Why I finally bought rain boots

Every year we go to tons of summer music festivals and concerts. It combines our love of music, food and just lounging around with like-minded people.

Without fail, every year it will rain on at least one of the concert dates. Whether it's a small sprinkling or a crazy downpour, it happens. I think in my mind I assume that it won't be too bad to get a few drops of rain on my head. In reality though, the rain turns the ground into a mud pit and I'm instantly regretting my choice of impractical footwear.


(Silly me on the right)


(Smart Sam in her cute rain boots)

Three summers in a row, I dealt with muddy shoes and wet socks. This year I had made my final mistake and caved... I bought my first pair of Hunter rain boots.



I had put off the purchase for so long because the concept of cost per wear is so important to me. When thinking about how many times I could potentially wear rain boots in an average year I really couldn't think of more than once or twice a year.

Since buying them in August though, I've been able to wear them in the summer to a festival and then at least 10 times this fall through all the frequent rain storms. (Is every year this rainy in the fall? I can't remember)



The unexpected effect of buying these? Instead of feeling fearful that I'll be ruining a pair of shoes, I actually look forward to looking cute on rainy days! No regrets.


Wearing: The Sakura mini convertible dress and:

Seasonal Wardrobes (and GIVEAWAY)

Living in Canada means experiencing the most extremes of the weather spectrum. Within a calendar year it's not unusual to experience temperatures that feel as low as -40C to as high as 40C (that's -40 to 104 F!). For most people this means having completely seasonal wardrobes that require a storage rotation. Even though I remember my mom doing this for me when I was younger, I always wanted to access my summer wardrobe in the winter and vice versa. So my closet is stored in a way that I can access all of my clothing always (with a huge exception for my winter parka and snow boots).

So I have a question:

Do you rotate your seasonal wardrobe OR do you keep a wardrobe with all-season pieces?

As a non-rotator there are certain pieces that are key for transitioning between seasons. What some may call a "summer dress" I say is just a great dress for any weather if you know what to pair it with. Never underestimate the power of a leather jacket, booties and the right tights.

My must-haves for tights? Soft, black, and no uncomfortable seams. Check, check and check.

A new startup called Elsy Tights is now offering a service of quality tights delivered monthly at only $20 with free shipping! You can choose to get tights monthly (if you're like me and have the tendency to rip through them. Hello, long nails!) or every two or three months.



Elsy Tights was kind enough to send us a free month of their service and we want you to win your first month of Elsy membership free too! Enter below!

Elsy Tights - One Month Subscription Giveaway

Ready to get started now? Elsy Tights is offering our readers 10% off their first month with Elsy promo code: LIPGLOSS10

Wearing Elsy Tights the Henkaa Ivy Convertible dress & :

Time after time

It feels like we've been taking longer and longer breaks from blogging lately but I'll refrain from apologizing every time we return. Life happens and things have changed, but we always have reason to come back.


The lucky thing about starting a blog with your sister is that there's really no room for growing apart with us. Things that will never change: our love of fashion, DIY and of course caffeine. 

Our favourite summer past time: drinking beer in the hot sun. Whether it's by the pool or at music festivals, we love to get outside because Canadian summers feel so short compared to the winters.  

Check out our long weekend picnic outfits, inspired by our lovely watches c/o JORD Wood Watches

I chose The Fieldcrest in Black for the gorgeous sleek dark finish and Sam picked The Sully in Natural Green for the natural wood grain that stands out with lighter wood. The watches are really lightweight for their size and the wood picks up a bit of polish and character the longer you wear it.




















Watches c/o JORD Wood Watches.
On Syl: The Fieldcrest in Black, on Sam: The Sully in Natural Green


Wooden Watches by JORD


Shop the look:

My first tattoo

About half a year ago, during a full day meeting at work about corporate culture, we were asked a lot of personal questions about ourselves. In order to understand what was maybe holding us back from success, we needed to find out what held us back in our personal lives as well. (nb: Perhaps strange in a traditional workplace but not so much for a fashion/tech start-up.) This session was emotionally difficult but at the same time it was cathartic and there were a lot of revelations.

At the start of the day, we began with a question that was tough to answer, "What do you want to achieve in your life but haven't yet?" What was on my list?
- pay off my student debt
- get a dog
- get a tattoo

As inane as that list sounds-- those were my honest expectations of my life (I'm baring my soul here ok?) And then the question that followed was, "And what's your excuse?... Money or time are not allowed to be your answers." So I had no excuses. With my 30th birthday just months away, it seemed like the perfect timeline to just do it. Shit, I was finally going to be decisive about at least one of the above goals.

denim on denim

Today I was out helping some friends with a creative project-- modeling products for the first time in a while. More on the project later, but we were asked to just wear outfits that would work with some luxury products. It's been so long since I've really documented my style that I'm sure that it's completely transformed (as my hair does every year or so).

Since living in a small space in Toronto, I've really cut down my wardrobe and aspired for a more minimalist approach. When I moved from a large townhouse into a 600 sq. ft. condo, I actually threw out about 75% of my closet. There was so much extra bulk sitting around that I was drowning in it. I've had my time of experimenting with styles and I finally feel really comfortable in my more pared down closet, and as an adult who doesn't want to take things too seriously yet. So here's my take on the "Canadian tuxedo" on a "warm" November day (6C guys! Not bad!)

Alexander Wang x H&M - Bustier & Boots Review

My fave piece from the Alexander Wang x H&M collection was definitely the elastic bustier. It was my one and only must-have item from my wish list. In fact, I had convinced myself that even after waiting in line for 8 hours, if I had only picked up that top, I would be happy.

My picks from the collection were all revolving around wearability. I wanted items that fit well with my existing wardrobe and I didn't want to make any impulse buys. That said, I went back to H&M the following day and "accidentally" found a pair of the heeled zip up booties in my size. Oops... I just couldn't resist.

Here they are in action:











wearing: alexander wang x h&m elastic bustier, alexander wang x h&m boots, tna plaid shirt, talula mullaly high waist leggings, ub leather motojacket (similar here), alexander wang trifold bag

The elastic bustier wears like a sports bra. It's made from heavy elastic and it fits really small. Initially I had grabbed an XS and basically was stuck in it for about 5 minutes in he fitting room. If you're still considering buying this piece from somewhere it's probably smart to size up.

The booties are made from real leather, which is something I love about H&M's designer collections: they don't go absolutely cheap on the quality to keep prices low. They're a great height heel for me to wear everyday, so I'm thinking these were totally worth grabbing.

Which pieces did you pick up from the Alexander Wang x H&M collection?
Check back soon for Sam's picks too!

3.1 phillip lim x target canada

This weekend was the much anticipated release of the 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target collection. On September 15th, the hashtag #philliplimfortarget flooded twitter at the strike of midnight. Americans had access to shop the collection online while they rolled out the goods on target.com

I patiently followed the tweets because up here in Canada, we had to wait for the collection to hit the stores on Sunday morning. Target only opened in Canada less than a year ago, so this would be the first designer collection & I wasn't sure whether to expect an H&M designer collection camp-out or complete indifference.

Early in the morning Target Canada updated with a tweet that showed a significant lineup at an unknown store, so we decided to wait for the urgency to clear from the air before slowly sauntering over. After all, none of the Pashli-inspired handbags (priced $35-60) were on my wish list.

After arriving only about an hour and a half after the release, we found two sparse racks of merchandise in the women's section. Bags were completely gone, and most items were down to the final sizes. While my wish list had monochromatic basics and leather jackets on it, we ended up buying two of the flashiest prints in the collection. At $29.99 a pop (or boom?), why not? And with Target's great return policy, there's plenty of time to change your mind (and the potential for some second chances)

The Boom Sweatshirt, another version of Lim's "KA-POW" comic book print sweater, was the last on the rack in size Large. Definitely a lucky find.

derek cardigan glasses, 3.1 phillip lim for target sweatshirt, jeffrey campbell raid wedges.

The leopard dress, in a size small is definitely a relaxed fit but a great addition to my fall work wardrobe with the long sleeves & mustard tone.

aldo beanie, rayban wayfarers, 3.1 phillip lim for target dress, jcrew factory necklace, marc by marc jacobs werdie messenger bag, alexander wang kori booties.

Unfortunately, when I look at the hashtag on Instagram now, it's completely saturated with bag hoarders who have decided to resell their finds immediately. So if you missed out, surely eBay will be handy for the next little while.

Did you lineup for the 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target collection release? What did you end up picking up & how was your experience?

nyfw friday

While I want to start this blog off by saying it's "better late than never", that's actually not true when it comes to fashion events, is it? Surely you've already heard everything about nyfw and the super-storm that hit it early in the week. Nevertheless, I'll still let you all into nyfw from our humble point of view.

Only a year ago, we had never been to NYC and this February, we ventured out on our third trip to fashion week. We're so thankful to Chictopia for offering us the opportunity to earn this trip every six months... I don't know any company who treats their freelancers this well!

Packing for this trip was so difficult because we were warned of this impending blizzard that would be hitting us in Toronto, while we were about to embark on our trip. Obviously, it was also slated to follow us to our destination in New York when we arrived. My mentality while packing was just, "eff it, I want to be warm." so I opted for modest heels and wore two coats at all times.

In our previous trips, we stayed a few subway stops away from the Lincoln Center, thinking "oh, it's only a couple of stops and a few minutes to walk", but this time laziness got the best of me & I immediately booked at the Empire Hotel when I found out that we were going. This hotel is so laughably close, that they actually have a camera pointed at Lincoln Square so that you can watch it on the TV in your room. YES. Oh yeah, and it's basically the Gossip Girl Hotel.

Watching the live feed of the #lincolncenter on #tv at the #empirehotel. vine.co/v/bnVJVVjxDwp
— Syl & Sam of L&B (@lipgloss_black) February 8, 2013

Just a really quick rundown of Friday...
We took an overnight trip into NYC, arrived at 8am and THANKFULLY our room was ready for early check-in

apparently Sam predicted the decor when she wore her Mink Pink tiger sweater from LuLu*s.


Settled into our room for a bit and then headed out to check out times square while the blizzard started


We went to Times Square again, and the hail was legit whipping us in the faces, so it wasn't a great time & it was just too hard to take out a camera. We fabric shopped a bit but it was generally an uneventful day.

Went to our first few fashion shows:

Chartreuse Paisley Dress from LuLu*s, Marc by Marc Jacobs Werdie satchel, UB leather perfecto jacket, Aldo viersen boots.


Zara faux fur coat, Call it Spring brass knuckle purse, Blackmilk resurrection leggings.


We finished the night with Dinner at Ed's Chowder House (because it's IN the hotel & we don't have to brave the inclement conditions) and a few beers in our room. It was phenom.

Pics of the Fashion Shows are coming up in separate posts! Thanks for your patience guys!

the collections at tfw

So a couple of weeks ago, we headed downtown to check out a few fashion shows that were part of Toronto Fashion Week. So far we've posted about the Laura Siegel Presentation and we still have to post some photos of the Chloe Comme Paris and Label Runway Presentations that we attended. For now, here's what we wore for the shows:


F21 Beanie, Rayban Glasses, Aldo Necklace, F21 Oxblood Sweater, Vintage Cape, Aldo Off Duty Leather Handbag, H&M Oxblood Pants, Jeffrey Campbell Benatar Booties c/o Lulu*s


Derek Cardigan Glasses, Alexisonfire tunic by Lipgloss and Black, Faux Fur Jacket c/o LuLu*s, Blackmilk Skeleton Leggings, Skull Studded Motorcycle Boots c/o LuLu*s


The view atop the Burroughes Building


and every good day ends with some delicious sushi, in my books. yum.

More pics soon, we're just suuuuuper busy lately. ♥

HBD

Yesterday was my birthday! I had a great day of shopping with all the gals in my family. I was treated to yummy veal sandwiches, iced coffees and frozen yogurt :) and then in the evening Matt took me to an amazing local artisan bistro for the best meal EVER.


aldo accessories collar necklace, romwe dress, jeffrey campbell benetar booties c/o LuLu*s
behind me: our garden of herbs, heirloom tomatoes, hot peppers, carrots, beets, beans and mesclun mix salad greens



This year, I skipped the typical drink-fest that I usually opt for & had all my friends meet me at wonderland (an amusement park here in Ontario) over the weekend. We rode rollercoasters until we all felt that our brains were sufficiently scrambled and feasted on funnel cakes. We even had a picnic at the park and my friends surprised me with a cake!



I'm a little bit older, a little bit wiser & a LOT more spoiled with very generous gifts from Sam and from Matt too :) I can't wait to show you guys what Samantha bought for me!

On a sidenote: I admit, it feels strange writing this journal-like post because of our lack of personal posts lately. We've gotten into a habit of only posting tutorials and our outfit posts and personal stories have disappeared. I'm hoping to start up a better editorial calendar so that we actually post content other than DIYs... of course we're heading to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week soon so that should give us plenty of new content :) Until next time...