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Someone at Nordstrom must have been sleeping on the job. For reasons I can’t explain, this dress ended up at Nordstrom Last Chance with a $49.95 price tag on it. It was the only one, it was in my size, there was not a stain, not a rip and not a silk thread out of place. Pure coincidence, and clearly I planned my trip to Scottsdale at the right time.

It was only in recent years that I learned how crucial the right pair of shoes are to completing an outfit. Tonight after work, I completed the dress by picking up these “kicks” at Holt Renfrew’s seasonal sale. The original price tag said $188 but the register rung them up for $109. It’s think it might be love.

Earlier I was speaking with a friend in an attempt to find a topic to blog about. After politely declining the subject of the Middle Eastern conflict (you can read about that elsewhere), he suggested “the fleeting nature of women’s fashion and how it breeds unnecessary consumerism.” Seemed to me that was a bit of a sore spot so I probed further…

As it turns out, his wife was petitioning to him for a new pair of boots, justifying said boots because they were on sale from $350 down to $250. It seemed reasonable to me. His argument, however, was that she already has a number of perfectly good boots. And further, she wanted these new boots simply based on the fact that “the toes are more blunt on these ones.” And with that, I sided with him instantly.

Photo: HBO on Fashion Nation

I can readily admit that it took me a long, long time to finally understand the concept of shoes beyond basic function. I could appreciate how essential it is to own a pair of sneakers, a pair of heels, maybe some galoshes for the winter and, most definitely, snowboard boots for obvious purposes. But it wasn’t until I finally hit my mid-20s and decided to buck fashion trends for what I wanted to wear that I was able to recognize just how crucially footwear is correlated to fashion.

They say that shoes make an outfit, and it’s true. Imagine a dreamy, creamy summer dress paired with black, square-heeled pumps instead of ballet flats or espadrilles. Or a sleek and tailored pantsuit with a pair of Doc Martens. Ridiculous, I know. But does this mean that it’s necessary to hit the shoe shops for countless pairs to match with each and every outfit? I think not.

Why did I disagree with my friend’s wife’s attempt at rationalization as mentioned above? To purchase a pair of boots simply for a different toe style is completely unnecessary. Flip open any Vogue magazine. While the pages are plastered with couture, cruise wear and the unconventional, a running theme is fashion that exudes class, style and tradition. I’m of the opinion that it’s okay to spend several hundred on a pair of boots – bearing in mind that they should be both functional and timeless in their design.

While my sturdy pair of Frye boots may run upwards of $350, will I still be wearing these a decade from now? The chances are quite likely. The same can’t be said of footwear (or any fashion, for that matter) that is trendy or fad-ariffic. Style du jour will fade with each season and disappear like a tumbleweed. And other items, such as the perfect pair of jeans, a stunning little black dress or delicate heels are comparable to a Chanel suit – iconic fashion statements that transcend the passing of time. Those pieces are what are worth the extra dollars.

Something For The Men

On a final note, what is it with men and boots? My friend also confirmed to me that almost every man finds a woman in boots irresistible. Perhaps I’m just a little naïve (or maybe my brain doesn’t function as imaginatively), but what goes through a man’s head when he sees a woman in boots? And further, do you men prefer a woman in boots or a woman in a sexy pair of shoes?

It’s Fall, it’s getting colder out, time to wear warmer clothing, blah blah blah. Are you even surprised that this is also my favourite season to shop for? I have a lot of great jeans, two pairs of warm UGGs and enough cute sweaters and cardigans to last me until Spring.

Often I choose Fashion over Function, but in this case, the two Fs go hand-in-hand. The fact that it’s also Fall is just a threesome of Fs.

I love Marc. He makes me smell good. He’d make me fashionable too.

My mom had Frye boots in the 1970s. For years they collected dust in our house after she no longer wanted to wear them, and now they are gone without a trace (much to my chagrin). I want these ones, but they cost a lot. A lot.

Maybe I won’t be able to bundle myself in this Marc Jacobs dream or own the sidewalk in these Frye boots, but I need a new Fall and Winter jacket as well as some boots that aren’t UGGs or stilettos. Or maybe I could buy one and not the other.

Help me! Suggestions!

Any obscure places I should hunt out?

Me: So did you figure out what to make for dinner?

Stephen: Ya, I just took a steak out of the freezer.

Me: Yum.

Stephen: Doesn’t it seem kind of counterproductive to go for a run then go to McDonald’s?

Me: Not really. As long as I don’t eat a bajillion calories there.

Stephen: I see.

Me: I’ve been eating it my whole life!

Stephen: Haha maybe it’s just building up inside of you, ready to give you some kind of disease!

Me: What kind of disease?

Stephen: All kinds probably. I don’t know how you don’t feel like dying when you eat it.

Me: I feel like dying from the awesomeness on my tongue…

Okay so I have never been one to really run. When I started going to the gym three weeks ago, I told my trainer that I’d be totally into weight training but count me out for cardio. I hate it and I pretty much always have. But then something weird happened. The more I worked out, the stronger I became and before I knew it, I wanted to run to the gym. Quelle bizarre behavior!

Yup, I’ve definitely gotten stronger, more toned and very much more Bosworth in the last few weeks. I skipped the gym after work today because I actually felt like going for a run to bust off some stress instead.

I started out in Gastown, went up Main Street to Crab Park, all along the waterfront to Waterfront Road, under Canada Place, up through Coal Harbour to the corner of Hastings and Broughton and then back down to Burrard, up to Pender and straight down Pender until I hit the Tinseltown McDonald’s.

All in, 40 minutes later I had covered 4.63km of territory without stopping once. Not only can I not believe that I actually ran, but did so without stopping. Good tunes (The Pixies, Jay-Z and Daft Punk to name a few) and supportive sneakers are key, it seems.

I picked up a great pair of Nike runners at Winner’s for only $70 this week, and so far, it’s been a wise investment. Another tip: make the trek to Burlington, WA and hit the new Lululemon Factory Outlet. The same outfit that I’d priced at about $150 with tax on Robson Street cost me a mere USD$60 with tax last Saturday.

Question for all you runners: Why the heck do I still get that same side cramp that plagued me in elementary school track and field, and how do I get rid of it?

Highlight Of The Day

It seems that being sweaty and joggy is more attractive to men than being dressed-up and strutting. While I oddly got more than my fair share of male attention today, as I jogged past the fire station at Main and Powell, I was greeted by a trio of firefighters who were delighted to wave and wink. Ahhh…rescue me.

Awkward Moment Of The Day

As I was walking home from work, a well-dressed man much shorter than me approached with a puzzled look on his face. Sweetly, I asked if he was lost. He wrung his hands for a brief moment. “Ah, yah, I’m looking for a tall blonde girl…know of any?” I instantly had a flashback to the time Samantha got motorboated, shook my head no and flashed a lovely goodbye smile as I kept on walking.

I just got back from Victoria a few hours ago. I bought myself a souvenir – new Keds. My love affair continues. I got off the bus in Nanaimo where my mom met me, took me to the Bay and bought me these ones too.

I took the first shuttle to Victoria yesterday morning, and was picked up in downtown Victoria by Toni to be whisked away for a killer day/night in the capital city. First we avoided the Harbour crowds, all there to catch a glimpse of the tall ships, and instead headed for the rocky beach on Dallas Road to walk, talk and catch up.

After a quick catnap, we took in Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia at IMAX. True, it was air conditioned, but being that the temperatures soared to 33 degrees on the inner Harbour, our next stop was the cold beer store. After beers on his roof, we stopped in briefly at a BBQ (where I met some truly stellar and ridiculously funny people) before heading back downtown so Toni could work it at the door. He’s a doorman at Lucky Bar. For fun.

I played the role of Lucky doorgirl, which involves nothing more than standing around and batting my eyelashes while the guys check ID.

This morning I opted to spend a bit of solo time downtown, so I made an early morning trek along Oak Bay Avenue to where the action is and found myself amongst the tall ships, the last of which were getting ready to set sail for Port Alberni.

Time spent in Victoria is never time wasted; it’s a truly classy city with wondrous sights to see that never cease to amaze me. Viewing the unique homes is alone worth the trip over. As I sit here in my mom and aunt’s lush, green backyard – Vancouver Islander Lager in hand – I am reminded of how grateful I am to be able to call a place like this home. The only sound I hear is the gentle patter of Charley’s paws on our deck and a few tiny birds distantly chirping back and forth in the trees. Now if only I could do something about these mosquitoes…

It’s doubtful that you’ll enjoy tonight’s post unless you’re of the softer-skinned, lovely-scented, shiny hair variety, but that being said, both boys and girls alike may get a kick out of this. I want to jump around to three different places, so hang on – tight!

Appearance Modification Products

One thing I love about getting back to the Island is suburban shopping; in particular, cheaper shopping. It’s always easier to stock up on the goods a girl needs when in small towns.

First up, I grabbed Nivea’s new Summer Touch body lotion with sunless tanner and firming qualities. Being that I’m still in my 20s, firmness doesn’t concern me, but practicing safe sun does. The lotion promises a sunkissed appearance after five days. I’m on day two and already very impressed. I also snagged a cannister of Skintimate’s new “Lotionized” shave gel. Words cannot possibly express the softness said shave gel provides.

As you can see, I finally finished deciding between skincare products and settled on old faithful, Clinique. Already my skin is tingling in delight, so it’s rather clear I made a good choice.

Despite the rain, thunder and lightning outside my apartment window, summer is around the corner, and now is the time to stock up on footwear for sunny days. If you wait until June or July, I’m guessing you’ll be out of luck. Two pairs of flip flops, one pair black and one pair brown, $7.98 each. Score.

Hot summer nights require cool summer attire. With such a long hem and high neckline, I probably couldn’t have picked a less sexy nightgown, but I love the femininity it oozes. Plus, it’s ridiculously light and comfortable.

I like to call it my Jenny Gump gown.

A Journey Through Vogue

As I sat on the Coastal Renaissance on Friday evening, I found myself flipping through the May 2008 edition of Vogue magazine. For some reason, I especially enjoyed this month’s read; much more than most editions. Here were some highlights that either made me ooh, ahh or chuckle.

Which brings me to my third and final point for the evening…

Eating Well For My Body

Everyone who knows me knows I’m a Jugo Juice addict. In fact, I’ve already brought a couple friends over to the Dark Side. Grabbing a “Skinny Peach” juicie has become a daily habit of mine, so out of curiosity, I went to JJ’s website to look up the nutritional information. Oddly enough, everything but the sugar content was listed.

Photo: Little An on Flickr

Being that, as of late, my mom has become somewhat of a walking encyclopedia when it comes to nutritional information, I asked her to give it a shot and figure out the sugar content. We guesstimated somewhere between 18 and 20 grams of sugar per serving! Sick!

I know that natural sugars are necessary, but that is a huge sugar and carb load all at once. Bikini season will arrive before I even know it, so I think it’s time to cut down the JJ addiction to Saturdays, and only while running errands. (That being said, thank goodness Casey’s getting a haircut this weekend!) Drinking that each day while sitting on my rump at my desk is a bad, bad idea.

Sorry to break the news to you, ladies.

…from everyone’s favourite blonde narcissist.

For those of you who have never commented on my blog before, there is a procedure set up for doing so. Whenever someone is a first-time commenter, whatever they write is immediately dumped into my “awaiting moderation” folder until I have the chance to review the comment. As I sat at my desk this morning, an e-mail notification popped up in my Gmail that there was one comment awaiting moderation. This comment, in turn, referred me to a newly minted blog.

I encourage you all to check out said blog here.

I have to say in all honesty that, despite the intent and content, it’s actually very well written.

Thanks for the publicity, Stanley.

A side note to those of you who may be pondering the idea of creating blogs such as Stanley’s open letter to your humble narrator: remember how, just a moment ago, I mentioned that all new comment contributions to my site are dumped into a moderation folder? The beauty in that is the fact that all IP addresses and a whole cluster of other information is also recorded. Because while you could state that you “stumbled upon” which ever blog you decide to target, the information attached to your IP address is proof enough that you visited the object of your obsession by way of Facebook. And, being that my Facebook profile is entirely private, I suppose this means that Stanley is a “friend” of mine.

Nice, hey?

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In the spirit of all things non-Carrie Bradshaw, today was day two of Army & Navy’s annual shoe sale. Fortunately, Rebecca and I were finally able to make it down there today and scoop up some fine finds for summertime.

Army & Navy’s shoe sale continues now until April 27, 2008 at all Army & Navy locations in British Columbia and Alberta.

Last week’s post about the impending summer season got the ball rolling in my head, and I’m actually finding myself looking forward to sunny days and hot nights. However, thinking about such things has turned into somewhat of a slippery slope. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve put any sort of significant punch of new items into my wardrobe. I got to thinking about what I need to stock up on, and the prospect of shopping has got me rather excited. It wasn’t until I was walking home from the office today and did some mathematics in my head that I realized I might be a few dollars short of what I need want, ideally, to stock my closet.

Photo: cmdrray on Flickr

Let’s do the math together, shall we?

_____ _____ large tote, Coach, $398.00
_____ _____ _____ wedge shoe, Keds, $59.99
_____ _____ skimmer shoe, Keds, $39.99
_____ _____ _____ perfume, Holt Renfrew, $80.00
_____ _____ _____ dress, Bebe, $159.00
_____ _____ hoodie, Lululemon, $80.00
_____ _____ pants, Lululemon, $80.00
(*specifics have been redacted to keep your prying eyes away from my much-coveted items)

In addition to this, I’ll need a couple pairs of dressier sandals (Steven Madden wedges?) as well as a minimum of two sundresses. Creating some cushion for a few random accessories and maybe a couple cute tops to go with my new favourite jeans, let’s say that’s an additional $300.00, all in.

SUMMERTIME GRAND TOTAL: $1,196.98

Sooo…does anyone have any super ideas that’ll put a cool $1,200 in my pocket and fast?

Updated – Where There’s Oil, There Will Be Blood

Being the huge fan of ‘No Country For Old Men’ that I am, I was thrilled to learn that it had won the Academy Award for Best Picture several weeks ago. However, after watching ‘There Will Be Blood’ last night, I am singing a different song. ‘Blood’ was completely robbed. Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance was so brilliant that it was often overwhelming just to watch him on screen. His presence is, very simply, satiating. Kudos to the Academy for awarding him the Best Actor trophy.

What I appreciated most about the film as a whole was its authenticity. Despite the quality production of any given period piece, one tends never to forget that they’re watching sets, costumes and props. Not so in this case. They might as well have transported cameras and recording equipment 100 years back in time and shot this film. The movie was just released on DVD yesterday (in eco-friendly packaging, I might add) so if you haven’t yet experienced Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest masterpiece, do so now.

Photo: Paramount Vantage Pictures on Hampton Roads

Is it not expected that every living, breathing, red-blooded woman has an insatiable appetite for shoes? The same has not always been true of me…at least not entirely.

I love “stuff,” and by “stuff,” I mean gooey, fragranced, soft, silky products that you find beind the mirrored doors of my bathroom cabinet. I love lotions and potions and all things in between; hair creams, eye shadows and glosses to make my lips sheen. One thing you won’t find a voluminous amount of in my apartment is shoes.

Photo courtesy of duygu on Flickr

You see, I’ve never really understood the fascination that so many women have with what I had always thought were “things that go on your feet.” What I’ve come to realize in the last year or two is that the problem was that I never understood precisely how it is that fantastic footwear makes an outfit come together.

Quite obviously, it’s a lesson in fashion I am very slowly learning. Over the past two years, my love of shoes (and therefore my desire to pursue a great pair) has most certainly grown. And oddly enough, I must be a golden goose when it comes to snagging the right pair of boots, heels, galoshes, sneakers or Keds. Even more strange, I have a knack for always getting “the very last pair” in my size and colour (or so I’m constantly told).

It all began two years ago when I wanted a pair of black leather stilletto boots for a good price without looking like a Roxy tramp. Low and behold, I found that so-called last pair at $300 slashed down to $150 at Stéphane de Raucourt on Robson. And you know what? They’re fabulous…

And since then, I’ve added the “last pair” of killer whale Keds, chocolate brown UGGs and even some new silver peep-toe pin-up heels for Saturday night’s affair to my collection. Even more amazingly is that I’ve managed to score every last shoe in my closet at a killer price.

I wonder if I could make a living as a personal shoe shopper for self-indulgent yuppie women…