February 2008 Archives
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Swedish Simplicity Friday, February 29, 2008 1:42 AM

When I think about the Swedes doing clean and simple right, Ikea comes to mind and so does the photography of Camilla Åkrans.

Even when working with a more complex set, Åkrans manages to find the simplicity in it and creates strong lines and shapes. There is a cinematic influence in some of her photography and I especially enjoy her film stills-esque work. I like the way she manipulates colours and lighting as well as her use of negative space.

Comments (5) | tags: camilla åkrans photography

Heather gray turtleneck: Old Navy. Dark gray wool sweater: Joe Fresh Style. Pear watch pendant: Marc by Marc Jacobs. Wide leg jeans: Old Navy. Brown suede boots: Forleria.

When it's -23°C outside with a biting wind that nips at the blood in my veins, the only thoughts left in my head are warmth and comfort. Oh, winter blahs. It's hard to believe it hovered around 0°C yesterday.

Comments (8) | tags: daily wear joe fresh style marc by marc jacobs old navy winter

Top: WaWa at Pacific Mall. Wool plaid jumper: 2% (Hong Kong). Owl macrame necklace: Etsy (macraMe). Brown ribbed leggings: Target. Green flats: Sam Edelman.

Today was warm, but it'll be cold again on Wednesday. I did pull on boots before heading out though. Too cold for bare toes, but if I wanted frostbitten toes I would've gone with the green flats. Just for the record, I don't wear shoes inside my carpeted house (no thanks to embedded dirt!). I only wear them for the photos (after cleaning the soles first).

Comments (8) | tags: 2% daily wear etsy winter

When asked who I rank as my favourite modern day fashion photographer, my reply is always Mr. Tim Walker. With a never ending imagination, the British photographer creates images that are beautiful, whimsical, and completely magical. His work never fails to awe me and make my heart pitter patter.

In June 2008, teNeues Publishing is releasing a comprehensive book on Tim Walker's work which will contain 245 colour and black & white photographs. How excited am I? Hopefully some of these images will make an appearance. Next time I see a pair of shoes I like, I'll have to remind myself to save that money for the book instead!

Some of these images have been on my computer for years, but I think credting the scans to Foto Decadent, HT Photography, TFS, and Thomas | Treuhaft should cover it.

Comments (11) | tags: photography tim walker

A short while ago I stumbled across the Etsy shop, TouchMeNot Underpants. Made by fellow Torontonian, Mary, the knickers in the shop were full of ruffles, ribbons, lace, and eyelet. I've always liked pretty girly underwear, but those usually comes with a hefty price tag and I'd rather spend that money on an item I can wear on the outside.

Seeing how affordable these knickers were, I quickly put in an order and they arrived today. I purchased a pair of lace & cotton knickers and a pair of ruffle bum knickers (so cute!) and they are every bit as lovely as they looked in the shop's photos. I was also impressed with the thought that went into the packaging -- simple yet effective.

These knickers perfect for everyday wear yet they're pretty enough to make me feel special when wearing them.

Mary also maintains a livejournal where her creations are documented. I spent a fair bit of time perusing through the archives. Undies never looked so good.

Comments (6) | tags: canadian etsy undergarments

Heather gray turtleneck: Old Navy. Sweater vest: vintage. Skinny belt: vintage. Wide leg jeans: Old Navy. Aqua flats: Urban Outfitters via Value Village. Flower ring: Forever 21. Bag: Rise Commercial Building (Hong Kong).

This outfit is from yesterday. It was a lazy and rainy Sunday. First came the freezing rain then the regular kind making a huge mess of the streets. In the evening I went to see Definitely, Maybe (cute, though I think my friend & I were the only ones in the theater old enough to laugh at the '90s references) and later had a yummy mango milk black tea unlike the horribly powdery one I drank a few nights ago.

Today is the first time we're celebrating (celebrating? I guess we're celebrating...) a new public holiday here in Ontario; Family Day. It's another lazy day and I'm still in my pajamas.

Comments (6) | tags: daily wear old navy urban outfitters

As per Fruchtzwerg's request, I present to you my shoe collection. My collection is tiny in comparison to hers.

Comments (16) | tags: shoes

I have spent a good part of the last few months drooling over a pair of Chloé mary jane wedges. There's one pair left on Yoox and they are in my size. Hopefully someone buys them before I find an irrational reason to justify purchasing them!

Comments (0) | tags: chloé shoes yoox

It's been like Christmas in my mailbox lately. Of course, most parcels are presents I bought for myself during random online shopping trips. However, today I received a package from the wonderful oh! the light today (thank you, thank you!). Inside were copies of the February 2008 issues of Vogue Girl Korea and W Korea.

This is exciting for me as I've never flipped through copies of either magazines -- I've only admired the photo editorials for Vogue Girl Korea on the internet. There's something thrilling about viewing the photography in a printed format. This issue didn't let me down. Look at this loveliness by photographer Kim Han Jun!

I wish I had a scanner so I could share the rest of the story with everyone.

Comments (4) | tags: kim han jun magazines photography vogue w

Instead of sleeping, I've been checking out the sandals that have started trickling into stores. I'd like to have a pair of flat sandals to take me through the summer, preferably without the toe floss. My toes can handle the thong style sandals, but I'd like to leave that style for my flip flops.

Here are some that have caught my eye and are within my budget.

Sandals available at: 1. Urban Outfitters, 2. Urban Outfitters, 3. Urban Outfitters, 4. Old Navy, 5. Nine West, 6. Steve Madden, 7. Steve Madden, 8. Steve Madden, 9. Steve Madden

It's still early in the season so I'll probably hold off for another month or so before going on a serious sandal hunt unless I accidently stumble across the perfect sandals. Afterall, we have ten feet* of snow outside thanks to the recent two snowstorms with a prediction of more snow on the way. At this rate, I should be looking for another pair of winter boots.

*slight exaggeration

Comments (8) | tags: nine west old navy shoes steve madden urban outfitters

The black flats on the left are my everyday shoes. I bought them from Urban Outfitters in August 2004 and they're the most comfortable pair of flats I own. They've put up with a lot of walking and have traveled the world with me. Unfortunately they look very beat-up.

While digging through Value Village on Thursday, I came across the aqua flats in brand new condition. Sure, I'd have preferred finding another black pair, but it didn't dimenish my excitment over finding the exact same flats in my size. I remember this colour being offered when I bought my black ones at Urban.

Comments (8) | tags: shoes thrifting urban outfitters value village

During my high school days I was not overly fond of Club Monaco -- probably because I was sick of seeing their black cloth tote bags that all the girls carried. However, around the time the company was sold to Polo Ralph Lauren (not a Polo fan though), I began to take notice of their clothing. Slowly it became one of those stores I always take a browse in when I'm at the mall.

One thing I love about Club Monaco is their packaging.

Their plastic bag is super thick and super matte. If only it didn't dent and crease so easily. I had this one stuck inside a tote bag (not a black cloth CM one!) that I spent the day lugging around so it's extremely wrinkled.

I love stripes and I love their black & white striped tissue paper. Luckily the salespeople never press down hard on their emblem sticker so I can peel it off and reuse the tissue paper.

Another thing I love about Club Monaco are their amazing sales. This sweater cape was originally $149, but I bought it at $29. Of course, my first choice colour (cream) was sold out, but at 80% off I shouldn't complain.

Comments (8) | tags: club monaco shopping tops

A few bags I thrifted at $2.99 each. The two red ones are brand new complete with the original price tags.

Comments (2) | tags: bags thrifting value village vintage

After posting about Urban Outfitters' selection of slips, I went to the store and took a look, but held off making a purchase. During a recent trip to the store, most of the slips I'd been eyeing were marked down to $19.99. I snagged the yellow one, mainly by default because it was the only style that had my size left.

I spent a bit too much money over the last few days. Thankfully it was Chinese New Year so the lai sees I received made it a dent rather then a hole in my wallet. This means, there'll be a few shopping posts coming up ;)

Comments (8) | tags: shopping undergarments urban outfitters

While out shopping on Tuesday, I was drawn to the display window at Browns because of the above shoes. It was instant shoe love. The green ones are perfect.

The heel reminds me of Chie Mihara, whose shoes I absolutely adore but cannot afford even when on sale.

Comments (11) | tags: browns shoes

I will be without internet until the weekend. Posting will resume then because I haven't been able to figure out how to set up scheduled posting.

For now I will leave you with this June 1950 British Vogue cover shot by the great Irving Penn. It's one of my favourite covers.

Comments (4) | tags: irving penn photography vogue

My favourite lip balm in the world has been discontinued. This is terrible news because I'm working on my last tube of the medicated version of Natural Ice lip balm. It's essentially Mentholatum in stick form. I do have one and a half tubes of the strawberry variety left and while it smells nice, it's just not as moisturizing as the medicated version.

According to the Mentholatum website, "Stock of Natural Ice Cherry, Strawberry and Vanilla is currently available at most Bargain Shop stores". Here's to not-so-secretly hoping the web dude forgot to include the medicated one on the list when updating the site. Now to figure out all the Bargain Shops within a fifty kilometer radius...

Comments (2) | tags: lip balm mentholatum

Gray turtleneck: Old Navy. Plaid Flannel dress: H&M. Gray skinny belt: vintage. Black ribbed tights: H&M. Shoes: Nine West.

Not much to say other then this flannel dress is surprisingly warm.

Comments (8) | tags: daily wear

Ever since I heard about Jovovich-Hawk designing the next Target Go International collection, I have been checking the Target pressroom site regularly for the news release. Yesterday the images were posted online and I happily perused them. Below are some that piqued my interest.

The collection will be in stores on March 2, 2008. While I do like some of the pieces, I'm undecided if it's worth the two hour drive to Buffalo, NY.

Comments (10) | tags: designer collaborations jovovich hawk target

During last night's jaunt on the Forever 21 website, I came across a dress that looked oddly familiar on their US site...

On the left is a dress I bought from H&M in spring 2006. There are some minor differences such as: the F21 dress doesn't have a tie at the back, the bib & neck ruffle both appear a bit shorter, and the pinstripes are a different colour because the F21 website lists their dress as "sage" (mine is navy). I wonder if the F21 dress comes from the same factory.

Comments (6) | tags: forever 21 h&m

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