Last night, Ottawa had a chance to celebrate a piece of New York Fashion Week with Club Monaco at CF Rideau Centre. Once again, Club Monaco nails it out of the park with elegant, feminine and classic designs for their Spring/Summer 2017 collection. The line was inspired by the French documentary Latcho Drom , which follows a family of travelers as they journey from Romania to India. Club Monaco remains true to their signature urban style, and manages to weave in the notable Gypsy details, like peasant tops, bells and frills, all inspired by the film.
I love getting invited to non-fashion related events, it’s a chance for me to learn something new and connect the dots to what I love blogging about the most: fashion.
I had the chance to meet the lovely and talented Samantha Pynn, HGTV host and currently Contributing Design Editor for Chatelaine magazine. She was presenting her new line at Simons, the ultimate Canadian collaboration, if you ask me.
Samantha hosted a guided tour of her line and talked a lot about how her travels greatly influenced her designs. She dreams up all the prints and decides what fabric to use. She also stressed the importance of investing in high-quality materials and fabrics, because they feel great and look amazing. The notion of investing in key pieces was all too familiar to me. That’s exactly what I say when it comes to fashion.
For example, I was looking for grown up curtains and decided to splurge on the Samantha Pynn navy and grey striped curtains. These curtains were the missing piece in my living room, they went with my current décor and really tied the room together. They were crisp, clean, and not too feminine. My husband was sold on them right away! I compare these curtains to investing in a really nice coat. A great coat can solidify any outfit, especially in our cool climate.
Next up, I bought a new table cloth, something that was going to match my new kitchen. I wanted something playful but mature, something that had a bit of colour, and would hold up to a 3-year old’s mess. I give you the Tamara table cloth (also, that’s my sister’s name!). I love the blue and grey tone in this table cloth. It works perfectly in my kitchen and ties in nicely with my navy accents in the living room. I compare this tablecloth to a great dress. You know, something fun that you can wear out and wear to work too. And, depending on the accessories you pair it with, the dress gets a whole new life.
What I loved most about Samantha, was hearing the charming stories that came out of each design and print. Whether it was the influence of the Portuguese tiles or importing the traditional cotton bathmat, it reminded me that we too can have a piece of the world, in our homes. No need to travel far and wide to get it either! Knowing the person and the passion that is behind each fluffy towel, cozy bed sheet or elegant shower curtain, really gave life to the work she has created. I also love the fact that this collaboration is of premium quality and 100% Canadian!
BONUS- If you head over to Simons, it looks like most her product line is now on sale!
Paris Fashion Week just wrapped up and has left me reminiscing on my one-and-only Euro trip. Almost 8 years ago, my husband and I spent one week in Paris over New Years and had a wonderful time freezing our buns off touring the streets and indulging to our hearts content! He even proposed to me on New Years eve in a dingy bar with a mock ring, where I immediately told him to get off the dirty floor and was revolted by the ring he picked out… hahaha. One thing I will never forget is accidentally going to noted fashion photographer, Patrick Demarchelier’s photography exhibit in the Petit Palais. Oh yes, I also remember being super flattered when folks assumed I was a local (nailed it! all black everything is always a safe look in Paris!)
This post is not so much about visiting Paris or how to be Parisian, but mostly about how to nail your Paris Fashion Week street style look, while supporting local businesses in Ottawa!
This pic tho… my sis nailed it with her iphone 6!
Outfit details
Is anyone else super confused about this warm fall weather we’ve been having? I bought this Flippa K dress at Viens Avec Moi this summer and ironically it hasn’t been cool enough for me to wear it! My purse is a consignment treasure from AMH Style. My necklace is from Canadian designer Biko, purchased at Vincent. My Dior glasses are borrowed from Merivale Optometric. My bracelet is from Ottawa designer Jenny Bird from Magpie Jewellery, and new symphony booties were gifted from Geox Rideau Centre! If you do the math, that’s 5 out of 6 local item ratio, or 83% local.
My new Geox booties are life!Modeling my Dior sunglasses from Merivale Optometric – I wish these were mine! If you’re looking for new shades, join me at their upcoming shopping event “Les Parisiens Ladies Night” on Oct 27 from 4-8. Merivale Optometric is offering major discounts on Dior and Caroline Abrams eyewear and will be making a donation with every purchase to the Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind .
Casually sitting on the steps and owning my rbf … hahaha
I bought this Flippa K dress at Vienz Avec Moi this summer. I love it! I know I will get lots of wear out of it.
It’s funny. We can all name off a lot of brands, but at the end of the day, do you really know the details behind all your labels? Like where they are made? How much thought goes into design and functionality? The passion that drives the people behind the brand? I feel really blessed to get invited to store openings because it’s a chance to connect with these folks and learn first hand about what goes into each product.
I bring you Ecco, a global family-owned shoe brand from Denmark established in 1963 by Karl Toosbuy, who innovated traditional footwear. He strove to create shoes that fit the foot, were flexible, light and comfortable while staying true to the simplicity of Scandinavian design.
I’ll admit that although I appreciate functionality in my style, it is not the number one driver of my shopping choices. I don’t have fussy foot problems, and do wear heels quite often, so when I try on shoes I am really looking for fit and stability. My sister, on the other hand, is a runner and always looks for comfort. Because she is a huge Ecco fan, I brought her along with me. The good news at Ecco, is that you don’t have to compromise style over comfort. They have already done the hard work for you. All you need to do is pick a pair of shoes in your size that makes you smile. And that’s what we did!
A few weeks ago, I was invited to attend the opening of CF Rideau Centre‘s newest Ecco store. Coincidentally, Ecco was also celebrating their 25 year anniversary that evening. That’s a long time to be in business folks. It was basically a “try on all the shoes party with your friends”, as in… my dream come true. You’ll see in the pics below that I have a beaming smile from ear to ear. You now understand why.
Ecco Shape is the latest line of footwear at Ecco that truly understands women and their feet. Using ultra sexy designs and print, the Shape collection was seriously designed with comfort in mind. These shoes include innovative features like a lowered heel inside the shoe that gives the illusion of a high heel on the exterior, making the shoes that much more comfortable. Now that is insane attention to comfort! The heels are sturdy and thick and the top of the shoe is not overly pointed, which keeps your toes safe. There are also lots of great colours and textures to chose from this season, including burgundy suede and black & white snake skin, my weakness!
I had my eye on the black leather back pack (pictured below)… thinking of treating myself for my birthday… which is coincidentally this FRIYAY!! You’ll also see pics of Linda (from A Labour of Life), fellow local blogger and Ottawa makeup artist Melody Iafelice rocking her edgy style. Also, I need her t-shirt.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Photo by Ben Welland.
Women shape the world- We shape their shoes
I really struggled to find the perfect pair of shoes. I must have tried on a dozen and loved them all! After much debating, and justifying, I finally made my decision. I have been wanting black leather sneakers for a while, and although they had a mat version, I felt like upping my game with a little patent leather shine! You can catch me wearing these with jeans, dresses and skirts this fall, maybe even to the grocery store. We’ll see how fabulous I am feeling that day!
ECCO SOFT 7 QUILTED TIE
Thank you to Ecco for gifting me these lovely sneakers!
