WORK IT | Spring's Most Stylish Workout Gear

Karlie Kloss via Nike

Originally posted in The LOOK

I don't know about you but it's really easy for me to get to the gym. It's the staying at the gym that's a problem. Every year around this time - you know the time where you see ads everywhere for beautiful girls in bikinis - I realize how badly I need to get my butt in gear. But this year, it feels different somehow. 

From Instagram to Snapchat, fitness fanatics are everywhere right now. And while getting fit is an especially huge trend at the moment, it feels less like a passing fad and more like a movement. Women I follow on social media not only look amazing in their bright workout gear but they look strong, powerful and crazy confident as they run marathons, hit the boxing ring and do mind-blowing yoga balances. Instead of models simply posing in pretty workout gear, you get the sense that they're actually doing the workouts in their daily downtime, too. Since having kids, I've never been so inspired to get fit.

While I think personal trainers are great, nothing motivates me to get my body moving more than cute workout gear. Luckily this season, the stores are loaded with the prettiest printed sports bras, bright tanks and sleek bottoms that will make you envy of any fitness class. As they say, looking good is half the battle ;)

Scroll through the slideshow for my top spring workout gear picks. You can do it!

 

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Challenge Accepted

I used to hate change. When my mom wanted to paint our front door one summer, I staged a mini protest. When my parents told me they were selling our old clunker, I swore I’d chain myself to the steering wheel first. Our door turned blue. We got a new car. And life went on.

I’m not sure when it happened but as everything in my life changed, so did I. I went from despising change to embracing it. I began to seek out newness anytime things felt stale, from my first jobs to my ever-changing wardrobe. But my biggest change started after I left Toronto.

My husband and I got married so I left the city to join him in a tiny town outside of London. While I was all about embracing change, this was a tough one. I’d been building a career in fashion and suddenly, I lived somewhere with not only no fashion industry, but practically no shopping at all.  I sold houses for a few years but I missed my old life, my old job and not getting my cute heels stuck in the country mud.

Then, we had our first baby. She was bright and beautiful and we were exhausted but happy. I spent my months on mat leave debating whether I should go back to my sales job. But even though the money was good, I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it. I started to really ask myself who I wanted to be. I wanted to show this little girl that she could do anything she wanted to do. But first I had to prove it to myself.

So I started Real Life Runway. I couldn’t think of any other way of pursuing my passion without a 3 hour commute. So I wrote. Every single day. I didn’t get paid at all for the first 6 months, which was both embarrassing and terrifying. I was 30 and most of my friends were already settled comfortably into their careers while I was still trying to figure my life out. Luckily, my husband was incredibly supportive. I stayed awake so many nights feeling like a huge failure, wondering if I’d made the wrong choice and freaking because I had no idea what to do next.

Then, a mall in London hired me to write their fashion blog. Next, a lifestyle website hired me as a contributor. I started to write a weekly article for Metro. I had another baby. Two other malls asked me to write their blogs, too. Eventually, I even scored advertisers on my own blog. I finally had a career I loved - one I’d subconsciously designed for myself and one I could see myself doing for a very long time. I was finally back in fashion, able to write and be creative, and I could do almost all of it from home which gave me the freedom to be around for my kids. Things couldn’t be better.

Someone must have heard how much I like change because last year, my world flipped upside down again. My husband decided to leave his family business, so we sold our house, moved to Kitchener, and now he’s pursuing his own dreams of building a startup. Apparently this passion project is contagious.

I have no idea what the next five years will bring, but I can guarantee one thing - things are bound to change again. Imagine how dull life would be if they didn’t?

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Disclosure: This post was brought to you by TENA (SCA) via Mode Media Canada.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of TENA(SCA).

The Fashion Girl's Guide to Mother's Day

via The Body Shop

Originally posted in The LOOK

You really can't go wrong when it comes to Mother's Day gifts. Now that I'm a mom, I understand this all too well. My kids could give me the cheesiest, tackiest thing ever and as long as they took the time to pick it out, I'd think it was the best present anyone's ever gotten. I've never been given a handmade card, an at-home 'pedicure' or a homemade breakfast from my kids that I didn't totally love.

But let's be honest here. I'm a fashion girl. And fashion people have a tendency to dream. We dream of the gifts we'd like to receive and of course, the things we plan on buying for ourselves if nobody else does. As a fashion blogger, I come across cute things every day and they continually accumulate in my head - at a certain point it becomes too much for even the most disciplined shopper to bear. 

And so I've put some of my most-wanted finds together into this Mother's Day Gift Guide. They're things I've seen on other people's Instagram accounts, pieces I can't wait to put on, and a few things I'm hoping my husband might get me this Mother's Day since my kids are still too young to shop. If not, no big deal - I'll take my hard-earned paycheque and eventually buy a few of these gifts for myself. After all, this Mother's Day, I'm really most excited about that handmade card. 

Whether she's the sporty type or simply loves to shop, these fashionable Mother's Day gifts will help her live her life beautifully. Happy (almost) Mother's Day! Oh, and if you've ever wondered how the Royals celebrate Mom's Day, don't miss the hilarious home video below...

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THE SOFTER SIDE | The Cool New Way to Wear Spring Pastels

via J.Crew

Originally posted in The LOOK

It's the last day of winter. Let me repeat that - the LAST day of winter! This is no joke. Hard to believe that the spring we've been waiting for has finally arrived, and with it, a new crop of pretty spring colours in stores. While I'll always rely on black and white, and do love my brights, there's something irresistible about soft pastels, especially this season. 

While pastels can be sweet and pretty and mega girly-girly, you might not think of them as cool. I mean, black is cool and metallics are cool but pink? Cool? You might be surprised. From the always on point J.Crew runway to the most-copied street stylers, fashion know-it-alls are already tossing off their blacks and switching them up for powdery blues, ballet pinks and vibrant yellows. 

So, how do you make pastels look edgy? Here are 3 easy ways:

1) ADD BLACK | It never fails to pair your pastels with black to add depth to a super-sweet shade. Bonus points if you can add some leather (faux or real) and either a leopard or snake print to the mix.

2) MIX IT UP | Instead of sticking to one pastel shade, why not mix them up? Shades of blues and pinks mixed up look amazing worn head to toe, especially when you add some distressed denim to the mix. 

3) COMBINE SOFT & BRIGHT PASTELS | Soft pink with white and a khaki trench is pretty but, let's face it, predictable. The addition of one super bright pastel (think a bright yellow like in the J.Crew pic above and the outfit below) totally takes your spring outfit to the next level. Neon orange looks amazing with soft pink, too. 

Looking for some spring outfit inspo? I've put together 3 cool pastel looks to try out now. Happy Spring!

SEE THE LOOKS HERE...

GIRL POWER: 3 New Ways to Wear Lace

A model on the Burberry Prorsum Spring '14 runway. Photo via Fairchild Photo Service.

Originally posted in The LOOK

You know how you wake up some mornings and are like, 'Oh. Em. Gee. I have NOTHING to wear. Like, literally nothing. Grrrr.' In front of you is a closet bursting with stuff but at this point in the summer, you might be seriously done with all of it. Like you could just dump the entire contents in the Goodwill bin and then you'd actually have nothing to wear but that would be better than those hangers upon hangers of soul-sucking sartorial nothingness. Fret not, fashion mavens, don't let your lack of killer outfits bum you out this summer. Of course, you can find loads of inspiration in my previous posts. But here's one more for you: how about a fabric revisit?

Let's talk about lace, babies. The fabric, oft-maligned for either being too overtly sexy or too grandma's doilies-esque has enjoyed a seriously fun shake-up for summer thanks to designers like Chloé, Peter Pilotto and Elie Saab. The key, whether you're going for sexy or sweet, is to not take lace too seriously. No matter how you style it, lace is meant to be played with. For work, try mixing up a bunch of pastels (google Burberry Prorsum Spring '14 for inspo.) For date night or a big fancy fête, black lace is fail-proof sexy but not when worn with big tacky satin plaforms. Keep your footwear sleek and always add an element of fun - either a pair of bright playful earrings or a bold statement watch. And for the weekend, channel Osheaga style with a sweet lace tunic, distressed denim and neon accents to look like a festival veteran.

Scroll down for 3 new ways to wear lace right now to help instantly shake up your summer look...

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