Personality Style Challenge for Brilliant Earth

Last week I was contacted by the folks at Brilliant Earth - makers of ethical origin fine jewelry - and asked to take part in their blogger Personality Style Challenge.

If you know me well, you are aware that I'm a bit of a magpie ("bit of a" might also be a HUGE understatement!!) and I cannot resist anything that sparkles. And if you've read this blog for a long time you know that I am not in the habit of partnering with companies, so you know this one had to speak to me.

Before I get to the style challenge, let me introduce you to this fantastic company:

Brilliant Earth is a jewelry company with a cause. They are committed to offering quality diamonds and fine jewelry which are ethically sourced. At the same time offering great service as well as contributing to the jewellery industry - donating 5% of their profits to benefit communities affected by the blood diamond trade and the jewellery industry.

I know that can all seem pretty heavy for a little lifestyle/fashion blog, but diamonds are fashion and I think most people forget that lives can be on the line in the diamond trade. If you purchase your wedding ring/engagement ring/diamond earrings from a company like Brilliant Earth you can rest assured that you are part of the solution and not the problem. I like that. Fashion with a conscious. This is part of the reason I like to shop second hand - it reduces waste and reuses perfectly good - and sometimes stunningly beautiful - clothing that might otherwise be unused.

And more to that note, I was also quite excited to learn that Brilliant Earth offers a curated selection of antique jewelry, engagement and wedding rings. Please click the links and prepare to swoon (Christmas is only 8 days away people! haha!)


So now that you've had a proper introduction, onto the style challenge! I was sent a list of personalities with corresponding jewellery from Brilliant Earth and was asked to make a style board to compliment the jewelry and personality of my choice. It wasn't a tough decision. I had to pick the vintage girl - who loves vintage dresses and thrift store shopping (sound like anyone you know?!?!).
I've called her "Vintage Loving Gal"

1. The Promenade Earrings - Brilliant Earth

2. Black 30's Tilt Slouch Hat with Rhinestones - Etsy

3. Polka Dot Blouse with Removable Flower - Jacob

4. Cream Leather Motorcycle Jacket - Danier Leather

5. Black 30's Hand Embroidered Evening Clutch - Etsy

6. White Gold Hudson Ring - Brilliant Earth

7. Eternity Diamond Ring - Brilliant Earth

8. High Waisted Keynote Address Pants in Teal - Modcloth

9. 40's Kelly Green Leather Platform Peep Toe Pumps - Etsy

10. Ruby Woo Lipstick - MAC

Choosing Brilliant Earth's antique and vintage inspired jewelry was a no-brainer for me…I mean, The Promenade Earrings…they've got me seriously swooning. Please, click on the link above or enlarge my collage to see them clearer…you won't be disappointed.
I also love their choice of rings for the vintage loving gal - the Hudson Ring and the Tiara Eternity Diamond ring - both in white gold. They are both beautiful and classic with just enough vintage style without being garish. I would wear them on the same hand or stack them on one finger for maximum bling.

I've paired the jewelry with an outfit I would wear in a heartbeat any day of the week, chosen from my favourite modern retailers and peppered with vintage accessories from Etsy. I think I could even manage to wear this outfit to work with flats!

As usual, it's all about the mix. I love the bling, not only from Brilliant Earth's jewelry, but also in rhinestones on the vintage hat paired with a tough, but chic leather motorcycle jacket from Danier Leather. For me, no outfit is complete without a fabric flower - here on the polka dot blouse. Which I hope would poke out above the collar on the jacket.

More feminine detailing in the delicate 1930's clutch - a nice counter balance to the graphic print on the blouse.

The high waisted teal pants are not only a nod to vintage fashion, but also right on trend both in colour and fit - the best of both worlds, in my opinion. And I couldn't help but pair them with a beautiful pair of vintage 40's platform pumps in a similar colour.

And no vintage loving gal's outfit is complete without some lipstick. What better shade than MAC's bold Ruby Woo?


I had a lot of fun taking part in this challenge (Brilliant Earth will pick 3 winners to be featured on their Pintrest page this Friday!) and frankly, I think my credit card is in danger right now - I am seriously debating buying myself that outfit. Or at least the hat and the clutch! haha! And I've also let The Boy know about Brilliant Earth…you know, in case he finds he needs to do some jewellery shopping for me…*hint hint*.

What do you think of my style board? Anything you would add? Subtract? 

Lisa.xo

Disclaimer: This post is part of Brilliant Earth's blogger Personality Style Challenge. 

All opinions are my own.

Outfits: Finally Fur

I always get excited for fall dressing. Cozy, warm layers and especially fur. I'm not picky either, I'll take faux or the real deal.

This cardigan happens to be of the faux fur variety. It is an oldie, but a goodie. I bought it new from Ricki's when I was in university and even though it's fallen out of rotation from time to time I've never ever been able to give it away. It's a great example of high street fashion mimicking great vintage style.

It's starting to get noticeably dark here much earlier and I'm so glad I opted to paint my dressing room white. It's making taking outfit photos indoors much easier at night.  

50's Cat Eye Glasses: were Grandma Cotton's 

Faux Fur Collar Pink Cardigan: Ricki's

Rhinestone Key Brooch: Rhymes with Orange

Black Jersey Dress: Buffalo

Black Plaid Tights: Ricki's 

40's Black Suede Peep Toe Slingbacks: Vintage Glory

Best Purse in the Entire World (goes with freakin' everything!): thrifted, Value Village

Need more daily outfit inspiration from Butterflies and Daisys? Follow me on Instagram! I post there almost daily!

Lisa.xo

A New Home with Me

Last week I did some thrift shopping with my friend Leyan (she's a thrifting newbie, so I was showing her the ropes!).

It's been a while since I've been (not working in the summer means I have to curb my spending) and naturally, I came home with a few treasures.

We hit up one of the Value Villages in the city (the one on Pembina Hwy for anyone residing in Winnipeg). I think it's one of the best VV's in town. You can usually find very gently used designer clothing for a fraction of the cost and it seems to be riddled with vintage.

That being said, this time around I walked away with only a few small items. I've really been wanting a pair of leopard print flats and there was a pair sitting on the shelf ready and waiting for me!

I also brought home these lovely vintage evening handbags. I'm pretty sure the black one is 40's/50's. I have an abundance of black evening bags, but I love the brass closure and the size. I have a hard time fitting my iPhone in some of my vintage clutches and purses, but this one has room to spare!
The silver one is clearly late 60's/early 70's. I just love it's metal handle. Adorable!

We also hit up Ruby Slipper at it's "new" location on St. Anne's Road. I say "new" because they've been there for a year, but it's on the opposite end of the city from where I live and I am rarely in that area with time to spare for shopping. Last thursday was my first visit since they moved
(Keep an eye here for an update on my Ruby Slipper review! Coming soon!).

There were a few dresses I liked, but not enough to buy. And I was very tempted to take home a shortie mink coat with opera collar, but I wasn't feeling it enough either. Ah well..

I did buy some accessories. Two berets: one cream coloured and one blue (which I forgot to photograph because I already put them away in storage with my other berets).

I brought home this lovely carved celluloid and rhinestone bracelet (the green one was another VV purchase that day). No chips, no missing stones. It's absolutely perfect.

And my favourite purchase of the day (and you thought I couldn't top the bracelet?!). These sea turtle scatter pins.
I only wish they'd photographed better. The blue is so deep and rich in person - like the bottom edge of the largest pin. I adore them!! I can't wait to wear them. :)

So those are the latest finds! What have you brought home recently?

Lisa.xo

"It Looks Like a Used Clothing Store"

That's what The Boy said when I showed him how I re-arranged my dressing room last night while he was out snowmobiling. That'll teach him to leave me alone for an entire day! ;)

Warning! This is a picture heavy post!

Honestly, I've been dreaming about re-configuring my dressing room for a while now, almost since we bought our house. Frankly I'd love 3 PAX wardrobes all kitted out from IKEA, but I just can't afford them right now. That $1500 is better spent in other places.

So I've been scouring Pintrest for inspiration. I thought I liked the idea of my clothes behind doors (and it would be better to keep the vintage out of the light), but I was continually drawn to rooms with the clothes out in the open on display. I was inspired to get my clothes out of the closet and create a wardrobe on a budget.

These are some of the images that inspired me:

Check out my Pintrest board Dressing Room Ideas for more inspiring images!


For those of you who may have forgotten, here's what my room looked like before:

And the dirty little secret I kept from you is that I have my treadmill in my dressing room (see it peeking into the pic below on the right?!). It used to live beside my vanity in the corner of the room in plain sight. Not pretty. My goal was to eventually move my clothes into a wardrobe on the wall you see below and put this treadmill in the closet behind a curtain or a screen when not in use.

And that's exactly what I did last night when The Boy was out hehehe... (he hates it when I upset the house like this, so it's better for him to see the "after", even if I know he won't like it) I went to work assembling my new clothing rack and moving the furniture around.
Here are a few shots of the chaos:

Almost there!

Normal people might empty the room completely, vacuum then start bringing things back in. But I'm far from normal and really, what's the fun in that?

Here's what it looks like now:

This is the view of the room when you walk in now! 

I am in love with the results. Instead of looking at the treadmill when you walk by you see this. I don't care if The Boy thinks it looks like a used clothing store - I took it as a compliment! ;)

And here's the other side of the room.

And the closet. Less pretty - the treadmill does a great job of looking terrible in here wherever it is, but I need it, so here it sits.

This summer I've got plans to paint this room white - I'm still deciding on a tone. I want to room to be a neutral backdrop for my clothes, not compete with them. I've also got some window treatments from one of my old apartments in storage I want to put up in here, find an effective way to hide the treadmill, hang a full length mirror on the back of the door and put in a rug. Eventually we'll get the carpet changed in here too.

I've got this rug picked out from IKEA. That's my next purchase for this space. I've got to try and mask the brown shag carpet.

This major upgrade only cost me $140! I bought a second clothing rack, an expandable hanging clothing rod and some more 3M hooks to hang more hats on the wall. Oh ya, and some sweat equity. I think in the end I'll be able to renovate the entire room (including new carpet) for less than $1500! Take that IKEA!

What do you think? I spent an hour laying on the floor enjoying my handiwork this morning! haha! 

Lisa.xo

Outfits: Variations on a Theme

Another outfit from the road (although we're in town for the weekend!). As you can see, this one is similar to the one I showed you last week. 

It's a fail-proof formula really: cute beret, tee-shirt, cardigan, skinny jeans, vintage jewelry, boots. I have a number of these outfits in my suitcase. 

What you don't see here is how many layers I'm actually wearing. Under the cardigan, the tee-shirt and the white long sleeve tee shirt is a tank top. Under my jeans are thermal long johns and under my boots are thermal socks. Sometimes I wear another pair of knee high socks over the thermals. And often I will layer on a scarf if the gym we're performing in is cold. 

As you can see, I did manage to wear my new necklace. I thought maybe when I bought it, it was too fancy to wear out in rural Manitoba. Nope! Nothing like a tee-shirt and rhinestones!

Chartreuse Knit Beret: Forever 21

Vintage Rhinestone Necklace: thrifted in Swan River

Aqua Tee Shirt: thrifted

Long Sleeve White Tee (under tee and cardigan): Ricki's

Leopard Print Cardigan: Joe Fresh

Black Skinny Jeans: Forever 21

Over the Knee Boots: Urban Planet

We head back out for the next leg of the tour on Sunday. It's a shorter stint this time - only a week and a half.

Lisa.xo