Chrismukkaholidays

Topshop sweater, Forever 21 pants and necklace, Joe ankle boots

Happy holidays to everyone who might chance upon this blog. Here's a simple outfit I wore to Christmas eve mass and dinner with the family.

New Year's resolution: more blog posts and more detailed blog posts. For now, I have to get back to my holiday break.

Christmas Wish List

It' been a while since my last post. Honestly, I just haven't been very motivated to take pictures or write. It was finals week and then I had my first week of vacation, and I just wanted to spend the time away from an eye-straining screen and a keyboard.

I know it's a little late for a Christmas wish list, but I thought I'd share it anyway. I got most of the things I wished for this year, thanks to my own hard work and perseverance (heh) and my loving friends and family. It's weird, because I had such a difficult time coming up with a wish list. It wasn't that I had a hard time narrowing things down. It's just that it was so hard for me to come up with things I really, really wanted. From no particular order, here's a list of eight things I would love to see under the Christmas tree.

One of these two pairs of boots will most likely be Dan's Christmas gift to me. We haven't gotten each other presents yet because he's been so busy that we agreed to order each other's presents after New Year's, when he gets back to Halifax. The boot on the right is Sorel's Joan of Arctic Winter boot, which is the most practical choice in terms of keeping my toes warm and frostbite free this winter. The boot on the left is the taupe version of Betsey Johnson's suede Daynaa boot. It has scalloped edges, an optional fold over style, and a Marilyn Monroe print on the bottom of the shoe. 

The next two things on my list are bath and skincare stuff. For months now, I've been trying to make the shift to more natural bath and skincare products. I now only use sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner and Lush moisturizer. Speaking of Lush, a few nights ago I took a bath with the Comforter bubble bar, and it reminded me of Lush's awesome bath bombs and bubble bars. I take showers more often, so a Lush bath to me feels like an in-home spa experience every time. For soaps, I recommend Honey I Washed the Kids and Alkmaar, for bath bombs, I recommend Butterball and Twilight, and for bubble bars, the Comforter. Recently, I got a sample of the Josie Maran Argan Oil from Sephora and I love what it did for my dry skin. For almost $15 for a 0.5oz bottle, I figured there had to be a cheaper alternative. I found the site natural.ca which sells natural, organic, and local skincare products. My first order will probably be the Skin Management Program and a generous bottle of their Argan oil. 

MAC's Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium because my dry skin loves it and I'm almost out, and Roots wool socks because they are the socks of your typical Canadian (I'd wear these for luck during my family's citizenship test) and they look super warm. 

Now we're talking the more expensive things on the wish list - things I would not feel comfortable having people buy for me. On the left is Dannijo's Hixson necklace, a gorgeous silver plated peter pan collar necklace adorned with colourful Swarovski crystals. To be honest, I would take anything from Dannijo because they're tough, man-repeller-inspired jewelry is right up my alley. On the right, we have Soia & Kyo's Collette Toggle Coat, a camel-coloured pea coat with fur trim and roomy pockets (I love pockets). This isn't necessarily the coat I want as it was the first thing that caught my eye when I searched for wool toggle coats. A toggle coat in navy or camel with wood and leather details would be absolute perfection. Link me if you've seen something similar to what I've described. 

Sneakerhead

I am definitely not a sneakerhead. I do not collect fresh kicks - classic Jordans and multi-coloured Dunks. For years, the only pairs of shoes I've had remotely close to a sneaker were my pairs of black and cream Chuck Taylors and a pair of generic white plimsolls. This past summer, I was browsing through Fashiontoast when I saw Rumi Neely sporting a pair of Isabel Marant's Bobby sneakers - I fell in love. They were a simple colour, pretty nostalgic in design, and they looked super comfy too. As with the Dicker boots, these sneakers were way outside my budget so I settled on fawning over them online.

The day after I saw that blog post, I was walking around Georgetown in D.C. and I decided to check out H&M. I remember finding a black sweater with a kelly green peter pan collar, and I remember thinking that was the only thing I was going to buy (I just came from a whole week's worth of shopping in Boston and New York). Then, I found this pair of beige sneakers up on the shelf and I thought: neutral colour, suede material, nostalgic design = H&M's version of the sneaker. I took it off the shelf and brought it with me to the counter - the rest is history.

Sneakers from H&M

True story: every time I wear them I feel like I have tons of street cred.

Your-Grandmother's-Couch-Leggings as Pants

Structure wool sweater from mom's closet, printed leggings from Aldo Accessories, Ecote Leather Chelsea Boots from Urban Outfitters, bracelets from H&M and Forever 21, Michael Kors watch

Just a quick outfit post to say hello and show you that I have other shoes besides my Aldo suede boots. I've been rushing through the process of getting ready the because of the three-week stretch of midterms, papers, and seminar presentations for school. I am a procrastinator by nature so it's not a strange sight to see me working on my review notes 10 minutes before my bus leaves, and going through those review notes as I'm on the bus. Strangely enough, I don't like cramming in information as I'm sitting in class waiting for the professor to hand out the test. Besides trying to keep calm, I have this fear that those last bits of information will wipe out everything else I studied the night before. Is that weird? One thing I can't give up in the morning though is breakfast. I can forego makeup and outfit planning; but I can never skip on food.

Today was no different in terms of getting ready. I pulled out this old, pilling pair of leggings from Aldo, grabbed a shapeless black sweater from my mom's closet, and finished it off with my pair of go-to Chelsea boots. Quick story about these boots - I saw them on the UO website a few months ago and wanted to purchase them but $20 shipping was really discouraging. UO has a number of shops throughout Canada but nowhere near where I live, so I think it's fair to say that $20 for shipping is absolutely ridiculous. Knowing that I was going to the States in August, I waited it out and went through two stores in Boston until I found this particular pair. The wait was worth it because they were marked $20 off!

Ecote Leather Chelsea Boots from Urban Outfitters

They're just the perfect go-to pair of shoes for fall. They go with absolutely everything, they are super comfortable, and so easy to pull on. I know this is the first time I'm showing them on my blog but I literally wear these three times a week because they never fail to add a little androgyny to any outfit.

Happy Halloween?

I think my next post will be on hair and how to cut your own bangs. I've been putting my hair up in these topknots lately because my bangs are now so long that if I leave it down, I look like a bruha. What do you, guys, think? Should I venture into hair tutorials?

Ilyana

Plato of Fashion

The return of the only shoes I wear, at least according to my blog.

Sorry about not posting regularly and not having an outfit post in over two weeks. I told you in my first post that I was going to be a really awful blogger - no shame there. To be honest, I've just been really busy with 18 credits of university courses, midterms and papers, and topped off with an average of 20 hours of work a week. I know there are tons of people out there who have less time, but blogging is not my full-time job (yet); I haven't been able to steal Rumi Neely's life, ok?

As soon as I finished my African Politics midterm, I felt like throwing my fist in the air and walking with the kind of swag you'd find in a John Hughes film. It almost makes me wish I had worn plaid and a leather arm band today. I rocked that midterm so hard, so I told myself I'd find the time to make an outfit post as soon as I'd get home. 

So here goes outfit post:

Topshop sweater, Levi's jeans, Aldo Qualheim boots

The clothes I've been gravitating towards have been comfortable fall pieces: oversized sweaters, ankle boots, and lots of slim-fitting bottoms. Most days, I would throw on a massive knit scarf or load up on layers, but today I thought to keep things simple. If any outfit can sum up my philosophy on Fashion (I'm like the Plato of fashion over here), it would be this one. My philosophy on fashion is not to take it seriously; there's no need to take too much of an effort getting dressed and lastly, wear what's comfortable. Comfort is my numero uno necessity; that's why I've given up on strapless shit because flat-chested girls like me will never be comfortable in a tube top (if you have any tricks that don't involve duct tape, let me know through the comments). There are far more important things out there for me to spend a ton of time ruminating on what goes with what and what this blogger says about this trend. I prefer to enjoy fashion and not really think about it - kind of like a cheeseburger. 

Comfort for me is throwing on a loose sweater, pulling on a pair of trusty dark denim, and wearing comfortable shoes. Normally, I would go for flat shoes but these ones are quite easy to walk in and they make me taller so it all balances out in the end. Wood heels are really frakking noisy though.

Love, self-declared Plato of Fashion. But now that I think about it, I might be more of a Descartes. 

 

I hope my face didn't scare you there.

The Confused Look

See the little bits of ombre in my hair?

What I wore on Thursday to school and to my friend, Sam's, birthday dinner. We had the usual Thursday-night tradition of having wings at Your Father's Moustache; then we headed down to Seahorse Tavern to watch and dance to The Mellotones. It was a really gloomy day (bad day to wear suede, but I was so stoked on wearing them), but nothing good company can't fix.

And just for the sake of recording really sappy moments in my life, I just want to share something with my lovely readers (cue crickets). We were walking to the car when I realized I had to cross about six feet of wet grass to get to the passenger side. Normally, I wouldn't care about getting my shoes wet and muddy because leather and canvas are pretty low-maintenance. But these were new, suede shoes! Forgive me, just this once, for being a prissy princess. I guess Dan noticed my hesitation, which was really me trying to figure out some ninja-like way to get across without slamming my face into the car door. He was about to pick me up bridal style and carry me across, which would have been such a swoon-worthy moment in a Ryan Gosling movie, but a really embarrassing one in real life. Instead, I jumped on his back (I'm gonna be your backpack!) and he carried me to the car. It pays to have a boy best friend (BBF - ha) who's super practical when it comes to fashion that he chooses to wear military boots 300 days of the year just because he thinks it's practical to have shoes rugged enough to kick someone's face in. We couldn't be any more different, but that's why we get along so well.

My first official picture with braces.

Forever 21 shirt, Polo by Ralph Lauren sweater, DIY Levi's cut-offs, Aldo Qualheim boots, H&M bracelet, Michael Kors watch

These Aldo Qualheim boots must have been inspired by the much-coveted Isabel Marant Dicker boots. 

Here Comes the Sun

Hello, blog, it's been a while but I  haven't abandoned you yet. School has been extremely generous with this semester's workload so I've been focusing a little more of my time on that rather than working on my social networking skills. I wish I could take a picture of what I'm wearing every day but unfortunately, that isn't feasible when I'm always scrambling to catch public transit. I need better time management skills in the morning, but then again, who doesn't?

Halifax has got weird weather so it's no surprise that we have a week of cold, gloomy rain and then three days of 30-degree sunshine. We are a 'weather city' which is, basically, a city plagued with such diverse weather patterns that it has inevitably defined Halifax' version of 'small talk'. Anyway, I thought I'd share today's outfit with my 956 billion readers (times zero). The sun gave me a chance to wear one of my favourite purchases this summer which were these red, high-waisted shorts from Forever 21.

H&M black knit cardigan, The Beatles shirt from Urban Outfitters, Forever 21 red high-waisted shorts, Nine West sandals, Joe Fresh leather woven belt, accessories from H&M and Forever 21, Michael Kors watch

Ignore the stupid pose. I was trying to be cute by pointing out the kawaii-ness of my Japanese/Korean-inspired bun. Fact: if I leave my hair like this for too long, I get headaches.

I got this shirt from the Men's side of UO's sale section.

These shorts make my torso look about 2 inches tall but I still love them.

True story: my favourite Beatle was Ringo Starr before Summer from (500) Days of Summer said she loved Ringo because nobody loved him. I'm not entirely sure what the response was from self-proclaimed manic pixie dream girls all over the world, but I'm sure a proportion of them began posting his pictures all over tumblr, exclaiming that he was always their favourite, thus making them pretty much identical to Zooey Deschanel (Katy Perry's twin sister). Uh, no. Ringo has been my favourite Beatle since I first watched A Hard Day's Night and witnessed several accounts of name-calling and bullying from his fellow bandmates. Ever since I was little, I've felt for the underdog (why do you think Mighty Ducks 1&2 are two of my top ten most seen movies ever?) so naturally I felt for Ringo. I'm not saying I'm the only person who's allowed to have this opinion, or the only person who's ever thought of it before. I just think some overrated character in a fictional, hipster movie should not be given credit for all this Ringo pity-love. /rant.

This is the part where my friends laugh at me and call me a hipster.

Nine West sandals

...And this is the part where I show you my feet. I don't know. You can't be a hipster if you're not in denial.

Isabel Marant Dicker Boots and Possible Alternatives

So, for a while now I have been enamored by the well-regarded Isabel Marant Dicker boots, particularly the one in taupe. Sadly, they are way above a university student's budget, especially a university student who's not bright enough to get some rich dude (or daddy) to pay for her tuition, so I scoured the internet looking for a more affordable alternative. The entire summer, I researched and came across a few that are currently featured in the Piperlime website. Some of these replica inspired booties include Report Marks Boot, Steve Madden Pembrook Boot, and the Dolce Vita Jamison Boot. All three boots are between $109-129 which is a steal compared to the $615 Isabel Marant boots. Of course, you're paying for quality (sage suede and Cuban heel, probably chopped off a Cuban tree by Castro himself) and brand name. But at those price points, the Piperlime boots aren't so bad because the material is still suede and the heels are still made of wood so I definitely think these are great options for more practical and cash-strapped girls like me.

Isabel Marant Dicker Boots (source: net-a-porter.com)

Yay! I found great alternatives to the ideal fall shoe. But, there was a problem. I had finally settled on either the Report or Steve Madden boot because I preferred their more narrow and feminine construction. The problem was they were out of my size and half-sizes up and down. The earliest they could ship either one was October 24th which is over a month from now. I can't wait because I am so terribly impatient and because Nova Scotia's seasons can change at any given moment. Basically, I have now until the end of October to frolic in the midst of warm-coloured foliage; thus it would be totally pointless to get my fall boots at the end of fall. You see what I'm getting at? So, I needed to find a new alternative.

I decided to check out Aldo. I figured Aldo offered free shipping, which is sort of a rarity in Canada, and they often release collections of trendy shoes so they must have something similar. I did find something similar in terms of shape, but not exactly in terms of color. This wasn't really a problem because the reason I liked the Dicker boots in the first place was because of the shape and overall construction of the boot. I love the dip at the front, which is super flattering on skinny ankles - at least from what I've seen. It has that cowboy boot effect without going all out yee-haw, if you know what I mean.

Aldo Qualheim Boots (source: aldoshoes.com)

Anyway, back to the Aldo boots, I found the Aldo Qualheim which comes in either cognac or black. Unfortunately for fans of the black Dicker boots, Aldo was being stupid and decided to paint the wood heel black instead of leaving it be. Had they left the woodstacked heel untouched, it would have been nearly identical. However, the Cognac ones look awesome and the stitching looks very similar to the ones offered on Piperlime. It's also the cheapest at $100, and even cheaper when I used a 15% off coupon. Sure, the colour isn't exactly the same but I love how it looks on the screen and who knows, maybe there's an off chance it looks lighter in real life. We'll see when I get it and then I'll post pictures for comparison. I already have a number of possible outfits incorporating these new babies, and because of that I couldn't be more excited to welcome the fall season.

What's your go-to shoe this season?