down the rabbit hole

i've been a little bad at updating my blog the last couple of days. i've been taking pictures almost everyday but i haven't have the time to post. so to get caught up here's another monday work look. this outfit started with my bunny thermal. i wanted to wear it as a layering piece so i decided to pair it with one of my favourite t-shirt dresses. the silver hoops i'm wearing have a cute story to them. around four years ago there was a mtv diary for christina aguilera's new stripped cd and in it she was wearing a few different pairs of ghetto gold hoops. i feel in love with them but couldn't find them anywhere. finally i found these silver hoops and immediately bought them as they were the biggest and puffiest earrings i could find. now thanks to girls like lily allen these hoops can be readily found outside the streets of nyc. in fact i was finally able to buy a hot heart shaped pair.


bunny print thermal: primp
t-shirt dress: tna
tights: h&m
suede boots: vintage ebay
siler hoops: gypsy

Tweet

heart on my sleeve

so sometimes different aspects of your day require different outfits but, if you're not lindsay lohan or clark kent you may not have the time or luxury of a full look redo. instead you may just have to layer your look in the morning to prepare for what's ahead. with this look i had my new nordic inspired sweater for running errands and going for lunch. then i removed that to reveal my heart print sweater for work because the other sweater was too hot and nice to risk ruining. finally, i remove that sweater to reveal my sexy black tank for dancing the night away.
i take special pride in these jeans because i was able to take a little worn bootcut pair and turn them into sexy ripped skinnys with my sewing machine.


I mostly take my blog pics in my living room but with winter on our doorstep i've been having lighting problems so i headed into my bedroom for my heart top shots. you can see my overflowing lace curtain ikea wardrobes in the background.


tank: french connection
jeans: modfied see thru soul
boots: vintage guess
heart sweater: h&m
nordic sweater: french connection
neacklace: silver locket from my mom

Tweet

yo tiger.

so a couple of weeks ago i went to the zoo to spend a fall afternoon. i love the zoo, it's so pretty in the valley and i love seeing all the animals. my favourites are all the canadian forest animals, like the beavers and mountain lions, and i love the tigers. they always remind me of that scene in rocky 2 when rocky proposes to adrian. that would be a perfect proposal to me. anyways i was wearing one of my favourite dresses that day, it has a great horse print. horses always remind me of stella mccartney and her time at chloe. she was the first designer i ever truly loved and followed. she inspired me to learn more about fashion and the time she and phoebe philo spent at chloe were some of my favourite collections ever. another thing this outfit shows is how size labels are irrelevant. my frye boots are a 71/2, normally i wear a 9 or 81/2 and my cardi is a large when i usually buy a medium or small. i think you really have to go with what feels and looks best. i mean sometimes when something is a little looser it makes it look more expensive and chic. plus, things like cotton tees wear better if they're a bit big because when the shrink they still look good instead of cheap or trashy. while, jeans and certain leather items like moccasins can stretch out so you have to go a bit smaller. trying things on is so important. anyways, here's some pics of me hanging out with my animal friends.

cardigan: winners, adec2
dress: h&m
socks: h&m
boots: frye
bag: winners, friis company

Tweet

tear, cut, paste

i love making scrap books. i make them for vacation photos, as a diary and for fashion ideas. i create fashion scrapbooks by tearing pictures i find inspiring out of magazines. they could be specific items i love, styling ideas, cool photo shoots, designer information etc. it's something i have been doing since i was in high school and considering i buy at least 2-3 magazines a week i've collected a lot of tears. once i cut out the part of the magazine pages i want to keep i organize them into categories like dresses, handbags, outfits, beauty, it girls etc. there are specific girls whose style i always admire. they are kate moss, sienna miller, keira knightley, rachel bilson and kirsten dunst. these girls get whole pages just for them. the most tedious parts are the trimming of the photos but it's worth it to have a collection of images you can turn to for instant inspiration. plus, it allows me to recycle my magazines instead of holding on to them all because there's a cute dress on page 136. after i'm done pasting the pics in my books i like to write blurbs about what made me tear out the pics in the first place. unfortunately i usually don't get that far as it's too time consuming. below are some examples of pages from my scrap books. my diary scrapbook is a little different. in it i put tears about travel, beauty, decor, music, books etc. as well as blurbs about what's going on in my life. below are two examples of pictures from my diary. the first is an example of a roman wedding band. it is exactly what i want if i get married. the second is a cute pic of two of my fav. actors alexis bledel and milo ventimiglia that i included when i wrote about the demise of their relationship.

Tweet

the rain before the snow

so it's suppose to snow tonight so i decided to get in one more dress before winter forces me to bundle up. i chose this cozy organic cotton dress and leggings combo for a day of baking banana bread, dancing to alicia keys and timberland, shopping and scrap booking. i had to return a top at urban outfitters and i ended up finally finding a wallet to replace my dirty white canvas billabong one. i also picked up a rhinestone studded vest. i went to h&m to try and find a top i wanted yesterday that was sold out. it turns out they didn't have it either but i got a bow belt and headband as well as a sequin skirt. everything was really well priced which is making me think maybe stores are starting to put their prices down due to the high canadian dollar.


cardigan: h&m
dress: h&m
leggings: t&a
socks: h&m
boots: ebay vintage guess

Tweet

lindsay lohan has nothing on me

so when i got home yesterday i had a bunch of packages with me. i did some serious shopping down on queen west. i had to bundle up in my eternity scarf and fox gloves for the afternoon of walking in the city.i bought a new pair of moccasins at get outside. they're black leather and incredibly soft. i probably won't have many more days to wear them this year as the snow will be here soon but i love them anyway. I got a nordic sweater from french connection with neon wolves on it, love it! my spree also included a sexy sheer black tank, a vintage coach saddle bag and some sparkly bows. the bows are meant to be added to shoes but i was thinking they'd look great on a headband or hair elastic too.scarf: h&m
gloves: urban outfitters
jacket: french connection
moccasins: laurentian chief
sweater: french connection
bag: coach, denis' house of vintage
tank: club monaco
bows: h&m

Tweet

luke's diner

i haven't talked about the key pieces to my style yet. there are specific pieces that i own in multiples and wear a lot. it just happened that on this day i put a bunch of them together for this look. i love plaid, especially buffalo or lumberjack plaid. over the last few months my collection of it has exploded due to designers like phillip lim featuring it in their runway shows for fall/winter 2007. this shirt i'm wearing is one i picked up last winter and i love the flowered snaps and that it's cozy flannel. i also love tooled leather and have numerous vintage tooled leather belts. i found the cute deer buckle first on a child's belt and then the belt later at a vintage show. i thought they'd be great together as they both have a deer theme. the belt's another example of my love for canadiana imagery, with it's deers and acorns. that love is further echoed in my pine cone necklace. finally, one of my greatest loves of all are moccasins. this super comfy loafer pair are a newer acquisition but i have over 10 pairs of all shapes and sizes. my only rules about moccasins are that they have to be authentic (minnitonka, laurentian chief etc.) and they have to be a neutral colour (no pink or blue).

earrings: h&m
necklace: urban outfitters
tank: guess
plaid shirt: roots
belt: vintage
jeans: salt
moccasins: minnitonka

Tweet

music is my boyfriend

i put a bit more effort in what i wear to work on mondays because it's less busy. that means i can wear stuff that's a little nicer as its less likely to get ruined. it also means i get to wear my green suede boots. i found them on ebay and had to have them even though they were a half size too small. they pinch my feet but they are so cute. i'm really feeling the coloured tights right now. these green ones are dark enough that they act as a neutral and pretty much go with everything. adding the knee socks give the outfit dimension. it's the little things that elevate an outfit into something special. it could be a magenta sock peeking over the top of a boot, a great scarf or a vintage pin. earrings: gypsy
scarf: h&m
ring: gift
tank: american apparel
sweater dress: h&m
tights: american apparel
socks: old navy
boots: vintage ebay

Tweet

brunch and bruce

another saturday afternoon spent brunching at sunset. breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. there is nothing better then corn flakes, capitan crunch, bacon and pancakes. i broke out one of my vintage bruce springsteen shirt for the event. i love bruce, him circa 1978-1983 is my dream guy. of course seeing as i was born in 82 it never would have worked. still that didn't stop me from drooling over him at his magic tour concert last month. that also maybe explains my attraction to milo ventimiglia when he played jess on gilmore girls, my fav. show more on that in another post, they had the same hair.
jacket: hm
shirt: vintage bruce springsteen concert tee 1985
jeans: j brand lovestory
shoes: vans
necklace: marc by marc jacobs watch

Tweet

muskoka dreamin'

there's nothing i love more then heading up to muskoka. i get to do some fishing, relaxing and go for canoe rides. such activities call for comfy outfits consisting of my favourite sweats from roots, aritizia and victoria's secret's pink line. it one of the few times i can break out my short chocolate uggs without feeling guilty. any other time they feel like a fashion cop-out. below is a pic of me on a fishing trip to big chute in some roots gear (i didn't catch anything). I love the purple top because it has a deer on the back and i love forest imagery (deers, acorns, owls, bears etc.) the third pic features my fella showing of my successful catch, don't worry we let him go. finally on the same trip another photo of me in my fav. horse print tna hoodie enjoying a canoe ride.

Tweet

3 degrees celcius

so winter is pretty much here, that means lots of layers and bundling up. today i paired a cozy plaid shirt with my new gray roper boots.

plaid shirt: wesc

tank: french connection
jeans: american eagle
boots: vintage justin roper boots (ebay seller adbcamalott)
ring: hm

Tweet

greetings from the true north strong and free

well i'd like to welcome you to my blog, 'true north style'. this is a blog where i'll discuss my views on fashion, culture and all things stylish. i'll also be displaying my personal style, a little bit vintage, a little bit rock and roll. it's a canadain take on the london look that girls like kate, sienna and keira do so well. basically, that means more plaid less tweed and more moccasins less wellies. i hope someone out there reads and enjoys my little addition to cyber space.

- cindy

Tweet