Clubbing

(Warning…long, picture-heavy post.)

I kinda want to live at Club Monaco right now. I want to buy everything (well, almost everything), it’s like it’s Anthro back in 2010. I don’t know what it is about their current aesthetic that’s so appealing to me right now, but it’s working for me. Now if only I were as tall and thin as they think I should be.

I love the neutrals and the black and white stripes.

 
The Grace Knit Skirt is striped in the front and solid black in the back, and the Cory Solid Sweater is a great light top. Yes, it’s see-through, but I’m surprisingly fine with that (I will wear a cami).

Hello, shapeless blob Rachel! The sales staff very helpfully got be some “basics” to try on with the skirt. I don’t know on what planet the Rena Top is a basic, but it’s definitely not for me.

The Bailey Dress in white looks pretty nondescript online, a little more appealing on the hanger, and like a nightgown on me. A pretty white nightgown, but a nightgown nonetheless and not the little white beach dress it’s supposed to be. Also a little pricey at $229 for rayon (masquerading as silk).

One thing about these pics and the store (Bloor St, close to work) is that the grey curtains make a great backdrop and look really nice, but I hate them as dressing rooms. It’s way too easy to peek in on people changing (like I inadvertently did on the woman in the next “room”) and to expose yourself in your underwear (like I did when one sales associate rushing by in a hurry moved those curtains just enough).  After that, I asked for a clip to keep the curtains shut so I wouldn’t be flashing the world.

Mint and other pastel colours abound, along with sparkly accessories displayed in greenery…

Francis Print Pencil Skirt and Harper Dress

I tried the Francis Skirt (also seen here on Roxy) with the Cece Cashmere Tee at a different store (North Yonge, close to home), one with real walls and a real door I could shut and lock. The print on the skirt (the website calls the colour “Teal Fluttering Petals”) is gorgeous, but the SA had me wondering the length is too long for me. (Or maybe it’s because they like short short short skirts. Free alterations at Club Monaco though, that’s a bonus.) They seem to be pushing the cashmere tee hard (their selling point is that it’s cashmere at under $200 and that’s super amazing). My quibble is it’s see-through and I’m pretty sure it’ll pill really fast, so no thanks.

And finally the Lenora Dress (tried at yet another lunchtime visit to the Bloor store). Apparently based on the Louis Vuitton signature Monogram print (CM calls it “Star Foulard Print,” also available in a short), according to the SA. It’s polyester but it feels like expensive polyester (and expensive it is, at $250). Looks completely different on someone with boobs than it does on the model. If I hadn’t seen it on Roxy first, I would have passed it by. It really is a lovely dress, and I was really tempted to get it for a posh wedding I’m attending next month, but I stopped myself. Despite the flattering fit and the lovely spring-y colour, I don’t think I’ll get a lot of use out of it. The higher neckline (I always prefer V-necks) and the polyester are strikes against for me. So sadly, I’ll pass.

But it goes really well with my bag and my old Club Monaco scarf! I think I’ve had this scarf since 2006. When I love something from CM, I love it a long time.

I’m ok when everything is not ok.

If I keep saying that over and over again, it’ll be true, right?

I had a pretty lousy week, more family drama that I unwillingly keep getting sucked into. I just wish everyone would just work out their shit without dumping it on me; I have enough of my own to deal with, thank you very much. My cold also got worse and I spent most of the week at home with a box of Kleenex, trying to get some work done at the same time. I finally made it out of the house yesterday for a walk and some window-shopping. Shopping always makes me feel better.

Club Monaco striped knit top| Roots organic cotton leggings | Anthro Cream Confection Jacket (Idra) | Geox Boots | Marc by Marc Jacobs Hillier Hobo

The knit top and leggings are my “going out” version of pyjamas. So comfy, yet acceptable. And after being condo-bound for a few days, it was really nice to put on “real” clothes and get some fresh air.

I wandered up to the Club Monaco in my neighbourhood to browse and I ended up trying a few things on:

Nell Leopard Dress – This is not something I’d ever wear, but I kinda like it. I’m wearing a size M and it’s a little loose, I would have liked to size down but no S left. The other downside was that the fabric was a little scratchy. There is a silk short-sleeved version that I need to try on next.

This is it without the belt, probably better with the belt.

Misty Top, size M & Gwyneth Long skirt, size 8 – the photo doesn’t show it well, but this is an insanely flattering faux-wrap top that I snapped up because it’s so insanely flattering.

I love the skirt, it’s a perfect shade of metallic grey, but it’s on my “think about it list” because I’m not sure how “me” it is. It also seems a bit fancy for me, but this is a great example of dressing it down. I’m definitely thinking about it.

random photos, the last part

The water fountain outside the Summerhill LCBO.

one of my patented pictures of nothing. I have no idea what this is, but it’s kinda cool and abstract.

What I saw on the TV in the elevator at work, at 7:50 in the morning.

Owl cushions in the window at Potato Skins.

Bailey 44’s Tiered Stripes Dress shows that I actually have a small waist, but also a tummy and wide hips.

Head to toe in teal! The top is too low-cut though, and as much as I love the teal cords, I ain’t paying $196 for them.

This bulldog on the subway is named Lizzie.

What I wore out last Saturday: Soïa & Kyo jacket from 2007, leggings, and Hunter boots.

Is there anything more disgusting and delicious than poutine?

These macarons at nadège were too sweet and tasted the same. I couldn’t tell the difference between the salted caramel and the vanilla. I may not have the most sophisticated palate, but my taste buds aren’t dead. They’re pretty though.

random photos, part two

The Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, my hometown.

A view of the National Art Gallery from behind the Parliament buildings. I absolutely love living in Toronto and I don’t want to move back to Ottawa, but it’s just so much prettier there.

Looking across to Gatineau and the Museum of Civilization

Blurry fried chicken from The Stockyards.

They do good burgers too.

A corgi on the street.

I love this skirt.

Butterfly, butterfly, flutter into the sky.

In the window of a furniture store in Rosedale.

Flowers on Thanksgiving weekend, when it was +30C.

Abby wanting love and attention, as usual.

random photos, part one

So the camera phone on the iPhone 3GS isn’t brilliant, but I still love having a camera with me at all times. Those random pictures start piling up pretty quick, and most of them are garbage. But here are a few that I thought were worth sharing. Obviously, this post will be very picture-heavy.

A spring mannequin at Club Monaco, snapped back in April. I wish I’d tried on that skirt.

A Great Dane at the bank. Doesn’t seem too big? The owner is average height.

A tangle of my jewellery on the granite countertop.

Downtown Toronto early on a July morning.

the lobby in my condo building, pretty swank, but those chairs are darn comfortable

Tried on the Verdant Slip Dress in the blue colourway back in August, but never posted it. Like the leggings? Me too, I was too lazy to take them off. I think I prefer the blue to the original green, but I didn’t buy the blue because I can’t justify owning both of them. And don’t get me wrong, I still love the green.

Cupcakes with teal frosting at my friend’s Stella & Dot trunk show.

I love this clock. I can’t remember what furniture store I was in (not Restoration Hardware, although it’s in the same style), but it’s somewhere on King East.

At another furniture store on King East. This is so tacky it almost comes back around to awesome.

This got me thinking about an aqua and red colour combination.

And here I am, in the original Verdant Slip Dress, bloated after too much dim sum. I didn’t like this chair. See how the cushion is coming out? It wasn’t comfortable.

My nephew. Love his orange sweater!