Wednesday, April 10, 2013

HANG IN THERE GUYS!

The title should actually be directed towards me, as I am allllllmost there -- just hang in there vitaminJ, you'll be done soon!  (The seriousness of this situation dictates that I use my blogger/rapper name.)

What will I be done with?  MEDICAL SCHOOL.  There's been so much stuff to take care of as I near the end of this slog that I haven't been able to post much.  I have a write-up on how to wear pastels in-progress that I keep opening up, staring at and then closing again.  I have been taking outfit photos though, and I have actually been drawing my outfits as well (OMG).  I've been having trouble figuring out a good time-efficient way to draw things for the blog, but I think I've got it!

Essentially, I just wanted to let everyone know that I plan to be back with some great new posts (+ drawings!) very soon, and to also give some insight into whats been up with me lately.

See you all very soon,
vitaminJ

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Daily Dose: The girl in the green scarf

I have been reading a lot lately.  My brother kindly found me an iPad mini and so far I've read through A Song of Ice and Fire and the Shopaholic books.  Obviously both clothing and dragons excite me immensely. I don't quite know why the Shopaholic movie changed the colour of a Very Important Scarf to green (it was blue in the books), but that's OK.  Green scarves are better anyways.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Daily Dose: Kimonos

I don't know about you guys, but I tend to fluctuate in my use of accessories.  Lately, I've been crazy for necklaces and nothing else!  My belts and bracelets and scarves are languishing in their drawers, crying out, 'wear me, wear me!'  I pulled out a belt for the first time in a long while, and it reminded me of my belt phase.   I have resolved to try to not get stuck in accessory phases (we'll see how long that lasts).
This is an outfit from the aforementioned belt phase.  It really reminds me of a kimono because of the flowy jacket-thing and the obi belt, although I am aware it is nothing like a kimono if I'm honest with myself.

The jacket-thing (I still don't really know what it is) was a cheap buy because I was intrigued.  I have become very fond of my jacket-thing, because it's super comfortable and I love the way it drapes.  It has a pattern but it's very subtle, so it's not too hard to pair with other things.  And of course, I'm wearing my much-beloved liquid leggings.  Have I told you how much I love my liquid leggings?  I thought not.  Finally, the outfit's finished off with a pair of nude pumps.  I do really like nude pumps for their versatility and leg-lengthening effects, but I've found it's quite difficult to find the right nude for you.  Nude doesn't mean a sort -of beige coloured shoe, but rather one that matches your skin tone.  Being browner than much of Canada, I went on quite the hunt for these, but I think they're exactly the right shade for me!  If you want to invest in a pair of nude shoes, please take the time and effort to find something as close to your skin tone as possible!  It looks super chic when you find the right ones!

I added up the total cost of this outfit for interest, and thought it might be cool to post the total costs of my outfits from now on, since I post the prices of the items anyways.  Is this of interest to anyone?

Grey lace-paneled tank - Smart Set - size S - $4.99
Floral kimono jacket - Smart Set - size XS - 4.99
Cognac obi belt - Aldo - size S - $5.99
Copper bracelets - from India
Liquid leggings - Suzy Shier - size S - $7
Nude pumps - Aldo - size 7 - ~$40

TOTAL COST OF OUTFIT = $62.97

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Daily Dose: Tweed zebra

I used to be very against wedges.  I didn't like the chunkiness, but since then I have come to embrace wedge heels.  I do think you need to be careful and pair more delicate things with them to counteract the chunk though!  I think these zebra print wedge booties are the most outrageous pair of shoes I've got; my cousin came over one day and asked me why I owned a pair of hooker shoes.  BECAUSE.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Daily Dose: Rust and Feathers

I've got a giant backlog of outfits, which I'm thankful for, because for the past few days, I've been meaning to snap some photos of what I've been wearing, but always end up thinking, 'Eh, I'll do it tomorrow'.  TOMORROW NEVER COMES.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Style Supplement: How to shave pants (or deal with stubborn lint)

Greetings from Toronto!  I just had my first interview in this area, and had some free time this evening.  The clothes I brought for this trip are based around a palette of mint, rose, black and grey.  I brought a pair of grey fleece leggings with me, but they looked terrible after being worn constantly under... everything while I was in India.  (Also my brother wore them for a while.  India was cold man.)  They were covered in lint and pills and were generally gross.  I tried a lint brush to no avail, so it was off to Google.  I learned of something called a 'sweater shaver', but thought that was too complicated.  Now, dear friends, what else shaves things?  That's right.  A razor.

HOW TO DEAL WITH STUBBORN LINT AND PILLS

1) First try washing your item and see if that helps.
2) If it doesn't, use a lint roller or some tape if you wanna be MacGyver-ish about it.
3) If you still can't get those fuzzy balls of frustration off, grab a disposable razor.  Now run the razor along the surface of the item in short strokes, as though you're 'shaving' it.  The pressure you should apply depends on the material of your item and what you're trying to remove.  With my fleece leggings, I found I had to press fairly hard to get the lint off, and it didn't ruin the material.  Try it out on a less visible area first.

Success!  I was very, very skeptical about this and couldn't believe it when it worked.  But it does!  Who needs a sweater shaver now?  (As a disclaimer, I've never used a sweater shaver and I have no idea exactly how well it works.)

Try it and let me know it it works for you!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Style Supplement: What to wear for an interview

It's that time again!  I've got three interviews coming up in the next two weeks which will decide my fate forever.  So I'm gonna try to look awesome.

I always find interview dressing difficult as the whole interview process can be so stressful.   To put it in perspective, having one to approximately fifteen interviews over the last few years, I can say that most of the time, no one really cares what you wear as long as you meet the baseline criteria of looking clean, presentable and professional.  But-- I hear you say, we are fashionable!  We need to look good!  And I totally agree.


Image from J.Crew.
Wearing a polka dot sweater with slim leg pants and pointed cap toe shoes in a monochromatic colour scheme is chic perfection!

I find that there are two major interview outfit missteps: 1) being inappropriate and unprofessional and 2) being boring.  I think most people know how to avoid the former, and the most common problem is the latter.  Being professional is easy, but being professional and stylish is something else altogether.


Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Retail Therapy: A guide to the January end-of-season sale

I deeply apologize for the long stretch without posts!  I was doing my MTU rotation (the horror!) and then buggered off to India for three weeks.  I had to go to an internet cafe to get on the web while I was away, which was rather quaint, but made it difficult to blog.  Also, India was cold.  It was confusing.

My second day back, true to form, I got off work early and walked across the street to the mall and SHOPPED.  There were some things I saw repeatedly on sale, so I present my quick and dirty guide to the January end-of-season sale.


 

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