SAVING IN STYLE | My Made in Canada Mission at Le Château Outlet

I'm not gonna lie. When Le Château asked me to go on a shopping trip at their Le Château Outlet store, I wasn't sure what I'd find. As anyone who reads my blog knows, I am no label snob. But I wondered, if it weren't for my blogger job, would I normally ever shop at a Le Château Outlet? With so many of our stores falling to US retailers, I'm all about supporting Canadian brands. And Le Château's Made in Canada collection has made me a fan, so why not try the outlet? Challenge accepted.

Armed with a gift card and a mission to spend it, I head to my local Le Château Outlet. Just like Le Château stores, I find the hunt is always worth the effort. I bypass the prom dress section and head straight for the shoes, honing in on a gorgeous pair of Made in Italy leather sandals for $99.99 and genuine Spanish-made gold espadrilles for $49.99. I always get distracted by the shoes. My basic tees are in rough shape so I'm stoked to find perfectly drapey grey, black and white Made in Canada tees, all super soft and beautifully constructed. Yes to all 3, please. I add a fun knit polka-dot dress, a two-tone jumpsuit and some gorgeous checked pants (all made in Canada) to my fitting room stash.  I'm super impressed by the quality and fit, and end up walking out with the tees, the jumpsuit and the checked pants (which I loooove). While I definitely had to do a little hunting, it was totally worth it for these Made in Canada pieces. Um, and maybe 1 pair of Made in Italy shoes. Sorry not sorry :) 

Want to check out Le Château Outlet for yourself? Shop 24/7 online here or check out Canadian Outlet locations here, then be sure to share your scores using #SavinginStyle #LeChateauOutlet. 

Made in Italy heels for $89.99 plus some sweet summer sandals for $19.99

Love this shimmery silver clutch.

That perfect drapey tee every woman needs, only made in Canada.

A Made in Canada dotted dress. 

Mwah. Love this. 

A statement silver choker makes the cut

Checked pants: check. 

#SpreadLeLove with Le Château

Alex and I ham it up for the camera. #nopresh

When Le Château asked me to be a part of their #SpreadLeLove Campaign along with some of Toronto's top fashion influencers, I jumped at the chance. I mean, me and my little blog? I didn't know I was on the radar, so YAY! 

The shoot was designed to celebrate the many different types of love, all while wearing looks from Le Château, of course. So, I headed to Le Château at Toronto Eaton Centre and found a gorgeous Made in Canada red coat, & classic white shirt, a perfect pair of black pants, plus a pair of Spiderman-esque webbed booties that I knew my superhero-obsessed boy would appreciate. As for Alex? Well, he didn't have a choice, either in taking part or in what he was going to wear, because I didn't really tell him. There were no pep-talks, no fussing, generally no lead-up at all to the photoshoot except, 'Wanna wear your favourite fox shirt? They're going to take our picture for Valentine's Day.' Fingers crossed.

Luckily, our boy handled it all beautifully. I picked him up early from school, we drove to Toronto, then had a blast hamming it up for the camera. The adorable lookbook just arrived in my inbox and I had to share it with you first. Scroll through the slides below to see all the pics including: 

• Afiya Francisco and her adorable boys
• Power fashion couple Alexander Liang & Justine Iaboni
• Maple Media crew Chris Turner, Sarah Kooner and Marianne Litman
• Daniel Desforges and Julio Reyes
• Ryan Emberley and Sabrina Maddeaux
• Casie Stewart and Lauren O'Neil
• Erica Grenci
• Le Château's Lucy Song and Tu Tieu 

Thank you so much for including us in the fun Le Château! Okay, back to my blogging now. Sigh...I miss my modelling days. I mean modelling day...whatever...

xx

Le Château Hits the Big Screen

Photos by Le Château

Originally posted in The CLOSET

It's not often that one can shop a film wardrobe without serious consequences to one's budget. I've tried - would not recommend it. But there's something about the magic of a movie that makes us want to get right into character, particularly when princesses, party dresses and killer heels are involved. 

When I heard that Canada's own Le Château had created the exclusive wardrobe collection for After the Ball, the upcoming fashion fairytale flick starring Chris Noth, Lauren Holly and Portia Doubleday, I was stoked. And once the gorgeous lookbook pics were finally released, it was proof that when you give your designers some creative license, magic happens. 

From cool cobalt blue, reminiscent of evil stepmoms and scheming stepsisters, to soft berries, pretty pinks and boy-meets-girl pieces perfect for any modern Cinderella, the entire collection is full of refreshingly affordable lust-haves that will undoubtedly impress any Le Château skeptic. A pink coat with gold buttons, a work-perfect windowpane check dress and a houndstooth bow-tie blouse layered up with a plaid mini and edgy blue chain-strap booties are at the top of my list, while any future royal ball invites will beg for some of the dreamy dresses in this collection. 

Let's face it: After the Ball might totally suck (see the synopsis here), but if only for the flick's stellar wardrobe, I'm already head-over-glass-heels in love.

The After the Ball collection has already started to arrive in stores, with the bulk of the pieces hitting early October. Sigh...our fashion dreams have finally come true...

SEE THE FULL COLLECTION HERE...

Slouchy Chic: 5 Ways to Go with the Flow

Photo courtesy Danier

Certain people just know how to rock cool slouchy pants and drapey shirts, giving off that laissez-faire vibe without looking the least bit slovenly. Ever wondered how to pull it off? I've got 5 Stylist Secrets to help you go with the flow this Spring. Hint: it's way easier than you think...

Read the full article here

Snake Charmers

Spring '13 at Proenza Schouler, Gucci & Erdem - photo credit: Fairchild Photo Services

Originally posted in The CLOSET

Snakes suck. I mean, not literally (I don't think?) but let's face it: they're cold, and creepy and can kill you. And so, I've never really been a fan. Now that I think of it, I don't think I know anyone who likes them. The sad part? It's so not their fault. A little baby snake with its cute little baby snake diaper is probably pretty sweet and I'm fairly certain it doesn't actually want to hurt anyone. It's just that, if someone was coming at me with a pitchfork or a shovel, I'd probably lunge, too, wouldn't you?

As it turns out, most people are almost as afraid of snake prints as they are of the slithery beasts themselves. And I'm here to tell you, as a full-blown ophidiophobic (yes, I looked that up), that when it comes to python, it's just not that scary. In case you missed the memo, 2013 is the Year of the Snake - that's right, the year where we celebrate all things serpentine - so I can't think of a better time to face our fears head on. So how do you wear python print? Think of it as the leopard's slightly edgier younger sister, something that's good in small doses, say in a shoe or a bag or a statement blazer, to add an instant dose of cool to any solid ensemble. Want to go all out? Try pairing a neutral python with a summer floral or opt for snake print done up in a pretty pastel or bold bright.

Before you know it, you (and maybe even I) will be sssimply sssmitten for snakes. Well, the print at the very least... 

Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

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