Large City Satchel

Khaki blazer by Gap, striped tee by H&M, black tulip skirt by Aritzia, black ankle strap sandals by Sweet Life: Dolce Vita, red leather bag by MBMJ.


My box came today! I ordered this Marc by Marc Jacobs bag off Shopbop (on sale of course) thinking it was medium sized but in person it's so much bigger! The weight on the box was 5lbs. That's a lot of leather. The color is gorgeous and just what I wanted for spring/ summer. Still unsure about the size though... To keep or not to keep?

::: Nathalie

Lookbook: Elizabeth & James Jewelry Collection

Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen have teamed up with jewelry designer, Robert Lee Morris for their Elizabeth and James collection. The S/S 09 collection has an antique feel with oxidized silver and brass and hearts, cross and snake motif. The Olsen's personalities really comes through in these pieces - I can see them wearing everything in this collection.

I'm particularly drawn to the Dagger Charm bracelet and Pyrite earrings.

::: Nathalie

Casual Monday

MBMJ sunglasses, Joe Fresh striped shirt, Urban Outfitters grey boyfriend cardigan, TNA leggings, Steve Madden leather sandals, L.A.M.B bag in the corner. 

My man and I took Monday off and spent the afternoon at the Distillery District. Just a nice casual Monday.

 

::: Nathalie

Fight the urge

For the 'WTF' files: German ad for a women's online shop.

Huh?

From what I hear, being pregnant wages war on your bladder. So it really doesn't make any sense to make a unitard for those with child, does it?

American Apparel is coming out with a maternity line. Uh...

-Diana

Elle Show 2009

YSL beauty booth, noon fashion show, Adrienne working the Balmshell booth

Diana and I were at the Carlu today for the Elle Show 2009. There were lots of beauty and jewelry booths around. The only fashion were the runway shows at noon and then again at 3:30 pm.  (They were presenting the 3 finalists from Project Runway Canada.) We kept busy chatting with the girls at the Balmshell booth where we both picked up some of their moisturizing lip gloss. I also bought a pretty bracelet at the Echo Jibe booth (first pic on last row).




Chicken sandwich lunch box, Elle goodie bag and luncheon, Nathalie and Diana sporting MBMJ sunglasses

We grabbed our goodie bags and lunch boxes and headed to a coffee shop across the street to eat and drink tea. Mmm...

Those who live here know that it was a beautiful warm, sunny day in Toronto. After lunch we ditched the remainder of the Elle Show and walked around the city for some window shopping. 




Purchases: Echo Jibe bracelet (shown far left), Diana's Marc Jacobs Body Splash in Rain, Nathalie's new Joie top worn with Current/ Elliot jeans and Steve Madden sandals
We stopped by Sherway Gardens on the way home. Diana dragged me to Holts where she bought the Marc Jacobs Body Splash in Rain. (This is kinda cool - the 10 oz. bottle came with an empty purse sized bottle and a funnel to filler up!)  I got a pretty Joie blouse that I've had my eye on all season. It finally went on sale - how could I resist? We combined our receipts and got the $25 gift card from the promo Holts is having this weekend. 

All in all, great afternoon. 

::: Nathalie

Hairs

Toronto Star - April 22, 2009

I think I found my next hair cut! Nicole Ritchie's hair is so pretty, free flowing and natural. Can you believe she's pregnant with her second child in this pic? Crazy!

::: Nathalie

Need A New Closet?

Thanks to Amy for the tip. Will you be applying? 

Klorane Dry Shampoo

I first heard of this product through Diana. At a fraction of the cost of Tigi's Rockaholic dry shampoo ($24 USD), I thought I'd give it a shot.

Klorane's hypo-allergenic dry shampoo really gives the stuff in the salon a run for it's money. Just shake the bottle, spray it onto your greasy roots, let it sit for a couple of minutes and brush it out. Unlike other dry shampoo's the nozzle on this product isn't prone to clogging. Most importantly, it really works and leaves my hair looking clean and shiny without any residue.

I've been guilty of overusing this product and have gone as long as 5 days between washes! The results are always good as long as you don't over spray.

Klorane can be purchased at Shoppers in the hypo-allergenic section for $10 (CND) or at Sephora for $18 (USD). 

::: Nathalie

L'eau d'Awesome

My boyfriend is a pretty nice guy, so for our anniversary he got me a bottle of L'Eau d'Issey Summer. I'm obsessed with the original fragrance and when I saw this at a beauty counter late last month, I sprayed myself incessantly - yet it still didn't make me nauseous.

Part of my job is to write beauty product descriptions, so I kind of laugh when I read copy on websites that's obviously trying too hard. This fragrance is described as a complex scent that "evokes the bright dreamy days of summer with it's enticing hints of colour, enlivening its fresh, transparent impression". Ok - kind of vague, but it's true. I'd go a little further and say that it's the freshest scent I've ever owned, and to me, it smells like the purest water combined with a wide range of subtle florals. Oh, I love this stuff. I know I'm going to run out before the season ends.

-Diana

Well done without the heat

No one wants to look like an oompa loompa, but I see dozens of women who fall to the fate of bad self tanners every year. It's kind of an epidemic really.

Last week showed signs of warmer weather, so I FREAKED out and decided that I needed to nix the tights and bust out the sandals. But first, I needed to prepare. My legs are totally not the same colour as the rest of my body. My face and arms boast a pretty natural almond colour, while my gams are about 3 shades lighter with obvious yellow undertones. I knew that I needed a self tanner, but didn't want to shell out the big bucks - so I dragged Nathalie to the drug store and bought NeoStrata Natural Insta-Tan. The stuff costs roughtly $30 and it rules. After two coats of the stuff, my legs were a nice, toasty colour and a week later, the colour's still there. They say that you should re-apply 1 to 3 times a week to keep the shade in tact. Best of all, this stuff doesn't have a nasty smell. Like all self tanners, you have to make sure you've covered your skin evenly and wash like you have OCD after applying.

-Diana

Compliments of Gilt

Last night was my first time online in a few days. I only had a couple of minutes to quickly check my email before heading to bed. There was a very interesting email waiting for me from Gilt Groupe.

Will from Gilt.com emailed me to say they found my previous blog post expressing my discontent with the fact their website is no longer accepting international credit cards. He explained in further detail that Gilt is ensuring that they provide a safe place for their customers to do business.  

As an avid online shopper, I completely understand why the new policy has taken effect, I always have. The thing that irks me is that I've made previous purchases. Had my card been compromised, I would have already called to complain, but that isn't the case.

Anyhow, Will went on to tell me that within the next six months, Gilt is going to be offering Canadian customers a chance to ship directly here! He apologized for the troubles that I've experienced and acknowledged that it would be months before my next purchase. And so, they are sending me a pair of beautiful Modern Vintage shoes that I had in my shopping cart. Compliments of Gilt Groupe! 

This company is out there, reading what customers are saying about them and taking their comments seriously. It's impressive and incredibly smart of them to do that if they are going to survive in this business. I'm sure they're aware of the massive competition out there and are trying to do whatever possible to stand apart from the rest and hold onto faithful customers. 

It's already working for me. Complimentary shoes aside, it was a happy surprise to find in my inbox. If you read my Club Monaco post, you'll know I'm big into customer service. Why shop at a store that won't even acknowledge their customers complaints. 

Gilt Groupe clearly doesn't fail in that category. They go above and beyond. Well done. I can't wait to see how the next six months unfold. 

This may be asking for the world but hopefully they're able to exchange the shoes for the right size! I accidently put an 8.5 in my shopping cart and that's what was shipped to me. Yikes!

::: Nathalie

Distaste: Gilt Groupe

I've always been very happy with Gilt Groupe but as of today, that changed. I live in Oakville, Ontario and purchase items with my Canadian Mastercard and have orders shipped to my uncles house in the States.

Earlier today I proceeded to checkout with 2 items in my shopping cart, Marc Jacobs trousers for $39 USD and a Trovata buttoned down shirt, $29 USD - birthday presents for my husband. Instead of "Thank you for your order" I get a nasty message saying my order has declined, something about a problem with my shipping address. I'm frantic now about loosing $39 Marc Jacobs trousers so I keep hitting SUBMIT ORDER over and over again. The nasty message gets more detailed and says the address on my credit card doesn't match with my shipping address.

Outraged I dialed the 1-877 number and spoke to a customer service rep that explained I was lucky enough to have made Gilt purchases in the past. Apparently their system was supposed to prohibit international credit cards. Long story short, a few of us got through, Gilt caught on and has now heightened their security. It is completely outrageous to cut of your services to those with international credit cards!

And really, did they have to do it now with all of their crazy final sales going on? Couldn't they have waited another week?! Bastards!!!

::: Nathalie

Project Runway Canada

Sunny won Season 2. YAY!

French Elle April '09

Check out "Stars without makeup" in the April issue of French Elle. Monica Bellucci, Eva Herzigova and Sophie Marceau grace the cover.

-d

Lookbook: Pencey

Pencey is such a fun line and their summer 09 collection is better than ever. The Mickey ears tee in particular is really cute. I've been craving another piece from this line since I purchased the Junk Tee (below) back in January.



::: Nathalie

Happy Easter

To make your own birds nest cupcakes just bake regular cupcakes, ice them, dunk them into shredded coconut and decorate with chocolate eggs. Do this on a freshly iced cupcake and the coconut and eggs will adhere nicely.

Happy Easter from Nathalie and Diana.

Red or Pink?

I just got home from an evening at the mall. My mission - obtaining birthday presents for my husband. Along the way I lost focus and ended up in the womens shoe department at Holts. I tried on these GORGEOUS Tory Burch flats in red.

Talk about love at first sight! Unfortunately, the mall closed before I made my way back. (Probably for the best.) Now I can't stop thinking about how fabulous all of my simple outfits would look with red flats...

But then I saw these on Shopbop (pictured to the right). Should I do red or hibiscus pink? Hmm....

::: Nathalie

The Pain in our Soles

Last month Diana and I took a lovely day off work to do a little bit of shopping in Buffalo. Really we where there for the launch of Alexander McQueen's Target collection which was in fact, not available at that particular Target. Trying to make the best of our 2 hour drive, we headed over to Lord and Taylor, Urban Outfitters and The Cheesecake Factory for an instant pick-me-up.

I scored at Urban where I found these adorable Sweet Life by Dolce Vita sandals for $20 and we both scored at Lord and Taylor. Diana got a pair of classic black Michael Kors leather flats and I bought a pair of brown Michael Kors opened toed heels. We couldn't wait for the first sign of warm weather to wear our new shoes!

That day finally came I was sorely disappointed (pun intended). What seemed like the most comfortable heel in the store, turned into a nightmare after 30 minutes of walking. My toes were so swollen that wearing any shoe afterward hurt. Diana also experienced similar trauma with her flats. She told me about the crippling pain in her feet after an eight hour day at the office.

Why is it so difficult to make comfortable shoes? There's nothing more disappointing than having spent your hard earned cash on a pair of shoes you can't wear. I'll put up with a little bit of pain for gorgeous shoes but there is such a thing as too much. Curse you Michael Kors for having decived us!

::: Nathalie

Lagerfeld And The Recessionista

Fashion mastermind Karl Lagerfeld discusses his latest couture show and his take on the recession in this April's Harper's Bazaar.

"It's healthy. I see the recession as a cleansing tool which will push away bad taste and all this bling bling."

I'm sure a lot of fashionista's haven't quit their shopping ways, but are more conscientious of making the right purchase. "Investment pieces" if you will. In the last few months I certainly haven't been spending as frivolously as in the past. (Sure there have been a few but that's what return policies are for.) Before making such an investment, I think of my fundamental questions - how much wear will I get out of it, can I dress it up or dress it down, is the price really worth it, how many seasons will I get out of it before it needs to be stored away, will it enhance my wardrobe or will I have to buy other pieces to make it work and finally, do I really love it? The latter is really important because when you look at that yellow leather Kate Spade clutch purchased 5 years prior, it'll still make you smile and you'll always find a reason to wear it.

I wish half the ladies in my office followed Lagerfeld's advice. I'll tell you, working at the head office of a major coffee franchise is not a very fashionable place. I wonder if I could sneak some of Lagerfeld's wisdom in the next company newsletter. Wouldn't that be a riot?!

::: Nathalie

man, you gotta love french vogue.

as much as i dig the american version, you'll never see shoots like the one patrick demarchelier did in this months' issue.

smoking models who neglect motherhood? totally taboo, ridiculously awesome. i know i'm not the only one who thinks so.

mad props to carine roitfeld.

-d