blue moon / boho dress

Spell & The Gypsy Collective Portobello Road Boho Dress

Tony Bianco Boston Wedge

Lack of Color Zulu Rancher

Blogging about fashion brings me joy and helps me de-stress, but it could not feel less important right now.  I was one of the lucky ones to score this gorgeous Spell & The Gypsy Collective Portobello Road Boho Dress, which sold out very quickly.  When we shot this dress a couple of weeks ago, I was so happy wearing it, twirling around in it, but feel those images are not a representation of how I feel right now.  I've taken the past week to reflect and educate myself on the ways I can become a better ally to the Black community.  I spent most of my time reading, listening and talking with my children (who we have always taught to be kind to everyone, but now realize that was not enough) and will continue to do so because BLACK LIVES MATTER.  As someone who was a legal assistant for 15 years of her life, I was drawn to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., an organization fighting for racial justice, which I have donated to and will continue donating to. 

I will support Black-owned businesses (I found Glamour Magazine's '39 Black-Owned Businesses You Can Support Today and Everyday' and Gal Meets Glam's '26 Small Businesses Owned by Women of Color' a helpful start.)  Lemlem is a brand I've been noticing lately (I love this romper), but had no idea the pieces are made in Africa and create jobs for local artisans, which makes me drawn to the brand even more.  Afterpay has made it even easier to shop Black Owned Businesses.  Klarna has done the same.  I followed some amazing women on Instagram, thanks to this post by Atlantic-Pacific.  By no means do I feel this is enough, but as stated in Vogue Magazine's '68 Black-Owned Fashion and Beauty Brands to Support Now and Always', these small steps do matter.

Mx

dusty pink / strappy maxi dress

Spell & The Gypsy Collective Hendrix Strappy Maxi Dress (also on sale here!)

Dolce Vita Serra Bootie

Lack of Color Zulu Rancher

I've been eyeing the Spell Hendrix Boho Dress since I saw the Journey campaign back in February.  I love Spell's 'boho' dresses and pink is my favourite colour, but some shades of pink don't suit me so I hesitated buying it.  When I heard SC was slowly opening the parks back up again, I saw this Hendrix Strappy Maxi Dress on the Nuuly site and it was a no-brainer to rent it.  Even though it's not my preferred style, I wanted to give the colour a try.  It's a beautiful dress.  It's flowy and the gold metallic thread shimmers in the light.  You just want to twirl around in it.  (Spell also designed a matching robe, which is still available to purchase here!)

Sure enough, before I wore this dress and was able to properly assess the colour, Spell dropped the Blue Moon collection and I fell in love with the Portobello Road Boho Dress, which arrived today and I cannot wait to wear it!  So, in the end, I most likely won't be purchasing the Hendrix Boho Dress, but was happy I was able to rent this strappy maxi dress.

Happy shopping/renting!

Mx

wisteria in amelia island

Spell & The Gypsy Collective Bianca Long Sleeve Dress;

Lack of Color Zulu Rancher;

Louis Vuitton Palm Springs Backpack Mini

We took a last-minute trip to Florida last week and I wore this beautiful Spell & the Gypsy dress out to dinner one night in Fernandina Beach.  I'm very into purple right now, which is a big trend for fall, so when I saw this beautiful dress I immediately ordered it.  I forgot my other sandals in the car so I just slipped on my Adidas slides, which I pretty much wear with everything anyway.  But I'm very excited for cooler temps because this dress will be great paired with booties!  (I'm eyeing these Sam Edelman booties.)

Happy shopping!
Mx

P.s. My daughter wore her Spell Folk Town dress, which I purchased last year and appears to be out of stock, but the blouse is still available, which she also has, here!

gingham dress

Madewell Scalloped Midi Dress in Rainbow Gingham;

Tony Bianco Farren Wedge;

Lack of Color Zulu Rancher

Gingham is such a fun print.  It's a lot like plaid and I love plaid.  I'll be posting my fall picks this week and it will include a lot of plaid.  This Madewell gingham dress is super cute and perfect for a hot never-ending-summer day.  It's on sale, along with this gingham dress!  And how cute is this gingham mini dress?!

Happy shopping!

Mx

blush paisley printed tunic

{Free People Just The Two of Us Paisley Printed Tunic (other prints here);

Brixton Alex Hat;

Jeffrey Campbell Cors Suede Peep Toe Bootie (light pink here, LOVE these red ones);

Prada Sunglasses (also here)}

I immediately fell in love with the colour of this Free People tunic (and clearly so did everyone else because it was sold out by the time I received it in the mail.  Size small currently back in stock!).  It comes in navy now (tip: navy looks great on brunettes!)  Because it's still warm here, I paired this blush paisley printed tunic with pink Jeffrey Campbell booties, but I'm excited to wear it with my Stuart Weitzman over-the-knee boots once it starts to cool down.  I added a grey hat because I love pairing pink with grey, it's probably one of my favourite colour combos for fall. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Mx

perfectly victorian pt III

{Free People Perfectly Victorian Mini Dress (also comes in black);

Rebecca Minkoff Mini Suki Cross Body Bag (in black, lilac on sale, this colour will be nice for fall);

Brixton Dalila Hat (in black);

Jeffrey Campbell Cors Suede Peep Toe Bootie (in various colours);

Prada Sunglasses}

My sister and I went out for dinner Saturday night.  I wore this beautiful Free People 'Perfectly Victorian Mini' dress (also seen on the blog here and here).  Free People came out with a black version and a blue version, which are just as beautiful, but I particularly love the ivory, which sold out quickly but is now back in stock!  I paired the dress this time with my favourite new pink booties.  These Jeffrey Campbell booties surprisingly go well with a lot of pieces in my wardrobe.  I guess that makes sense since I love florals and anything pink.  But it's time to say good-bye to this dress.  I've now worn it 3x, but not quite enough so I'm selling it on Poshmark!  (I'm also selling a bunch of other things from my wardrobe.)  This dress is meant to be a mini and being petite I was hoping that meant it was going to be a bit shorter on me.  But I kept it because it is SO beautiful.  So hopefully someone else will be able to give it the proper love it deserves.  Plus, I have my eye on another Free People dress.  Stay tuned!

folk town

{Spell & The Gypsy Collective Folk Town Boho Dress (also here, LOVE this skirt in 'wine');

wrap bracelet: Coach (old);

 Brixton Dalila Hat in Sand;

gladiator sandals: ZARA (similar here);  

sunglasses: Prada}

We're back from Disney and I'm exhausted.  We ended up stuck in traffic the whole way home, but we had a great time, as always.  We went to the beach before we left and although it was warm, it was super windy.  This dress was flying all over the place!  It's a great dress for a walk on the beach.  I brought it with me to Disney but it was way too hot to wear it.  But I'll be living in this dress all year round.  It's SO comfortable and the print is beautiful.  This dress is supposed to be a midi dress, and I was unsure how it would look on me, but I'm so happy with the way it fits (you could also belt it for more shape).  It's more of a maxi dress on me and I'm perfectly happy with that.  Plus, I have the option of wearing it with flat sandals, which is always a bonus.

pretty pastels

{Talula Keisei Dress, Talula Kent Blazer; pumps: GUESS (other colours here and here);

bracelets: J.Crew; sunglasses: Prada}

I love pastels, especially paired together, so when I saw this pretty blue dress at Aritzia, I knew instantly that I would pair it with this pastel blazer (that I also picked up from Aritzia a year, or two ago) because the dress has spaghetti straps and an open back, which are not appropriate at my work.  But that's why I love this dress so much.  It works for the office by adding a blazer (or sweater) and it's perfect for drinks on a patio after work without the blazer, especially when it's super hot.  And if it gets a bit chilly, you just throw the blazer over your shoulders because it's so lightweight and drapey.  I love this dress so much that I also picked up this polka dot version and knew I could pair it with the same blazer that I also have in black.  I also just realized I have these pumps in black too.  Hey, when you love something that much, why not buy two?

april showers bring may flowers

 

 

 

{dress: Sister Jane (also here and here); shoes: GUESS; sunglasses: Prada}

 I instantly fell in love with this dress when I saw it.  Well, I pretty much fall in love with every dress Pixie Market has - seriously, they're so cute!  But this one is so unique.  I love the sleeves and bold daisy print on the bottom.  I'm petite and this dress is a S (normally I'm an XS) so I paired it with light pink pumps from GUESS because they look almost nude, which usually make legs look longer.  Of course, when I wore this dress yesterday, I had to pair it with tights and booties because it cooled down from the weekend when I took these pictures.  April showers basically started this week so maybe in May we'll start to get some spring weather?

fit-and-flare lace

{Wilfred Tartine Dress (other versions, this one in-store via Aritzia); sunglasses: Prada;

necklace: Juicy Couture; booties: MICHAEL Michael Kors}

I bought this amazing dress from Aritzia back in August or September and have been waiting to wear it, but September and October have been fairly mild.  I like wearing layers in the fall so I can easily remove a layer if I get too warm.  As I’ve said before, fall in Canada goes from cool (with warm afternoons) to freezing (all day) in a matter of a few weeks.  (I was able to wear thick sweaters and now think I have to upgrade to a winter coat, bypassing the 3 fall jackets I purchased.)  I fell in love with this dress because the lace skirt makes it so unique and I love the way the lace creeps up the sides, making it even more unique.  (Bonus, it has pockets!)  When I took these pictures originally, it was still mild out.  Today, I traded the bare legs and wedges (which I paired with this dress to dress it down for work, rather than wearing heels) with tights and flats.  It's no longer fall.

shake it up

{Free People Shake It Up Pullover Dress; booties: Topshop; necklace: Coach;

sunglasses: MBMJ; bracelets: J.Crew (colours sold out, similar here and here)}

I was going to the Macklemore concert (which was awesome and I highly recommend his album, or going to his show), but beforehand was spending the day shopping.  So I was looking for the perfect outfit to take me from day to night.  This dress was the perfect choice.  It was a little warm during the day, but it being a dress cooled me down and it became cool at night at the concert so I just rolled the sleeves back down and kept warm.  This dress is super comfortable.  I also love how roomy it is, which allowed me to pig out at the restaurant while we waited for the hail storm to end.  (Thankfully, the rain let up and, even though it rained a bit at the concert, it was a great night.)