Wearing a Man's Sweater

So remember how yesterday I wore my husband's pants because he went to visit his parents and left his huge closet unsupervised? Well, I continued to pillage today by borrowing this sweater of his which I've admired for a long time.

~ Thank you Daryl for taking these pics.  ~

I'm looking forward to seeing both Daryl and Priyanka this weekend, for another thrifting expedition.

Outfit Details:

Sweater borrowed without permission/stolen from Chris (shhhh...)

Orange skirt thrifted 

Grey Tights from H&M

Aldo Brown Suede Shoes thrifted at Double Take

Red Bracelet is my mom's 

Gold Hoops from Saskatchewan

Necklace newly thrifted at Value Village

Wearing Men's Pants

When your husband decides he's going to go visit his family for a couple of days, and you are left alone in the home, there is only option: rummage through his closet to wear his stuff that you love. Chris, never ever wears these pants, so I thought it would be safe to start with these. They've been rolled up a bit, and they're a bit baggy, but I love the masculine checked print.

And wearing my husband's pants is not the only act of deception in these photos. I'm "posing" (in both senses) with the bicycles because I don't know how to ride a bike. Little girls in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia do not ride bicycles. I lived in the Netherlands for god's sakes, the bicycle capital of the world, and didn't learn. And when we moved to Canada, I was too painfully shy and embarrassed to learn how to ride a bike for fear that one of the school kids would see me - cut to - I'm an adult in a bicycle loving city, and I don't know how to ride a bike.

~ Thank you Adam for taking the pics ~ 

Outfit Details:

America Pants borrowed from Chris

Red T-shirt from Zellers

Black Cardigan from Joe Fresh

Payless Boots

Bracelets and Necklace borrowed from mom

Pearl Earrings from Purple Jade

Tomorrow I'm wearing one of Chris's sweaters....muahahahaha.

Stella and Dot: Melissa Huggett

So in case you haven't heard, Stella and Dot is the biggest thing in jewelery right now. It's a San Francisco based "social selling" company. Think a mix of Avon sales and Tupper wear parties, and you'll get the idea. Women host parties/trunk shows and you can go pick the pieces you like, in the comfort of a friend's home. I had been hearing about Stella and Dot for months, and when I found out my friend Melissa was going to host a party I was pretty darn excited. Melissa, pictured below, hosted a lovely event this weekend.

Candice, who was kind enough to take a lot of the pictures during the party, is sporting the beautiful Bahari Necklace.

Candice wearing the Turquoise Bead Necklace with the Starfish Brooch.

Silvanna is wearing the beautiful Femme Fatale Necklace.

Arm party indeed.

Ok kids, if you're interested in getting any of these pieces, or have any questions, get in touch with my girl Melissa: www.stelladot.com/sites/melissahuggett

Thank you Melissa for hosting a lovely evening and I wish you tons of success with this new stylish adventure! And by the way, yes, I did buy something. There is a picture of what I purchased in this post. Bonus points to the person who can guess what I bought.

Pastels with Pop

Last night was an incredible evening at the Oscars because my dear friend Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy became the first Pakistani to ever win an Academy Award for her documentary "Saving Face." I screamed out loud when she won. For years I have opened the newspapers or turned to news websites to find out what's happening in Pakistan, today for the first time  the top story will make me smile. Thank you Sharmeen, you've made an entire country, and millions in the diaspora, very proud.

~ Photos by Nazia ~

Outfit Details:

Alfred Sung Blouse from Zellers

Zara Pants

Hush Puppies Boots

Statement 'Chili' Necklace from Blanco in Lisbon

Pearl Earrings from Purple Jade

Inspiration: Memoirs of a Geisha

The Academy Awards are tonight, and I haven't missed the Oscars in 20 years! So why not take an outfit inspiration from an Academy Award winning film (and a great book): Memoirs of a Geisha. This my own spin on it. High bun. Emerald/Jade earrings. White Silk. Fabric wrapped around and bound at the waist.

 I mentioned yesterday, that my friend Sharmeen is nominated tonight for her documentary "Saving Face" and I'll be rooting my heart out for her. Make sure to look out for her! I love the awards, American cinema exports joy, fun, and beauty to the rest of the world, and despite what the cynics say I believe the Awards to be a celebration of excellence. When I was a kid and didn't know anything about "America" I learnt what I needed to know from the movies.

~ Photos by Nazia ~

Outfit Details:

White Silk Dress thrifted at Double Take

Checked Print Shawl borrowed from mom

Black Skinny Jeans from Uniqlo in New York City

Belt from Urban Behaviour

Hush Puppies Boots

Earrings from Suzy Shier

The Academy Awards: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Tomorrow night while everybody is going to be watching the red carpet for the Clooneys, Pitts and Jolies. There is one name and face I'll be looking for, my friend Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.


I'm proud to say that my friend, someone I admire and respect deeply, has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary for her film "Saving Face." And what's more, Sharmeen is the first Pakistani to ever be nominated for an Oscar - ever - in any category!  No matter what happens tomorrow night, Sharmeen is already the winner. We're all so proud of you! 

Sharmeen's star will only continue to rise, this is definitely a name to watch for. You can learn more about Sharmeen and her Oscar nominated film here:

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"The Art Teacher" Look

You shouldn't ask a question if you're not prepared to accept the answer. I have (not) learnt this the hard way with my husband. Most mornings when I get dressed, I'm pretty excited to take pictures, I turn to him with silly pride and ask "What do you think of my outfit?" Most of the time he mercifully just says "Yup, fine." It's not the resounding enthusiasm I'm hoping for, but I take what I get. But every now and then he offers an observation. When I put together this outfit and asked for his input he said "You look like an art teacher." Now the comment itself is not that bad, I mean I loved all my art teachers, but I know what Chris means when he says "Art Teacher". Not flattering. Kind of kooky. Maybe the kind of person with liberal attitudes towards armpit hair, and so on. Anyway, once I've committed to the outfit, I've committed, so I wasn't changing and we headed out to take some pics. Don't worry, I sent him to dentention later.

~ Photos by Chris ~

Outfit Details:

White Shirt from a no name boutique by work

Orange Club Monaco Sweater

Black Pleated Skirt thrifted at Double Take

Payless Boots

Necklaces from shortest to longest: Indian necklace was a gift from Chris; A set of beads I picked up in Havana Cuba, the Silver Indian one is borrowed from my mom

DIY: Earrings as Brooches

In the photo above you can see two DIYs. Yesterday I showed you my hearts on my nails, which you can see better here. But take a closer look at my "brooches". They're earrings. Yup, I woke up that morning and really wanted to wear colourful broaches, and I don't have any. So I said, forget this, time for a little DIY and used some earrings as brooches. What do you think?

You've seen these earrings here, here and here.

I mentioned yesterday that I was going to speak at a workshop with the young adults about journalism and story telling. It was a very lively evening. Thank you Priya for inviting me, and all the participants who came last night for the questions and discussion.

Another very exciting thing happened yesterday that I was too nervous to share with you guys. A few days ago, Aaron, a reporter with Associated Press TV emailed me and said he wanted to interview me about my impression on Canadian fashion designers and our fashion industry. At first I thought he must be emailing the wrong person, but he assured me that it wasn't a mistake. He was following the blog, and wanted to hear my perspective. So we did the interview yesterday, and I even surprised myself with how much I knew about Canadian fashion and my impressions of it, and amazing new designers to watch for. I think a part of me still feels like "who the heck am I to talk about fashion" but it was nice to share some of that passion with a very bright journalist who was interested. Thank you Aaron for the interview, it was my honour. And I can't wait to see the finished piece!

~ Thank you Adam for the pictures ~

Outfit Details:

Yellow T-shirt from Zellers

Gold Blazer thrifted at Double Take

GAP Jeans

Hush Puppies Boots

Red Earrings were a gift from Sana and Dave

Green and Pink Earrings are from Blanco in Lisbon, Portugal

Pearl Earrings (playing themselves) from Purple Jade

Love in Leslieville

Leslieville is a lovely part of Toronto, along Queen Street East. These pictures were taken on Valentine's Day which is why you'll see a little "heart DIY" on my nails further down.

 

Today is a busy one guys. I have a few things going on during the day, and tonight I'm presenting a workshop for young adults who are interested in broadcasting/journalism/story telling. So I'm going to speak to them about my career in journalism, the type of things I've worked on, the challenges, the joys. Hopefully answer some questions, hopefully offer useful advice.

I'm taking three pieces of audio to share with them and to spark conversation:

1. Finding Pakistan: a short documentary I produced in 2008 about returning to Pakistan, the country of my birth, after being away for almost 20 years. For years I was chasing stories about Pakistan here in Toronto, and almost all of them bad - terrorism, violence, corruption, assassinations, Islamism - I wanted to see Pakistan for myself.

2. Dark India: Another short news documentary about a major issue in India - the desire to have light skin. Skin lightening creams and "procedures" are big business in South Asia. So this doc features different women, those who want fair skin, and those are fighting to get this antiquated and hurtful cultural belief out of practice. You can read about it here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2009/08/26/f-vp-fatah.html

3. And then (if there's time and if the group can handle it) I want to play an excerpt from Escape from Czechoslovakia. This was one of 10 escape documentaries that Mark and I produced together for the show we created: Promised Land. You can see more about the show, something I'm so proud and happy that we got to create, here: Promised Land.

Wish me luck guys, I love talking to people about this stuff, and hopefully helping them as they go after their own dreams and interests...but I always get nervous before I have to speak to them.

~ Photos by Chris ~

Outfit Details:

Silk Printed Blouse thrifted at Double Take

Faux Fur Vest from Marshall's in New York City

Zara Red Pants

Hush Puppies Boots

Earrings were gifts from Sana and David

Bitter-Sweet Saskatchewan Earrings

See these earrings? They're pretty special to me. When Chris and I were still early on in our relationship he got a job interview as a TV reporter - in Saskatchewan - very far from Toronto. The day he flew out for the interview was bitter-sweet because of course we both wanted him to get the job, but at the same time we didn't want to be separated by thousands of kilometres and very expensive plane tickets. Chris did his interview with a team of TV execs and while waiting to board his flight back to Toronto, he bought me these earrings. Handmade earrings made by a local aboriginal artist that had a small kiosk at the Regina airport. He brought them home, and I loved them. A few days later the execs called Chris and told him that he had nailed the interview and they offered him the job. Bitter-sweet. I was so happy for Chris, and so sad to see him go a few weeks later.  And on those days that missing him was unbearable I would wear these earrings and hope that he would come home. He eventually did. And now he's my husband. Sweet.

~ Photos by Chris ~

Outfit Details:

Alfred Sung Green Top from Zellers

Zara Grey Cardigan

White Skirt thrifted

Payless Boots

Bracelet from the dollar store

And the earrings...well you read that above

Thanks for dropping by and letting me share this little memory with you.