formichetti is a big name in the fashion world right now, and so is Alex Noble, Gaga's designer who recently outfitted American tennis player Bethanie Mattek-Sands.   Not only did she sport a tennis ball inspired dress to a recent pre-Wimbledon event, but she also wore a pretty funky outfit on the court the other day.  

Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the Wimbeldon Players party...wearing tennis balls.  Obviously!

Wearing a tennis ball, fringe and spike-adorned warm-up jacket before her first round match.

Full back view of the jacket.  Not sure if it was a lucky jacket, since she ended up losing the match.

Gaga has conquered music and fashion, so why not tennis?!?  As a fashion lover, and ticket holder for the US Open held in NYC in August, I'm excited to see what Bethanie has in store for her next Grand Slam appearance.

The best accessory ever

Usually when I see pictures of Evan Rachel Wood on the red carpet, she has a serious and almost dramatic expression on her face.  She appears to play into the "goth" thing that she has going on, being on True Blood and formerly dating Marilyn Manson.  To me, her lack of a happy look on her face is what stands out most when I think of her.  But....today, I found this surprising picture of her, with a SMILE!   She looked confident and happy, and it seemed to radiate out of her.

It made me realize, the best and most attractive accessory that any man or woman can ever have is a smile, and that ladies and gentlemen, you cannot buy anywhere!

Evan Rachel Wood, in Dolce & Gabanna

MMVA Fashion

Last night was the MMVAs - Canada's take on video music awards.  Think of it as the forgotten cousin of the MTV VMAs.  

Anyway, here is a breakdown of the more notable stars and what they wore.  I would have more pictures & commentary but I didn't know who 1/2 the people on that red carpet were!  

Nina Dobrev from Vampire Diaries in a prom dress from the 80s.  Almost as lame as her comment about crowds in Vancouver!

One of my favourite looks of the night was Shay Mitchell from Pretty Little Liars.   A great example of  an LBD done right.

Kat Graham from Vampire Diaries.  I LOVE this dress!  I don't think I would ever even attempt to wear it but  the colour and the edginess are done just right without being over the top.  

Selena Gomez was the host for the night.   I don't know what she's wearing here but it looks like a bunch of remanent fabric pieces sewn together.  The purple shoes are great though.

Nikki Reed from Twilight.  The dress itself  is really not that bad, but is kind of blah for the event.  She's young and pretty (not to mention recently engaged!) and should wear something colourful or sparkly.

Perfect Summer Style

I have a love/hate relationship with Jennifer Lopez's style.  The other day she wore this horrible snakeskin getup:

But today she stepped out in this absolutely chic and perfect for summer outfit.  It's dressy enough to wear to work but relaxed enough for the summer.  LOVE it!

I Heart Vancouver

I am sure a lot of you heard some bad news about Vancouver over the last few days after the Canucks lost on Wednesday night.  Well, I'm not going to get into all the details, but I do want to let everyone know out there what my city is really all about...

It is about great sights:

False Creek and the Burrard Street Bridge.  A great place to boat, kayak, talk a walk or grab a drink on a patio on a beautiful day.

The North Shore Mountains.  Fact:  this year, you can ski there until July 1st!

It's about great shopping:

Vancouver is the birthplace of Lululemon.  We love yoga too!

The Granville Island Market is famous for great fresh food, as well as arts and crafts, gifts and novelties.

It's about great food:

Water Street Cafe in Gastown.  Great "westcoast" style food.

Al Porto, also in Gastown.  Heavenly pasta!

Yew Restaurant and Bar in the Four Seasons is my favourite place for brunch.

It's last, but not least, a place with great people:

Cleaning up the city the morning after the events on June 15, 2011.  That's true Vancouver spirit!

Messages of hope...and truth!  We are good people, the bad seeds just took over that night.

I love my city for all these reasons and more.  I hope the people of the world will see that Vancouver is a fabulous city with great people, despite the news they heard this past week.  I have hopes that we will be given the benefit of the doubt!

Jessica Simpson, Fashion Mentor???

I heard some odd and disturbing news today.  NBC has signed on Jessica Simpson as a "mentor" to aspiring fashion designers on their new reality show "Fashion Star".  Now, I know the woman has made like $750 million so far with her Jessica Simpson Collection of all sorts of clothing, accessories, shoes and luggage.  But seriously, Jessica Simpson inspiring fashion designers just because she sells a lot at the local department store is a bit of a stretch to say the least!

First of all, she has no training in fashion design.  Second, her designs are basic and fit a certain niche, which is wardrobe basics for the mainstream consumer.  Last, check out the evidence below.  Fashion mentor?  I beg to differ...

No, no, no!  All wrong.

Accessorize much?

This outfit would work if she didn't wear Daisy Dukes with it...

Rushed out the door and forgot her pants?

Canuck Crazy!

Why do I love hockey?  Well, it's fast-paced, exciting and there is fighting!  Seriously, if you have never watched hockey, you are missing out on a highly entertaining sport.  And ladies, here is a bonus:  the men in hockey are tall, buff and often really cute!

Here's the proof.  Some of the players on my hometown team, the Vancouver Canucks, are quite attractive:

Kevin Bieksa, Vancouver Canucks.  He looks a bit like Nick Lachey but much more manly.  They call him "Boom Boom" because he's always knocking opposing players down.  

Chris Higgins, Vancouver Canucks.  Check out the arms!

Dan "Hammer" Hamhuis, Vancouver Canucks.  

Maxim Lapierre, Vancouver Canucks.  Sexy AND has a french accent.  Mmm!

Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks.  Kes has his own underwear line and he's not shy about showing off  his amazing abs. Sigh!

My city is going crazy over the Canucks right now. One more win and we win the Stanley Cup, which has never happened in 40 years the team has been around.  Everyone's getting into the spirit in all sorts of fun ways, including nail art in Canucks colours - blue & green:

If you're not into fancy nails, there are lots of cute options fashion wise.  My favourite thing to wear on game days is a kids size Ryan Kesler jersey with jeans and flats.  I also recently bought the super fun Canucks soccer style scarf.   I haven't gone with green nail polish yet, but totally a fun option to try out.

Whatever I'm wearing, I am crazy for the Canucks right now and can't wait for the boys to bring home the Stanley Cup. Go Canucks go!!!

What's in my bag?

Inspired by the Purseblog weekly feature, here's a look a some of the beauty products I can't leave home without:

Black eyeliner, preferably with a smudger on the end.

Clinique Lipstick

Mac Studio Fix for touchups

My favourite product ever, Smith's Rosebud Salve

Vaseline handlotion - cheap and works great.