My City Gossip: Winter Boots

Here are some great functional winter boots (remember my post from a few weeks back) at two different price points in my latest lust must!

TiZKKA

I am so excited to be writing to you today about an app that is launching today and that I have been asked to be apart of. TiZKKA (the Icelandic word for fashion) is a fashion app that allows you to share your own looks as well as view others and to give and get advice on looks and outfits! Think Instagram, but the pictures are strictly fashion related. As a user, you can get advice from other followers, as well as fashion bloggers (like me), personal stylists, fashion designers, image consultants, make-up artists, and hairstylists, so you can get their opinion on your whole look!

Some really great features that this app has is the ability to tag the brands that you're wearing so others know where to find them, as well as linking to the page where the item can be purchased. This is great for your followers, as well as for yourself to find other users' products. It's also a great way to become interactive with your favourite influential people in the fashion world (in my case, your favourite fashion blogger!), to get their advice on a look, and also to comment on theirs.

The app is free, so download it and try it out now! Follow me: Robyn Emer

Gift Guide: Indigo

It's that time of year where holiday store hours and return policies are in effect, and people have started buying their holiday presents already. While I don't generally do the whole holiday presents for every single one of my friends and family members thing (I pretty much just exchange gifts with my sister, and my work does Secret Santa), I do still enjoy looking through home store catalogues and online to look at the beautiful holiday-themed gifts. One of my favourite stores to shop at (all year-round, but especially around the holidays) is Indigo, and since this is the first week people are really starting to kick-off their holiday shopping (it mostly starts with Black Friday), I'm going to show you what they have to offer for your holiday shopping!

Of course, my love for Indigo started with books, but a while ago I really got into their home section. It's just so beautiful even to walk through, it makes me want to redecorate my house every time I go in there with their new arrivals. Although for the holidays you probably won't get the personal on your shopping list things to start redecorating their home, you can definitely get them little things to add to their existing decor. Like these ornaments; they're so cute and will match with any holiday decor theme they already have going on. Of course, a bath and body basket is always a safe route to go, and Indigo has a selection of scents. With all the home stuff at Indigo, we sometimes forget they still offer books! There are some great coffee table ones, but also you can never cross off a good old fashioned paper back. I always love getting new outerwear accessories every winter, and these faux-fur matching ones are just so cozy and perfect. But, you also need some cozy accessories to wrap yourself in inside the house. These slippers and bathrobe will do nicely sitting by the fire with loved ones watching traditional holiday movies. And, although these picks were in the "men's" section of the Indigo website, they can be for him, her, or them.

1. Festive ornaments

2. Coconut milk mango bath salts, hand cream, and bar soap

3. Books: This Is The World, Kate Spade New York: Places To Go, People To See, and 

Not That Kind Of Girl

4. Faux fur earmuffs, gloves, and scarf

5. Fuzzy robe and slippers

6. Antler bottle opener, reindeer mug, and woodland animal shot glasses

My City Gossip: Cold Weather LBD

This week, in what was probably one of my favourite articles to write for My City Gossip, I showed you great little black dresses for all your cold weather needs and activities! I love taking a basic item, like a black dress, and making it so versatile and seeing what I can put with it. Usually, the possibilities are endless.

Spark Sessions

So, as promised I am going to talk to you a little about the Spark Sessions conference I attended this past weekend. All I knew going into it was that there would be 250 fellow fashion and beauty bloggers, that there were panels where people would be talking about different topics relevant to blogging (how to turn blogging into a full-time job, and what to know before you sign with an advertising agency), and that of course there would be networking time.

When I got there, I was pleasantly surprised by how real everything and everyone was. By that I mean, the talks and panels were very tailored and relevant to the blogging industry as it currently is; a lot of the speakers (who I will talk about in a second) probably made their foray into the blogging sector years ago, but they still know what's going on with it and how it has changed today. And so they spoke about their experiences, but also how it would be different for us current and new bloggers and how that will change and we take their tips and advice into account.

The speakers that were at the conference were some of the coolest, nicest, most interesting people I've gotten to hear speak. Some of them were TV personalities, some were long-time bloggers (who have turned it into a full-time job), some were PR professionals, giving us advice on how to contact people like them to get ourselves out there more. There were also Q&A components at the end of (almost) every panel (if they didn't have time for a Q&A it was most likely that the speaker talked a lot about the topic, and had answered any questions we would've had), which was also good to hear them expand on their topic and tailor their information towards specific bloggers.

Day 1

(Andrew Sardone; Editor, Globe Style Advisor)

(Vanessa Craft: Beauty Director, Elle Canada)

(Wynnie Chan)

(From left to right: Cameron Gordon, Sean Beckingham, and Talya Macedo)

(Lena Almeida, Listen to Lena)

Day 2

(From left to right: Ruth Goudie, Noor Marzook, Isabelle Randez, and Sarah Kelsey)

(Katherine Andrikopoulos)

(Maxine McDonald)

(From left to right: Iva Galic-Grbesic, Rema Gouyez, and Natalie Ho)

(Cheryl Hickey)

And of course, there is the networking component. Before going, I thought we were just going to be able to meet fellow bloggers and bounce ideas and tips and tricks off each other to find out maybe what they know about the industry that we didn't. But what I was also very pleasantly surprised with was that the sponsors of Spark Sessions (and there were some really big names) were also available for networking, in that you could make an appointment with a certain brand you're interested in working with and talk to them for about 10 minutes ("speed networking").

During the course of the weekend, the sponsor brands also had booths setup around the building, and attendees could go around and talk to the people running them (who also work for the brand). You could try out their products, most of which are new and just hitting the market, or in the case of clothing brands, try on some pieces. For example, the Benefit Cosmetics booth was doing brow services, and I decided to give it a try. The girl who was working the booth was super nice and we chatted a bit, and I was extremely pleased with the result. She used Benefit's gimme brow, which uses brow-volumizing fibre gel. It just enhances your brows' natural look, making them look fuller, which is exactly what I was looking for. Needless to say I'm obsessed!

(The Blossom Lounge booth)

(The Crowd Social booth)

(The Vitabath booth)

(The Nicole by OPI booth)

(Me getting my brows done at the Benefit booth)

This type of experience is invaluable to people like me, to really get your name (and blog, and brand) out there for people to notice. My favourite thing about blogging is that there are sooo many different types of bloggers. Besides the fashion and beauty (and lifestyle) bloggers, there are also ones that do it full-time (or have other jobs and blog on the side, like me); bloggers that are looking to make partnerships with brands and PR companies (and ones that maybe don't have interest in doing that); bloggers that are looking to turn their blog into a website, with contributors and make it a full-time thing who can employ other people (and some who are happy with their smaller blog, who just like to do it for fun). And many other variations. No matter what type of blogger you are, you definitely got something (and by something I mean a lot of somethings) out of the weekend. For example, I attended some panels on topics I wasn't necessarily interested in at the moment (like the "how to rebrand your blog" session), but the information I learned in that talk was good to know in general, and will also help me if I ever do decide to rebrand.

And of course, the goodie bag. This was one of the craziest swag bags I have ever received, with tons of (full size!) samples of products, some of which aren't even on the market yet. There is probably no better place to give free samples than a blogger conference where the attendees will definitely try out the products and review and write about them on their blogs. I am so excited to start trying these products, and hopefully bring you some reviews of ones that I just can't get enough of. One of the samples I received was the Benefit "gimme brow", which I talked about above, and I'm so happy since I loved the product they tested on me at the conference.

Weekend Highlights

If you remember my post from a few weeks ago, this weekend I attended the annual Spark Sessions fashion and beauty blogger conference in downtown Toronto. I won't go into much detail about the conference today, as I will be posting about the details in a separate post later in the week, but I will quickly say that it was such a great experience to hear all the amazing panelists and speakers, and to meet a ton of fellow bloggers.

For day 1, I decided on a casual chic outfit of a grey cowl neck sweater, faux leather leggings, and a cozy vest. I added an off-white blazer for extra warmth.

Sweater: Old Navy

Blazer: H&M

Vest: H&M

Sunglasses: Joe Fresh

Coat: Old Navy

Scarf: H&M

Boots: Old Navy

On Saturday the conference ended around 3pm, and then I headed back uptown for an early family dinner at my Grandparents' house. When I transition from a day to night outfit, I usually like to keep one or two pieces of my outfit the same, and my colour scheme, since it feels more transitional to me (obviously there are exceptions, and I do often change my whole outfit). So for the night, I decided to keep my sweater on, but instead of the leggings opted for ripped black jeans. And instead of the blazer and vest I put on a leather jacket, to give the look an edgier feel.

Jeans: American Eagle Outfitters

Jacket: Dynamite

Heels: Nine West

Bag: Aldo

Spark Sessions was over the course of the whole weekend, so for Sunday's outfit I went for a layered look, utilizing denim and leather, and added a light blue statement necklace on the denim shirt. Lately I've been loving monochromatic looks, using slightly different shades of the colour. It still makes the outfit look chic, but also adds some interest into it.

Shirt: H&M

Dress: Zara

Necklace: Aldo

Boots: H&M

Bracelet: Pandora

And here are just some more cute pictures from the conference. Enjoy!

(Some cute desserts they had for us; This was such a lovely cookie!)

(The Benefit Cosmetics booth)

(Some Christmas themed centrepieces for the tables, to get everyone into the holiday spirit)

(Exchanging business cards with the girls at my table on day 1)

(Some beautifully tinted macarons at one of the sponsor booths)

Fashion Week Highlights

Last week I made a post for My City Gossip about fashion week highlights. Today I am bringing this article to you, but I would also like to add in a few of my own highlights, that were special to me. You can find a link to the My City Gossip article at the bottom of this post.

First, there were two surprise appearances (at least they were surprises to me) in the Christopher Batest show and the Huntress show. I mentioned them in my show reviews but I wanted to mention it again. Greg Bryk walked in the Christopher Bates show, who is on the show Bitten. It's filmed in Toronto and it's about werewolves, and of course being a sci fi/fantasy geek I watch it, so I was so excited to see him come down the runway. Gina Torres who is one of my favourite actresses, is in Suits and also Firefly and Serenity (again, super sci fi geek stuff). I've actually had the pleasure of meeting her before, but seeing her walk in the Huntress show was truly amazing. She looked absolutely perfect in the gold dress and Huntress jewels.

Another Highlight for me was getting to go backstage and hang out in the Maybeline lounge! They had lots of goodies for us, like pink sparkly doughnuts, boxed water, and of course cosmetics. I grabbed an Essie polish in Cocktails and Coconuts, and a Maybeline lipstick in Espresso. It was also nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the main tents for a while and just chill out with some friends.

Here is a link to my Fashion Week Highlights article for My City Gossip that include a few more highlights! Here's just another picture from the tents I wanted to include in the post, so you can click them to get to the article too!

(All photos are my own)

WMCFW: Day 5 Review

Well, we have come to the last day. There's mixed feelings of relief (that I'll finally have a regular sleep cycle again), but also sadness of not seeing everyone everyday and being able to view all the amazing shows from great designers. But before we say goodbye for good, take a look at my favourites from day 5 of fashion week.

The first show of the day was huntress, which focused on gorgeous jewelry and handbags. To move the focus to these areas (necks, ears, and hands) the models wore identical uniforms of black bralettes and skirts, and their hair and makeup was uniform as well, with bold, smoky eyes and teased hair that was done up (very fierce and beautiful). The setting of the show was that of the woods and wilderness, and the makeup and garments portrayed that perfectly. To add even more to this, the second last models came out (in a pair) with bows and arrows. The gems on the jewelry pieces and clutches stood out perfectly against all these wild vibes and I loved the contrast between something so animal and something so beautiful. For the finale, none other than the ever fabulous Gina Torres walked down the runway with two massive dogs (obviously meant to be like wolves) in a beautiful gold dress and of course Huntress jewels. This was such an amazing way to start off the last day, with something so fierce to get you pumped for the day!

(All photos from here)

This collection used a lot of clean and straight lines and had a very geometric feel. There were a lot of light-coloured pieces (like white and metallic silver), with also some brown and beige. I like to call this the "futuristic hipster" collection. The show also had a cool runway concept, in that it wasn't a traditional rectangular runway. Instead, there were four platforms; one at the top of the stage (right where the models come out), one at each the right and left sides, and one at the bottom (where the photographers were placed). The models would come out from backstage, pause for a moment on the top platform, then continue to each platform and stand for about 30 seconds on each. This way, the audience was able to see each look closer up (I was sitting front row right in front of the left platform), and also for longer periods of time (the models weren't just continuously walking quickly down the runway).

(All photos from here)

This one was of the most anticipated shows of the day, as well as the week. And Mikhael Kale definitely did not disappoint. The fabrics and colours were super girly, in white, pink, and metallic, with sequins and jewels. The looks were very sleek and tailored, most utilizing either a pencil skirt or slim fit trousers. Almost all the outfits had cutout features, mostly on the chest and stomach areas, which added to the sexiness. The jackets shown were also very structured and tailored, which just completed the looks.

(All photos from here)

This was by far my absolutely favourite show of the entire week. Every single look and piece was simply so gorgeous and perfect. It was mostly gowns, but there were also some trousers and shorts that were still very sophisticated and elegant. The material and colours were extremely consistent, of gold with some sheer polka dot fabrics. There is not much more for me to say about this show, only that it was so magnificent, and you'll see for yourself what I mean below. Apologies for the overload of pictures, but as you can imagine it was very hard for me to only choose a few!

One of my favourite parts of the show was when Stephan's son, Kyriako, walked out after the models as designers do at the end of the show, and picked up his baby daughter from the audience, and she was in a little gold dress that matched those of the collection. It was the cutest, most heartwarming sight!

(All photos from here)

(All photos are from me, unless otherwise indicated)