Come Sail Away

I often find it difficult to describe my personal "style," because there are so many looks that I love! Anything vaguely Parisian I'm all over, and sometimes I feel romantic, and sometimes I like androgynous looks, and sometimes I go for rocker style... but one that's very near and dear to me (hence the name of my blog... sort of?) is nautical! Something about navy and stripes and tailoring melts my heart!

Although I was born in Toronto, I grew up in the Maritime city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. My childhood was full of foggy trips to the waterfront, playing on the boat-shaped playground and peering into the murky harbour water to see if I could find any creatures! I still love the salty smell to the air around beaches (although harbour smell is a bit different... haha...), and water is a constant inspiration to me.

This was a fun little outfit, representing not only my love for nautical looks, but also for orange-and-blue colour combinations! I went a bit nuts with it this time, but I love the result and felt very "me" in this outfit. The orange contributions are the striped shirt, my lipstick (L'Oreal Paris Color Riche in Ornage Fever: love it), and my sort-of-orangey tan heels! My navy skirt and turquoise-blue belt are the most apparent blues, and my tights are actually a steel-blue colour, although they look more grey in these pictures. I carried my pale blue purse, but ehh, maybe a bit of overkill? Oh well!

Heh, for anyone who has noticed, yes, my silver jacket is still kicking... I plant to wear it until it falls apart. I've been thinking about trying to copy it, which could be an interesting foray into the world of faux-leather! Hmm!

Alrighty, I'm off to play sewing at my friend's house :D And hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to finish my sundress so I can show you! Hooray!

Shirt: Old Navy, from Value Village

Skirt: Tommy Hilfiger, from Hazel's

Belt: vintage, from Frenchy's

Tights: H&M

Shoes: Spring

Jacket: Suzy Shier

Purse: Crazy Horse, from Value Village

Happy dressing!

Mitzi xo

Sunsets and Straw Hats

I'm in love with the straw hats people are wearing this summer! I had been looking for the perfect one for a while when I stumbled upon this baby at an Aldo store in Montreal. So summery, right?!

I went for a playful look the first time I planned an outfit around the hat, choosing my flowy floral skirt, a puffed/ruched-sleeve top, and pigtails! My silver belt and ruffly sandals added some more fun :)

I wish I had a better picture of the hat! I guess I'll have to wear it again sometime, haha ;) Here's one I took on the way home from the trip to Montreal.

The brim of the hat narrows in the back, and it has a sort of bow detail on the left-hand side. The trim is a greyish colour, which is also braided into the straw. Love!!!

I've recently started watching Supernatural with Billy. So good! And so scary sometimes, haha. I'm finishing up the 4th season now, and Billy is bringing the 5th season home tonight! Yay!

Top: from Japan, bought at Hazel's

Skirt: vintage, from Bargains at the Bridge

Belt: vintage, from Value Village

Hat: Aldo

Sandals: Winners

Jacket: Suzy Shier

Happy dressing!

Mitzi xo

Forsythia

One of my favourite things about spring is the giant forsythia bush in my yard bursting into bloom! It always means that warm temperatures and sunshine are on their way. Both are in full-force now, but it was exciting the day these pictures were taken to be able to wear bare legs!

I decided to save the post I was all excited about for a few days from now -- I'm almost at my 200th post! I can't believe it! I suppose it's been almost a year since I started blogging, or it will be in August. Craaaazy!

This outfit was a throw-together work outfit, but I like how it turned out! The green skirt is always fun, and I hadn't worn this fluttery-sleeved t-shirt in a long time because it's surprisingly hard to style. Ehh. I added my purple flats for more fun colour, and my silver leather jacket served as outerwear. It's such a go-to piece, I don't know what I'm going to do when it falls apart like it's threatening to!

The belt I'm wearing is actually a pale grey colour. It came with the gorgeous grey pleated vintage dress I wore here (oldie alert!) and here. I need to wear that dress soon, it's perfect for summer!

Oh yeah! Flowers :D Forsythia make me happy, but they're not my favourite flower. I really love calla lilies, and also tiger lilies. I worked at a flower shop for a while and it ended up being one of the most traumatizing work experiences of my life -- you'd think flower-people would be nice! But I still like flowers (sometimes), and yep, calla and tiger lilies are my faves :D What's your favourite flower?

I was about to write "happy Tuesday" but then I remembered that it's only Monday. Oh boy. That happens to me so often! Haha. But anyway, happy Monday!

T-shirt: Old Navy, from Hazel's

Skirt: vintage, hand-me-up from sister

Belt: vintage, from Hazel'

Shoes: Wal-Mart

Bag: from Hazel's

Jacket: Suzy Shier

Sunglasses: H&M c. 2008

Happy dressing!

Mitzi xo



Ladybug

It's spider/bug season in Atlantic Canada, so I'm doing my best to muster up the positives! Spiders are my least favourite thing ever. Every time I see one I FREAK OUT. Lately I'm getting better, sometimes I can even look at them for a bit and only freak out inside, in that whole-body-goes-cold and mind-goes-blank sort of way! I only actually scream now when they ctch me off guard, like when they lurch down from the ceiling in front of my face or when they show up in such inopportune places as the shower or on a book on the bookshelf. You know?

Funnily enough, I don't mind other bugs at all really. Even june bugs, which are kind of like round orange-bottomed cicadas (maybe?), don't get a rise out of me! Most people are terrified that the june bugs will go in their hair. I've never had it happen though. The june bugs came early this year, and almost every street has a few crushed june bugs with their orange guts smeared on the road. Ew, but not ahhh!!

One bug I DO like is the ladybug! I'm sure most people would agree. Ladybugs have always been a positive force for me, because they're my mama's favourite thing ever. She has all kinds of ladybug stuff, and whenever I see ladybugs I think of her! We even have a ladybug doorknocker, which you can see in the background of most of these photos. I love when I find one, because I can pick it up and let it crawl on me until it decides to fly away. AND they're supposed to bring good luck!

This outfit kind of reminds me of a ladybug, with its red and its prints. Clearly ladybugs are not striped, nor are they irregular-plaid printed, but they are definitely stylish! Haha. I love how each ladybug is diferent, and how on real ladybugs their spots are not uniform, kind of like the mottled background on the t-shirt I'm wearing. I liked the contrast between the print on the t-shirt and the different-widthed striped on this long cardigan. To keep it light, I wore a navy belt in the beltloops of my red shorts, and I put on navy tights because it was still a tad too chilly for bare legs when these photos were taken!

These shorts are vintage, and looked pretty wonky at first -- they need to be belted to hide the elastic gathering at the back, and they're an awkward length. Rolling-up to the rescue! I strongly believe that if an article of clothing is the right colour and fits, anything can be made to work for you. Working at a used-clothing store, I notice that lots of people pass over what I consider to be amazing pieces, probably because they can't think of how they would wear it. Sometimes I think it would be a lot of fun to work as a low-budget personal stylist, helping other people to shop in thrift and second-hand stores to find unique, flattering wardrobes that wouldn't break their piggybanks. Hmm!

Ahh! I know I'm being wordy today, but. This cardigan is from my first-ever visit to Forever 21. WHAAAAT why don't I live near one!! I bought this cardigan and a sweet stripy dress which I'll unveil soon, as well as the sweetest floral denim shorts I've ever had the plasure of putting my butt in. Holy moly did I ever love just about everything in that store. I went when I was in Montreal, and I'm pretty sure that's the closest one to my neck of the woods. Darn. They even had an impressive men's section for my friend Matty! And their prices are so low!! 

All right lovely ladybugs! I'm done for now. Hope you liked the outfit! The next one is so exciting I can barely contain myself. I absolutley loved wearing it! And I have a bit of a rant to include too ;) Stay tuned!

T-shirt: hand-me-up from sister

Cardigan: Forever 21

Shorts: vintage, from Hazel's

Tights: Charlotte Russe

Shoes: Ardene, from Value Village

Belt: vintage, from Hazel's

Happy dressing!

Mitzi xo

Wild Watermelon

Time to get up-to-date on my posts! Here's another oldie. I'm wearing my new watermelon-coloured button-down from H&M, which I picked up in Montreal when I went to see Gaga!

I wore the shirt with my black crepe-y high-waisted pants, which are going to be a MAJOR wardrobe staple this summer! As will this shirt, I'm sure. I think we're in for a real scorcher! It's early June, and we've already been topping 25C without accounting for humidity onan almost daily basis. I'm probably going to have tobuy a share in a sunscreen company, haha! I am determined not to tan this summer, or at least not to burn. I've burned so many times in the past, I don't really want to take any more chances!

One of the fantastic parts of summer, though: WATERMELON. What a sweet (haha!) way to beat the heat and get a serving of fruits!! Yummm. Not to mention, it's a great colour for summer clothing ;)

See? Haha! The blouse even has black bits and shiny buttons to represent the seeds :P

I got a major retro vibe from this outfit.This is currently one of my favourite silhouettes: high-waisted anything and a button-down shirt, either tucked in or knotted just above the waistband! I felt like I should be going to walk on the beach with a hot guy (named Billy!) in a leather jacket.

These pictures are the last set that Billy didn't take! My mama took them for me while Billy was still in Turkey. I know, ancient history! But I'm finally getting back on my blogging game. If only Blogger would work out the rest of the kinks...

I'm off to CycleFit class tonight, which is like Spin class. My new workput buddy invited me, and I'm looking forward to it! I'm a little scared though, I hear it's pretty intense. I have a feeling I'll have some deliciously sore muscles tomorrow, haha!

Blouse: H&M

Pants: vintage, from Hazel's

Belt: from Hazel's

Shoes: Ardene

Sunglasses: H&M

Jacket: Suzy Shier

Happy dressing!

Mitzi xo

Frayed Foray

This fantastic and voluminous skirt is my first foray into fashion design! It's based on a pattern, and I made it out of a cotton and linen denim. I LOVE IT

It seems like it took forever to create, probably because I made it in my sewing lessons, which I only have once a week. And also probably because there is SO MUCH SKIRT!! I love its twirliness :D My next project is a dress, and I've been making aprons on my own. Photos of those to come soon (as I say almost every post...sigh)!

For my skirt's first outfit (comparable to a child's first day at school, probably), I wanted to make a kind of edgy look to balance out the intense potentially-Western prairie-ness of the skirt (that outfit is soon to follow, ha!). I went for my shiny silvery gold-y Beatles t-shirt, metal belt, and Buckle wedge sandals!

More twirling!! I have to contain myself in shops and such when I wear this. The sidewalk is another story altogether.

This skirt was also my first lesson in alterations! We had to take in the yoke almost four inches. My measurements have gone way down from when I started making this skirt! Yay Zumba! Everybody go if there are classes nearby ;)

These photos are very recent, hence the leafy loveliness of my backyard! I still have lots of photos, some from over a month ago. But! They are in Picasa Web Albums, so they'll be up soon :D

My sister's boyfriend (who is also my boyfriend's best friend... complicated!!) is visiting, so I think we're going to do some hangout stuff tonight. Last night we went to Bridesmaids, and it was really funny! I keep saying it wasn't what I expected, and I finally figured out what I mean. I was expecting something more like The Hangover. It was sort of like that, a good balance of wit and bathroom humour (the dress salon scene? Oh my goodness hahahahaha), but definitely tailored to a female audience. It was a bit heavier on the stomach-jerking drama than I was expecting too, but all around it was a good movie!

Beatles t-shirt: from my friend Crystal

Silver metal belt: from Value Village

Denim skirt: MADE BY ME!

Sandals: Steve Madden, from Winners

Oh oh oh P.S. I've been reading your blogs, but silly Blogger won't let me comment on them! Every time I try (and I usually try three times before giving up :( ), I get signed out. Grrr. I have some of you on facebook, so I usually comment there, but otherwise, I'm so sorry!! I hope this gets fixed soon!

Happy dressing!

Mitzi xo

Colour Me Happy

Have you ever found a piece of clothing in a store and kind of frozen, staring at it as you quickly fall in love? That's what happened to me with this sweater :D

This is the last of my "old" sets of pictures! How exciting. I have to work on getting the new ones uploaded in Picasa! I can't believe how much I got out of the swing of things, but I'm getting back on track. Hooray!

In order to really let the colours in the sweater sing, I kept everything else in the outfit (save for the shoes) navy. I love the effect of the pants and the jacket together! They look very sleek to me, and let the fantastic stripy-diamondy pattern do all the work ;)

I don't have much news! Booo. Tonight I'm going to see Bridesmaids with my mama, hopefully it lives up to all the hype! It's supposed to be hilarious, so we shall see :)

There's a hint of a smile! I can't believe how solemn I look in most of these pictures, haha. They were taken during my exam period, so I guess I was bogged down with the stress of it all? It's amazing how quickly those kinds of feelings are left behind once the situation is passed! Here are the funner ones to balance it out ;)

Wheee!

Even the back of the sweater is stripy and fantastic!

I hope everyone is feeling as happy as I look in this last picture on this fine Tuesday ;)

Sweater: United Colors of Benetton, from Hazel's

Pants: vintage, from Hazel's

Shoes: Spring

Belt: vintage, from Hazel's

Jacket: Le Chateau

Happy dressing!

Mitzi xo