Thrifting 101 - Value Village Sale Haul

Last Monday was a very fun day for me. Not only did I get a clean bill of health status from my cardiologist, but I also went thrift shopping with one of my best friends.  We hit 3 different value village locations since they were having a 50% off sale. We went to one each separately and then we met up at a huge one in Toronto located at Victoria park and Eglington.

My first stop was the one closest to my house where I did most of my thrifting damage. All together I purchased 16 items and spent a total of 61 dollars. I may have went a little crazy in the hour and a half I was in the store, but there were so many good things to grab and look at!

Tip 1: Make a list, plan it out!

As soon as I walked into the store, I grabbed that last cart known to man at that point and headed straight for the blazer and jacket section. I always make a plan before hand, and a list of things I hope to find before stepping foot in the store. This helps to keep me on track, and stops me from buying useless things I will never wear... for the most part. After grabbing  30+ items, I figured I should park myself in front of a mirror and take a look at what I had picked up.

Tip 2: Try on as much as you can outside of a fitting room!

I always hate going into fitting rooms when I go thrifting, mainly because the rooms are tiny, dimly lit  cages where you can't  get a good look at what you actually have on. Not to mention line ups on days like Monday usually take anywhere from 15-45 min before you even see a change room available. I usually have tights and a tank top on so i can just try everything on outside, but as I had a quickly approaching Drs appointment, I had to throw things on and off as quickly as possible.

Tip 3: Eliminate the unnecessary!

While I was trying on I realized most things I had picked up were either not the right size, not for me, or had a few imperfections. This quickly helped to lessen the load of clothes as I made executive decisions to make sure I was getting great pieces and not just closet stuffers. I always say its best to try new styles or trends at a thrift store since your paying a third of the price anyways, but if it isn't working out then things are going back on the shelf.

Tip 4: Do a Round 2!

After I had gotten through my cart, I referred back to my list to see how many things I actually picked up, and what I still needed to get. I always do a round to whether I picked up everything or not just to make sure I didn't miss out on any great pieces that I bypassed on my initial hunt.

Tip 5: Check your items and your tags!

By the end of the night I had 3 bags in toe and 20 items which came to about 4 dollars each! From my list I had prepared, I walked away with 10 times crossed off and I am extremely happy with everything I purchased. Nothing had any stains, tears or imperfections, and some items I purchased were real leather or made in France, Canada and the USA. Always check your tags to see care instructions, materials used and where items were made. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you find! 

Now for all the goodies I purchased!!

 

        

Back to Blogging! Life Update!

To anyone that has been following my blog for a while, you'll notice i tend to take a bit of a hiatus during the winter months. I don't know what it is but I tend to get lazy / not so motivated / busy doing something and usually forget to post...for that I'm sorry. Good news is, I always come back! 

Lately I've been busying myself working full time as a Personal Stylist as well as a Fashion Intern, and I've been loving it. I have reached new heights as well as grown up a lot, both lifestyle and fashion wise. Ive been trying to get more "forever" pieces and stopped going for ultra trendy things that will rot in the bottom of my closet by the end of the week. Not to say I don't get the odd piece, but now I try to find those items that will take me throughout the whole season, not just a day of it. So far I've saved a lot of money and also have way more space in my wardrobe and less headaches on what to wear in the mornings. 

Lifestyle wise I have become more healthy with vigorous workouts and a changed diet. The last time I bought junk food was maybe 3 months ago, and I have been learning how to cook all of my favourite meals. I do my own groceries now full of fresh veggies, fruits and things high in protein, and have been drinking a lot more water. I used to hate drinking water for some reason but now I drink at least 2 bottles a day. 

So this is basically just a quick update on my life as well as what I've been doing for the last few months. Stay tuned for more posts, I promise!

See, I'm still alive!

Efoxcity Likes

I was so pleased with my first run in with efoxcity.net that I thought I would do another post about their awesome online shop. Like I said in my previous post, they have everything from men's wear to women's, accessories and even specialty things like wedding dresses and party dresses.

The items are of decent quality as you may have seen with my last necklace post, and definitely worth checking out at their wholesale prices. In this post I will be highlighting some more items that I really like out of the discount evening dresses, men's t-shirts (suitable for comfy over sized sweaters) and summer dresses categories!

Even though I already wrote a post about possible wedding dresses I would like, the site recently updated their stock (which they do every day with new arrivals) and I found the most amazing black and white dress I've seen in a very long time! I usually go straight to the wedding dress section, but this time I checked out the Discount Evening Dress category. The base of it is a crisp white colour with mesh and black lace embroidery layered over top. It says that its a sheath dress but its more of a mermaid fit and flare type of silhouette, which would make the perfect shape on pretty much anybody. The way the lace cascades over the dress also really helps to define the waist and curves in an oh so flattering way.

Sheath Black Lace Evening Dress

$233.23

I never usually look at men's clothes but they did have some really nice things on their site. I for one, love wearing huge over sized guys sweaters since they are usually so comfy and look really good rolled up. They give off that really cool effortless over sized chic style which is great for comfy days and pairing with some cute skinny jeans and heals. a great place to find some awesome over sized tees is in the Men's T-shirts section.

Purple Summer Round Neck Tee

$9.75

I really really love this t-shirt since it has a really cool galaxy print, which I love, and also those amazing two toned baseball sleeves which I also love! This would be such a cute shirt to wear with fun  black and mesh leggings and my lita's!

Something cute I found in the Summer Dresses section, was a beautiful sequin and chiffon dress. It was pretty much exactly what I wanted to wear for my birthday this past July, although I couldn't find anything similar in stores. This dress would again go amazingly with my pair of lita's and even if I made a really cute harness for the top. I love taking really cute dresses and then making them super edgy!

Euro Style Dress

$15.99

  What do you like from this site?

Watch Me Burn

I have been loving my new shoes from UrbanOG.com, and wearing them every chance I can get. I love experimenting with them and doing something completely grungy and dark to emphasize the creeper chunky style and buckles, and then flipping it 360 to do something super girly and fun, using the shoes for a touch of edge.

-sorry its blurry...my settings were weird-

One look I'm absolutely in love with is something I put together the other day while shopping. My actual outfit kinda fell apart on me, so I had to buy something quick that worked well with the shoes, and the over all feeling I had that day.

I was at Urban Outfitters checking out their recently stocked sale section when I found the prettiest dress! I bought a bunch of other things as well but that will be saved for a haul I will post at a later on this week. This is the final outfit I put together. Simple, girly with a little edge ;)

-again, sorry for the blur-

Dress: Urban Outfitters

Jacket: ONLY

Shoes: UrbanOG

Necklace: DIY

Rings: American Eagle, Market, Peoples

Sit Back and Let Em Shine

In a recent post, I gave you guys a sneak peak at some items I'd be receiving in the post, and on Friday the one I was most excited about arrived!!

I have wanted Jeffrey Campbell Coltrane's for a while now, but after seeing the price vs the reviews I decided that it'd be best to get knock offs of the knock offs. After turning to google and searching some things, I found this wonderful blog http://bythe-throat.blogspot.ca by Bre. I love this blog because not only does this girl have some amazing shoe style and taste, she also is the best at finding dupes and knock offs of great trendy shoes like its her day job! (Love it!). After browsing through some of her postings I found these babies.

Wild Diva Lounge "Credence-11" in Black 

Available at Make Me Chic ($32.90), UrbanOG ($33.20), Go Jane ($35.10)

On Bre's blog, she lists the different stores that have the item as well as their prices. After hmming and hawing, I decided to get these shoes off of the UrbanOG website. They were the cheapest in my size, and I also got a sweet deal with a 25% coupon they had. All together my purchase came to 40 dollars (with shipping) and it sent within 7 business days! 

The shoes came in a shoe box within a bigger box, and was not crushed or broken in any way. I always am worried about shipping things like this since if it is crushed, odds are the item will be broken inside.

The shoes fit amazing too! I am always worried when buying any shoes if they actually fit properly because my feet are big and wide (I'm a size 9 or a 10). This site only had a 9 available so I figured Id take the plunge and sell them if it didn't work out. BUT THEY DID!!

I will be doing an outfit post with them soon :) 

What shoes are you dying over?? 

Would you rather buy dupes or the originals?

[Outfitting] - Blissed Out

This is my second attempt at taking some fashion photos. Totally better then my first round in my opinion, but still not where I want my photos to be.. but I'm getting there! I definitely need some better lighting and maybe a better camera / to learn how to use mine better. I would say this lighting is a bit better though and so is my editing.

Top - Detox

Shorts - Urban Outfitters

Shoes - Urban Planet

Lipstick - Top Shop

Sunnies - Market

These are pretty much my first pair of urban renewal shorts and I am completely in love with them, even though all of my friends have told me I should have just thrifted and made them myself. That will be an upcoming project, if it ever gets warm again :(. I love the marbled effect and all the super shredded-ness going on. It gives off such an effortless chick rock look. It took about an hour to find the perfect pair of shorts though, since they are all literally cut up jeans with different fits and different quality denim. I'm glad I stayed and searched!

I paired the shorts with my super old "rocker" print tank from detox and my favourite dupe shoes, my 20 dollar spiked faux suede Lita's.  

I almost cant wait till fall so I can wear these shorts with some cute tights and thigh high socks! <3

Have you ever tried the renewal shorts from Urban Outfitters? 

Up and Comming

So many great things have happened this week. Sunday I saw Beyonce, iv been kicking butt at work, got paid and also have some great things coming to me via sponsors and some things I've purchased online.

These are the next couple of things that should be coming to me next week!

Im so excited to get these items and will review them asap! 

Stay tuned for some great reviews and outfitting!!

Now I leave you with a pic of my nails this week :P

MY 100TH POST!! -Beyonce Concert-

Sunday night I was finally able to see one of my favourite performers live at the Rogers Center in Toronto. As you may have guessed that is the Queen B herself, Beyonce! The tickets were a gift from my sister for my 22nd birthday, and it was one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen. But lets start from the beginning...

It was a lazy Sunday so I was napping when my sister came in and told me to get ready for the concert with a mere hour to spend getting showered and quaffed to perfection. My outfit was simple, comfortable and fabulous. 

Crop top - Urban Planet

Boyfriend Jeans - H&M

Shoes - Ardene's (i know right?!)

 Bag- H&M

The finished product..

After a quick subway ride to meet up with the other girls (I went with my sister and her two friends), we decided to get a pre-game meal at Hot House for their Summerlicious deals. Now if you don't know Summerlicious, you should definitely look it up. Its an annual food festival that happens in the summer as well as during a few winter months, called Winterlicious. Basically a bunch of restaurants around Toronto make a special menu where you pick an appetizer, main and a dessert for an amazing deal. I chose to get cesar salad, surf and turf as well as a cheese cake for only 25 dollars! And let me tell you, it was the perfect way to kick off a perfect night!

Now fast forward to getting to sitting and waiting for Beyonce to make her appearance. An amazing performer named Luke James just finished belting out his songs and dancing like a mad man, serenading all the ladies in the building. The lights went down and the banner for Beyonce was covering the stage as the set it up for her arrival.

When the lights went down, and the banner went up and there within a few minutes my girl was working the stage. 

The thing I loved most about watching her show was that it wasn't just "Her" show. Everyone involved had their own time to shine, and she had the most amazing visuals. You can tell that she appreciates art in all art forms, and that she gives everyone a chance to shine through out the whole event. In between her big costume changes she had videos playing that told a story and helped to introduce the next song. The visuals were absolutely breathtaking and the words behind the videos were inspiring. She also featured four dancers, two doing an amazing modern dance and 2 doing a beautiful ballet number. Le Twins, the only males  in her troupe also preformed their own duet before Beyonce came out again. 

She also featured 3 members from her band, her lead guitarist, her drummer as well as her lead piano player who played the most amazing piece i have heard on a grand piano in a while.

At the end of the night, she finished off with halo, one of my absolute favourite songs by her, and she looked heavenly in an all white costume with bedazzled hot pants. During the song she had an amazing smile and such a grateful expression. I cant imagine how amazing it must be for her every night to hear a stadium full of people screaming for you and singing the words with you. 

As she said during the concert, " This isn't MY show, its OUR show..."