pre fall palette

Working in a fashion retail setting has its ups and downs. Around March/April we start to receive Spring items, which get me so excited for the warmer weather to arrive and really inspire me. But in July/August we start to receive Fall items (sweaters, scarves, boots), and while Fall is one of my favourite seasons, it does get a little depressing since we're still in the midst of Summer. But of course there are always those transition items that you just can't resist, like this romper.

summer nights

Although it's very close, summer is not quite over, and there's still plenty of time to take advantage of the weather and fun activities. I find people (including myself) sometimes find it stressful to dress up for nights out in the hotter months, as you want to dress light and fun, but not look too day-timey. Usually accessories and especially shoes and bags, can help you dress up an outfit, but also don't be afraid to wear something a bit darker and heavier, if it is for a more formal occasion.

Towards the end of the summer I tend to wear lots of light colours, since I know I won't be able to in about a month's time, but I also don't wear a lot of bright colours because I usually reserve those for the high summer. I love this outfit for a semi-dressy evening out for dinner, perhaps for a celebration. The dress itself could go either way (casual or dressy) depending how you accessorize, so for this particular look I opted for fancy accessories in a gold tone.

Dress: Chicwish

Necklace: Jane Norman

Bag: Saint Laurent

Pumps: Jimmy Choo

This summer I tried very hard to not wear as much black, and while I definitely didn't cut the colour out completely, I was pretty successful. For an outfit like this, I would've typically worn the romper with black shoes and a purse, but I love the look without black as well, especially for a night out in the summer. If you're worried about it being too much pink, the shoes are more of a beige and so they act as a neutral, which just makes the romper pop even more. But you could always do a light grey or white shoe and accessories if you prefer. You could wear this type of outfit with a white blazer for a dressier night as well, but throw on a denim jacket and you could also wear it for a more casual dinner or movie. (As you can probably tell, denim jackets are my go-to cover up in summer!)

Romper: Nelly

Earrings: Colette Hayman

Rings: Accessorize

Bag: Kate Spade

Sandals: H&M

As much as I love dresses and rompers and all things flowy in the summer, there are nights when I want to dress up and stick with pants. I tend to go for white jeans this time of year because they are lighter and give out a more summery vibe. I find white jeans are the black jeans of summer; they still go with everything, and you can dress them up or down. If you want to really dress up your white denim, go for an all-white look, with black and silver accessories. The colour palette is so classic and chic. I just added pink pumps and lipstick for that extra bit of summer colour, but neutral would also work.

Top: Coast Stores

Jeans: Tory Burch

Necklace: Style Moi

Bracelets: Guess

Clutch: Whistles

Pumps: Christian Louboutin

Lipstick: Clinique Chubby Stick

As much as I talk about not wearing black in the summer, black is classic, and you shouldn't be afraid to rock it in the warmer weather. A black jumpsuit is perfect for a summer night; go for a style like this for an event, or a just a jersey one with thin straps and a denim jacket for something a bit more laid back.

Jumpsuit: Stella McCartney

Necklace: Robert Rose

Ring: Effy Jewelry

Bag: Saint Laurent

Shoes: New Look

toronto island

Last week my sister and I took a little trip over to Toronto Island via ferry just to spend some time outdoors, away from the busyness of the city. Little did we know there was going to be a heat wave that day (I rarely check the temperature before I leave the house in the summer; all I know is it's hot and sunny and therefore I'm wearing shorts and skirts), and although we were a bit dehydrated and almost got heat stroke, it was still such a fun day spent with each other and revisiting the place we used to go to so often as little kids.

simple fringe

As I've said before I'm not the biggest fan of the 70's look that has been quite literally everywhere this spring and summer (mostly because I can't pull off most of those looks). But, as I've also said before, this summer I really started getting into some simple boho looks that aren't too over the top, and really loving it. I've now gotten used to the flowy dresses, long bohemian necklaces, and sandals, but still the fringe trend is something I'm having a little trouble getting on board with. I'm a simple girl with simple style, and therefore I'm always looking at how to make the crazy trends more my speed and wearable for me.

weekend highlights

(Me in the town of Elora, Ontario; photo by Elana Emer)

This is my second weekend highlights post within two weeks, and both weekends were jam packed with amazing and cool things enjoyed with so many people I love, and I could not be more grateful. I may have said this before, but I always feel like every summer I have a list of things I want to do but I always feel like I have the entire summer to do them so I always end up putting them off. Around the last week or so of August I look at my list of things to do and realize I've barely done any of it and while I still had a pretty good summer, I didn't take advantage of the weather and time off I had. So this summer my boyfriend and I actually made a physical list of things we want to do and places we want to go, and are trying our hardest to do at least one thing a week in order to do everything on the list before the summer ends. And I have to say it's working out really well and I'm having the most amazing summer so far!

classic summer prints

It seems every season we invest in brand new trendy pieces that we always say we'll wear again and again, but somehow only last us through the season. However, in reality, a lot of trends and prints come back in style year after year, with a subtle twist. So I'm going to show you some classic summer prints that you should invest in, and if you already own these prints, you should break them out of your closet and put a 2015 spin on them.

weekend highlights

This weekend was one of the most eventful and fun weekends I've had in a very long while. I usually don't do much on weekends other than work and see a movie every once in a while, but this weekend was so amazing.