HAZARDOUS GOODS

I sent my laptop for repairs on Monday after it had been beeping for about 2 weeks and finally the speakers gave up on me and a red light was coming out of the audio jack on Sunday night. They told me it will take about 2 weeks before I can get it back and I'm already going through withdrawal. Meanwhile I have to use Shane's humongous laptop that overheats at the slightest use. Plus, did I mention that his screen is almost twice the size of mine? Every time I use it I feel like I'm sitting really close to a TV and my mother's voice inevitably drifts into my mind: "get away from the TV!" And it weighs about 4 times more, I can barely lift it up with 2 hands. Add the heat and I've got myself third degree burns on my palms.

THE ART OF THE UNIFORM

Have you ever noticed that every time a person strikes you as (particularly) stylish, it is the result of an air of effortless preening? The reason is because style, in the sense that Coco Chanel had intended it, inevitably impels uniform dressing. Ideate any stylish person you can think of and notice how they are always stylish while always wearing variations of one same uniform, the same code vestimentaire.

The quest of mine is thus to find my uniform - to seek my personal style and slowly build my wardrobe with pieces that I will wear over and over again, day in and day out. The ultimate goal is to have a closetful of 30-something pieces that complement each other and that can take me from going to work in the morning, to a last-minute 5 à 7 , to a casual (or the opposite, an elaborate) dinner, to a vernissage, with a simple change of shoes, accessories, or a slight hair or makeup touch up.

I personally believe this is what sets Europeans aside from North Americans; the art of dressing. You will see an American girl at work with stiff, synthetic (this is an exaggerated projection, sorry American girl. Maybe your clothes aren't polyester today but they were yesterday.) work clothes, that same night you will see her out and about town in a skintight (or micro-length skimpy) dress that is just way TMI for anybody who crosses her path, and theatrical makeup, the next day you'll come across her in jogging pants and a t-shirt.

| columbinesmille, vanessajackman, celebritystyleguide |

BACK TO OLD HABITS

I'll be the first to admit it; working in a retail environment definitely entices consumption. Especially when said retail environment is filled with buttery soft handbags crafted in an assortment of colours, beautiful italian tailoring, 5-inch heels with a certain signature red sole and pristine french ballerina flats, dainty silver jewelry with a packaging so recognizable the very colour has become its eponym...you get the drift. Temptation has been lurking in all directions and as I've been so disciplined and so courageously resisting while strolling to the scent of Coco Mademoiselle, what happens? Well, the Holt Renfrew Annual Summer Sale of course! At this point, more than ever, I have to keep in mind that just because it's now 200$ instead of 600$ does not mean I need it and that it is NOT A LOSS TO NOT BUY.
I really have to keep perspective by making a list of items that will help build my wardrobe in order to minimize impulse purchases. I'm sorry for this contemptible letter to self under the guise of blog entry. Narcissistic post of the month, check. 

Although an extra cone might seem like a good idea and cause it's on sale (really?), it will melt and leak all over your hand and you will regret it.

THROUGH THE FEELINGS WE'RE HALF WHERE WE LIED

I've been wanting to share this with you guys for some time now; the new album from TV on The Radio, "Nine Types of Light". My man and I have been listening ceaselessly to it on repeat for the past couple of weeks and hands down, can confidently claim that this is their best work yet. The album truly showcases their incredible versatility as artists and offers something for every possible mood. It's safe to say I'm completely obsessed with all of the hauntingly bittersweet tunes.