A bit of fabulousness before my vacay!

Well before I head out on my vacation I'm going to leave off with a bit of fabulousness. And who does fabulous better than that girly-girl with a bit of edge designer (no not me sillies, I can't even sew a straight line!). I'm talking Betsey Johnson.
Last week I made a visit to the local store (located at 1033 Alberni Street, just off of Burrard Street) with one of my fashion fabulous girls, Raylene, and really did debate about buying a dress or paying rent... needless to say rent won out, but I do dream of the dress pictured here... a stunning black strapless with a lovely lavender underlay of the the sheer broad striped skirt that fit and flared in all the right ways... sigh...



But more fabulous than the dress(if that's possible) was Matin the in-house stylist of freaking awesomeness. I was worried about the amount of skin showing on top paired with all the skin on display with my legs(that's alot of skin showing!) and he gave me some outstanding options!
He first paired this dress with a fabulous embellished shrug with ruffle front (see image below)

It was over the top, but in such a stellar way! He then had me try on a cropped 3/4 sleeve cardigan with an amazing neckline that worked with the dress perfectly, and an added bonus, a freaking cute ruffle in the back, although it sounds a bit too much it wasn't as it was all in black and therefore blended perfectly!I wasn't able to find an image for it on the Betsey Johnson site (www.betseyjohnson.com), but trust me it was, well... fabulous!


The 3rd option he gave me was this amazingly tailored military inspired jacket with little puff sleeves (notice little puff...no shoulder pads here people!) and zipper sleeves giving this girly-girl dress a perfect nonchalant edge that took the dress from sweet to sweet with a bit bad ass!
I also tried on a few other dresses, where if something was worrying me about it Matin had the perfect solution... I for a moment think I may have been in love with him and wondered if I could stuff him and his style mojo into my oversized purse, alas it was so abundant I knew I couldn't get away with it! The man was a complete styling genius and definitely knows his Betsey!

Now onto other fabulous stuff.
Caroline Calvert is a local dress designer (www.carolinecalvert.com). Although she specializes in wedding dresses, she also has a great collection of jewelry, and other accessories, available at her boutique (Caroline Calvert Couture 3578 West 4th Ave, 1.5 blocks east of Alma Street)for us non brides or bridesmaids. I covet after a fabulous large clear beaded necklace she has displayed(along the lines of the one in this picture)... I pretty much have designed outfits from my closet to wear with this!


Definitely worth checking out to see what she's created, ranges from sweet and simple to large and showstopping, guess which type I like! I also try on this sweet little box veil every time I'm in there... I'm seriously thinking of trying to bring the everyday wearing of splendid head gear into existence, even if I'm the only one! I've tried a few of her creations and seriously would have no problem wearing them anywhere... even to Starbucks, I think you just have to own the look and it'll work! Except for tapered jeans, tapered jeans work for nobody!

My third fabulousness du jour creampuffs by GG (www.creampuffbygg.com/). Tantalizing girly boxers instead of a slip... I'm in! They have an endearing ruffle cuff in some truly great prints. I am trying to convince GG to actually make some that I can wear without having to cover them up, as now they are a bit too sheer... you know... like a slip. So GG if you're listening... I'd like to order a pair of them in pink! heehee
Ok my lovelies, must wrap this up and decide on what to pack for my road trip up north(you know it'll include heels and some splendid city chic-ness!)... who knows maybe I'll find some nicfury worthy shops on my journey... you know I'll let you know if I do!
And as always, Until next time... keep it simple and always keep it fabulous!
(a little side note... I have taken none of the pictures you see, they are from the websites I have mentioned... batteries for my camera are still on my to do list!)

hip hooray for Blog #2!

Well, hello blog #2! So far my consistency record is doing pretty well!

Yesterday I opted to not throw on my favorite skinny jeans, tank and cardigan to go for a walk up to my local addiction most people call Starbucks. Instead I threw caution to the proverbial wind, while throwing on some fabulous ribbon wrapped blush espadrilles(Payless) paired with a pair of pinkish shorts(Gap), white tank(Old Navy) and a military inspired button down white blouse(little store in Antigua, sorry it's not local but I'm sure there's something like it around here)... and of course sunglasses (yay the sun!). I'm usually not the type to stand out, I'm more of a slide to the back of the crowd gal... or I was, I'm now tired of that shtick and have opted to stand out a little. And this outfit worked. Best compliment was on my way home and a lovely lady was crossing in front of me and told me "that is a great outfit you're wearing." not going to lie... I beamed like a kid tasting candy for the first time. I think everyone should be a little giddy when given a compliment, including myself. If only because it gives the guts to keep it up and see if you can out do yourself... and of course I did today with the aforementioned NINE BUCK dress! Tell ya a wide belt(Walmart) and a pair of black boots(Calvin Klein, re-heeled twice!) does wonder for an already fabulous dress... best line was from my friend Brenda... "I feel like a bag lady standing next to you". In truth she was wearing a fabulous short sleeved peasant blouse in navy blue and some khaki shorts... quite acceptable and nowhere near bag lady fashion!

So this coming week I'm off to 2 events where I'm hoping to capture some fabulous style in action. The first is a launch for the local Crave book, featuring some of our fair city's female entrepreneurs , and the second a fashion show The Bay is holding. Having previously worked at the Bay, I know if won't be "the" event of the season, but I'm sure it'll generate some busy-ness for them... and they're giving out free loot, so I'm all in! And I have some high hopes for the attendees and what they're wearing (for goodness sakes it's a fashion show... why wouldn't the people dress up a bit?!)
As yet I've posted no pics for one simple reason, I have not bought batteries for my camera... Don't worry though, it's on my to do list!
Great news on the PaperNic side of things... I'm heading back to Shop Cocoon as of Monday July 5! Yay! So if you're looking for a special gift for one of the special girlies in your life, or you're just an avid supporter of the written word, go check out what I'll have in store!
Also looking to take a new avenue in the world of careers... going for something that actually has to do with fashion...(No not a designer at this point I'd have to do all the sewing and I couldn't sew a straight line to save my life!)... stay tuned!
Til the next time.... keep it simple and always keep it fabulous!

for the love of fashion and all its oddities!

So I have re-emerged! or would it be I've emerged again? either way I'm back!

Four months and a bit has passed since the last time I attempted to blog... I've been very busy. I've re-evaluated what I want this blog to be about(I've decided heartbreak can only be a good subject for so long until someone yells "shut up already!", so I digress and have moved on!)... I could write on my business(the blatant self promotion of PaperNic http://www.papernic.com/) which I'm sure I will write about from time to time if only for the blatant self promotion of PaperNic! But what my real love is and what I'm always searching for and fascinated by is fashion... I love it, all of it! The shows, the designers, the crazy feather concoctions that suddenly burst onto the scene...sigh, ooops, bit of drool. But what I really love seeing is fabulous outfits by real world people, maybe with a bit of a twist!

Although... I am finding it hard to be inspired in this great city of yoga pants, zip off pant legs and hoodies as far as the eye can see(ok, I love hoodies... but only when paired with a great pair of jeans/pants and probably worn with a fabulous scarf... or if there is the smell of campfire involved in the why of the wearing it!)
Although I am finding some great finds in local shops(boutique/independent/or box stores, I'm a slave to them all!) and some excellent sales to become a sucker for.

Favorite outfit du jour: This fabulous purple leopard print on white chiffon dress with a ruffled collar that I wore over a pair of great straight legged jeans to a BBQ this lovely Canada's Day(re: it didn't rain! yay!) Not your everyday BBQ wear, but I did it anyways! Why? Because it was fun and I felt fabulous... and those are the main reason's for fashion in my book! The dress I picked up on sale at a little boutique store called Shop Cocoon on Cambie and 17th. A fabulous little store full of unique clothes, accessories and gifts all made by mostly local designers (http://www.shopcocoon.com/). The jeans were bought over a year ago at Smart Set(I knew I'd wear them at some point!). And the T-strap black heels I bought at Walmart about a year ago, and I love them, they go with everything... ok, well not everything, if they did then I would have no reason to have the great (re: vast) collection of shoes that I do. Paired with a great pair of silver butterfly floaty earrings (Legends on Main St. & 27th-ish) and some simple slim silver bangles... and voila! An outfit that was affordable, fun and of course fabulous! And that is what I'm about, pairing affordable clothes with original/quirky/fabulous pieces and making the outfit my own! And if I somehow am supporting a local designer, well, kudos to me!

So my mission I have chosed to accept from myself is... to be on the look out for the fabulous dressers of Vancouver, female or male(who doesn't love a well dressed man?) and hopefully convincing them to have their photo taken and tell me where they got the treasures of style they have adorned themselves with. I'm doing this not only to prove to myself there is style amongst the exercise fabric the Vancouverites love to be seen in daily(time and place people, time and place!), but as well as to not bore you all to death of only my pics(once again I can hear someone yelling "shut up already" if I try to overplay that card!). But rest assured I will be there, because what kind of fashion lover blogger would I be if I didn't share my own fashion finds?
Til next time... keep it simple and and always keep it fabulous!

Stores I'm loving:
Shop Cocoon - local boutique representing some great local designers, some fabulous fashion finds and why not pick up a birthday present for that lovely someone in your life while you're at it? Why yes, PaperNic did sell there... and hopefully will once again in the coming future. Definitely check it out!
http://www.shopcocoon.com/

Any consignment stores/second hand stores... the key here is to dig, dig, dig! I found myself an amazing 1950ish/60ish inspired dress(although was made by BCBG) for a whole of 9 bucks... I ran home and created 4 different looks for it that night.... NINE BUCKS people!
Some great places are :
1) The Blue Room - on 4th 1.5 blocks east of Alma Street.
2) Front & Company - Main Street and 22nd
3) The store I found my $9 dress at - on Broadway just past McDonald Street(going west, on the south side of the street... no idea of the name, but I will find out... stay tuned!)

So I bit the bullet and me and my little red mittens walked down to the middle of the Olympics... overall feeling, meh. Saw the torch from a thousand miles away behind a ton of fencing. Don't judge me on my photography skills(or non skill I should say). That was interesting. I could smell it burning and knew I was heading in the right direction! There was also a lot of people... a crowd you could say(I like to say a gaggle, but it's all the same). It may have been a little more exciting if I didn't do a loner day, but that is how it was... so still going with meh! The weather was spectacular and Vancouver did look stunning, even as a non tourist I was a little taken aback by the view on my walk down. buildings + blue sky + water + mountain = pretty freaking great backdrop for TV shots!

Overloaded on hot chocolate and came home wishing I had one of those automatic foot rubber thingies. Some people call them boyfriends... I just want one you can plug in the wall and it'll do the job with no excuses. Been trying to figure out what to do with my business, no great epiphanies have hit me yet.