TREND REPORT | Why Spring 2017 Is All About Doing You

 via Coach

Originally posted in The CLOSET

We go through different phases in life of wanting to conform and dying to be different. As a teenager, I remember thinking that I had my own amazing sense of style, only to look back at pics and realize my group of friends had a very distinct uniform - a tragic, Disney-sponsored-skate-park-by-day-rave-by-night uniform. It's really hard to describe, and I won't torture you with the pics, but it basically consisted of mini skirts or dresses, tiny logo tees (my monster truck tee was my fave), over-the-knee socks and Converse or Gazelles.  Occasionally we wore our Little Mermaid backpacks, but they were way too small to hold anything other than a few tubes of LipSmackers so we usually just carried them on empty. For the record, there were no soothers. Whether we knew it at the time or not, wearing this uniform made us part of a club, made us look like a team, made us feel like we belonged.

As you grow up, you reach a point where the last thing you want to do is look like everyone else. Some people get tattoos, others chop their hair, but however we decide to define ourselves, we take action to stand out. We want to be noticed and respected, and while we don't always feel in control of our lives, there is always fashion to help us make our mark. Sure, we might look back to regret the fashion choices we've made (let's just forget my Spice Girl sneakers in 2001, please), but every fashion phase we endure comes to define us in some way... 

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These 35 Accessories Will Get You So Excited for Spring

via Dynamite

Originally posted in The Fashion Scoop

-24ºC overnight tonight and it's March. I feel for you Sudbury. The sun might be out but it's not really doing its job. The light's on but nobody's home. Like, if the sun had a boss, it would be so fired, amirite? And so, I feel like today is the perfect time to talk spring. But instead of teasing you with cute sandals and flirty little dresses which you have no hope of actually wearing for the next few months, I'm sharing loads of fun accessories to brighten your day.

Colourful, fun and affordable, the new accessories coming into stores right now scream spring but don't require warm spring weather to wear them. Replace your heavy knit scarf with a pretty new pastel version. Let a pair of shoulder-skimming earrings get the spring party started, even if you're still wearing your toque. And nothing takes advantage of those sunny winter days quite like a new pair of mirrored sunglasses - I'm personally partial to pink.

Happy March and happy accessory shopping.  -24ºC: um yup, you totally deserve it ;)

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Get an Early Jump On Spring with These 15 Playful Picks

via Dynamite

Originally posted in The CLOSET

Okay fine, it's only February. And I know I should live for the moment and seize the day and do all of those things I'm told are good for my mental health. I love the snow. I love the winter. I love the cold. Repeat after me: we love the snow and the winter and the cold. Brrr...is it March yet? As I look at all of the pretty pieces coming into stores for spring, though, I think I've found my silver lining. These finds let me embrace the present while looking to the future, too. They let me have a cute spring fling while still making the absolute most of winter. From a fashion perspective, shopping for spring in winter is a win-win: it allows you to buy pretty new things now and wear them way longer.  Scroll down for the items on my want-list right now. So much cuteness, you'll have a really hard time waiting. And you really shouldn't. Carpe diem.

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5 Easy Updates You Need In Your Wardrobe RN

via Reitmans on Instagram

Originally posted in The Fashion Scoop

The mid-Feb struggle is real. Everyone is going on vacay, the weather is all over the map and you are so, SO sick of wearing snowboots every day. Your feet are desperate for a pedi but what's the point? Unless you're lucky enough to be headed somewhere tropical, your toes won't see the sunlight for another few months anyway. So what's one to do? Why, shop, of course!

Clear out your closet of anything that doesn't fit, doesn't flatter and doesn't make you feel amazeballs. It's the Family Day long weekend so you have an extra day to do some early spring cleaning. Okay, done? Now, it's time for a few updates. Here are 5 easy ways to upgrade your wardrobe right now...

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LOVE YOURSELF | 45 Sweet (But Not Too Sweet) Red & Pink Picks

via American Eagle

Originally posted in The CLOSET

Each year, right around this time, my husband and I have a little tête-à-tête. It's usually in the kitchen, in the morning, as we frantically make our kids' lunches and toss our breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, while I beg him to please make us cappuccinos so I can get my sense of humour back.  I'd make my own but he does it better. The conversation usually involves one of us saying something like, 'So, Valentine's Day...' and the other one of us being all like, 'Let's just do something little. Honestly, do NOT get me anything.' At this point he usually launches into his anti-Hallmark-Holiday tirade to justify not buying gifts, claiming that he doesn't like the pressure of having to prove our love in such a premeditated way. He usually gestures towards the expertly frothed cappuccino in his outstretched hand at this point, as proof that he does romantic things for me all year round.

And I tend to agree. I mean, romance should not necessarily be inextricably tied to holidays. It should be the thoughtful little things that we do on the daily for our loved ones that prove that they matter to us.  And while my 'do NOT get me anything' used to translate to 'I actually hope you get me something and if you don't I'll be annoyed,' I legitimately mean it now. He knows that I love a card with a sweet message written inside. He knows how much I adore mid-week champagne. Both of us usually cave and end up buying each other something little and occasionally something big, which I will never turn down, because DIAMONDS (HINT, HINT - no seriously, do NOT get me anything), but he understands that no matter what, I will likely go out and buy myself a gift anyway, because I've learned the importance of loving myself. That, and I have a shopping addiction. Finally, when I come home wearing my new cute new red kicks, he knows to notice and tell me how cool I look, even if he'll never, ever understand my excitement surrounding shoes. Now that's love.

Whether you're fully committed or flying solo, whether you want to surprise your bae or just want to treat yoself, you're going to love these on-point red and pink picks. Click the thumbnails to scroll through. (Oh, and also Love Yourself video below because no matter what you think of the Biebs, you have to admit he makes the best music videos.) Happy Valentines, lovelies! xo

SEE MY RED & PINK PICKS HERE...