Monday, November 30, 2009

Bad, bad day

And it started off so promising! Got to snap these outfit pictures before I left, was still riding high of my AMAZING find from the other day, and somehow, work drama manages to mess it all up. I still don't understand how some people can walk and talk at the same time with the crap they pull.

Anyways, todays outfit:

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Thrifted mens plaid nightshirt, Aldo heels, UO beanie

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DIANE VON FURSTENBERG TRENCH COAT!!!!!!!

AMAZING COAT, AMAZING PRICE, AMAZING AMAZING!!!!
More detailed post tomorrow! 

Yeah, the coat made everything okay again. Magic!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Messing about

Sooooo this is what happens when you watch Bruno and drink a bunch of tequila, weird random photo shoot at 12AM?? 

LOOOOOOOVE this H&M dress. I'm gonna shoot it again tomorrow with a slightly different look.

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H&M dress, F21 jade necklace, random belt, Aldo sunnies, Aldo shoes (not pictured)

And no, I don't know why my face is so pale, yet my legs are super tanned?

Saturday, November 28, 2009

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Just another day at work, another boring outfit. If you can't tell, working takes up quite alot of my time, but at least it's an excuse to get dressed up at some point. I got these pants at Zara, ages ago, I think in August? Anyways, I love pairing them with white and black, and the rosary w/skulls gives it some edge that I really don't have. 

Also... I bought the shoes. Who could resist? $37?? 

Thrifted pocket tank, Thrifted vest blazer, Zara snakeskin pants, Aldo boots, Aldo skull rosary

Hollaaa!

Quick question before bed, should I grab these shoes tomorrow? They're gorgeous, and super cheap, but I do have so many shoes....

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Also, feel free to comment/shoot me an email@ maisondechaussures@live.ca

I'd love to hear from you guys!

Photoshop, amoung other things

So, for the longest time I've been w/o photoshop, which basically makes my life a whole lot more difficult, simply because, when I want to edit a set of photos, of various shots of my same outfit, obviously I want them to look the same, and not have the curves and levels be wonky in different photographs, it ruins the story of the photo set. So, I was using picnik, which I must say, is pretty great for single shots, and over editing and banners, but for minor colour and contrast adjustments to several photos, photoshop/lightroom is great. 

The only downside is trying to make your own vingettes. Fuck smart objects.

Anyways, today was a hellish day at work, so mind the hair/sloppy outfit. Managed to take some photos on my break, hasn't been getting too dark around 4ish.

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Wilfred cardigan from Aritzia, Cotton button down shirt from Aritzia, TNA leggings, Aldo boots, random scarf.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Finds

As I was saying, I went thrifting this morning and got quite a haul!

I got high waisted silk straight leg pants, which I have been craving for months, as well as a red polka dotted bubble skirt. A blue & white bird printed  button down, and la piece de la resistance, a tiger print coat! So soft! So warm! Tres perfect!

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Thrifted silk pants, Hollister tank top, Grey vest from Garage, Aldo buckle detailed ankle boots.

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Thrifted tiger print coat, Thrifted bird print shirt, Thrifted polka dot bubble skirt, thrifted red velvet belt, Aldo blue suede shoes. 

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Goin' thriftin'

Woke up EXTRA early today to do some thrifting. Me before an americano misto = super basic/casual outfit. Super comfy though, this cardigan is AMAZING. It's one size fits all, and SO SO warm. If it had longer sleeves I could use it as a coat! I'll post my finds later today, found some pretty sweet stuff. 

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F21 cardigan, White v-neck from Garage, H&M drop crotch pants, Aldo leopard Lanvin knockoff flats, Aldo Marc Jacobs knock off bag, F21 ring.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Ho ho holidays

Have you ever bought a nailpolish based solely on the name? 'Cuz I just did...

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Never Enough Shoes

Sephora by OPI $12

Next purchase will be Absinthe Makes The Heart, love the green!

New/Old dress

Found this in the back of my closet, it's been hanging there since summer when I picked it up at a thrift store. Love the pattern, and the buckle detailing. Paired with my new shoes, I feel like it's the perfect work outfit, no effort, still polished. 

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Saturday, November 21, 2009

Another day, another meeting.

This monday I have another meeting, not sure what to wear! I had an outfit picked out, outfit 1, but I'm not sure if I should go with something vintage, to set myself apart a bit from everyone else. And of course I have no clue what shoes to wear....

option 1:

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option 2:

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Any thoughts?

More new shoes...

So even after saying I shouldn't buy new shoes... I did! But who could resist? All leather upper, completely out of this world detailing, and a sick heel? I feel like a space cadet! And all for $33.06! Marked down from 145.00!

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Friday, November 20, 2009

New shoes and other things

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Had these shoes on the brain for the last few days.

I went to a meeting at our flagship store on Robson the other morning for a meeting about visual presentation. The girl leading the meeting was from our head office in Montreal. She was so cute! She was wearing a really basic outfit: tights, tank, and silk cardigan/jacket thing, and these shoes. 

I saw these shoes on the website and in person a few months ago. I felt they weren't for me, even though there are many things about them that are very much my style, but I wrote them off as one of those things that are really better on paper than they are in person. Anyways, I go to this meeting and saw them on this girl, and man oh man... I MUST HAVE THEM. 

Only problem is Christmas is coming up, I need to buy a car, and I already have freakish amounts of shoes. Hopefully they're still around by the time I get around to buying them.

Busy couple of days coming up, I'll update if possible.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

More more more

Here are some more shots of what I wore today:

The UB dress.. was only 12.50!

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Bracelet I got at Forever 21:

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Dress & Boots paired with a skirt I got at Vallue Village:

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Anyways, I'm off now... star wars marathon to commence!

Must have...

I don't think I've had a better idea in ages...

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Pretty Woman?

Just another day at the office.. 

Not really, I don't work at an office, so this look isn't really THAT out of place. So here are the boots again. I'm in a love/hate relationship with them. They look REALLY good, but they're not that comfortable. So I guess a stroll around the neighbourhood would be a good way to break them in, and get weird looks from school children and their parents. 

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Thrifted jacket, Urban Behaviour dress, Aldo wool nylons, Aldo thigh high boots.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Nifty Thrifty

For those of you not in the know, today just happened to be the Vallue Village 50% off sale. Complete chaos, and by the time I got to it, mostly picked over, however, I was able to pull this vintage Bill Blass menswear oversized ( on me) sweater. It's soft, warm and cozy, the trifecta of sweater perfection. 

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Bill Blass Mesnwear sweater paired with Aldo wool nylons, Aldo thigh high boots.

Today was also the UB 50% off sale... more finds to come!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Style Idol

Emma Watson is possible my most influential style icon. She always looks put together, and then slightly taken apart. I'm not a huge fan of the grungy rolled out of bed style, and she doesn't seem to be either, unlike most people these days. She was in Teen Vogue awhile back, the spread was amazing..

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excuse the lousy scanning job.

Outfit post

I don't think this counts, because I didn't actually wear it out of the house, but I needed to put some stuff together to go with these boots. They're a little intimidating just sitting there in their box, almost as some sort of symbol of foolish impulsivness. Not that they were expensive, but I bought them on the biggest impulse I think I've ever had. Some guy returned them, and then five minutes later, they were mine.

But sometimes it's good to throw caution to the wind, especially when it looks this good..

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Jacket from Bryans, Vintage creme skirt as a dress, Thrifted lime green skirt underneath, random belt, Aldo thigh high hidden platform boots.

Better shots of the boots when the weather improves. 

Shoes

I was recently going through my collection of shoes, and realized something. With the exception of maybe five pairs, I don't really wear the other ones. Now, I'm really not the kind of person to give things away, so I guess i'll just have to try and find more places to wear these shoes. I'm the same way with clothes. I have literally closets and closets full of beautiful vintage pieces, and most days I wear the same five things. Not that I'm all about simplicity, but sometimes it's just hard to take that plunge and wear something a little outrageous. 

Vancouver seems to have a pretty straight forward dress code featuring some local designers, which might sound neat, but it's really not. As follows:

The Venues:

Aritizia is a boutique found in Kits, and can now be found cross Canada, and even in the USA. They carry their own brand, a sportswear brand, business/dress brand, as well as other middle to high end brands. Most of the clothes are actually really nice, and I have quite a few pieces from Aritzia. The prices are a bit high though, and you do end up looking like a clone.

Lululemon is probably the bane of my existence. At least Aritzia has a few redeeming qualities. Lululemon got it's name from some guy who was trying to make it hard for Asian people to say the name, just so they would buy from it. Doesn't make any sense, but it sure has taken off. It's all yoga all the time. I've been in the store a handful times, and I just don't see the appeal. The clothes are really expensive for what they are and what they should be used for. 

Forever 21 is a newcomer to Vancouver, and I don't think that there is any problem with it, but until recently most of my compliments went like this: 

Me: I LOVE that shirt/jacket/dress/ring/necklace! Where did you get it? Is it vintage? I have never seen anything like that before!

You: Oh I got it from Forever 21 in the states! It was (ridiculously cheap price)!

Me: Oh fuck you.

Forever 21 used to mean you would never have the same thing as someone else, and everyone would hate you for it. Now that we have one, not so much, but I guess it's all about the way you put it together. 

Bebe has really amazing designs for a decent price. Not a place I would shop all the time, but everytime I step in there, I feel a little less bad about not having a Balmain blazer, and thinking, if I really did want one, I could buy one here for about $200, and seeing how I haven't means I probably don't want one. Amazing party dresses.

The Aldo Groupe is one damn amazing company. Founded in Montreal by Aldo Bensadoun, it now has over 1000 stores world wide. They provide amazing customer service, and beautiful shoes at a reasonable price. More often than not you'll find that luxury brand coveted shoe at Aldo for a fraction of the price, but still made mostly of leather/suede. And I'm not just saying that because I work for them...

The Players:

1) LG/ Yoga mom

This one is the most disturbing as it crosses about three generations. I have seen 6 year olds and 60 year olds dressed the same. You can sub Lululemon yoga pants for TNA ones, but the visual is the same. Usually it's someone who DOESN'T do yoga or sports, therefore should defintley not be wearing really tight stretchy pants. Then you get a tank top, sometimes long, more often than not, way too short, topped with a status hoodie. TNA & Lululemon both have brand symbols plastered all over their sweaters so everyone knows exactly where you got it. It's also the on the pants, but it's usually overshadowed by a big crack... 

Did I mention the SIX YEAR OLDS and SIXTY YEAR OLDS rocking this look? I once saw a daugher, a mom and a GRANDMOTHER, all in matching TNA suits. It disgusts me. 

The worst offenders are LG's, which are middle school/young highschool girls who think it's hot when their pooch sticks out, and wack you in the hallway with their obsencly large yoga bags (what teenager does YOGA? None of them!), get their sticky MAC lipgloss all over you and text on their razors, which have now been replaced with blackberrys. Don't get me started on why a 13 year old needs a blackberry.

2) "Indie kids"

This category has two sub categories. Both are hard to spot without actually being Indie, but I think I can describe it alright.

Actual Indie: 

They haven't shopped in a real store in years, frequent Value Village and thrift stores, and generally think they're too cool to talk to you. Usually have decent style, poor hygene. 

Fake Indie:

Haven't stepped into a Value Village, maybe once, bought a hat, and thought it pretty badass. They love American Apparel, and have fake glasses. Generally think they're too cool to talk to you. Usually have pretty generic style, good hygene. 

Vancouver Bitches

I find myself more and more dressing like this all the time, because it has that Vancouver asthetic of being warm and easy while still looking okay. Mostly consists of Wilfred pieces, bought at Aritzia for obsene amounts of money, and knocked off at Urban Behaivour for cheap. Most of us Vancouver bitches have stretchy pencil skirts, white v-neck tshirts, and big drapey cardigans. Usually rocked with a long scarf and flat boots/flats, depending on the season. It's a decent uniform, and I much prefer it to the yoga suit, but after passing six girls dressed EXACTLY like you, it can make you feel pretty weird about your style. 

And they don't call them bitches for nothing. I don't know if it's something in the water, but if you DON'T have the entire Wilfred line, you seem to be a lesser being. I don't know why that is, because most of it is shapeless, overpriced and in really drab colors. I'd rather shop at places like Urban Behaivour, H&M, or Forever 21 and buy something outrageous for cheap that's going to brighten my day. 

Sometimes you just have to ignore the haters, and focus on the fact that, for better or worse, I most defintley have a WAY better shoe collection than they could hope to have...

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