A Lesson in Customer Service.

I like to plan ahead when it comes to what I will wear to big events. Well I like to plan ahead full stop. A while back I bought an outfit to wear to a garden wedding for a good friend of mine. It was head to toe Tibi and I loved it. Months went by and my outfit sat patiently waiting for the August party to arrive. A few weeks ago I thought I should bring it out of hiding and make sure everything fit and start packing for our trip. When I went to put on the shoes, to my horror, one of the ankle straps was missing. Just gone. I ripped apart my entire closet and my entire shoe rack and couldn’t find it anywhere. Full panic mode set in. I went online to try and find the same shoes again but they were sold out everywhere. I then went on the Tibi website and contacted their online customer service. I wrote a long desperate email explaining the situation about the ankle strap (which I should mention was gold and not easy to replace) and how I had 2 weeks until the wedding and a pair of beautiful shoes that were brand new and now unwearable. Within 24 hours, I had an email back from the lovely Chesa saying how excited she was to tell me she had found a matching gold strap and was going to put it in the mail right away and FREE of charge! Well if you can only imagine, I felt like I just won the lottery. Crisis had been solved and balance was restored.

A week and a half went by and the strap still had not arrived. I emailed Tibi back asking if Chesa had any tracking information and sadly she did not. She then said that she would send me 2 black straps that would work well with the gold shoes overnight. She THEN emailed back AGAIN and said she found ANOTHER gold strap and would send that one instead. She used UPS overnight and sure enough the next day I had a shiny golden strap with a beautiful hand written note in my hands.

The wedding was beautiful and the outfit felt amazing. I cannot express my thanks enough to Chesa and Tibi for going above and beyond to send me a simple strap which I must have thrown out in an OCD purge of my closet. To send not one, but two straps directly to me has made me a loyal customer for life. It’s those types of details that make or break a brand and I will never forget the experience I had in dealing with them.

Thank you Chesa and the Tibi team. You make beautiful clothes and are beautiful people.

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Save your feet.

I’m in shock. This actually works. It actually truly does. I love a high heel but more and more my feet just can’t take them and I don’t last more than a few hours. I had heard about this trick a few times and never bothered to try it. Until last week. All you need is some simple medical tape. By taping your third and fourth toes together you can go hours in a heel with no pain or fatigue. Something to do with taking pressure off a nerve.. Blah. Blah. Who cares how it works, just know that it does. Try it out and let me know if you have the same experience. Life saver!

  

Workwear.

Being back in the office twice a week means I need to be organized when it comes to getting dressed (and everything else). I try to plan ahead and lay my clothes out the night before since the mornings are rushed. I’m still getting use to getting both my son and myself ready so I can get out the door on time. Dress code for my work is wide open. Working in a creative environment allows for creative style, which I love. I can’t even remember the last time I wore “dress pants” to the office.  Jeans are a staple and usually dressed up with heels and sometimes a blazer. What is the dress code at your office? 

Here are a few recent looks from the past week. Follow me on Instagram for more pics and outfit details. 

   
 

Here We Go.

So… I guess you could say I’m baaaack! What a year (plus) it has been. Had our beautiful baby boy ( 2 weeks early ) and have been loving every minute (almost) of being home these last 13 months. Working from home and being a full time mama is a balancing act but I got into a pretty nice groove at about month 5. I’m back at work a few days a week now which means I get to dress up in my big girl clothes, carry my non-diaper bags and even blow out my hair. 

I’ve got a new logo ( thanks to my amazing team from Flipp.ca) and a new Instagram account Instagram.com/weartofromhere so please follow along as I share my little hobby of fashion obsession. 

  

Poncho Love.

It has been beyond freezing in Calgary for the past 2 weeks. Staying warm with a bun in the oven requires lots of layers and I love the look of a poncho & a pregnant belly. Mixing a solid with a pattern underneath helps to add a bit of interest. I also like the look (and feel) of something a bit tighter underneath a bulky sweater. I’ve also converted 100% to maternity bottoms now. Black tights are a staple for me and so easy and comfortable to wear. For really cold days, look for ones that have a bit of fleece lining to keep your legs warm. I haven’t had too much ankle swelling yet, but comfy warm boots like these ones by Pajar or a pair of classic Uggs will be well worn by me in the months to come.

On another maternity fashion note (not shown here) – outerwear became a problem for me pretty quickly as my warmest parka just wouldn’t do up over the boobs and belly. Maternity stores don’t have the best options for really warm jackets so I went to one of my favourite spots and just bought a large size with lots of room to grow. I plan on consigning items like this post-baby so the investment can be recouped (to some degree).

Burnt orange poncho: Pea in the Pod

Striped tshirt: Pea in the Pod

Black maternity tights: David Lerner

Winter moccasin boots: Pajar Canada

Cozy in Phoenix.

Well if you can believe it, I had to layer up in Phoenix. We’ve been here for about a month now and the first 3 weeks were warm and beautiful. Overnight, the weather changed and we saw rain and low temps. (By the way, rain in Phoenix is a top news story here….they go into total shock when they see water falling from the sky for 2 days). While at a Pearl Jam concert, we were lucky enough to win a draw for hockey tickets to see the PHX Coyotes. That meant a cozy and comfy outfit. I layered up starting with my new favourite maternity tights paired with a striped sweatshirt from Target. (Target in the States has way better maternity selection and is very reasonably priced). I layered with my pre-pregnancy jean jacket, a warm infinity scarf and some Chuck Taylors to complete the look. This is how I do casual maternity 🙂

Black maternity tights: David Lerner

Striped maternity sweatshirt: Liz Lange Maternity for Target

Jean jacket: J.Crew

Infinity scarf: J.Crew

Runners: Converse Chuck Taylors

Like an onion.

Calgary’s weather is still a mystery every day. Starts off cold, warms up mid-day, cools off by the time you leave work again…. it makes for an interesting challenge to dress yourself and get out the door. The solution here: Layers! Lots and lots of layers that work together and make subtle changes to your look. I started with a light short sleeve blouse, then a cardigan, a leather jacket and a large chunky scarf. One by one, I peeled off a layer throughout the day  (and then gradually put them all back on). Pick layers that can work on their own or together in any combination. Layers are also great if you need to ‘dress up’ after work or change your look throughout the day for meetings or lunch dates. But don’t complain about layers….pretty soon they won’t be necessary and it will be warm sweaters every day.

Green & black blouse: Scotch & Soda

Chunky scarf: Wilfred

Indigo jeans: Zara

Black cardigan: J.Crew

Leather jacket: Mackage

Camel boots: Frye

Fall shift.

The shift dress is a staple in any wardrobe. This small black and white pattern piece has longer sleeves which works well for cooler temps (as traditional shift dresses are often sleeveless). The shift dress makes it easy to dress up casually and comfortably without too much fuss. Accessorizing can make for a ton of different looks (belting a shift dress, can make a whole new silhouette). Mixing fabrics like cotton, leather and even textured leather help to bring interest into an outfit from head to toe. Paired here with a classic leather jacket, a textured black leather purse and some stacked heel booties – and I’m ready to go just about anywhere.

Black and white shift dress: Scotch & Soda

Black leather jacket: Mackage

Black purse: Kate Spade

Black cracked leather booties: Rag & Bone

A Little Bit Country.

Ok, but mostly Rock ‘n’ Roll. As I’ve mentioned, I am a 90’s rock chick….always will be. In the past few years, my husband and I have opened up a bit more to the country music scene and let a few bands into our listening rotation. We recently went to see Zac Brown Band in concert. I have to admit… it was pretty good (although the highlight for me was when they covered a Metallica tune). Obviously there was a wardrobe dilemma for me in attending an event like this. Staying true to my rock ‘n’ roll genes, I went for an all black look with touches of country. These low western boots are the greatest country piece I own. They are by Freebird and the detail on them is amazing (I threw in a leg kick so you get a better idea). You can add or subtract bands of leather and fabric or even jewellery to them to change them up. I felt my tank had a bit of western flare to it to help me fit in with the country crowd. All in all, a pretty great night. Concert season has definitely begun….stay tuned for future shows coming up!

Western boot: Freebird

Black tank with skull: Scotch & Soda

Blank jeans: Rag & Bone

Black blazer: Talula

Camel purse: J.Crew

It’s Here!

Today is the first day it really has felt like FALL! Cooler weather from morning till night means boots + sweaters. Two of my favourite things. I love the feeling of a soft, comfortable sweater and my boot collection just got a good dusting off. Sweaters for fall can be oversized and extra long – look for cable knits this season too! I prefer to wear tights with boots instead of jeans. It’s just a cleaner, more comfortable look. Jeans get baggy and crumpled up around the ankles, but make sure you pull some socks over top to try and keep them in place. Happy cooler temps!

Long cardigan: Joie

Black tights: Lululemon

Black tank: Rag & Bone

Brown boots: Frye

Crossbody purse: Marc by Marc Jacobs