Cherry? Tomato!

  

Easy-peasy:

• Tomato red turtleneck sweater - Gap
• Cropped skinny jeans - Bandolino via Macy's
• Crystal and brass pendant necklace - Special
• Gold hoops - Macy's 
• Born Crown riding boots - via Nordstrom
• Vintage men's Pendleton wool coat - thrifted
• Basset/beagle mix dog - pound

Sure it's just jeans and a sweater.  And an AWESOME necklace.  I love this necklace.  I got it last summer at a wonderful, tiny little shop on Alberta St. in NE Portland called Special (www.specialportland.com).  The proprietress/artist, Heather, made it necklace from a vintage chandelier crystal and vintage brass chain.  I don't wear a lot of jewelry and rarely to work, but if I do wear a necklace it's this one.  I think it's just beautiful.  I also bought a fabulous flower/feather/owl headpiece that same day - I'll show it off sometime.  Like the necklace, it's just wonderful.

Gorgeous as the necklace is, it's also practical in that it helps break up the turtleneck and lessen the dreaded uni-boob effect.  I love turtlenecks, especially in the winter, but I don't love uni-boobs.  I try to break up the line of the turtleneck with a necklace (well, this necklace) or a scarf.  My fabulous friend Alex breaks hers up with a brooch or two which looks wonderful and is something I'd like to try. 

How about you guys?  Do you worry about uni-boob?  Any tricks for breaking up turtlenecks?

Black, and brown, all over

The nitty-gritty:

• Sleeveless black dress - Walmart
• Black turtleneck - Old Navy
• Eddie Bauer leather and jute braided belt - thrifted
• Opaque black tights -Spanx
• Cognac slouch boots - Steve Madden

With this outfit, I tried to take an outfit that I wore this summer and recreate it for the winter.  During the summer, I wear the dress, the belt and the boots together and it's one of my favorites.  So, in the interest of shopping my own closet and getting a better cost per wear with my clothes, I wanted to give it a shot for winter.  I thought if I wore the dress over a turtleneck and tights, it would work.  And, I feel like it did.

At first I was worried about pairing so many different shades of black, but I'm happy with how this outfit turned out.  My only complaint is that it was a little chilly when I was riding my bike this morning.  It's been literally freezing the last few mornings and if ever there was a day for doubling up on tights, this was it.  Sadly, I didn't double up, but it's a short ride and I survived.

Why, yes, those are mustard yellow cords I'm wearing...

... and I love them. Seriously, these are some of my favorite pants.  I think in part because I'm prone to contrariness.  No one else loves these pants.  I don't know that anyone else even likes these pants.  When I wear them reactions tend to vary between disbelief and outright loathing.  Which, yeah, sort of makes me happy. 

The rest of today's outfit:

• Cream and multi scarf - I can't remember where this came from
• Ash grey long-sleeve tee - Old Navy
• Wine Olivia Sky tunic sweater - Nordstrom Rack
• Born Crown riding boots - Nordstrom

I got these pants last year, I think, online and on sale from the Gap.  They are actually cropped, which is a secret of mine.  I buy cropped or "regular" length pants and wear them under boots.  I happen to be a huge fan of jeans (or cords) tucked into boots, so I don't always have to worry if a store doesn't have pants long enough for me.  And, I've found that, for me, cropped pants are more comfortable tucked into boots because you don't have all of that extra fabric around the ankles. 

In spite of the fact these bright yellow babies were on sale, and could be tucked into my favorite boots (You will see these Born boots a lot.  I mean a lot.  I love these things), I hemmed and hawed about buying them - they really are quite bright - but I'm glad I did.  I wore the heck out of them last winter, so the cost-per-wear is pretty low.  In spite of my genuine affection for these pants, this is the first time I've worn them this winter.  And this is the first time I've styled them this way.  I was actually inspired by Lyddie of Chic On The Cheap's post about all the ways she styled her pair. 

(P.S. - Sorry about the picture quality.  I take my own and I'm really, really not a photographer, so this is a work in progress.  Bear with me.  I can't guarantee they'll get better, but they probably won't get any worse!).

New Year, New Blog

Let's get the important things out of the way first, shall we?  What I'm wearing:

• Black long-sleeve tee - Old Navy
• Grey/black fuzzy short-sleeve sweater - ? (label says Maggie Lawrence) - thrifted
• Real Straight Jeans - Gap
• Braided black leather belt - Fossil
• Blue leopard print flats - Nine West (I think the style is "NW Naughty")

Now for the, perhaps, less exciting portion of the post. 

When it comes to fashion, I think that every body type has their own set of problems.  And I know that being tall presents a very special set of problems.  Just like I know that being "plus-sized" presents yet another set of problems.  I am a combination of the two.  I am six foot tall and bigger than a size 12 (or 10 - I'm not sure what the cut-off is these days).  Frankly, its a wonder I bother to get dressed at all.  Except that because I love fashion, I happen to like getting dressed (most days, at least).

For the past year or so, I've followed several fashion blogs.  And I read a few fashion magazines on a regular basis.  And while I enjoy reading both the blogs and the magazines, I can't always relate.  I sometimes have a hard time identifying with what is being said.  I mean, I understand that the point behind the advice to look in the girls' (or boys', for shrunken blazers) section, is to think outside the box.  But, for someone my size, children's clothes just aren't realistic.  So, I'm forced to think of other ways to think outside the box when it comes to fashion.  Which is fine - who doesn't like a good challenge?!

I started this blog to to chronicle that challenge.  To chronicle the (mis)adventures of everyday fashion for a giant.  But, the blog isn't just for giants; its just a blog about fashion from a giant's point of view.

the time of your life

My sis couldn't be with us due to school, so I wore the ring she gave me for my 26th birthday.





THEORY blazer, random white shirt, EBAY tulle, CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN shoes, WOLFORD tights, PRADA gloves, VINTAGE ring gifted from my sister

Last week I had my masters convocation. I attended my undergraduate convo, but skipped my law degree one, so this one was a celebration of both my LLB and LLM.

I bought the three layer tulle online after my unsuccessful attempt at online Lanvin & HM shopping. Personally, I think I like it better, but then again a girl can never have too many tulles.

I've never received a pen before and on my graduation day, I received two! I think it is the perfect graduation gift, especially for my future career. The Mont Blanc one was given to me by my father, it has a diamond on the top! I better use the ink wisely, I don't think I can afford the refills.

Happy Monday!

grand slam

I can't tell if my dad intentionally sat in on my picture...


And yes, i got us nosebleed tics...


BURBERRY PRORSUM shearling coat, GUCCI pants, ASOS sweater/booties, BURBERRY earmuffs, LOUIS VUITTON bag, CUSTOM glasses

Over the weekend we headed to watch a tennis tournament playing at Royal Albert Hall. To say my dad is a fanatic about tennis is a slight understatement. At almost 62 he still plays at least 3x a week (which is more than I can say for my 26 year old arse). We watched former champion players from 'his time' ranging from ages 35-55. Makes me feel extremely out of shape.

Anyway, here are some shots from the afternoon. We followed this with a meal at St.John (the resto I think every Londoner brings their guests to experience true British food).

baby it's cold outside...

Like my hat?

MONCLER jacket, AA shirt (gifted from sis), CA4LA hat (stolen from bf), RAF SIMON snood (stolen from bf), CHEAP MONDAY jeans, LIUJO belt (gifted from Mass' mom), SOREL boots (gifted from dad), LOUIS VUITTON purse, CLUB MONACO gloves

HUGE apologies for my absence this past week and a half, work has me so drained. The good news is that xmas is near and I'll be home for the holidays, which means more time to connect.

My parents have been in town for the past week or so for my LLM convocation. They couldn't have come at a worse time; there was a snowfall here that didn't stop for a week, something that hasn't happened in London in two decades. I left all my winter clothes at home in Toronto but my dad came to the rescue when he gave me my 26th birthday present of Sorels! I had been looking all over London for them last year (to no avail) and my sis must've gave my dad some good advice. They are so warm! I don't own a pair of Uggs (never will) and hands down, these are much 'cooler' and sturdier.

Above pics are from the Portobello Market (infamous Notting Hill market) from the weekend. They have a ton of fur being sold by vendors and my mom and I picked a couple hats up. She's rocking the one up there, isn't she?

Hope you're having a great Sunday!