DAY 30

So its official..... Its June 30th and today is the last day of "30 days of dresses" and as I have alluded to in previous blogs, Im not ready to let the fun stop. Im not ready to put on pants.

I declare this to be a pants free summer. (At least in my little corner of the planet). So this blog will continue (at least until it snows, which here could be mid August) as I continue to wear as many dresses as possible. It wont be a new one everyday, but I sitll have more to share. (plus I just bought a new one, Im hooked) So join me this summer as I have some frockin' good fun.

But here is my 30th dress to end the month and its the jewel of my closet. I promised myself while I worked at Neiman Marcus I would own a Diane VonFurstenburg wrap dress. I would look at her collections season after season and never could find the right print, and then finally I discovered this one....and it was on sale. I had no idea if it would even fit me when I ordered it, but I took a chance and two weeks later it arrived on my door step. (Best day ever) Its a peacock print. Its silk. It fits like a dream. And I am a superhero when I wear this dress. (despite having a giant bandage on my ankle)

Just some of the many beautiful dresses Ms. VonFurstenburg has created...... sigh.

So thank you for indulging me this month. Have a Happy Canada Day. See you in July for the start of the Summer of the Dress.

DAY 29

Second last day of June. Second last day of dresses. I wish I had flashier dresses for these final days, but I realized quite quickly how much black,white, and brown dominate my wardrobe. I want to change this and try to wear a little more colour. Im so jealous of Tigra's dresses this month. She's the one that started this wear a dress everyday thing, and judging by her dress selection I can understand why....she has a LOT of pretty dresses in all sorts of colours. No basic black for her. Instead she confidently rocks turquoise and corals and stripes and polk-a-dots. She even has a dress with fruits on it. She has inspired me to be a little more adventurous the next time I buy a dress.

But its black and white for me today. This was another purchase from Neiman Marcus back when I still worked for them. (my time spent at Neimans could be, and should be a whole other blog. Americans can be really, really scary when they dont get their Prada) I dont normally purchase linen, but this was too good of a deal to pass up. It also came with a matching jacket, but its a little too "old lady" so I dont think I have ever worn it with the dress. Today I wore a green chunky Wilma Flintstone necklace so at least there was a little bit of colour.

Time for a bath and figure out my last dress for tomorrow.

Boozy fashion

I will update you with today's dress a little later as I forgot to take a picture before leaving the house this morning.

So until then, enjoy this photo of our beer bottles wearing fancy clothes. I know they're shirts, but maybe on Vodka coolers they could pass as dresses.

DAY 28

This is it. The final days of June. Only 3 days left in the month. And the big question is......Will I put on pants come July 1. Well maybe not the BIG question, but a lot of people have been asking me this very thing. Well, maybe not a lot, but a couple people seemed really interested so this is for them. Frankly the answer is no. No way. First of all, I have Canada Day plans on the 1st of July and although I haven`t yet bought the dress, I know I will be wearing something pretty. That is a fact. (Yay new party dress!) And there is no second of all cuz I will wear a dress the day after June 30.... but after that, well, I will keep you posted.

But now for today`s dress.
This shirt dress came from H&M when I discoverd it all by itself on a sale rack. (mmmmm love sale racks). For 2 years it was in heavy work wear rotation, but then over time, as new clothes came in, this got pushed way back into the closet. Its probably the easiest dress one could ever wear. And for all the ladies who tell me they cant/wont/dont wear dresses, well if you can button a shirt, then you can wear this dress. Heck I wear it with pants and leggings too. I have worn sweaters over it in the winter with tights and a different belt. Boots, heels and flats all work with this dress. Yeah, this one is coming back into regular rotation.

*note the heels were only used for the photo. The injury/cankle is still preventing me from wearing anyhing other thank slipper-like flats. Not cute for photos. (Yes, sometimes I am that vain)

I like this blog. Its a pretty good blog.

I will be posting my dress pic soon. Just a busy Monday. But checkout the blog (The Sartorialist) in the meantime.... My cousin Bonnie (shes so cool) tipped me onto it and its pretty sweet.

Its a small glimpse of European fabulousness and street chic. I just love seeing pictures of real people with great style, rather than models and actresses with stylists. Im kinda inspired to take pics here locally as there are some super fabulous people right here in Edmonton. No. Really there are.

DAY 26. NIGHT 26. DAY 27.

So here I am enjoying a beautiful Sunday on what will be the final weekend of the Wear a Dress everyday in June experiment. And, frankly, Im a little sad. What started out to be a fun and pretty silly idea has turned into something much more and I dont really want it it end. The response I have gotten to my dresses have been overwhelming as friends/family/coworkers/ and even relative strangers have showed me incredible kindness and generosity with their comments. Can`t lie, its nice to hear compliments, I just have to learn to be better at accepting them graciously.

So heres a quick run down on the past 30 hours or so. Saturday morning I was up early and off to work in this adorable brown and white polk-a-dot dress. The lighting is bad, but trust me, there are polk-a-dots. Despite my better judgement I wore these heels. This would later come back to bite me as by the end of the night, by sore ankle trippled in size and turned into a full on CANKLE!

After work, it was a quick workout, shower and chill time on the patio, before heading to Iron Maiden bitches!!!! My first instinct for any rock show is jeans (or in this heat, shorts) but I fought against those feelings and selected a skirt. And not just any skirt. After a few false starts I went with this plaid skirt from Dickies. I bought this from Mars&Venus thinking it would be good for Roller Derby, however, I realized fairly quickly that it wasn`t short enough to play in. But, its the perfect length for a good ol fashioned metal show!!! Naturally, I wore my Judas Priest tank top with it, cuz Im such a headbanger.

(MAIDEN! MAIDEN!)

This morning it was off to brunch with my girls Amber, Kathleen and Jana. It was a bit like Sex and the City, with 4 Samanthas. Lots of crude talk and laughter and 11am ceasars. Yum. But it was bound to happen. I repeated a dress. Told you I would. So this black and white number first appeared way back on day 9. But I wore black tights that day, and today I didn`t. Oh and I added a giant flower so its completely different.

Time to grab an outdoor sunshine nap.

Friday night.....

When I last blogged I was headed to lunch with the girls and now here it is, Sunday afernoon and the whole weekend has been a bit of a blur. I will do my best to catch you up on what happened and what I wore.

First of all, on Friday night, I met up with the infamous Tron for some tasty drinks at the Empress. (I really do love that bar, thanks Sue for creating a great chill place to hang with friends) We rode our bikes across the river from Downtown to the southside and managed to avoid getting rained on. On the way home however, I go soaked as I was caught in a downpour halfway across the high level bridge.

Thankfully I didn`t ruin my dress. Altho, even if I had, I wouldn`t have cried too much as this grey jersey tank was only $12 from Urban Planet. Its one of those completely disposable dresses that probably wont last the season, but its super cute and it has my two favorite things. Pockes and sequins. Love it!

At the time I took the photo, I still hadn`t decided on shoes.... still nursing a pretty nasty ankle and sadly, high heels were not an option this weekend.

DAY 25

So I suffered a slight injury at last nights scrimmage.... nothing too serious but I dont think I will be able to wear these heels today. Its tragic when an injury sidelines you from wearing Prada. But these shoes are so pretty I at least had to wear them for the photo......I love Prada. I wish I could own a thousand pairs, but these are my only ones and I treasure these sweet Mary Janes. . As for this dress, this was another great find at C`est Sera. If you haven`t been to their stores you really should. Buy local. I love the embroidery, its so lady-like. I bought this almost 2 summers ago when my friend Jana got married. We all wore pretty dresses for her shower/staggette and although I hesitate to wear white to a bar, I managed to keep it stain free (huge accomplishment). And despite how lady-like we all look in the pic, we still got our drink on and acted like hooligans. I dont remember everything that happened that night (as with most nights with Kathleen and Jana) but I know I had fun in this dress!

(from the staggette. Kathleen, Jana and me)

Im off to meet the girls for lunch. Chicken for Lunch. Happy Friday folks

I made the Team!!

Just wanna share some good news. I again tried out for the E-Ville Dead travel team... and this time I made it. Its a pretty big deal, and I worked my ass off for this.

So you better come watch us play against Rat City on July 3. The ladies from Rat City are incredible, and if you haven`t seen Blood on the Flat Track, then you should, cuz its all about Seattle Roller Derby Girls and how awesome they are.

DAY 24 - Day off

I love having a day off in the middle of the week! Especially when I can share the day off with one of my bestest friends, Amber. She is so boss. She brought over the first two episodes of True Blood (mmmmmmmmmm) and I almost kissed her I was so happy. I needed to catch up before Sundays episode. And more importantly I needed to see the `scene` everyone has been talking (but not spoiling) about. Sweet lord, if you know the show, and you watched the season opener, then you know what scene Im talking about.... lets just say i haven`t been that turned on since HBO cancelled OZ.


After that, it was more hot man action as we went to see the A-Team movie. I had such low expectations, that i was actually pleased with the flick. I mean, granted, its total hollywood schlock, lots of action, some cheesy dialogue and dont think too hard about the plot.... instead just sit back and enjoy Liam Neeson chewing on a cigar and have fun...... and Bradley Cooper, well, he just should never wear a shirt. Two thumbs up!


And for all this fun, I wore another cute pleated skirt from Marc Jacobs. Its burgandy and has the cutest tulip print. The t-shirt is from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I`ve never been there, but my friends Jay and Bobbi have, and when they came back from snowboarding trip last year, they brought me this tee. Its pretty rad.

Oh, and the leg bruise..... courtesy of last nights practice. I love Roller Derby!!

Original Diva

This is Jean Nidetch. She is an awesome dame who started Weight Watchers from her living room. I have never met her but she changed my life. She also had fabulous style. She loved big hair and fishnets for daytime. I can respect that

Day 23

Im feeling rather blah today, and my outfit kinda shows it, sorry. Not every day can be a gold medal winner, but this one at least gets a participation ribbon. (note: that was the only kind of ribbon I ever received in school track meets)

The skirt is a heavy cotton with pleats and front buttons from Marc Jacobs and I usually wear this in winter with tights. But its bare legs today, woo hoo! (even though they are in some desperate need of some self-tanner)

The black satin vest is from LeChateau that I bought last year and honestly, Im shocked that it hasn't fallen apart yet. (Sorry LeChat, but the shit u sell may look cute, but falls apart fast)

So this is it. The final week. This time next Wednesday it will all be over....or will it???

DAY 22

I think I need to work on my poses, cuz I was looking at all the dress pics I took of myself and apparently I really enjoy the 'hand on the hip' look. It must be my Blue Steel.

Today I am wearing another wrap dress, but I have no idea who made it as I bought it second hand, at Value Village, and the label was ripped out. I dont even know what it is made from but, its definitely not a natural fabric. Buts its maroon, and its super cute! And for $6, I dare you to find a dress as bangin' as this one. Oh and altho I do own other shoes, Im wearing the same pair of Michael Kors pumps again, whatever.

We be ballin'

Los Pistolitas 2010

Yay! Computer issues appear to be solved, so here are a couple of pics from Saturday night. Our Derby team went out for some Lady Bowlin' fun to wind down a fabulous season.

We all wore our team jerseys and headed to the giant mall. Turns out most of us are much better derby players than bowlers. I wore my jersey with this wicked skirt from Neiman Marcus (I used to work for them and I seriously miss the discounts!) Its %100 silk pencil skirt with kick pleat in the back. Totally inappropriate for bowling, but its June, so I worked it. (At least for the first game)

DAY 21

Its officially summer!!!!

So, its another Monday. Ugh. But here's the thing, today I woke up before my alarm to the sound of happy little birds and the sun shining on my face. It was almost Disney-like....almost.

I just about wore the same skirt today that I wore yesterday. (OMG!) And usually this would not be an issue, but this challenge is making me a little diva-esque and I decided that I should wear a different skirt.

Luckily, I have this super summer-y one from C'est Sera. I bought it during the Fringe last year as I was spending the whole day seeing shows, and it was too hot for what I was wearing. Sweaty and crabby, I walked into their store and spied this white cotton skirt with cutout details. I bought it on the spot and wore it out of the store feeling so much cooler (in temperature and style) and way less crabby. With it, I just have a cheap-o t-shirt from Suzy or Ricki or some mall store, but I think it works.

It saddens me that i will be spending the entire +26 day inside, but gotta pay those bills I suppose. But I have a big window here at work, so at least I can still see how nice it is outside....

(my world view, outside my office window)

To cheer myself up, I am wearing my sunshine yellow peep-toe pumps from Who Cares? (yes thats the name) It is impossible for me to be in a bad mood when I wear these shoes.

DAY 20

Its Monday, and I'm at work. And instead of doing actual work, I figured it was a perfect opportunity to do a lil bloggin'. Even thought I had plenty of time yesterday to blog, I spent the entire day outside in the sunshine! I was wearing this flirty silk skirt from Neiman Marcus that I scored on their "Last Call" clearance sale (plus a employee discount) for about $20. Its hard to tell in this photo, but its white with tiny black polk-a-dots. Cute. Only problem is that when I stand with my back to the sun, you can pretty much see right through this skirt. But whatever, so you can see the silhouette of my legs, you aint gonna see the good stuff.....Im wearing Spanx

Oh, and this tank is from the last time Clutch played a show here in Edmonton. Its a true statement....I ♥ Clutch.

I then hopped on my bicycle and peddaled across the river over to the Empress to share in some summertime beverages with the girls (Tron, Halen, Mel... trust me they are girls). Oh and of course Halen and I had to make a pit stop at Coney Island Candy store where I stocked up on some sours and a PayDay chocolate bar. (Just cuz I work for Weight Watchers, doesn't mean I can't have sweet chocolate-y treats) Halen got some fancy Whoppers, while Tron and Mel didn't get any candy, they stopped for hot dogs and by the time they got to the candy store, it was closed :(

Then it was time to bike home and enjoy the sunset on my deck (and do some laundry) (Side bar: biking in a skirt is probably one of the most liberating experiences ever. So freeing, I highly recommend it!!)

Patio Time

Okay, I admit, I wore the same thing this afternoon as I did last night. But seeing as how I was doing the same activities.... (going for a walk in the river valley and chillin with some wine on my deck that overlooks said valley) I figured it was okay to done the same attire.

This may become my summer uniform. Simple cotton skirt with elastic waist and a tank top. This particular tank and skirt combo came from Old Navy, but lets be serious, you can find tanks and skirts all over. And right now, they are ridiculously cheap as they are having End of Season Sales already and technically the first day of summer hasn`t even happened. I hate when they do that. Pretty soon it will be Back to School sales..... (and whats even more depressing for us Northern folk, is the fact that in less than 2 days the longest day of the year will occur and then the days start getting shorter again!)

So this is me on Friday and Saturday. And this is my deck. Its my happy place and you are welcome for cocktails anytime!

DAY 19 - Saturday morning

I kinda hate working on Saturdays, but sometimes, it is a neccessary evil. This is one such evil Saturday, so I was up early today. Ugh. You can again tell by my face, that Im not impressed to be up at this time of day on a Saturday. Its one thing to be up early when you have something fun to do, quite another when you have to go be cheerful when you are not so full of cheer yourself.

But, on the upside, I put on a pretty dress, put a smile on my face and by 12:30pm it was all over and I was back on my deck where life is good.

This particular pretty black dress is a sleeveless Calvin Klein that I picked up from Winners last fall when I need a dress to go to a derby wedding. (One of my teammates Jessy Jynx married our head ref Crankshaft, true story). You gotta love Winners when you can find little treasures like this, especially since I found it the day before I needed it. And as it turns out I have worn this dress for several business and personal occasions since.

I slipped on some black patent Mary Janes Guccis, wut wut ;) and my fake pearls and I was out the door.

DAY 18 - better late than never

I was totally lazy yesterday cuz it was beautiful outside and since there are such few days that the sun shines in this city, I took full advantage of the great outdoors and stayed off the computer....bliss.

However, I did manage to throw on this green and pink sundress from Trina Turk and meet the girls for our usual Friday lunchdate.

I bought this dress for three reasons.

a)its super cute

b)it was on a ridiculous sale

c)I wanted to own a dress with my name in the label.

(oh and the shoes...... from Payless.... see, im not a total label whore)

CAFTANS

So on the first week of the 30 days of dresses, I wore this caftan as my dress since I spent the majority of the day lounging around the house. I wanted to again share this photo, along with the inspiration for me even wanting a caftan...my Granny.

This is a picture of me and my grandma (way back in the day) dancing in her living room. Granny is rockin just one of her many caftans while Im rockin the haircut of a little boy. I miss you Granny.

DAY 17

Thursday.... i love Thursdays. Even when I have to work I love Thursdays. Its like the first day of the week where co-workers finally get in a good mood. But I love Thursdays even more when I only work a half day. Don`t get me wrong, I do love my job, and most of my co-workers, but I kina love hanging out in my yard more. So that`s where I will be in about an hour!

I know I keep over using the word favorite, and not all my dresses can be favorites (unlike children, of which I have none). So I hesitate to use the word, but this is another favorite. This dress is so damn easy to wear. Its a simple cotton dress but its sort of a shirt dress combined with a wrap dress combined with awesomeness. It has a collar, which I popped just before snapping this photo. And it has POCKETS! I love dresses with pockets. And even though its black, its such a light material that it works in the summer as well as winter. Its an almost perfect dress and its a shame Im only wearing it for half a day.

Dresses banned at world cup??

Check this out. Dress drama at the World Cup! Oh those crazy Dutch

Nope!

So yesterday, I finally bit the bullet and went into BCBG and tried on the white sequined mini dress that was in their window. I took a photo of it and posted it last week as I was coveting it so much.

So what if its way too short and way too tight. Or that the back is totally open and cuts so low I dont know how you could wear any underwear, let alone a bra. I still wanted it, until I tried it on. Yeah, its hot. But you kinda need to be a stick to wear it. A stick with an extra $335 burning a hole in yer pocket. Oh well......

DAY 16

I love Love LOVE the dress I am wearing today.... not that I dont love all my dresses, but this one in particular is pretty special to me. This was my goal dress.

Three years ago I joined Weight Watchers and managed to lose a bunch of weight (62.4lbs to be exact). And I wanted to buy something to celebrate that achievement. I wanted to buy a dress that made me look as good as I was feeling. And then I found this David Meister jewel. Its a dark chocolate brown, with a black abstract pattern. Capped sleeves, a black belt that nips in the waist and a high slit up the back.... I totally feel like an extra on Mad Men when I wear this dress, with its hot 1960's secretary vibe. Not gonna lie, this dress is cut like magic and gives me a better figure than I actually have. The fact that it still fits means that Im still at my goal of being at a healthy weight...Its a power dress, and I just try to use the power for good and not evil.

DAY 15

Today has been a crazy busy day hence the tardiness of today`s post. This is the first chance I have been able to just chill all day, so I have poured myself a glass of wine, pulled up to the computer to share another day of dresses with you.

So, Im still digging through my closet for options, and I haven`t yet bought anything new for this 30 day challenge and considering its the half way point, I think that`s pretty damn good.... yeah, halfway. Actually that makes me kinda sad know that in a couple of weeks, its just not going to be as fun to get dressed in the morning. I hope that I am able to hold on to a bit of this enthusiasm and excitement Im feeling each morning and use it after all of this is over. I dont know if its the power of the dress, or just doing something new, or knowing I will be sharing this with others, but I have been waking up each morning excited to get up and get dressed....And Im telling you, that is a huge deal! Cuz sometimes, I have my days where I really dont want to get out of bed. I could be Brian Wilson I like to lay in bed so much.

Today I wore another wrap dress. I love wrap dresses and the best wrap dresses in the world are made by Diane von Furstenburg. I love the way she makes a woman look in her dresses. Effortlessly stylish. Now this is not a DVF dress, (stay tuned, hint hint) but it is a pretty little wrap I picked up from Bryans last summer. Its brown and cream floral print and feels like Im wearing nothing... especially today, brrrr, what happened to the sun from the weekend. You can tell by my face that Im not at all impressed. It must be so easy to get dressed when the weather is the same everyday... so maybe I am for Global Warming after all.....

Almost Famous

So on Sunday, I was thinking about joining "Critical Lass" for their fashionable lady bike ride. I really wanted to go, but sadly, I was too hung over from baseball and missed the whole thing. Had I not been such a lush, I might have made the front page of the Edmonton Journal.

Girls in dresses on bikes. Awesome!

DAY 14

I hate Mondays. I know its cliche. I know its a pop song, but dammit its true.

Seriously after this weekend going to work seems almost painful. Why can't I be in a parade everyday? But no, it was back to work for me today. The only thing that cheered me up was putting on this outfit today. I took the time last night to lay out this black and white leopard print skirt from L.A.M.B and a green top from Old Navy. Cinched it at the waist with a wide stretchy belt that gives a tiny waist illusion (supposedly). It really does make for easier mornings when you plan your clothes the night before....(oh great, another thing my mother was right about).

This skirt rocks! And what it does to my ass, sweet lord I can barely handle it. It hits all the right curves and gives me a sweet high water booty! I feel powerful in this skirt, and trust me I need all the power I can muster this Monday morning.

So yes, I own three L.A.M.B skirts and maybe thats excessive, but Im telling you what I paid for all three on sale was still less than buying one of them at full price. Trust me, I do not pay full retail, EVER. Twice a year, Holt Renfrew has massive clearance sales..... and thats the only time I can afford to shop there. I dont even think they carry Ms. Stefani's clothes there anymore, but whatever, I loved her line... all three are cut in a similar way with this retro '50's flair, knee length pencil skirts with back kick pleat & side zippers.... and seams designed to show off the ASSets.....

DAY 13 - Sunday

Just another quick post cuz its damn hot outside and its only nice for a total of 23 days in edmonton and i want to make the most of my time in the sun. If anyone tells me its 'too hot outside' I will punch them in the face.

Today its a classic denim mini skirt from the Gap and cheery yellow halter from who knows where. Probably from Urban Planet or Garage clothing or any place like that where you can buy cheap summer clothes. I love these giant white sunglasses that I bought at Value Village. Here's the thing about white sunglasses. Only girls can wear them... cuz guys, you seriously look like douchebags in your white sunnies.

Keeping it casual for today as all I really did was wake up with a baseball hangover, ate a sub and sat on my deck in the sun. Pretty good sunday if you ask me. Now to plan my wardrobe for the rest of this week.

DAY TWELVE - Perfect Saturday

(just some of the E-Ville family)
What a weekend!!! And its still going strong.

First of all I just want to respond to some of the comments from the patio dress I posted. Thank you, it is fabulous. And thanks again for telling me I remind you of Nancy Botwin from Weeds. Being compared to Mary Louise Parker is quite the compliment and I will accept it graciously.

Now back to this weekend. Saturday was a Ferris Bueller day, and altho Im a little too old to skip school, I did manage to squeeze in a parade and a baseball game in one day. And it was the perfect day for both events.

Now I admit, I did not wear a dress to the Pride Parade.... and I did feel a little bit of guilt. However, as I was skating for E-Ville Roller Derby, I put on my H&M sequined booty shorts, my white E-Ville shirt (also available in green and black), borrowed some rainbow socks from my teammate Sadie Slasher and rolled down Jasper Avenue. I cannot tell you how much fun it is to rollerskate in the middle of Jasper Ave. And the crowd, my goodness, they were awesome!! I felt like a freakin rockstar, posing for pictures, waving to the fans, hanging with drag queens.... good times indeed.

The fun didn't stop there. A couple of us continued to roll down to 104st where they were having a block party. From there it was time to go home, change and head on out to the ol' ball game. I threw on a cargo skirt from Old Navy and a tank from Jacob. I love this tank as it has silver sequins on the straps. Also because the oringal price was $59 and I bought it for $9.99. I thought about wearing these strappy Marc Jacobs espadrilles, but changed into a pair of flats from Payless when I realized we were walking to the game. Practicality won over fashion... this time.



I will be the first to admit that I know nothing about baseball, I dont watch it on TV and I am the worst stereotype if you ever see me throw a ball (totally throw 'like a girl') so I don't play the game, ever. My friend Amber says I have a fear of balls flying in my face. Amber is smug when she says this as she loves balls in her face. But here's a secret about baseball....just go to a game. Cuz when you are actually there, well, its a whole other ballgame.

The four of us, Justine, Jessica(Tron), Amber and me, put on skirts/dress and went to the Capitals game and got drunk on beer. We heckled the players and entertained (partially annoyed) the crowd around us. We laughed our asses off at the unusual pitching style of #10 from the OC Flyers and generally had a great time. It was movie night at Telus Field as they showed Field of Dreams after the game. We didn't stay for the movie, cuz well, Kevin Costner sucks ass. And there was more beer at home. Hell of a game tho.