Since these past few weeks have been extra busy (which is a blessing, and largely due of this!), I've found myself sticking with few key pieces and styling outfits around them for easy dressing in the mornings. Among them has been this white faux fur vest, which is already rivaling my black one in terms of wear! It goes with everything from a dressier ensemble to a pared down look such as this one. My new baubles from Lauren Elan's holiday collection have also been in the mix: they're the perfect non-fussy jewelry choice and putting them on makes me feel just festive enough without going overboard. Happy Friday!

Wearing: YesStyle jacket and vest (c/o), J.Crew sweater (love this boy's version for petites!), Aritzia pants and belt, Zara shoes (similar), Lauren Elan jewelry (c/o here, here & here)

Last week, I excitedly told you (a bit) about saving the date for something amazing that was happening on December 9th. Today I am so, so thrilled to finally share the full details with you: ticket sales for our Deck Your Closet event are officially live!

After many sit down meetings and last minute coffee shop chats, we (The Style Common) have created an amazing day of shopping, treats and holiday inspiration at the amazing Four Seasons Hotel in Downtown Vancouver... all for you, of course! In addition to the getting to shop the closets of myself, Alicia, Alex and Jen, you'll get to meet and shop from the lovely Melissa of Miss Melissa, Carolina of Closet Full of Nothing and Monika of The Doctor's Closet too!

 We're doing something a little different for this event in that we'll be offering 50 VIP tickets: for $20, you'll get a gift bag worth ~$100 (including goodies from Soirette, Social Experiment and LOVECOCO... to name a few!) and you'll get first choice in shopping our closets between 10:30-11:30 a.m in a more intimate environment.

Tickets for our "Have Yourself a Merry Little Lunchtime" and "The Most Wonderful Afternoon of the Year" timeslots are priced at $10. We have lots of perks planned for all shoppers (we don't want to give too much away so you'll have to wait to see!) and will be replenishing stock throughout the day.

So Vancouver, put on your sparkliest attire and come mingle and shop with us on December 9th. We can't wait to meet you!

Tickets are limited. Buy them HERE before they're all gone!

I've been shopping online for too many years to count now, but over that time few e-retailers have proven to be as consistent and as amazing as Shopbop has. Ever since they re-vamped their site this past summer, it has been my go-to for everything from getting a piece of fun and accessible jewelry, to admiring designer pieces... and all else in between. I particularly love their handbag collection and that they carry exclusives that aren't available anywhere else, like this Rebecca Minkoff beauty. I've been wearing it constantly since its arrival and it's extra special knowing that I probably won't be seeing it on anyone else!

Wearing: Rebecca Minkoff bag (thanks to Shopbop), BB Dakota jacket, Zara skirt, Joe Fresh heels, MAC lip pencil in Brick, Essie polish in Fishnet Stockings

{a beautiful Tadashi Shoji dress that will be worn to a holiday party stat}
As cliche as it may sound, it feels like only yesterday that the leaves were starting to fall and a sweater would sometimes be needed when going outlater on in the evening. Nowadays, the trees are almost completely bare and it's definitely not smart to go out without some heavy duty layering (I would know... I am drowsy off cold medicine as I type this). Naturally, the drop in temperatures also indicates for us that - much to my delight -Christmas cheer has begun. Here are a few recent fun and happy details of some first hints of the best time of the year...

{touches of Christmas lights speckled throughout the city}

{a pop-up shop of my favourite macarons inside Holt Renfrew... complete with a wreath made of the sweet confections!}

{the most indulgent (but admittedly beautiful} sets of Chanel books -$750 each!}

{wine on tap... need I say more? At Vancouver Urban Winery}

Confession: I have a coat problem. Some women like shoes, some women like bags. And while I definitely do appreciate those things as well, there is something about a new winter coat that makes me very happy. It's likely due to the fact that for so much of the year here, all you can really see in an outfit is the coat. Regardless, this has resulted in the bulky garments taking up a lot of  valuable closet space. I've gotten much more selective about my coats in the past year because of this, but this new one from Loft 82 was definitely too special to pass up.

Wearing: Loft 82 coat (Vancouver pop-up now on Granville St!), YesStyle blouse (c/o), J.Crew pants, Zara shoes (old), vintage Bally bag, Topshop necklace, Clinique chubby stick in Grandest Grape (colour coming soon - current ones here!)

It's always great to have at least one amazing sweater in the cold months: one that you feel good in, pairs well with a lot of your closet, and of course, is truly warm. This new piece from JNBY fits all of that criteria, plus it is of amazing quality, has pockets (!) and is the perfect colour for fall. I wore it twice just this past week and I know I'll be living in it for months to come.

Wearing: JNBY Sweater (c/o). One: YesStyle snood, Zara skirt, Joe Fresh heels, Vince Camuto bag (on sale here) Two: T.Babaton (Aritzia) Eliot pants, YesStyle vest, Zara boots, Rebecca Minkoff bag (c/o Shopbop).

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p.s. If you're in Vancouver, JNBY Canada will be launching its new kid's collection, jnby by JNBY, along with JNBY's new winter collection during the Black Friday weekend (today!). Enjoy a 20% discount on JNBY FW'12 Collections and receive a gift with purchase while quantities last. The event will take place at their West 4th location (2201 W. 4th) with refreshments provided by DAVIDsTEA and Whole Foods Market. The promotion will run at all three locations. LIKE JNBY on Facebook and Follow on twitter for the latest news!

p.p.s. Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to all of my American readers and friends! I hope it is relaxing and filled with gratitude.

As I mentioned a few weeks back, I am trying to incorporate more flat shoes into my looks (both for comfort and health reasons). Here's one that I wore earlier this week to a casual but full day of running all over the city, when heels are really not an option. Sticking with lots of pattern and texture as per usual, I also used coordinating hues to help pull the outfit together. Wearing: YesStyle blouse and vest, J.Crew sweater (love this boy's version for petites!) Forever 21 skirt (old), Vince Camuto bag (c/o - on sale here), Diane von Furstenberg flats (old)

You know the feeling when you have a secret so good that you just want to shout it out to the world... but you can't? I feel like I've been keeping one in for a while now. That's why I am immensely excited to finally be able to share a sneak peek of a new project that a few of my fellow Vancouver bloggers (and friends!) and I have been working on.
After realizing that we shared many of the same goals and similar ambitions for our blogs, Alicia, Jen P, Alex and I decided to band together to create The Style Common: a collective that, in a nutshell, would be designed for us to support the blogging community as a whole, to build each other up, and to take on projects that we otherwise couldn't dream of doing on our own.

We've got some exciting things in the works for our official launch that's coming up very soon. And while I can't reveal much more than that as of now, I'd like to invite you to mark your calendars for something special in Vancouver on December 9th. You won't want to miss out on this!
More details to follow. Stay connected on Twitter and Facebook to become the first to know when we launch and when tickets are available for sale!

photos by Paul Milaire and Roderick Fung

I'm not sure why this has been the case, but if you've been reading my blog for a while you may know that some my sartorial choices have been uncharacteristically 'edgy' lately. Leather, studs and textures have been some of my favourite elements to wear, and often in multiples at a time. Since the majority of my wardrobe (and inherent style) is more on the feminine side, however, I've still been offsetting it with touches of ladylike tweed. Here are a couple of recent examples of that. Hope you have a good Monday!

One: YesStyle tweed jacket, BCBGMAXAZRIA leggings, Artessorio bag, Stuart Weitzman booties (on sale here!) / Two: Zara jacket and bag, YesStyle skirt, Schutz booties
photos by Paul Milaire (1) and D (2)

 

Ending the week off with a fun little feature that I recently did with one of my favourite local boutiques, Blubird. I am always finding something new to drool over in that beautiful store, so when they asked if I wanted to be their first ever "Weekend Girl", of course I said yes! Click on over to see the full feature here. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

{teeny} for quick trips to the grocery store, I carry no more than my bare basics.
Coach bag, Prada cardholder (similar), Michael Kors keychain, iPhone, Smith's lipbalm, Extra Pure hand cream

{mini} for vacations, or days when I simply want to go casual and not feel like I'm lugging around my whole life around, a small crossbody that still fits my wallet is the way to go.
Rebecca Minkoff bag, Celine wallet
{midi} for a typical day out in the city, I like to throw in my agenda to jot down appointments, ideas and of course.. to doodle in when in transit!

Shoemint Clutch, House of Harlow 1960 sunnies, Coach agenda
{maxi} finally, for full days out that consist of multiple events, I like to add some extra make up for touch-ups later in the day, my iPad for working and sending emails, and an extra lens for my camera.

Coach bag, Vince Camuto iPad case, Canon lens, YSL lipstick, bareMinerals warmth

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I love the idea of "What's In My Bag" posts, but truthfully it's never been quite so simple for me. After all, a different type of day can require a different purse and contents. Here's an idea of what I carry on various types of days out, featuring a few of my current favourite bags. What do you carry in your purse?

Colour blocking and pattern mixing are two of my favourite things to do when putting together a look, so its become a pretty natural tendency to start doing them together. To prevent an outfit from looking like too much of a jumbled mess, I tend to stick to colours that aren't overly bright and use "safe" patterns. My favourite, of course, is leopard: a print which, to be honest, I now use almost exclusively as a neutral anyway. Happy Wednesday!

Wearing: Zara top, jacket, scarf and shoes, H&M pants, Artessorio bag (c/o boticca)

Every season, I tend to develop a "uniform" of sorts and live in some variation of that until I feel like I've done it far too often. This autumn, I quickly settled into one that includes a base layer (be it a blouse or sweater) followed by a faux fur vest, and all topped off with a wool coat. I love the texture and interest it creates, and how it allows for an ample number of combinations while being easy and effortless. Do you have a fall "uniform"?
  Wearing: YesStyle coat and blouse, Zara vest (old) and shoes, T.Babaton pants (via Aritzia), DKNY bag (similar), BCBGMAXAZRIA ring, Estee Lauder polish in Black Iris