sentimental.

I recently came back from a trip to Montana(Whitefish to be exact). Naturally, trips for me involve a substantial amount of time reserved for shopping. I was at a loss. Whitefish is typically known for skiing, hiking, biking and basically any other outdoor activity known to man. While I am no stranger to being physically active, when I am on vacation the last thing I envision is waking up at 9:00 a.m. to bicycle up a mountain. But, this particular location was not my choice so I had to get creative and make the best out of the situation. Luckily for me I was not alone in my quest for retail therapy, my mom (who taught me the fine art of shopping) was by my side. We ventured into the small town of Whitefish expecting to find stores that catered mainly to burly outdoorsmen. To our surprise what we found was a quaint little village of boutiques filled with handmade clothes and jewelry. I kicked myself for being such a skeptic, because what this town really showed me was that I depend far to much on mass marketed stores like Forever21, Urbanoutfitters, and American Apparel to fill my closet. Don't get me wrong, I love these stores and a large portion of my wardrobe consists of clothing from them. But these little stores made me realize that my wardrobe lacked special, one of a kind items that someone put time and effort into creating, essentially for me. Here is a photo (not a good one, I apologize) of my favorite acquisition! It is a handmade Hamsa bracelet (which I am told, will protect me from "the evil eye) and there are only two of them in the whole world.

Steal of a Deal.

So, I think I have said my piece about how much I love Target but I feel the need to brag about my latest find. First, let it be known that I live in Canada, therefore Target is a rare treat for me that I get to indulge in 3-4 times a year max. So, when I go I will be the first to admit it, I get giddy. So there I was in Target, a little disappointed that there was no "featured designer" when I stumbled upon these amazing little pouches. I learned that a couple named Ted Vadakan and Angie Myung had collaborated with designers and artists that inspired them and that they loved and they created these purses, laptop cases, key chains, tote bags and of course my adorable little pouches. What is even better is that I got all three of these little satchels for $14.99! I can use one for credit cards etc, one as a pencil case and one as a makeup case. Oh the possibilities!

buckles & leather

Now, I am not sure if I am totally off-base but my new must have for this fall has become motorcycle boots. Last year, I was all about finding the perfect pair of brown riding boots with the buckles in the right spot. I have totally shifted gears (pun intended) and I am trading in my pristine riding boots for bad ass clunky motorcycle boots. There is something about the rugged look of them with a nice pair of skinny jeans or "jeggings". I recently went to Target where I found the pair I will be wearing for the next 5 months.

Clink

I absolutely love literal, eccentric, unique jewelry. For me, hoop earrings, lockets, diamond studs, and pearl necklaces never really did the trick. I was always drawn to more eye-catching creations. I have posted some jewelry before, like a skull bracelet and a ring that is a finger tip and those are things that I love because they are so simple yet so creative. I am repeating myself now so instead of doing that I will post my newest acquisition. A chain link necklace, I love how it looks as though I went to a hardware store bought chain links and threw it on my neck (which, lets be honest, I kinda wish I had thought of doing). Hmm, perhaps I will do my accessory shopping at Home Depot?

Forever.

Recently I have been making a conscious effort to only buy clothes if I am absolutely 100% in love with them. There have been so many instances in the past when I have bought something because it looks so beautiful, but it didn't look so beautiful on me. I have also committed the shopping error of buying because "maybe, sometime" I will get around to wearing it, or I will make a impulse purchase to avoid that god forsaken moment when you put on an outfit and realize, what you did not buy would go perfectly. But alas, it has happened all to many times that months down the road I peer into my closet and see that item with the price tag dangling off of it and my good intentions turned out to be a big waste of money. So now, armed with my new found mentality I stumbled upon a little boutique called "Utopia" as I began browsing I picked up some printed leggings, a white knit dress, and some green harem pants. I was fitting-room bound until my eyes landed on a Cheap Monday jean jacket. I did some quick math in my head (not my strong suite might I add) and realized that I could buy some crazy leggings, a knit dress I would wear once, twice if its lucky and some hammer pants OR I could buy this quality jacket that I could wear with everything, anywhere. I quickly dropped what I had and put on the jacket, which fit like a glove. Shopping is full of lessons and this time it was quality over quantity!

Guessing Game

Sometimes (no most times) when I am reading magazines I like to cover up the designer and see if I can guess who created the clothing. Soo nerdy I know but, my guesses are based purely on the aesthetic of the designer. Sometimes I guess a lot, sometimes none. But most times I can guess one designer correctly, because his creations are completely and totally unique to him. I think we all know that this is the one and only Marc Jacobs. Some designers shift their point of views and each collection is different from the next. With Marc Jacobs there is always a common thread of spunk and edginess that is completely cohesive throughout every single piece of clothing he has created. The inspiration for this post was the dress below, which I saw in Elle magazine a long time ago and what do you know, I knew exactly who had designed it the moment I laid eyes on the dress. This particular dress is gorgeous, completely unique and screams Marc Jacobs.

fan-atic.

This is completely cliche, I know. But! I must declare my love for the Olsen twins. Being a petite person myself, I love how they dress and make being petite desirable. A lot of times, I will try something and it just doesn't look quite right because of my stature. On top of that, the Olsen twins are always fashion forward. They don't adhere to trends, they set them. And that is what any budding fashionista has to respect. So, for my pleasure and yours here are some photos of the Olsen twins street style. (P.S: I would die for that Prada fringe bag)