In the dead of Winter

Hey kids,

Mid-February is the worst. It's cold, it's windy, it's dry outside, and your hair is permanently frizzy from all the layers of knitwear you've draped yourself in. Also, the sun is only out for so long. It is truly awful.

We come close to the breaking point at this time because everything seems just to suck. Taxes come due, students are inevitably assigned homework for the "break" and chances are a groundhog told you there's one more month of this to go. Whooo Hooo...
If you're anything like me, double up your homework with self-care. Below I'll share with you what me and some of my friends do. Please feel free to give me some tips because I've had dry lips for two weeks now.

Before we go forward, please note I personally have oily blemish prone skin so what works for me might not always work for someone with dryer skin.

Hair:
This one is easy, but requires patience and some trial and error. Last year, I stopped using shampoos with Sulfates, it really made a huge difference. The cons are that I had to wash my long hair more often, and it took me a while to figure out which brand would work best for me. I also had to deal with some temperamental hair while my scalp was adjusting to the change. Overall I think it was worth it, I find my hair shiny and soft and uniform.

A tip for using conditioner, leave it in for a few minutes and rinse it out with cold water, this seals the cuticle.

I also tend to use a tiny bit of oil on the ends of my hair, and I blow dry as little as possible. When you dry, try using a clean t-shirt, there are fewer fibers to pull on the cuticles. Another method I've recently heard about it is leaving the hair wrapped and undisturbed until dry.

You can also take the oil, heat it up a bit and apply it to the hair before you wash for a total root to tip treatment.

Skin:
Avoid hot showers, this actually strips your skin of moisture, but you probably already knew that.

Take baths with a bit of olive oil, oatmeal or baking soda into them to help the body retain moisture. (Thanks for the tip Kiran)

Use lotions, the unscented kinds, if you read the ingredients label you will probably see alcohol as an ingredient. Alcohol dries out the skin so avoid it. Go one step further put some generously on your hands and feet before sleeping. Put on knit socks and those thin dollar store gloves to help retain the moisture while opening up the pores with added heat.

Face:
I sometimes substitute make-up remover with olive oil. Yes, you read that right. I do it because it adds hydration, but the molecules in olive oil are too big to clog pores. It doesn't hurt that it's cheaper than most brands.
There's also an egg mask you can do that I like. To do that, you break an egg and separate the white from the yolk, put a layer of egg white on your face and let it dry completely. Wash it off and do the same with the yolk. My skin always feels softer and more balanced after I do this. Just note that you won't need to use the entire egg so you can separate enough to fill a tablespoon and prepare the rest. I make scrambled eggs.

Adding honey to your face masks can also help if you have breakouts.

Above all drink plenty of water. Can't stress that one enough and I'm guilty of not doing it, I'm paying for that with my chapped lips.

I hope you found something here useful. If you know any remedies, please feel free to share them here!

Take care!

An Ode to LeChateau

Hello everyone,

This week I'm going to be writing a bit of a story about my relationship with Le Chateau.

When I was a little girl, I would spend the weekends with my aunt, uncle, and grandma. My aunt read magazines full of beautiful, graceful women who posed in gardens and beautiful rooms. I would sit along side her and flip through the glossy pages with perfectly decorated rooms and beautifully laid out images. They looked so put together; I idealized them. I couldn't wait until I was old enough to wear those clothes.

Their house always had the radio playing somewhere in the house. I sometimes remember sitting by myself upstairs listening to music while drawing. I'd hear club music (MC Mario's Mix Down, anyone?). I thought the music was so cool, and it was. The music was so different compared to the Celine Dion and folk music I heard at home. My parents were trying to figure out their life in Canada.

Enter puberty. I was listening to a mish-mash of music and looking at a lot of fashion magazines. One day, close to my 13th (I think) birthday, my aunt sat me down and told me.

"You're getting older and I can't buy you things without worrying if you'll like them or not."

My aunt would always dote on me and my brother because she didn't have any kids of her own, she took gifting occasions pretty seriously. The solution to her problem was to take me shopping and have me choose my own clothes.

We went to Polo Park Shopping Center and walking up to the Le Chateau I could hear that baseline.

*baseline noises that I can't figure out how to spell, so think of something like a person who is beatboxing, but very simply*

What was this magical place? I was intrigued by the blue lights and the rows and rows of clothes seen from just outside the glass doors, so we went inside.

Did anyone remember the girls' section Junior Girl? THAT WAS MY JAM. For a while, I was buying everything from there. It was just so different from the kid's clothes and my brothers hand-me-downs I was so used to wearing. It was also the closest I'd be able to get to the outfits in the magazines. Yes, Junior Girl was my jam. I remember my aunt bought me a maroon knit suit and I wore that everywhere, even with the zip up blazer, oh yes I did.

One year for Christmas I received a pair of heavy satin pants with a tie up closure, it was very Britney Spears. I wore those pants with a pale pink knit sweater for grade 7 picture-day. My grade 8 grad dress was from there too. I wasn't feeling the tooth fairy looking satin dresses that seemed to wrinkle as soon as they touched your body. I opted for a black large floral patterned halter dress with an asymmetrical hemline and slit, purchased at Le Chateau.

Practically every birthday I would get a party shirt and a pair of jeans. I would almost only wear jeans from Le Chateau. They fit me the best. My first suits came from Le Chateau, I still have my favourite, it was a boot cut pant with a beautifully structured jacket made of black fabric with a damask print embossed. Thankfully, I remained (for the most part) the same size and can still wear it every now and again.

I couldn't imagine what it would be like to no longer have this Canadian fashion powerhouse sitting in my local mall. This store shaped my style, and it remains a big part of my growth into adulthood. I hope that this store survives while the American brands continue to expand their businesses here. Le Chateau is essential to the Canadian fashion industry and I really don't want it to disappear.


Have a good weekend.

Cancer Couture

Hi Everyone,

February is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month and this year, it hits closer to home. In mid-December, my close friend received a cancer diagnosis and emergency tumor removal surgery all within a two-week timeline. Needless to say things have been shaken up, and unfortunately I haven't been able to be more available to her. But we can only do what we can.

While poking around on the net, I found a story about a Canadian woman who created a line of couture gowns based on the patterns the cells make under a microscope.

Jaqueline Firkins teaches costume design at the University of British Columbia. She created the gowns after seeing a few of her friends go through the process. I've compiled screenshots from the UBC website.

Click here for Firkins' works along with the description of each dress and the cell that inspired it

This is the complete collection. The gown that introduced me to the collection was the dark green gown third from the right. The second was the strapless red taffeta dress. I thought the entire collection was a beautiful throwback to the 50s with the tea length skirts and bodices.

There isn't a lot of artistic licence taken when it comes to how the cells translate to the fabric. They are pretty true to cell. On the site, you can see a side by side comparison of the slides and the details. It's also pretty amazing that they used students to model the dresses.

This is the Brain Invasion Dress. 

This is a textile representation of what happens when healthy brain cells (model's right) meet cancer cells (model's left). This is my favourite one of the bunch.

This project did something small for something so big it affects more and more of us. I watched the video of the fundraising Gala where these dresses were auctioned, and Global BC's Sophie Lui had the perfect description for the whole thing. 

"With fashion we're not curing anyone, we're not necessarily treating anyone, we're trying to take something and make it beautiful and make it ours." 

All dresses were auctioned off and the money collected was donated to the Canadian Cancer Society. I urge you to donate if you find yourself with a few extra dollars this month. 

Have a great weekend.

Freshening up your precious footwear

Hope you're all enjoying this lovely Friday.

It's beautiful here where I am, and the sun is out, it's warm, and that's a great thing because it means you can wear your fall booties!

Here's a tip when it comes to footwear and warm winter weather: CLEAN AND PROTECT YOUR SHOES.

Seriously, it keeps your shoes looking fresh and new. Just like people, when you take care, your shoes will last much longer and look ten times better. Besides, shoes are so wonderful because it's like having a pair of fine art sculptures adorning your feet. Why wouldn't you want to protect and maintain that?

We all have those small insignificant worries that nag at us. Mine is shoe maintenance, in fact, it's usually the thing I do when I want to procrastinate or have nothing else to do on a rainy day. So I'm going to outline what you'll need and how you should go about cleaning your shoes. 

(I'm planning to do this on Sunday morning so I'll upload pictures to go along with everything in an updated post)

When I do this, I usually do this with multiple pairs at once just because I don't want to do this all that often. This is a great thing to do while listening to a podcast or audiobook.

Before you start, this process is not for all shoes. Stick with wiping away dirt with a soft rag for shoes with a metallic or vinyl material. Always make sure your products are synthetic safe before using them on your synthetic materials.

Step 1) 

Get your materials ready! 

I like to keep mine altogether in an old shopping bag or something, it's just easier. I pretty much just pick up a bottle of Tana all protector when I'm at a shoe store (usually Town Shoes).

Step 2)

Put down paper towels or a few scraps of newspaper, something to protect the surface you're working on. Make sure your space is well ventilated, there will be a gross chemical smell.

Step 3)

Prep your shoes! Wipe them off with a lightly damp rag or paper towel to get rid of any built up product. If the shoe is suede, use an old toothbrush to gently brush away dirt, or if you have a fancy-shmancy suede brush, use that. If you have a lovely pair of shoes made of Nubuck I would recommend getting an actual Nubuck/Suede cleaning brush to maintain the integrity of the material.

Optional step 1)

There's a cleaner that you can get for the inside sole of your shoes. I can't recommend it enough for your flats and sandals (or any other shoe worn without a sock). 

I'm not sure what it's called at the moment, but I'll update this post with the name as soon as I find it.

Optional step 2)

Polish the shoes. Make those beauties shine again by either covering them in a polish that matches or using an unscented, dye-free body lotion (fun fact: you can use this lotion to freshen up your leather jackets too). Just make sure you leave them for a few hours to totally dry, so go do something else for a while.

Step 4)

Spray the protectant over the shoe, it should be enough to cover them entirely so that there's a bit of shine to them. Leave your babies to air-dry preferably overnight.

Step 5)

Wear them without fear or ruining them.

Hope you learned something helpful to you. Let me know if there's anything you would do differently or if you have your own tips to share.

Have a great weekend!

Looking for Leather?

If you are looking for a good quality leather bag, or any leather item, make sure you check out Danier Leather. 

Right now the Canadian retailer is having a 50% off sale on all bags (ladies or gentlemen). They've got some very attractive briefcases. In particular, a beautiful leather duffle bag called the Avi Duffle caught my eye.

In addition to this they've also got sales throughout the stores ranging between 50-70%.

Happy Shopping!

Brrr Sale at the Le Chateau Outlet

I just wanted to take a minute to let you know there are tones of winter items on sale up to 80% off and free shipping on orders over $75 on the Le Chateau website.

There are a few great sweaters if you're into angora blends. A lot of dresses to be combed over from work to formal. 

I actually loved the casual day dresses they have on sale. It was hard not to buy anything but I've made myself promise not to buy anything unless I had something to discard.

Click here to check out the sale, there's a lovely camel coat in the mix too.

Happy Sunday!

Hello!

Happy New Year Dear Readers!

I'm going to start the year off with a quick post holiday update and some housekeeping (blogkeeping?).

I ended 2014 with some sad news. One of my brother's friends had passed away suddenly and it caught us all off guard in one of those but-we-just-saw-him kind of ways. A week before my finals my best friend had, in an incredibly short time, been diagnosed with cervical cancer and went for surgery to remove the tumour. On top of this my grandmother, (Mother's side) who doesn't live in Canada, fell and broke her hand while on the phone with us on Christmas Day.

On New Years Eve I was a little bit sick and decided to stay in and from 11P.M. to about 12:30A.M. the power went out. It was a really great experience. The house was dark, my dog was calm and I drank a German sparkling wine via candlelight (oooohh so romantic eh?). My phone was dead within minutes and my computer followed suit while I was writing a short story.

I did have a few evenings to rest and accomplish a few things. While I didn't finish the books I wanted to, I did finish some games on my To-Do list; Little Big Planet 3 (a gift from my brother) and a replay through my beloved Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Now about the blog, I intend to continue writing about fashion and try my best to keep the focus on Canadian fashion. However, I want to post designs I really like regardless of origins. I also want to post links and codes for sales as well, so expect that as well.


Welcome back and thank you for reading.