Colour me brightly

This summer I've simplified my style but have had fun playing with punches of colour! 

My summer wardrobe consists of a lot of solids in bright or pretty hues. 

I've minimized the accessories because who needs to be weighed down in the summer heat?

It's easier and quicker this way to put outfits together- 

without the distractions of patterns and bling, 

you can mix different colour combinations that otherwise would have be too much.

On the opposite side of the fence, 

combining similar shades to create a monochromatic outfit also works a lot easier 

when you choose garments in solid colours that go light on the details.

I usually tie in one neutral garment to break things up- 

such as a black t-shirt (in this case).

The Outfit | Sweater: Gap | Tee: American Eagle | Pants: Scarlet Boulevard (Envy) | Bag: Fossil (Manchester Shoes) | Necklace: House of Harlow | Glasses: Ray Ban | (not shown) Sandals: Bernardo 

These pants are still a favourite but this outfit is not especially recent- I've since had my bangs trimmed [so they didn't have to be pinned back out of my eyes], added highlights and had a teal hair extension put in. I wore this outfit last time I was in Halifax (last month).

There's a hole in my pants dear Liza...

You're likely to look at this outfit and think, where's the hole? Sadly you may not be able to see London or France today, but thankfully you can't see my underpants. These kelly green bottoms I'm wearing would be a replacement pair sent to me by Biscuit General Store following a little pants mishap....

The Outfit: Sweater- Gap | T-shirt- Joe Fresh | Necklace- H&M | Pants (Biscuit General Store) | Earrings- Foxy (Je Suis Prest Boutique) | Sandals- Sam Edelman (Piperlime) | Sunglasses- Joe Fresh | Headband- Lululemon

A while back, I hopped in the car for a whirlwind trip to Halifax and back in less than 24 hours with Barb and Candice for the East Coast Bloggers meet-up- we had a chance to catch a bit of the conference and do a little downtown shopping with our other Maritime blogger pals. 

One of my favourite independent shops in Halifax, Biscuit General Store, was having a massive sale that many of us couldn't pass up. I bought these bottoms since they were incredibly comfortable (and my favourite shade of green). Unfortunately, on their first wear- I discovered the inside seam of one leg has already torn while at a friend's for supper.

It's a sad, sad day. I love my new pants from @BiscuitGeneral but on their 1st wear, unexpectedly the in-seam ripped. twitter.com/atlanticstyle/…
— Chelsea Donaldson (@atlanticstyle) May 2, 2012

Not only did Biscuit see my tweet and respond immediately, but they offered to send me a new pair via mail or refund me my purchase since I didn't live close to their shop. Now that's good customer service! 


I opted to try another pair and when they arrived on my doorstep, enclosed was also a little note and a $5 off coupon towards my purchase. They may carry my favourite brands, but knowing that a store stands behind their merchandise and cares about their customers, I will definitely shop there again. 


(As for the pants, the second pair has held up!)

aztec prints

Don't you just love an awesome sale?

This top was part of an awesome deal I scored at Biscuit General Store in Halifax a couple weekends ago. They carry a number of my favourite brands and labels including Free People, Kensie, BB Dakota, TOMS, Gentle Fawn (just to name a few). 

Outfit: Top- Gentle Fawn (Biscuit General Store) | Jeggings- Guess

Sweater- American Eagle | Necklace- Maison Scotch 

Shoes- Corso Como (Urban Shoe Myth) | Purse: Fossil | Watch: Fossil

I was in town for the ECFB (east coast fashion bloggers!) Unleashed event and Biscuit was celebrating their 16th birthday in business when I picked up this top. They were offering a pretty sweet deal to all their customers- and we bloggers were spoiled with the generous offer to buy 1 item and get the 2nd 70% off!

I found an awesome pair of green pants (which shall be featured in an upcoming post) and this Gentle Fawn top. I've been fond of aztec prints over the last few months, but hadn't quite stumbled upon the right pattern. I love this particular tee because the neutral shades blend nicely into my wardrobe and the cut and colours of this garments will transition easily between seasons. 

As a gal on a budget, my focus is on items that can be worn various ways and 1 important factor: the cut is appropriate so that I can include the garment in a business casual outfit for work. After all, purchasing a garment or accessory that isn't appropriate for every-day wear shortens the mileage you can get out of an item, seriously impacting it's cost-per-wear. Then you have to ask yourself: is it worth the $$$..? It may be worth a splurge, but sometimes it's better to put the item back on the shelf and wait.

Links worth checking out:

1. Simple price per wear calculator
2. Cost per wear calculator: great way to see how your money stretches long-term
3. Track exactly what you do wear-  here's how to create a spreadsheet if you want to see exactly how often you wear what items. This is an experiment I've decided to do!