Bloggerfull

Last night I attended a local blogger meet up at the shoe heaven known as Urban Shoe Myth. It was great to talk about our blogs, recap recent fashion events & enjoy some munchies from one of our favorite restaurants, Saint John Ale House.
Of course the shoes were distracting...

Before we dug our heels into deep discussion & deliciousness bloggers Kate, Chelsea & I took the opportunity to hit the streets for some outfit shots.

Chelsea being photographed by Kate, while Candice instagrams the moment & I catch it all... that's how we bloggers roll!

Heels & shiny tights... nothing slows a blogger down

The great thing about when bloggers meet is we don't pass up the opportunity to have someone else take our photos & make us look less like a dork in a public place with a tripod.  Thank you Kate for playing photographer for me!

I came pretty much straight from work so wasn't overly glam in my Reitman's denim & leggings but I love my new polka dot top from Old Navy. I kept warm with my black George cardigan & necklace from Laura.

I jumped at the chance to take my new Remonte Dorndorf booties from Manchester Shoes out for a spin! Oh how happy they make me!! If you saw my previous post about my sad lack of footwear, you might understand why.

Hello pouf! Hair experiments gone right!

This vintage bracelet was a gift from my aunt when I was in high school. I adore it.
OPI nails in Malaysian Mist

Strike a pose...

Boutique Talk - PGal's Closet

Last week I took a short drive to the nearby town of Rothesay to visit the lovely ladies of PGal'sCloset, Baye & Patricia. 

There was a better picture of me with them but they are too smiley & gorgeous here, so they win!

This mother/daughter duo are known for their kind, sweet nature, beautiful looks & fabulous shop, PGal's (which is accompanied by Country Treasures the home decor side). You might remember Baye as a guest blogger while I was on vacation in September.  She told us all a bit about the Sympli line they carry at PGal's and after the blog post I figured I should check the line out for myself...

I wasn't 100% sold on Sympli before heading out to visit the ladies.  Currently the line is sizes 2 to18 & I wear a 20, sometimes even a 22 so I was concerned nothing would fit me properly. Patricia tells me that Simpli will be coming out with a plus sized line late this fall & though I am excited to see it, I needn't have worried... just as Baye told me.

Firstly, whether you are interested in the Sympli line or not it is always worth a visit to PGal's. The accessories, beauty products & home decor are always fully fabulous & the attention you get from all the staff is top notch.  It is another beautiful example of why I am SOLD on Boutique shopping.

Some of the lovely & cute items at PGal's! I adore this lip gloss!

 

Baye & Patricia played dress up with me for about an hour, trying different combinations of pieces from the collection & jewelry.

Chakra Tunic with Oliva leggings, Infinity jewelry scarf

The pieces are definitely forgiving, even to my size 20 body- feeling as comfortable as pajamas or yoga pants!  A few selections didn't quite fit my chest & not everything suited my personal style but most of the pieces were flattering.

Timeless tunic & the infinity frill scarf (LOVED this scarf.. I may have to come back for it ladies!!)

It is awesome how the collection is styled to layer, mix & match or even be worn with your own favorite pieces in your wardrobe.

Aria tunic with Culture cover, with my favorite Forever 21+ jeans & jewelry from PGal's
This outfit is probably my favorite look that I tried on, although the colour is maybe not the right one for me.

PGal's keep a selection of pieces that work together in stock in a variety of sizes but you can also custom order your pieces, mix & match! The Sympli line comes in a HUGE assortment of colours & takes about 6-8 weeks as each piece is made to order (all by women, Canadian women!!!).

The lovely Baye, showing of the huge assortment (36) of colours to choose from!

 You can be sure that when the plus size line is out I will be back out for another visit with the PGal's to let you all know about it...although truth be told, I probably won't be able to stay away that long.

New Brunswick Fashion Week - Overview

Media Party, Fashion Forward, & NBFW runway show

What a week! I'm not going to lie, I'm exhausted.  Between trying to adjust to my new schedule & flying out the door each evening to events, I'm so glad my Saturday consists of a latte from my favorite barista & a red velvet cupcake from our new local bakery!  It is also Canadian Thanksgiving weekend so I have 4 delicious days off with nothing much to do!!

As I enjoyed my coffee & cupcake this morning I pondered today's post. 
After attending the Fashion Event last night I wondered what approach i should take in covering the event.  There was some fabulous fashion, some baffling decisions & some obvious hard work, but as a Plus Size blogger I wanted to offer my perspective.  My intention was to focus specifically on the plus size pieces, accessories & overall general tone of the affair, since it was my first fashion week.  I asked about plus size long before the event & was told specifically there would be plus size representation, in models, clothing & with at least one local designer - exciting!!!
Unfortunately the 'plus size' component seemed to have disappeared by the time the event came to fruition.  There were no plus size fashions, designers or models*.  Although I was glad to be included in the event & have my opinion valued, I'm left wondering, as a blogger, what do I say?


What I can say is this, we have some amazing local talent & contributions to the fashion world!

Our stylists work hard & come up with stunning looks.

Our local designers have vision & talent.

Chainmaille Obsession by Andrea Cyr

Our shops have amazing product & staff.

Runway look from Walsh Luggage

And our local bloggers support their community & fashion! Check out my fellow bloggers & their different takes on the events of the week;

• Barb of barbbarbbarb
• Leigh-Ellen from LittleWaterlily, Big Pond
• Melissa of Sigh..gush..gasp
• Chelsea, our Maritime Shopaholic

With blogger, Chelsea

I was really enjoying all the opportunities I had to dress up this week! This outfit was put together of simple affordable components but I was so happy with how it all came together. The dress is several years old from Reitman's, top from Old Navy, shoes came from Payless & I layered several necklaces. Oh, the clutch was a score at Winner's, from XOXO.

Overall I had a fun night out, with lots of great company & saw so many beautiful, fashionable things. Do I wish that my plus size community had of had representation? Absolutely - but there is always the spring collections, right?





*there was a plus size model in the hair competition, but not in the runway show

Fashion Forward

I resisted the temptation to go with some further alliteration in the title there, what with being Full of Fabulous...

Last evening, Uptown Saint John played host to scores of locally fashionable ladies, all ages, all sizes & all styles.  I joined in the festivities fashionably late, missing the kick off but my date Pam & I were happy shoppers non the less...

                                               Underground parking photo shoot anyone??

Fashion Forward was a shop hop of the grandest kind featuring sales, discounts, giveaways, finger foods, wine, demonstrations... wine. Oh, did I mention wine??

All the fashionable were out & uptown! We stumbled across two of my favorite bloggers & one fab-u-lous hairdresser all out front of local shop Je Suis Prest.



Chelsea of Maritime Shopaholic

Melissa of Sigh Gush Gasp

Adam from Hairacy, working his magic!

So besides the beautiful people there was some serious shopping to be done! I found myself 'head over heels' in love with this particular pair of booties at Manchester Shoes in Market Square.  The boutique was offering 20% during the event... take one guess if these are mine now?

Remonte Dorndorf

I also scored some new accessories from Silver Daisy Designs & the chance to win a Marc Jacobs bag (which unfortunately/fortunately was won by my lovely friend Melissa, pictured above! Congrats!!). I'll save showing those off until I wear them with the perfect outfit!

Speaking of outfit here are a couple last pictures of mine from the night...! (Thanks Pam for being my photographer!)

Top& Jeans/Forever 21+

I am loving this top from Forever 21! I have been saving it for this particular night out & wish I could have snapped a picture of the back with the mesh & zipper but sadly it slipped my mind. *bad blogger*



Hair by Moi!

 I was extremely proud of my hair.. having actually done it myself. I'm mostly posting this picture for the benefit of my BFF stylist Vanessa... just to prove how far I've come (seriously hair incompetent most of my life, relying heavily on her dear sweet patient ways!!)!

pathetic iPhone self portrait to end the night

Tonight I will be attending the New Brunswick Fashion Week Gala event, yet another excuse to look fabulous. Hopefully that post will go up this weekend! Also stay tuned next week for a new 'Boutique Talk' piece & a long postponed 'Shopping Cart' feature! Plenty going on in this life that is so Full of Fabulous...

Media Darling

October 5th, 2011. 
I'm making note so I remember the exact day I offically became part of 'the media'.

Here in New Brunswick we are about to launch our first ever Fashion Week.  Those of you reading from big cities are probably scratching your head but all of us Port City girl's are shaking in our Steve Madden's with excitement (well all except this girl, since Leigh Ellen nabbed the last in my size... *le sigh*).  Don't be mistaken, we are a fashionable bunch!

So how does that lead to me becoming an offical part of the media? Organizers invited myself & some of the other local bloggers to the New Brunswick Fashion Week Media Party at the Market Square Atrium this week where we were presented with media passes. 

While collecting passes I saw a few of my local lovlies... (gee I wish I could insert a photo here but someone was camera shy, another someone had to rush off to her furries...)
And barely managed to snap a few outfit photos with Chelsea from Maritime Shopaholic, before having to fall back into 'mom duty' & become chauffeur to my boy scout again....

Sweater/Reitmans, Scarf/Gifted, Skirt/Laura Plus, Earrings/Darling Dilemma

Thanks Chelsea for snapping a few photos for me!

Tomorrow is Fashion Forward, an Uptown Saint John shopping event.  Swag bags, late night shopping & plenty of girly fun with some of my favorite ladies...

A September full of pictures...

On a fall drive with my sweetie yesterday we were shocked to recognize that September was over. Fall is truly here and our whole September flew by with our vacation to Ontario, two weddings, back to school for our boy & back to work for me.

Over, in the blink of an eye...

Red Letter Year - OOTD

As brave as I would like to be, public photo taking still brings out the worst in me.  I see fantastic walls & fabulous backdrops but can't quite bring myself to set up the tripod for onlookers. Imagine my delight at finding a random red dumpster in the middle of nowhere...

Blouse/Torrid, Cardi/George, Jeans/Forever21, Sunglasses/Vogue, Boots/Shoe Company

I've wanted to get these boots in their premier debut on the blog for awhile.  Not only are they fabulous, they are magical.  Putting these boots on makes my entire day/lookout/outfit better.

Feel Good Boots!

This super cute blouse is from Torrid, purchased in the spring. I love the flirtiness of it, with ruched sleeves, tied waist & a slight flair at the bottom. I've worn it with everything from mini skirts, shorts, capris & now skinny jeans.

It was so windy out there today that my side bob was looking a little sorry by the end of this shoot (glad I did this AFTER work!) & my sweater & blouse were blowing in all sorts of directions but I'm glad I braved at least the elements to take these pictures today...

Wondering what inspired the title of today's post? Only my most favorite of favorite's, the fabulous Ani Difranco.  I have seen her perform many times including tickets for my birthday TWICE from my adorable husband! Last year she played in Fredericton the night before my birthday, supporting the album Red Letter Year. Enjoy.