Showing posts with label FASHION. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FASHION. Show all posts
THE BIRTHDAY EDIT | 23
Happy Monday! It's my birthday! Yup, I am officially twenty-three (and unable to explain how I feel about that, for more reasons than a blink-182 song).
When I sat down to write this blog post, I really had no idea what I wanted to write about. I'm literally sitting here with writer's block. I guess in some ways, 23 is a big number for me. It signifies five years of living in Toronto, in which I feel like more has happened to me in my life than my 18 years in Calgary. It's just hard to put into perspective I suppose.
Since I literally can't think of how I feel being a year older, and inn honour of my birthday, I want to talk about twenty three things that are in some way important to me since being in Toronto.
- Moving from suburban Calgary to completely different downtown Toronto.
- Building self-confidence (which I am still working on now).
- Attending Ryerson University's Fashion Program.
- Graduating from Ryerson University's Fashion Program.
- Trying (and failing several times) Tinder dating.
- Starting a DIY Youtube channel.
- Exploring new places for the first time in Toronto, most of which are some of my favourite places in Toronto.
- Living with roommates; doing the whole renting thing.
- Flying out to PEI for a few days, a dream come true!
- Starting a beauty blog on Tumblr, which led to this permanent blog.
- Attending my first PR event with so many amazing #Girlbosses.
- Being introduced to craft beer at Sin and Redemption on Dundas West.
- Taking runs along the Don Valley trail.
- Having lattes at Dark Horse, many lattes.
- Getting out of the whole roommate thing and moving into my own apartment.
- Teaching little kids how to sew.
- Hosting "Orphan Thanksgiving" dinners.
- Spending nights playing pool, dancing, and listening to live music with pints of Guinness.
- Working at trade shows and learning the small business side of things.
- Getting my first "real" tattoo on Queen East.
- Playing board games at Snakes & Lattes.
- Getting thrifty at Black Market and Value Village.
- Finding the person who feels like home for me.
I don't do them very often, but I hope you enjoyed this more personal blog post.
xoxo,
Nancy
3 THINGS THAT I'VE LEARNED SINCE I STARTED BLOGGING | 2 YEARS
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| BOTTOMS // FOREVER 21 |
2 years... I've lived in Toronto for almost five years now, and as much as my life has changed since I moved from the west, the past two years have been so incredible and while many things have happened throughout the years, I attribute a lot of the change to the blogging community. I have technically been blogging since 2009, starting with a food blog, and a half-assed fashion blog, and then a beauty/DIY blog on Tumblr which I kept during my Youtube days. Finally, I decided to settle on this little self-named blog in June 2015. So to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of this blog, I thought I'd recap a little bit of my blogging journey and how things have changed since I started blogging.
BEING MISUNDERSTOOD BY OLD FRIENDS
It's true that in my two years of blogging, there's been a shift in focus of my everyday priorities and lifestyles. Even though I don't hyper-publicize my life on social media, what you see on Instagram is definitely different from how I am with my circle of close friends.I've often found myself standing up in the restaurant to take a picture of my food, or take several shots of my coffee to get the right angle and I'm aware of how it may make my company uncomfortable or even embarrassed because it really isn't normal for them.
However, I am also grateful that I have friends who while may not blog or be an "Instagrammer", they understand and just get it. In addition to that, I have also made friends with people who share similar interests in content production which is also amazing.
One thing I am constantly trying to balance is my relationships with my main core group of friends and the new ones I have made as a result of blogging. I never want my core group to misinterpret and feel like I'm leaving them behind for new friends. I have such supportive friends though, and even though it may not be of interest for them to understand the life and behaviours of a content creator, I am just grateful that they see that I am still the same person I was before blogging and social media.
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| TOP & PURSE // OLD NAVY |
THE PRESSURE OF TESTING OUT BEAUTY PRODUCTS
One thing my other fellow bloggers will totally relate to me with is the pressure of loving and testing out products. Especially when you have a backlog of products that you need to photograph before trying out, then testing the product for a decent amount of time to form an opinion, writing a blog post and editing photos, and then ultimately moving onto the next product on your list even if you did like the first product because you have to keep testing and writing.Sometimes I get a bit burnt out because it's a constant cycle of trying out new products and listing what I like and don't like about it, but at the end of the day, I will keep going because I know somewhere out there, someone is looking for information on a product and my blog post might help them out!
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| SHOES: JUSTFAB // MIN $39.95 |
INSTAGRAMMABLE MOMENTS
Something I've realized is how I've started assigning a value to every moment in regards to how "Instagram Worthy" it is.
Examples: Making an effort to go to restaurants with cute floors and cute decor, taking a flatlay with my freshly ordered latte before all of the foam disappears, posing casually but not so casually for a cool pic of my outfit (the photos in this blog post say it all)...
My favourite moment this year thus far has been me waking up to make a turmeric latte, then proceeding to find a cute quote on my phone, the right magazine page for a flatlay, and rearranging my bed sheets to make it look like I had "just woken up" and am now reading a magazine while sipping on my latte. Reality: My boyfriend hovered above me with his phone taking several different shots of me holding my latte different ways with half of my body off the bed. The L-O-L moment was when I spilled my yellow latte all over the sheets. Yup, fun times!
I've also come to terms with what I like to share with all of my followers, and what I would like to share privately, predominately with my friends who aren't in the blogging industry. I love having a public space to share my creative work, and a private Instagram account to share my more intimate and personal events with those who know me best.
As much as I love my Instagrammable moments, I also love to enjoy my experiences wholeheartedly, so instead of fussing over how the food isn't arranged aesthetically or how that was a missed opportunity for a photo, I've learned to just let it go. The right moment will come again, and for the time being, I can just turn off that feeling of whether or not that photo would be great for Instagram and enjoy my time.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my little blogging journey! It's been a blast, and I can't wait to see what year three has in store.
- Nancy
THE END OF TORONTO FASHION WEEK
Last Thursday, it was announced that IMG has pulled out of funding for Toronto Fashion Week and thus, TFW organizers have decided to cancel the semi-annual event. This initially came as a shock to me however, I can't say I was sad to see the event come to an end. I feel like us designers, bloggers, and industry insiders have pretty strong opinions on the demise of Toronto Fashion Week, so I would really like to take the time to give my two cents on this news.
I feel like at times, Fashion Week in Toronto was more about being "seen" than what was truly important about the show - the clothes. Many have said that the event never felt serious, like a place for business, but it felt more like a nightclub. It became more of a vanity fair for attendees rather than an event celebrating Canadian talent. Overall, the idea of "Fashion Week" doesn't work in our industry anymore. People don't want to wait six months to be able to purchase something. They want it now. So, many designers are now showing fall collections in the fall, and spring collections in the spring. Really, in this day and age, it just makes sense.
The Canadian fashion is a small industry and yes, we are consistently growing, but our Fashion Week should reflect that instead of being overshadowed by major corporate sponsorships that do not reflect what fashion in Canada is about. While the fashion industry can certainly be glamorous, at the end of the day, it is a business, and events such as Toronto Fashion Week need to become more retail-friendly and less "social".
That's not to say that it wasn't a great event for exposure for designers and models, but from a business point of view, the show always came after a buying season, so to me, it's hard to see what the real benefits for designers was - this is especially true for the small and independent ones. Aside from the ones in Toronto, not many international media outlets were being brought in for Toronto Fashion Week. When you compare it to other Fashion Weeks for example, Fashion Week in Toronto has remained at a stand-still for many seasons now. Other weeks around the world have evolved to include a shop-able element into the runway, which has made the shows more about sales than exposure, and especially for Canada's small fashion market, us designers need to be able to reach the consumers directly.
I feel like it is events like what Toronto Fashion Week became that gives the fashion industry a bad rep. There are so many logistical factors at hand, and fashion in Toronto is so much more than parties and expensive clothing. The focus of Toronto Fashion Week moved from what was inside the tents to the street style and events hosted by corporate sponsors, all at the expense of the designers. Overall, I do see why IMG decided to pull out of funding... after all, there is a lack of support from the province and city and the reality is, why would an American company invest in the Canadian fashion industry when it is already so difficult to get Canadians to care about Canadian fashion?
I don't believe this is the end for fashion in Toronto at all. For years now there have been so many organizations that truly care about Toronto fashion and the talent that so prevelant in this great city. There is Fashion Art Toronto, Fashion Takes Action... just to name a few. I truly feel like Toronto's fashion community is strong and supportive, and with the end of TFW, designers will no longer be overshadowed by events that don't reflect fashion in Toronto. I have the utmost confidence that the Toronto fashion industry will come together to make the Canadian fashion industry thrive on culture and talent.
What were your opinions upon hearing of the end of TFW? I would love to read your thoughts and leave this open for a discussion between industry insiders as well as people outside of the industry.
Cheers!
Nancy
TOM FW 2015 - S/S 2016
I had the pleasure of attending Philippe Dubuc's show at Toronto Men's Fashion Week at 444 Yonge Street - College Park. Here are some photos from the night!
I finally got to put my little black dress to use and had a lot of fun attending alongside my friends and other fashion insiders. It was a great experience but my only regret was not having more time to attend more shows.
I'm really looking forward to Toronto Fashion Week as well as Fashion on Yonge when it comes, and I hope I'll have time to attend those events!
Cheers!
Nancy
5 REASONS FOR THE LEATHER JACKET
It is no secret that I love my leather jacket; my $15.00, trade-in leather jacket from one of Toronto's Kind Exchange stores. With autumn soon approaching, I'm so excited to bust out my #badass jacket again and wear it 24/7 (ok not 24/7, but you know what I mean).
Here are five reasons as to why I think everyone should own a leather jacket:
- It is extremely versatile: You can wear a leather jacket with just about anything. Picture it over a white t-shirt and ripped jeans, over a little black dress, with sneakers, heels, boots, it works with everything!
- It is a wardrobe staple: Seriously, a leather jacket will last you years and it's one of those pieces that everybody needs in their wardrobe (like a blazer, a nice pair of jeans, etc).
- It gets better with time: If you're purchasing a new leather jacket, it'll have that clean and crisp look, but the more you wear it, the better it will get. Over time the leather will soften, and just like a pair of Converse shoes, your leather jacket will reflect you.
- It is quintessentially BADASS: Whether you associate it with rock and roll, metal heads in mosh pits, or trendy fashion bloggers on the web, there is something about a leather jacket that just makes everyone look that little bit more badass when they wear one.
- It is timeless and sexy: On both men and women, a leather jacket is timeless and makes everyone look ten times sexier (think James Dean in the 50s). This might be a personal thing, but although I find men in suits extremely attractive (who doesn't?), there is just something different about a man who can make the leather jacket work so effortlessly.
And you don't need to invest in a $300 leather jacket. Faux jackets are awesome, especially with styles changing every season, but you can definitely find a nice jacket at a thrift store or consignment shop for less than half the price of a new one.
I hope I've convinced you to hop on the leather jacket bandwagon with these five points!
Cheers!
Nancy
BEACH DAYS
I've never considered myself a beach person, but this summer, I have really tried to make an effort to go to the beach more. After all, I live so close to the Toronto Beaches and considering this may be the last summer I'm going to be so close to the water, I figured, why not?
This summer I finally purchased a swimsuit (can you believe the last time I went swimming was five years ago?), cute sandals, and I've even got a little bit of a tan going on. I should also mention that even my swimsuit reflects my monochrome fashion sense (I seriously need to get out of black and white clothing).
Just a few more weeks before the water turns cold again! I'm going to use them wisely :)
What are some of your beach essentials?
Cheers,
Nancy
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