8/29/2013

These heels were made for walking...


Hello, my beautiful people, I am back with another outfit of the day! I was heading to a boat cruise event, and needed something to wear that would be semi causal,and be comfortable enough for me to move and dance in throughout the night. The dress was purchased on sale at Dynamite some time ago. I fell in love with it because of  its fit, the neck line, and the fact that the dress is sexy but still modest.
The sandals were an impulse buy awhile back, using my credit card and the encouragement of a friend who never looks at price tags-- not a good combination at all if you ask me. However, I have learned my lesson and broke free from those bad spending habits. The sandals are comfortable and pretty versatile, so all is not lost.
 


The view of the city was beautiful! I thought maybe the movement of the boat would make me sick, but surprisingly (and thankfully),  I was fine. So, I leave you with a snapshot of the city of Toronto. Until next time my beautiful people.


 Outfit Information: Dress: Dynamite | Heels: Boutique Store ( Belstaff) | Belt: Thrifted

Sincerely miss J



8/24/2013

African Fashion Week Toronto

Hello Everyone, 
Last week I attended African Fashion Week Toronto, which took place from Aug. 15th-18th. If this is your first time hearing about this event, do not feel badly because this was their first year running the event.  Although, I did not get to attend the full week of events, I had a chance to attend the fashion show on Saturday and loved it. My senses of sight, touch and hearing were fully stimulated by the energetic atmosphere, the beautiful outfits, models, and numerous vendors. I'm very pleased that a large city like Toronto was able to host such an event that brought together so many talented indivduals to celebrate African culture. As an African myself, I felt like a proud mother, as the event unfolded. The designers present that night included Adebayo Jones (London, UK), Eloli Designs, Zeena Kay,  Mema Xclusive (Liberia), Stephanie Owusu Ansah (Toronto), and Kaela Kay (Toronto).


Unfortunately, I lost alot of my pictures that I took at the event, I am still recovering from the shock. As described in my previous post, I accidentally formatted my camera which cleared all my pictures on my sd card including other personal photos. All 1000+ gone.However,I was able to recover 40% of them, and thought, it's better than nothing right?
Enjoy the pictures below. Unfortunately, my research came up short and  I could not figure out what all the designer's individual pieces shown below were, if anyone knows please contact me so I may label them accordingly.   
Please feel free to visit the African Fashion Week Toronto facebook page, and website @ www.afwt.ca for more information and updates. 
Adebayo Jones

Eloli Designs


Zeena Kay









Kaela Kay


Kaela Kay



I decided to wear a dress that I got custom made in Ghana 2 years ago. 
One of the models and I

 Until Next Time,
Sincerely Miss J

8/21/2013

How to Sustain your Style and Sustain Your Wallet- 7 Easy Tips



           Hello everyone! It' s been a very busy couple of days for me, from covering some events at the African Fashion Week Toronto to attending a local blogger brazaar to hosting a small get together at my place. However, what turned out to be, a wonderful few days has turned into a nightmare. I FORMATTED my sd card  by accident. I lost all my pictures from all my recent events, including other personal pictures, we are talking about losing over 1000 + of photos. The bad news is many of the pictures were not backed up and the good news  is I may be able to get them back, so I'm just praying that everything works out.So, lesson learned, please back up anything important because you just never know.

In the meantime, I am back with a post that is a bit different than the others. Fortunately or unfortunately for you, this post will consist of me doing a lot more writing. However, I felt compelled to write this because I have gotten many questions pertaining to this subject. Hopefully this information will be helpful to  independent style/ fashion bloggers, anyone who loves fashion, or for my shopaholics.
            I have gotten many questions like “how do you maintain your ability to blog as an independent fashion blogger, while still maintaining financial sustainability?” or “where do you buy your stuff at such reasonable prices?” All that will be answered in this post, which hopefully provides tips in sustaining your unique style and blog. I' m not in any means worthy or have extra resources to spend money on clothes. Therefore, it’s a matter of being patient, creative, and money conscious. These are my seven tips in no particular order.

1.      Thrifting: Thrifting has saved my butt on so many occasions. The advantages to thrifting are the low prices, the quality, the thrill of the hunt, it’s better for the environment, and it's a way to help support organizations in the community. Please check out Looking Fly on a Dime’s post, where I was featured, here , where I talk about some of my thrifting experiences. My favourite thrift Stores are listed below: 
·         Salvation Army: No taxes on clothing and accessories. Click here to find a location near you.
·          Goodwill: You can collect points for discounts—however, not at all locations. Click here to find a location near you.
·         Value Village: Very organized, and if you join their discount club, you can receive some additional savings. A bit pricier than the other thrift stores listed above but you can find some nice things. Click here to find a location near you. Attn: Value Village is have a 50%  off sale on Aug. 26, 2013 ( Canada) and Sept. 2, 2013 ( US).
·         Talize: Very organized, also has a discount program. It’s also a bit pricier but has nice things. Click here to find a location near you.
·         Plato’s closet: Sells trendy and brand name gently used clothing for young adults. Also buys your gently used clothing. Click here to find a location near you.
·         The Black Market: Awesome vintage store; most of the time nothing is over $10. (Location: 256 Queen St W, Toronto ).
2.   Warehouse Sales/ Sample Sales: I have gotten so many great things such as bags, shoes, and clothing between 50-70% off the original price. Warehouse sales can often include long lines and a mad rush, but partnering up with a friend can make things bearable and well worth the mayhem. Most of the time, the items are not current season. Sample sales are similar, but often offers items not available in-store.


3.  Outlets: I love a sale! Outlet stores often carry the largest selection of sale items from the previous seasons than the regular selection of sale items at the store.

4.    Wait for a sale: As I said, I love a sale and when I see an item, I wait.  Some stores have amazing sales, that it's hardly worth buying at regular price when the item will be on sale in a couple months. If I can't wait than I may buy at regular price.

5. Up cycling: Up cycling is a cheap and simple way to remain chic and on budget. If you’re a DIY queen or king, and/or possess  creativity and sewing skills, up cycling an old garment and making it new can be a piece of cake. Why not even ask a friend, or check out some of the millions of diy tutorials out there—anything, to rethink throwing away something which may still have life in it!

6.   Reusing: If you are not, sewing-or-DIY-savvy, and don’t have a friend who is, re-wearing your clothes on multiple occasions is a simple idea. While some may think this is obvious, you'll be shocked at how many people refuse to be pictured or seen wearing things twice due to the age of social media,  However,  if you’re creative and invest in quality wardrobe pieces, you can easily wear items over and over again without anyone really noticing.  Change up the look by switching up items  and accessories, like pictured below.




7.   Selling: Another option is selling your clothes.  There are multiple platforms that you can sell them on such as kijji, selling to consignment shops, opening up your own online store, and many more. It not only earns you a little extra money but also gives you an opportunity to clear out items that  you don’t need anymore
Anyways, there you have it, seven tips to help save you money and look fly on a dime. If anyone has any other tips please share in the comment box below. 
Until Next time, 
Sincerely Miss J 
8/14/2013

The Nautical Summer



Hello Everyone, 
Summer is quickly coming to a close and that means back to school for some of you, or back to regular work hours. However, all is not lost, we still have a couple more weeks to enjoy the last bits that we still have. I'm planning on stuffing my face with good food and making it to a few events. I went down to the lake the other day to enjoy the day. This is what I wore. It is simple, but you know I love simple. The outfit also made me want to climb up on a boat and start sailing. Maybe one day if I ever own a boat, but for now I shall watch them parked from land.
Again, thank you all for your comments, I'm currently working on some tips for all you budget fashionistas that should be on the blog in a couple of days.
If anyone will be in the Toronto area this weekend, African fashion week is happening this week from the 15th -18th. So, excited, and hoping to attend myself. Please head to the site here for more information and to purchase your tickets.Enjoy!




Until next time,
Sincerely Miss J
Outfit Information: Sunglasses: China Town | Necklace: little burgundy | blazer: dynamite | Tank: Urban Planet| Skirt,Shoes, bag: Thrifted
8/06/2013

Wide leg

Hello everyone, I hope everyone has had a great weekend, I know I did.  I have been kept very busy, but wanted to post a quick outfit of the day.  I love the summer weather to pieces, but when it's hot and sticky during the day, wearing pants-- especially those skinny jeans can be really sticky and uncomfortable. However, when it cools down at night, which it has been doing often lately here, wearing skirts or shorts will not do. At least for me because I am always cold, even when I shouldn't be. So,  here is a comfortable option for all of you, wide legged trousers or pants. Now, I own two other pairs of wide legged pants that I've yet to pull out of the drawer, but when I saw these at Winners on sale I knew I had to have them. What caught my eye was the light weight material, beautiful pattern, and the fact that it felt like I'm wearing pjs without wearing pjs. Hopefully, this will rekindle a love for the wide legged silhouette and yours as well.

Until Next Time,
Sincerely Miss J
Outfit Information: Top: Mode Star | Pants: Winners | Bag: In Italy | Watch: China Town

@smissjblog