Designer Highlight: Natasha Sakhuja & Henry Navarro

          When two creatives minds come together, you know that something beautiful will transpire. 

    Canadian designers Natasha Sakhuja and Henry Navarro collaborated together to create their collection Femme Universalis for Fashion Art Toronto. Sakhuja is known for her glamorous Western-Indian inspired pieces that incorporate beautiful silks and gems. Navarro who is a designer and professor at Ryerson's Faculty of Fashion creates designs that are conceptual. 

  Although the designer duo are known for different looks, they always knew that they wanted to work together. By July of 2013, the designers both came together to create their collection: Femme Universalis. The concept behind their line is feminism with symbols of ancient goddesses and fertility being displayed throughout the line. In order to create this look the designers chose to implement light natural fabrics and earth tones in their line. The overall result is a beautiful collection that empowers and celebrates womenhood. 

Below are some images of their Natasha Sakhuja and Henry Navarro's collection: Femme Universalis

This is my favorite piece in the collection. I love the neutral colours used and the minimalist detailing on this piece. 

In the fashion world, models often experience pressure to look a certain way and maintain a certain weight in order to fit into the clothing that they are paid to showcase. However, Natasha and Henry's collection embraces all women- even mothers. The model seen below wears a beautiful dress that emphasizes her pregnancy. It is very refreshing to see women of various shapes and sizes on the runway and gives hope that the fashion industry is beginning to be more open about the models they choose to hire for their shows. 

 A brilliant show by two creative and talented designers.

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Fashion Show With Fashion Art Toronto

It's fashion and arts week in Toronto, and I was very fortunate to be invited by one of my friends to attend this event for Fashion Arts Toronto (FAT). The premise behind this event is to showcase the creative talent of artists, fashion designers and performers. 

Below are some images of the fashions shows that I watched. I hope you enjoy them and feel free to discuss which designs you enjoyed best.

ADAM X ATELIER 

Adam X Atelier delivers a modern-day ready to wear clothing line that empowers women.

Purple was a color that was commonly observed throughout the pieces in this collection. The coat shown below is brilliant and is such a bold statement piece.  

The highlight of this collection had to be this fabulous black and gold dress worn by the equally beautiful model that happens to remind me of the actress Lupita Nyong'o. 

The model in this dress was exquisite as she danced around on stage and her dress flowed around with every sway. It was such a beautiful moment on the runway. 

PORTE

Porte bases their collection on a huge trend that is popular this summer- all white clothing. The collection showcased by Porte delivers a fresh, feminine and classy look. The line is reminiscent of fabulous beach parties and all white events. Definetly a very pretty line aesthetically, which a large focus on detailing and cut outs on their designs. 

DIODATI

                         The clothing line Diodati is intense, modern and extremely futuristic. 

The mixing of fabric and a leather material is commonly seen in this line.

Diodati takes modern day looks and add a twist to them. Look at the elongated tank the model is wearing. What a great piece. 

COPIOUS

Plaid rules the runway in the designs by clothing line Copious. Red and yellow plaid dresses dominate the catwalk as models strut in these fabulous designs. 

I am such a huge fan of plaid that I appreciated that a designer would focus the majority of her line on creating red and yellow plaid dresses. Brave yet creative. 

The look below reminds me of a modern day red riding hood.

Yellow plaid dresses peplum plaid dresses are so cute. Watching these twins walk down the catwalk was so enjoyable. Double the trouble is so much fun in fashion! 

The highlight of this show was when the designer of Copious chose to walk out at the end of her show with all of her models, which was amazing to see. 

The media is incredibly fashionable too. Check out these photogs. They are so cute and chic I just had to take a photo of them, while they took photos of models.

I hope you enjoyed this post and got a taste of the amazing talent that Toronto has to offer!
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Highlights Of My Week: Beauty, Fashion & Food!

My week has been a fun filled week with food, beauty and lots of fashion. Here are some of my highlights!

 Top Row (beauty): I wanted to do something fun with my nails this week so I decided to do some polka dots on my nails. The main colour I used was an orange polish by Essie called Saturday Disco Fever and the white polish I used to create the polka dots was by OPI and called Alpine Snow.  

For step by step instructions on how to create my nail art, check out my post on DIY Polka Dot Nail Art!

Second Row (Fashion): This week I went vintage clothing shopping for the first time. It was something I always wanted to do but never tried. Thankfully to an event in downtown Toronto called the Vintage Crawl, I was able to explore various vintage shops and experience my first time vintage shopping. As you can see from the images above, there were some great items at some of these  vintage shops for a great price. If you have not been vintage shopping, I highly recommend trying it out.

Third Row (Food): This week I spoiled myself a bit and went to two different restaurants. My poor wallet, but well worth it! I went a new sushi restaurant that recently opened up in Toronto called Kanji, and decided to try some of their interesting items. One item in particular that stood out were the mango sushi rolls, which you can see on the bottom right corner. It was yummy, refreshing and such an interesting combination. I am definitely looking forward to having some more of it in the summer. 

The second restaurant I went to is a place I have been to several times called Williams Landing. I believe it gets it's name due to the get view it has of Toronto's city. It's quite a sight when you are sitting close to a window overlooking the beautiful Torontonian landscape. Usually when I go to Williams, I purchase fries and a wrap but this time I decided to go with their fish tacos and I am glad that I did because they were delicious! I have never had a fish taco before and realized that I have been missing out on something great for such a long time. If you ever get a chance to visit William's Landing definitely try out their yummy fish tacos. 

These are the highlights of my week! I hope you enjoyed it and 

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The Vintage Crawl: Vintage Shopping in Toronto

 

Have you ever wanted to shop vintage, but had no idea how to go about it? 

   I have always had the desire to shop vintage, but I often found myself worrying about the scent of used clothing (not all vintage is worn), wondered if the pieces would be in good condition and questioned whether the pieces would work well in my wardrobe. Due to these concerns vintage clothing shopping stayed off my list for a while, until a friend of mine informed me about an interesting vintage crawl that would be taking place in downtown Toronto from 7pm-12pm.

  Similar to the concept of bar hopping, the vintage crawl allowed customers to hop from one vintage store to the next in search of awesome finds. Most stores also offered discounts ranging from 20-30% and provided customers with beverages and drinks! Sounds like fun to me!

  As a first time vintage shopper, I was amazed by the variety of the items offered in every store: Hats, Jackets, scarves, boots, bags, jeans and lots of ripped jeans shorts. Also, it is important to highlight that some stores were more expensive than others and had newer or better pieces of clothing in their stores. According to one of the employees I was speaking to, there is a hierarchy in vintage stores where some stores get first dibs on clothing or receive better pieces than other stores.

  Although some vintage stores are on the lower end, I would not discourage anyone from shopping at one, as they also carry many great pieces that some of these stores would leave behind because they can't price it as high or feel that it does not fit with the items that they usually keep in their store. Therefore, it is recommended to keep an open mind while shopping vintage, because great pieces can be found anywhere - high or low end. I for sure have experienced this many times I go shopping.

  Below are some pictures of some of the vintage stores I visited in downtown Toronto:

  The first store I visited was called Public Butter. The store contains are wide range of items and the clothing is reasonably priced. The clothing also appeared to be in good condition since most of it is items that have been worn and passed on- hence the name vintage.

  While shopping vintage I didn't realize how much I love vintage bags. There is such a large variety of styles that you can't always find when shopping at retail stores. If you are a bag lady or bag man, vintage stores are a great place to visit.

 * When shopping for a vintage bag, make sure to open it up and make sure that the lining is in good condition. You don't want to leave with a bag that is falling apart on the inside although it appears fine on the outside.

   One thing about vintage stores is the changing rooms they offer. Public Butter has a confessional as their fitting room. Also, I really like this floral embroidered shirt that I found while shopping. It reminds me of a piece I found last summer at Top Shop.

  Another store I went to was House of Vintage. Immediately upon entering this store you can get a sense that it is a bit higher priced. The store has a certain air about it and you don't necessarily feel like you are hunting for treasure as you do with Public Butter. Although it is a bit higher priced, it is still not to pricey. In fact, some of the items I found myself wanting were reasonably priced. 

I loved these Ralph Lauren clogs! Due to the poor weather in Toronto, I decided to leave them behind. But I will be keeping my eyes on them. 

  My conclusions about vintage shopping:

  As a first time vintage shopper I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the whole experience of shopping for unique pieces to add to my wardrobe. Most items are priced reasonably and are in good condition. And if you were wondering, the items I saw did not possess any unique scent. Overall, if you have never been vintage shopping, I highly recommend trying it out at least once. 

I hope you enjoyed my adventures shopping vintage for the first time!

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DIY: POLKA DOT NAIL ART

   Doing your own nail art may seem daunting, but with practice and some basic tools you can create your own nail design. In order to create this polka dot design you will need the following items: (1) A nail polish that will be used as your base/main colour. I chose to go with a bright orange color by Essie called Saturday Disco Fever, but you can choose a different color if you would like. (2) You need another nail polish that you will use to create the polka dots on your nails. I decided to go with a white polish I have by OPI  called Alpine Snow, but again you can use any color you prefer. Remember: It's important to choose two contrasting colors in order for the nail art to stand out. The worst thing would be to have a nail design that blends in. Lastly, you need a tool to create the polka dots that will be used as the design on your nails. For this you can use a nail dotting tool, such as the one I am using in the picture below. If you don't have any nail dotting tools,  you can use a tooth pick or dried up ballpoint pen to create the dots. Tip: When doing nail art, try to be resourceful since many of the tools people use to create nail art can be created with everyday household items. 

   Once you have gathered all of the items needed you are ready to create your polka dot nail art!

Below is a step-by-step process on how to create this look:

Step 1: Paint your nails with your main base coat. Do two coats depending on how you want your nail  polish to look. 

Step 2: Once your nail polish has dried, take your nail dotting tool/toothpick and dip it into your contrasting color. I choose to go with white (Alpine Snow by OPI) in order for it to pop against the orange (Saturday Disco Fever by Essie). 

Step 3: You can place any many dots on your nail as you want. You can put dots on every nail if you want, or on only a few nails. It's really up to you. I chose to do a few nails with the polka dots design, because the white dots are very loud on my nails and I did not want to make my fingers too distracting. Once you have followed these steps you have made your own DIY polka dot nail art. Simple and easy!

I hope you enjoyed this post and feel inspired to do your own nail art! 

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Highlights Of My Week: Fashion, Beauty, DIY

Top Row: (Fashion)

  The outfit of the day that is depicted above highlights one of my favorite pieces in my closet: my golden blazer from Club Monaco. As mentioned in my previous post, I love this blazer and view it as an incredibly classy and stylish piece. I personally styled this blazer with all black in order to create some contrast as the gold is already very bold and is the main attraction. Wear with booties or a pair of heels depending on where you will be going for that day.

Middle Row: (Beauty)

  I decided to paint my nails this week with a nail polish color that I recently purchased from a makeup warehouse sale. The nail polish is by Essie and is called size matters. The color is a nice wine color that gives me a mature look when applied on the nails. I used two coats of polish to produce the richness of this color. All that is needed is a top coat and you are ready to go.

  I also made an appointment at the salon and got my hair done. Magazine of choice as I dried my hair: Fashion magazine. I left the hair salon extremely happy with the final result of my hair.

Bottom Row: (DIY Project)

  A few days ago I was shopping at Urban Outfitters and noticed a flyer for a DIY Bracelet Workshop. As I have always had an interest in making my own jewelry, I figured this would be a worthwhile workshop to visit. When I arrived to the workshop with my friend in toe, I was surprised that this workshop would involve gimp- a plastic material that I remember using to make bracelets when I was younger and spent my days at summer camp.

  As I hadn't made these bracelets in years, the instructor was really helpful and spent a few minutes teaching me how to make the bracelets. Although I struggled for a while to create my bracelet, I was eventually able to piece together my bracelet (very slowly). Overall, the workshop was incredibly fun and has inspired me to create some bracelets for myself in the future. *The bracelet shown above was created by the instructor of the workshop: Leah Renee Tomlinson.

 I hope you enjoyed my highlights for the week!

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Outfit of the day: Golden Club Monaco Blazer

  Before it begins to warm up, if it actually ever does, I decided to dress up in my most festive blazer. Why? Because this gold blazer is fabulous and all things fabulous deserve to be appreciated in the best way possible. 

   I first laid eyes on this golden blazer when shopping at Club Monaco; which also happens to be one of my favorite store for classic and chic pieces. Although some people may shy away from a gold blazer, I personally was drawn to all of its magnificent glory. I stood in front of the blazer imagining all of the ways I could style it and incorporate it into my wardrobe. And yes, I am willing to wear this blazer at work (I work in an office). In my opinion, if there is any time to be daring in your life, it is best to do so when your young. I say this because many people stop taking risks with their appearance or the clothing they wear as they get older; especially because of societal norms and trying to fit in or to look a certain way. So rather than shying away from bright or strong colors, I usually jump at the chance to wear bright red pants, neon tank tops and in this case a gold blazer.

  The blazer retails for $275.00, which is way above my budget. Thankfully, I had $75.00 gift card for the store that I had been waiting for the perfect moment to use. I was extra lucky that day because the store also had a huge discount taking place in the entire and I ended up only paying $150.00 for the blazer. What a steal!  

  Giddy from the initial rush of my new purchase, I went home to try it on and come up with different ways to style my new piece. Below are some pictures of different ways that I choose to style and incorporate my new blazer with my wardrobe. 

 A great look for a business professional. Imagine being an marketing professional or working in PR and coming to work in this outfit! Girl on a roll. 

    

//Club Monaco blazer//

//Donald J. Pliner silver capped heels//

//Club Monaco cropped dress pants//

           Buttoning up the blazer changes makes you look more professional and polished.

I made small changes by changing the shoes I am wearing from heels to a black bootie. The bootie makes this outfit a bit more laid back, in comparison to when I had the heels on. Perfect for a night out with the girls from some drinks!

//Club Monaco blazer//

//Just Fab black booties//

//Zara black jeans//

I hope you liked the way I styled my outfit and I look forward to reading your comments! 

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