L-A: Holy crap, y’all! It’s June! I feel like I go through this every month, which means 12 times a year I’m dumbfounded that 30 days or so have gone by. But for reals. June! This is the J-month that starts to bring the decent weather. And that’s a favourite in itself. Anyway. The favourites!
New summer, means new fun things from Downtown Halifax. This year: First Timers Club. Last night was a photoshoot with profesh photographers and one of our favourite downtown shops, J&R Grimsmo. The first timer part for us? (because of course we’ve already been photographed professionally) Drinks and appetizers at Gio. So. Frigging Good. (Pro-tip: the old fashioned and the One Ting – a mojito like drink – are the bomb).
2. Winning
First: I won a prize at the First Timers Club. When they randomly called the number on the back of my name tag, I may or may not have had a moment like this:
Only mildly embarrassing. You sort of get over that when you realize you get to take the prize home.
Secondly: hockey is big right now because of this thing called the Stanley Cup, which I’m not usually interested in. Except! The LA Kings are playing. And they have been winning games. Which means strangers are having conversations that go something like this:
Stranger 1: Do you think LA is going to win?
Stranger 2: Totally. LA is a winner.
Stranger 1: I think you’re right. I’m totally betting on LA.
Stranger 2: LA is going to win.
Okay. Sort of paraphrased. But I did overhear a conversation which involved two dudes talking about how LA is a winner. This, my friends, is one heck of an ego boost. So, go LA go!
3. Formal Fridays
You think casual Fridays are good? Well friends, this is better. While I’m super sad that the reason we decided to have Formal Friday is that a co-worker is leaving to move back home to the promised land (aka. Newfoundland), I am totally pumped for formal wear on a Friday. I’m going to attempt to make nautical formal and it involves a ballgown skirt (which, annoyingly, I cannot get the wrinkles out of. This is what happens when you keep a skirt folded for 10 years). Pics to follow on the tumblr.
4. Wine with friends
I am going on a tour! Of wine making places! With awesome people! This is totally warranting excessive exclamation marks! But seriously. I’m headed to the home of my alma mater and I’m going to hang out with the aforementioned awesome people, show them my old stomping grounds and then go tour the wineries in the Annapolis Valley. It will totally be a time.
5. Ridiculous advertising
Sometimes I listen to Eminem without Ally’s encouragement. When I did this recently, I got this ad:
Somehow, Mickey + Eminem = no sense at all.
6. I don’t have a hipster jam, but how about some Jay Z x Kanye?
My feelings on the video are conflicted. But I was totes enjoying the song this week. But then again, I was also enjoying this:
It’s no wonder the little DJ in my iPhone will go from Dinosaur Jr to Notorious B.I.G.
Ally:
1. L-A:
My top favourite this week has to be L-A who kept me sane when I was surviving on a total of six hours sleep since Monday. I know none of you really care about this, but it hurt y’all. It hurt. So thanks, L-A. You deserved that prize. Also, I’m kicking myself for not taking a picture of L-A yesterday. She was rocking sexy nautical styles – I know, she does this everyday, but it was a new level of nautical sexy.
In case you were wondering, this is what comes up when you Google “Nautical Sexy”.
Apparently confidence only comes with smooth shaved legs SO SAYS THIS WEBSITE AND NOT ME.
2. Anna Sui for Hush Puppies
L-A had some legit issues with the most recent issue of Vogue. I have to give love for the Anna Sui for Hush Puppies print ad that led me to these beauties:
Superstar!
Rumour has it these are being sold at John David in Park Lane. Please be true shoe Gods.
3. Sad Southern Inspired Music
Truth be told, I likely should have been born in Baton Rouge. I like southern style, southern music, southern food. I wish I had an accent. I wish I spent three hours on my hair each day. This deserves a seperate post similar to my affinity for 80′s Rock Star Groupies’ fashion stylins’ (which actually is the fashion stylins’ of strippers from the 80′s but during an Official Blog Related Lunch Intern Krista advised that a post on such a topic might be a bit gauche for a mainstream blog. And the Rock Star Groupie idea was born). Anywaaaaaaaays, when I’m exhausted and sick I like to deepen the pain by listening to really sad music. It helps to know that at one time, Lynyrd Skynard was feeling just as woe.
This post would not be complete without me pointing out the massive NOT FAVOURITE for this Friday. As many of you know, Communications Consultant Ally is working alongside L-A three days a week. Today is not one of those days. I tell these people over and over that Monday and Friday are home office days to focus on my own clientele, and what do they do? They selfishly host a formal attire theme ON A FRIDAY.
How does this make me feel?
Two can Gif this game (although clearly L-A is much better, I must bring over a box of wine to her cubicle and ask her to show me how to make my Eminem Gifs right pretty like).
I am glad that my great friend Jane (L-A’s colleague) is getting a fancy send-off. I am also glad there will be photos on our tumblr. What am I wearing today nobody asks? I will answer you with a heavily filtered photo!
Leggings as pants say wha' home office day?
Crappy Pop Video of the Week. Let’s throw it back.
L-A: So, and I’m not blaming Ally for this, we’re both sick. And this is sort of how our Tuesday looked:
She treated it by going to the doctor and getting her bangs did by Esther (they were practically next door to one another) and I gave in and went home to nap/work from home/not spread germs around the office. Because I don’t have time to let this get worse than it already is. Which means that instead of our usual thoughts and feelings on fashion and pop culture, we’re going to phone it in.
But to make it a slightly less half hearted attempt to phone it in, I’m going to go back into the archives for some of our (okay, my) favourite random style icons.
1. Lady Mary.
Bitch has it going on. Except for the dead Turk in her bed. That was unfortunate.
2. Lady Sybil
Rabblerouser AND style icon. Oh, and she is totally convinced by trousers. No wonder everyone loves Sybil best of all (except me. I like her a lot, but Mary is my home girl).
Like everyone else, we’ve left poor Lady Edith out. One of these days. Maybe. Or maybe we’ll just focus on her sister’s again (story of Lady Edith’s life!).
I believe April was my first ever random style icon. She’s actually a practical style icon and she’s kind of Jill’s hero. Her bangs and use of cardigans are totally my jam.
B-T-Dubs: April’s jacket from the opening credits of Parks and Rec? Marc by Marc Jacobs and it is so many seasons ago you’d be one lucky bitch to score that on ebay or in a consignment shop. If you ever do, please tell us about it so we can be properly jealous.
4. All the way with Stephanie Kaye.
Yes, the 80s were hard y’all. And luckily for those of us who lived through them, there were no digital cameras of any kind. Aside from the occasional scanned photo that shows up on Facebook, no one needs to see that we somehow wore blue eye shadow, a scrunchie, a banana clip and a feather clip from the Ex. At the same time. However, we do give props to Stephanie Kaye for her mad steez and making the 80s work.
5. Our real life style icon because he’ll wear a bowtie with a gingham shirt.
This happened on the weekend and we did not properly address this:
It was Anthony’s birthday, y’all!
Happy belated birthday to our West Coast Bureau and first ever unpaid staffer! He deserves all the boxes of wine and golf claps and gifs ever. Which brings me to this:
Let the Year of Anthony begin!
Also, I really need that green sequin dress in my life.
Ally: So sick up in here. And the rain! The RAIN, people! As L-A mentioned, I did manage to get my hair did at lunch yesterday after spending some quality time in a rather smelly medical clinic (not my usual Dr office). Even with a sinus infection (again) Esther made me feel stylin’. El Jeffe even said I looked like Karen from Californication!
No bangs though. Repeat, I did not cut my bangs.
El Jeffe has a huge crush on Karen from Californication, which I support over his affinity for Maria Menounos – which is likely his way of getting back at me after I said Billy Bush was hot but I digress, so this is a huge compliment. So I was all set to head into work on this fine Wednesday with Karen-from-Californication hair (don’t tell me that’s not one of the major pluses of having your hair done, you don’t have to wash it for DAYS) and the sky decided to be a massive ass hat. So now I look like this:
Ok, it's not that bad, but still. I really need to be roommates with Esther so that she can do that round brush thing every morning. I'd make her coffee and shit.
And apparently my style icon posts don’t meet the mark (make the mark?), but I’m going to include my fave style icon post on Jeannie van der Hooven:
The show focuses on the world of Management Consulting (not sure how accurate it is, as I consult more in the communications field and generally don’t end up roofying clients you’d rather not bed (not condoning!)), and has characters that appear to be based on the Real Life of Charlie Sheen. My favourite has to be Jeannie van der Hooven (played by the lovely Kristen Bell), a driven, self-absorbed, insecure gorgeous blonde lady. Think Serena van der Woodsen with more brains/less boobs and better communication skills.
L-A: I don’t buy Vogue as often as you’d expect a fashion blogger to buy it. I mean, I like it and all and possibly should be reading it more often for the inspiration, but $4.99/month? That’s one drink each month at my favourite happy hour in town. The affordable, yet totally drinkable wine often wins. But when I’m travelling, I usually treat myself to a Vogue and read all the articles because I have a ton of time to kill, seeing as how I’m strapped into a seat for two or more hours. Point being, I bought Vogue on the recent long weekend and was hoping to find some inspiration inside.
And hoo boy! Did I ever! Some of it will come in later posts, but today? Today is not the sort of inspiration you’d expect a fashion blogger to take from the leading fashion magazine. But here it is folks…wait for it…
PANTS!
Pants are literally back in Vogue. We'll talk about those sneakers another day, Marc Jacobs.
Yes! Pants are the new skirt. Dig those trousers out of storage ladies, because the world of fashion says they are back.
Okay, before you call the fashion police on me, I get it. Important Designers haven’t been doing pants much lately – it’s been about the skirt or the dress. So for designers to start focusing on the trousers it’s totally something that warrants being a three page article in Vogue. However, it’s one of those moments when I remember just how crazy bananapants out of touch designers are with the real world. Because I’m pretty sure the real world has been wearing pants all along. Maybe one day Miuccia Prada, a “bellwether” according to Vogue, was out amongst the people and noticed just how many pairs of pants were on the streets. I mean, something had to tip her to the side of the pants. Because this is what she has to say about them:
I am convinced by trousers.
Honestly, I couldn’t make that quote up if I tried. But there it is on page 102. I could cite it with various style guides and it would be legit. Miuccia Prada is convinced by trousers. In her bellwether books, dresses have “become too trendy” and she is now “convinced by trousers.”
I’ll give you a moment to giggle. Because she actually said that in an interview.
Actually, it’s not just designers, but the entire article is a wee bit of out of touch with reality. It goes on to say that there’s been an
…unexpected incidence of chinos, cargo pants, denims. All of these generics, possibly lurking in wardrobes from a casual moment three years ago…
I’m sorry, what? Denim was a casual moment three years ago? I clearly suck at this fashion thing.
Moving on to the meat of the article: pants are quite literally back in Vogue. But not just any pants. From what I’m reading, the style of the trouser isn’t the issue so long as it’s short enough to bare your ankle and show off your shoes. I greet this style news with both excitement (because I’ve been doing that with my jeans on warmer days) and fear (do we really need stores to start carrying a wide array of flood pants? I vote no).
Check it out…
