Today I went back to my roots (see what I did there) of a neutral colour pallette. First off, I am lucky (sarcasm) to live in a city where the weather is completely bipolar, which keeps me on my toes when it comes to outfits. Yesterday I wish I had my sunglasses while I was driving, and today I wish I had an umbrella stored in my car. I just can't win.
Today consisted of no significant events other than running errands with my mom, which we both love because we enjoy each others company, and humour! We also enjoy the fact that we are the same shoe size.
Back in the summer, my mom bought a lovely pair of genuine leather cognac coloured boots from Roots Canada, which I decided to take for a spin today (with her permission of course). They are such a classic boot which will never go out of style simply because it can be paired with anything! They are even versatile from Fall/Winter to Spring/Summer by being worn with jeans, to being paired with cargo shorts and rolling the boot down so it becomes shorter!
I opted for a casual look and paired these boots with dark wash denim skinnys, a simple black sweater, my go to textured coat, and a toque (because lets face it, why would I do my hair when its raining out..)

My Outfit:

-Black Toque: H&M
-Coat: H&M
-Black Studded Bag: Winners
-Black Sweater: Lord & Taylor at The Bay
-Dark Was Skinny Jeans: Abercrombie & Fitch
-Cognac Leather Boots: Roots Canada

Anyone who follows fashion, and the Olympics knows that team Norway can rock a crazy print like its nobody's business. If you're watching these Olympic games, you'll know that the Norwegian curling team is sporting some type of floral print. Now I don't know about you, but I find curling rather...boring... so I guess they have to amp it up somehow! During the 2010 Vancouver Olympics,  team Norway wore block printed pants, with different coloured squares all over them... similar to the ones I recently purchase- minus the crazy colour scheme.
The other day, I popped into winners to look for a phone case, and soon found myself frolicking (but not actually because that would be weird) through the sale section (shocker). I have the eyes of an eagle...I can scan a section of clothing and instantly find a piece worth looking at. The print on these pants are so bold that they were hard to miss. Through fashion forecasting and pinning, I've seen this print lots for the upcoming spring season, and knew I needed these in my closet. With a disapproving look from my mother, I bought them. We tend to play this game where she says "Kate, that looks ridiculous.Don't buy it." But then I pull the whole "Trust me" card "Once they're styled properly they'll look so nice!" and I'm almost always right about that.
Now that it's starting to get bright earlier, and dark later,  that means spring is near! This is the perfect time to play with prints, colours, and casual layering. I went really out of my fashion box and mixed 2 bold prints, with a very bold colour, and quite frankly, I was really pleased with the outcome!

My Outfit:

-Crimson red sweater: H&M
-Textured coat: H&M
-Pants: Winners
-Leopard Print Booties: The Bay
-Black studded leather bag: Winners

I always find my way to a mall, even when I have no business being in a mall... it's like a 6th sense. Me and sales have a love/hate relationship. I hate paying full price for things (thank god coupons exist), so when a sale comes along, I'm weak. But this was no ordinary sale... this was a BAY sale. The Bay is like Pinterest- you desperately want to stop looking, but you can't. It's like a deep dark hole- once you're in, you're in. This Fall/Winter season, ankle booties are a wardrobe staple, and so is animal print. So when I found the perfect pair of leopard print ankle booties in my size, it was love at first sight! From the front, they look like loafers, but from the side, you can tell they have a slight chunky heel, and they are incredibly comfortable and pair nicely with denim! It's also a subtle way to mix prints (which is also a trend this season!) For example, a striped or plaid top, paired with the leopard booties, and separated by a solid color pant makes the print mixing very subtle.They were also 50% off which made them that much more attractive! I found a few things, and because of my growing will power, I walked away with one sweater. I tried on a really soft Lord and Taylor sweater (first 2 pictures) with lots of jewels around the neckline, but felt it was slightly too big. I then tried on another black Lord and Taylor sweater (last 2 pictures) which fit really well- it hits just above the hips, which makes it easy to pair with a skirt, over a dress, layer with a button up shirt (the possibilities are endless), The neckline shape is really flattering and simple, and the sleeves fit well. Its just a plain black military knit sweater which is a classic wardrobe piece- it can be paired with anything, layered with anything, and dressed up or dressed down, and I scored it for 30% off! So if you can take anything away from this post, its that a good black sweater is an investment and can go a long way, and don't be afraid to mix prints!

I can't really explain it, but sometimes I get into an intense drafting/sewing mood, and can hash something out in an evening or two. Being a fashion student basically means being a fabric hoarder. There's nothing you can do about it, it just happens. During the Christmas break I went through my unhealthy amounts of fabric and organized everything into categories (knits, heavy wovens, light weight wovens, wools... blah blah blah). I have been obsessed with finding a kimono lately, and realized I had quite the inventory of fabric... so why would I pay for a store-bought kimono? I bought the white fabric with my fabricland membership, so I got it discounted, and I bought the black fabric for around $1.50 from school (donated Aritzia fabric!!) I drafted this garment and cut out the fabric last Saturday evening, and then realized that in order for it to be a kimono, I needed to drop the sleeve... which I forgot to do while drafting. So it's not quite a kimono anymore, more of a lightweight, flowy shell. The next day I set up my moms old, discoloured singer machine- which still works like a charm! and sewed it together. I love the idea of colour blocking, especially with black and white because they can be paired with any colour-its a classic colour (shade?) combination!

OUTFIT:

-Black & white shell over a slouchy grey lightweight knit sweater, tucked into blue denim skinny jeans, with brown suede ankle booties and a wool camel colour circle scarf.

Hats are the key to surviving a bad hair day. It's also gives the illusion of looking like you spent time on your hair... when really you just rolled out of bed, probably without even brushing your hair, but nobody would know. Hats are a life saver! I just simply didn't feel like doing anything significant to this mane of mine, so I went to one of my trusty chapeaus.

 I have a recent 'thing' for hats lately, and will wear them just to kick up an outfit a notch or two. In the fashion world, a floppy wool hat is uber chic... but to your brother... that's a whole different story. I can't put on a hat without getting some horse race derby or Serena Ryder reference... but that's what older brothers are for, right? Hats aren't just an accessory, clearly they are functional as well! It's still Winter, and completely freezing outside, so sleep in a little longer-don't worry about your hair, grab a hat and look effortlessly chic while feeling warm and cozy!

OUTFIT:

-Black Floppy Wool Hat: H&M

-White Blouse: H&M (tucked blouse into jeans)

-Camel Cape: Handmade by Moi

-Blue Faded Skinny Jeans; Hollister

-Skull Scarf: H&M

-Boots (didn't make it into the picture): Topshop

-Lipstick: Doubonnet (Wine Red) (MAC)

Sometimes I like to pretend I'm British- simply because they have impeccable style!

I also like to pretend this is a real Alexander McQueen scarf......

I must say Fall and Winter are my favourite seasons. There's just something about layering that I love. It's so cozy, and you have tons of options when you layer. I also don't wear much colour.. so my wardrobe makes it incredibly easy to find something suitable for the drab weather we experience 95% of the year, My favourite layering pieces are sweaters over collared shirts. They can easily be paired with different coloured denim for different looks, and the blouse amps up a simple sweater. To add some eye candy, a good statement necklace makes the simple ensemble more glam and chic.
OUTFIT:

 -White Blouse- H&M

-Grey Cashmere Sweater- Mom's Closet...

-Jean Jacket with Faux Fur Collar- Style & Co. Macys

-White/Black Skull Scarf- H&M ($7.00!! Beats McQueen...sort of...)

-Grey Skinny Jeans- Target

-Black Ankle Booties- Material Girl at The Bay

     The best part about being a fashion student is not only getting to dress the part of a fashion student... but having the ability to draft and sew garments! Before the Christmas break, we started designing our jacket/coat designs. The process of going from idea to design to product happens quite quickly. Once we have a design that has been approved, we start drafting. The second day back after the break, we jumped right into the production of our coats-there was no easing back into the flow of school. This coat took me 2 classes to draft, 1 class to cut the pattern and the fabric out, and 1 class.. which turned into a 12 hour school day... to sew the prototype. I then had my fitting, and had 1 class to make any changes. Handing in the pattern and prototype is a relief- because we can take a breather before we move onto sewing our final coats. So for the time being, we are drafting and sewing swimwear and lingerie samples- a complete 180 from coats!