March 11th, 2012

Travel Outfit!

Posted by Pam

So, you’re flying to a warm destination…what to wear??  Trust me, I’ve made many mistakes in the past.  Like the time I was flying alone with all three kids, the flight was delayed about 3 hours and all I was wearing was a cardi.  I didn’t have any blankets with me and the airline had none to offer.  We all four froze all the way home!  It’s a bit tricky when you’re flying from a colder climate to a warmer climate, but there are a few tricks…

1.  Wear a scarf that can double as a blanket.  Some with snaps like the one from Lululemon below can even be worn as a vest!

2.  Uggs are THE BEST for travelling.  They keep your feel warm and cosy, you don’t need to wear socks, and knit Uggs are easy to pack and lightweight.  Don’t forget to throw some socks in your carry on for walking through security, though.  And remember, NEVER buy Uggs at retail price in Canada.   They are a rip off….unless you find them at somewhere like MTF or Costco, then fill your boots…pardon the pun!

3.  I prefer a short sleeved tee under a wrap or jacket.  Often the plane can get very warm before take off, and it’s better to have a short sleeved shirt than just a tank if you feel your temp rising and you need to take off your jacket.

4.  Keep jewelry to a minimum!  Otherwise, you’ll be beeping though security!

5.  Don’t forget a great travel bag to hold everything you’ll need for the flight, including some flip flops for when you land!  Make sure it has enough room to accommodate your jacket when you get to your tropical locale!

Travel Outfit

 

Part of a well thought out travel outfit is a smartly packed carry on. Here’s what I pack in mine:

what's in your carry on??

 

Beyond the scarf, socks and flipflops that Pam talked about, I never step foot on a plane without:
~A bottle of water…the air on planes leaves you dehydrated so water is paramount (it also helps keep you cool, pre take-off)
~snack packs of nuts…these protein rich snacks will keep you away from spending lots of money on sub-par airplane snacks.
~mags…I’m a reader, so ’nuff said!
~my IPad…download your favorite book or movie and the time will literally “fly” by
~my Bose sound cancelling headphones…I wasn’t a believer until I tried them. They truly cancel all noise, making for easier sleeping or reading.
~lip balm…well, i’m never without it, so why would flying be any different?
~hand lotion…to combat the dry air…and to add a pleasant scent to my personal space!
~sunglasses…because i’m hopin wherever i get off this plane will be a whole lot sunnier than home!
~anti-bacterial wipes…for wiping down the tray table, hands or my Starbucks that spills EVERY time I bring it on a plane
~a woman’s survival kit…with 24 different tools to help the woman on the go. Items, such as a folding hair brush with mirror, hair spray, clear elastics, earring backs, emery board, clear nail polish, nail polish remover, mending kit, double-sided tape, lint remover, shoe shine wipes, stain remover, breath freshener, dental floss, pain reliever, deodorant wipes, tampon, adhesive bandages, facial tissues.
~passport holder…which also holds my accomodation & rental car info and foreign currency.

Once I’ve got all that packed into my Lululemon carry-on, I’m pretty sure I can handle most any flight, long or short!

No comments yet

January 31st, 2012

What to Pack for Your Tropical Vacation!

Posted by Pam

Spring Break is quickly approaching and with the awful weather that hits most of Canada and at least half of the US at this time of year, many people desperately book vacations in the hope of finding some sun and a warmer climate. Right now I’m listening to the wind howling, shaking the French doors, and rain pelting the side of the house. A tropical vacation can’t come soon enough!

So, you’ve booked your vacation and now, what to pack! In Laurel and my experience, we tend to pack WAY TOO MUCH when we go to a tropical location. Jason always looks at my suitcase with bewilderment… “Are you really taking ALL of that!?!” And, I often come home having only worm about half of what I packed. Really…there’s only a few things that you need. And most tropical places are just more casual in nature.

Jessica Alba looks positively chic!!! This is the perfect warm weather ensemble! Photo courtesy of www.my.pclady.com.cn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, to take a cue from Jessica Alba, here are a few warm weather essentials..

1.  Gladiators – they look great with most anything and are just a step up from flip flops.  Jessica Alba is wearing Matt Bernson KM Gladiators which are a bit of a splurge.  We love the pop of colour!  Steve Madden has just come out with some colourful gladiators….I’m super tempted.   Endless  has them for $60.  I love the turquoise!  They also come in coral.

Steve Madden sandals


2.  Light weight scarf – tropical locale’s can have a breeze, so it’s a great idea to pack a scarf that you can throw over your shoulders.  It’s also a great way to a bit of colour to your outfit.

Joe Fresh at the Real Canadian Superstore has these colourful scarves for $14. I picked up one in green, but I tempted to get a few more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.  Dresses – Laurel and I are big fans of what we like to call “easy breezy” summer dresses.  Whether they are shorter like Jessica’s or longer, dresses are comfortable, easy to pack and look a bit dressier than shorts.  If you pack about 3-4 dresses, and mix up the lengths, you should be good to go!  We are big fans of Ella Moss and Splendid .  Just a little tip – Splendid and Ella Moss have  been on Haute Look a few times and last time I snagged a Splendid tank style maxidress.  J Crew has a “Vacation Shop” which we LOVE.  You can buy swimsuits and shorts, year round!  We love this maxidress from their vacation shop!

 

Amie maxidress from J Crew comes in 3 colours

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a great knee length dress from Ella Moss on on sale now on Revolve Clothing for $111

Revolve Clothing has free international shipping. Check their website for the deets!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.  Hats – ok, I don’t do hats….but Jessica’s straw fedora has inspired me to maybe try!!  It looks pretty chic.  I might try this one from Nordstrom.

Hinge fedora. It's available in three different colours. $28

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.  Swim Suits and Cover Ups – how many you’ll need will depend on how long you are gone.  I like to switch up the styles that I wear to reduce tan lines, so it’s probably optimal to have about three suits and one or two cover ups.  Where can you buy suits at this time of year?  Joe Fresh has some in stores right now.  You can also check out the J Crew Vacation Shop, American Eagle, Roxy and of course, Nordstrom.  Winners has a good selection in their stores as well.

I don’t love to spend a ton of money of coverups so I often look to Roxy and Billabong for something fun, like this great coverup on sale for $36.80

Roxy Beach Blanket Coverup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.  Flip flops – this is really my go to on vacation.  I do really love Havaianas.  I never really understood the hype until I actually tried them.  They are super comfy!  My fave are the Havaianas Slim and they run about $26.   But, I have found them at Winners and at Nordstrom Rack!  My girlies love them too…I’ve found them theirs on sale on AE Kids.

Havaianas Slim in Grey Silver go with almost anything!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s kind of fun to have a pair of flip flops with some bling.  So cute with a sundress or maxidress and you’re not sacrificing comfort.  I love the graphic pattern on these Tory Burch flip flops $50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also love these jeweled flip flops from J Crew $ 30.50

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look for our upcoming post on “how” to pack featuring beach bags, carry ons, and luggage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No comments yet

January 11th, 2012

How to Shop for your Tween

Posted by Pam


The girls are laughing and always do when we put them back to back. Lexi (on the left) is 6 months younger than Berkeley (on the right)!

 

Unfortunately, the girls often look like what we've called "shrubs"! They love dancing and spend most of their time at the dance studio, but that means that they don't really know how to put a nice outfit together!

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We both have 12 year old daughters, but they are on the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of height and how mature they look. Berkeley is Pam’s daughter.  She is actually 6 months older than Alexis, who is Laurel’s daughter. Berkeley is 4’9” and Alexis is 5’5”..that’s an 8″ difference!  The challenge comes in how to dress both girls age appropriately.  What fits Berkeley are clothes that she feels are “too baby-ish”, and what Alexis can nicely fit into makes her look much too mature.

We are always up for a challenge and recently, we took the girls shopping to find them clothes that are age appropriate, but still on trend.

Berkeley cringes when I suggest we go into the kids section of stores, but the fact of the matter is that what fits her best.  She still can wear a size 9-10, so clothes at many of the stores geared to tweens and teens just don’t fit her.  So the challenge for Berkeley is to find her clothes in the kids’ section of stores that have more mature styles or junior stores that carry size XXS. Recently, we had really good luck at Zara Kids.  I loved that they had the clothes merchandised by colour groupings.  Most styles were “mature” enough for Berkeley….I think that I only heard her say, “That’s too baby-ish!” once.  Also, because the cuts are European she actually fit into an 11-12 in most styles. Unfortunately, you cannot purchase Zara Kids online, but you can view their styles and prices online at http://www.zara.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/category/ca/en/zara-W2011/118197/Kids

Another place that we found styles that suited and fit Berkeley was H&M Kids.  Again, you cannot purchase online, but you can view what is available at http://www.hm.com/ca/department/KIDS  They have a lot of good basics as well.  Crewcuts (by J Crew) also has some great stuff for tweens, but some of the styles are a bit too juvenile.  They ship to Canada and  shipping is $9.95.  I do wait and shop their sales.

Artizia and TNA work well for both Berkeley and Alexis.  They carry size XXS and their sizes are on the small side.  TNA has great basics like tanks, T’s, and leggings.  Aritizia is a lot more expensive, but you can find the odd piece that works and is fairly reasonable.  We paid $40 for a stretchy black skirt with a floral pattern for Berkeley.  I love it that she can wear black leggings under it….leggings are a mom’s best friend!  Neither of these stores has a great website and they both don’t offer online shopping.

I also love Ella Moss Girl and Splendid for tweens.  It’s not easy to come by in Canada, but they do have great websites.  They are on the pricier side, but the quality is great and the styles are very appropriate. The Cabazon Outlets just west of Palm Springs has a Splendid and it sometimes has Ella Moss items as well (Splendid, Ella Moss and Seven for All Mankind are all related brands). Nordstrom and Bloomingdales also carry some Ella Moss Girl and Splendid.

We also just took the girls to Target and we were pleasantly surprised at what we found them there.  The best surprise is that some of their junior lines (Mossimo) start at size 1.  Perfect for Berkeley!  Both Berkeley and Lexi scored coloured jeans …one of the hottest trends for this spring, for $22.99 http://www.target.com/p/Mossimo-Supply-Co-Juniors-Skinny-Denim-Assorted-Colors/-/A-13778875#?lnk=sc_qi_detaillink

Mossimo Supply Co. coloured denim for $22.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shoes are another story!  Berkeley is a size 3.5 in children’s and a 5.5 in womens.  Children’s shoes are generally not mature enough style wise, but it’s not easy to find a lot of women’s shoes in a size 5.5.  For casual wear, TOMS are great and they are becoming more and more readily available.  In fact, TOMS are about the same price in Canada as they are in the US…bonus!!  You can order TOMS online and they ship very quickly.

Here are a few outfits that WE helped put together for the girls!

Alexis is wearing a cardi from Target, jeans from the Boathouse (Abby) and scarf from Ripcurl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cream cardi by Ella Moss, dress from Target, Roxy boots and hat from American Eagle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeans and sweater are from Target, toque from Forever 21 and boots by Steve Madden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vest by Zara Kids, jeans by Seven for All Mankind, boots by Dirty Laundry. Berkeley unfortunately did not like this outfit when I laid it out for her the first time and changed immediately. But today she actually liked it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Berkeley in a boyfriend blazer from Children's Place, skirt from Aritzia, tights from H&M, shirt from The Bay and boots by Steve Madden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Berks is wearing a tunic and leggings from H&M, boots from Steve Madden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Berkeley in a jean dress from Crewcuts, tights from Ivivva and shoes by Dirty Laundy

1 comment