SHORT STORY | Get Inspired for Summer with these 4 Short & Sweet Looks

via H&M

Originally posted in The CLOSET

I've been walking 10,000 steps every day for the past 3 days. Sure, it's not that impressive. I mean, it's early days here. But I'm on a mission and I'm wishin' someone would cure my shortless condition. It's way too cold to wear shorts right now but I know that just around the corner, the sun will heat up our days and stay that way. And so I'm walking to get my legs in shape for all of the sweet shorts hitting stores now. From printed and pop bright, to classic nautical stripes to super cool culottes, there are so many shorts I'm hoping to pick up for the hot days ahead.

While finding great shorts is a battle in and of itself, requiring several changeroom visits to find a pair that fits you right, it's what you pair them with that really matters. Oh nuh-uh-uh, put away that plain old tee, if you please. Sure you can go for the basic and I'm sure you'll look cute. But the shorts of this season aren't just meant for weekend walks to the park. While shorts look right at home for super casual outings like aforementioned parks, music festivals and chilling on the patio with friends, shorts work for fancier affairs, too. Heading to a baby or wedding shower? A pair of shorts with a printed blouse and blazer look just perf. Tired of your 9-to-5 wardrobe grind? A pair of cute new culottes will instantly refresh your work look. 

Now back to my walking. After all, I've only hit 4,500 steps today and short season waits for no one. Get your short & sweet outfit inspiration below...

SEE THE OUTFITS HERE...

COACHELLA COOL | The 15 Festival Finds You Need + #WIN with American Eagle

via American Eagle on Instagram

Originally posted in The Fashion Scoop

Festival fashion is like the hipster of the fashion world - so predictable, so ironic and yet, so undeniably sweet that I can't help but love it anyway. Blame it on the feathers, fringe or fedoras (or all of the above), but I look at pics of girls heading to Coachella this weekend and can't help but be jealous. I mean, if I were young(er) and single(r) (I love you if you're reading this, cute husband), unencumbered by the daily grind of jobs and kids (love them, too) and responsibilities, I'd sobe heading to Coachella this weekend. In fact, I'd be going to all of the music festivals this summer, not so much for the music (though I'd pretend that was my reason), but to look as cute as the American Eagle girls. Seriously, look at the picture above. Think they have anywhere to be? Any deadlines? No. Their only goals that day are to spin circles in the dirt, let their floral kimonos catch the sunlight and show off their perfect accessories on Instagram. Vain? Totally. Fun? So fun. 

I've handpicked the 15 festival finds you need right now to score some of that Coachella coolness, whether you've already planned your spring/summer concert season or not. Read on for my top picks from American Eagle and don't miss our giveaway at the bottom of the post. I don't have any concert tix to give away but I can certainly help get you dressed for whatever fun concerts come your way.

Happy FriYAY!

SEE MY FESTIVAL PICKS + ENTER THE CONTEST HERE...

SPRING STYLE CLASS | 3 New Ways to Wear Wide Pants

via H&M

Originally posted in The CLOSET

There's no denying the staying power of the skinny. Some of you might not remember when skinny jeans blew up but I remember it very well. I was living in Toronto in 2005 when I started to notice women give up their bootcuts in favour of calf-clenching skin-tight jeans. I remember waiting for the subway, watching girls of all shapes and sizes get strangled by their new skinnies, thinking how super awkward they looked, and how I would never, ever intentionally choose pants that made my bum look big.

Of course, I gave in. We collectively figured out how to wear them right. We learned to balance out our super fitted bottoms with loose sweaters, long tunics and oversized cardis. We discovered in pictures how cruel white skinnies could be and how tan skinnies made it look like we weren't wearing pants at all. Stores finally started offering us varying styles of skinnies to suit our bods, from jeggings to skinny boots, with loads of stretch thrown in for good measure.  And while I swore I'd never go there, turns out skinny jeans are pretty much all I've worn for the past 10 years.

I'm not going to claim that this is the end of the skinny but there's clearly a style shake-up happening with the fashion pack right now. Cool girls everywhere, from Jennifer Lawrence to Kendall Jenner are currently opting for wider leg pants - think super flared '70s jeans, wide cropped culottes and flowy palazzos that make skinnies look SO last season. I don't know about you but I'm ready for some breathing room. They might look a little funny now but remember - we said that about the skinny, too. 

Read on for 3 cute ways to wear wide pants this spring. And breathe...

TOTAL JEANIOUS | 5 Ways to Reinvent Your Denim This Spring

via Harper's Bazaar

Originally posted in The Fashion Scoop

Toronto Fashion Week just wrapped up and, as always, the people-watching was amazing. Sequins were shining, fur was flying, girls showed off in power prints and boys represented in bright blazers. But this season, it seemed like the lower-key looks got all the attention. The Fashion Week paparazzi passed over girls in sky-high heels and went crazy for style bloggers in sneakers. The over-the-top gowns might look amazing on the runway but outside the tents, sweatshirts, jeans and ball caps looked right at home. Blame it on normcore or our collective obsession with street style but even the fashion pack wants to keep it real right now. 

One of my favourite trends for spring '15? Denim, of course. We all wear it, we all live in it, and even though it's been around for decades, it manages to look new every single season. From ripped white skinnies to dark seventies flares, there are so many fresh ways to wear denim right now. Whether you already own loads of pairs or are ready to update your collection, the stores are filled with plenty of covetable pairs you'll want to add to your closet this spring. Don't say I didn't warn you ;)

Looking for a little springspiration? Check out these 5 looks that bring together some of my favourite denim trends of the season...

SEE THE LOOKS HERE...

VALENTINE'S 2015 | Day-to-Night Date Looks

via ELLE

Originally posted in The CLOSET

I have a little problem with you, Valentine's Day. It's not that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do here. I get that you just want us to love and eat candy. I like love and I also like candy. I totally get what you're selling. It's just that I don't like being forced into a heart-shaped box where romance starts after 7pm.

My favourite idea of love is the all day kind. The kind that starts early in the morning when my husband makes me a cappuccino with a heart-like pattern in the foam. He claims it's something much more inappropriate, but I'm a romantic so I like to believe it's a heart. Love shows itself throughout the day when my 4 year-old son gives me a Lego spaceship he built with a little Lego 'mommy' in the back toting a giant spacegun and a little Lego 'him' in the front wearing a bikini from my daughter's Lego Friends beach set. It doesn't make any sense but love rarely does. So I give him a kiss and tell him I love it, because I do. The rest of the day will be filled with signs that I'm loved - squeaky toys dropped at my feet by our ever-loyal Westie, random emails from my mom and sister, texts from my best friend and an exhausted kiss goodnight and subsequent zzzzz from my husband after hours of trying to get our kids to bed. Love, it turns out, has more layers than any long-stemmed rose.

Whether you're single, attached or somewhere in between, let this Valentine's be a day to celebrate all the love in your life. And if you happen to be annoyed by everyone in your life at the moment, at the very least you can always love clothes. I've put together 3 adorable outfits that will take you oh-so-sweetly from breakfast to dinner this Valentine's Day. I'm not suggesting that you wear all 3 outfits, but you know that I wouldn't discourage it either. They say that above all, you should love yourself first, right?

SEE ALL 3 LOOKS HERE...