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    Shopping with Wendy Woods!!

    “fashion is a business; personal style is what you choose to wear to compliment your unique body, personality, colouring, and lifestyle.”- Wendy Woods

    So last week, Wendy Woods invited me to join her and some other ladies on one of her famous tours, and despite the rain earlier that day Wendy was in the best of spirits! But lucky for us it stopped raining right before the tour started! Yay!

    Emma (Canadian Living) Wendy Woods, Lindsay Robertson, and Me showin off our Tealish “swag” lol

    Lots and Lots and Lots of tea!

    So who is Wendy Woods?
    Founder of THE REFINERY, Wendy is a certified image consultant with extensive training at the International Image Institute, George Brown College and a graduate from McMaster with an Honours Commerce degree. You can read her full bio here

    ABOUT THE REFINERY:
    The REFINERY is a creative image consulting company that is dedicated to helping real women like us, find clothing and accessories that enhance our personal style, and are also practical for our everyday lives.

    THE REFINERY is committed to creating a comfortable environment where you can discuss something as personal as your style. The tours teach you specific skills that you need to refine your personal style so you can confident, elegant, and chic like errrday!! (Y.K)

    ABOUT THE TOURS:
    The tours give you the opportunity to discover handpicked clothing and accessory boutiques through out Toronto. All the tours are guided by a professional style coach, who helps you find clothing, accessories etc, that enhance your body and express your personality.

    NOW FOR MY TOUR WITH WENDY!!
    The tour began at Tealish (oooh how I love Tealish), where we were treated to a tea of our choice, courtesy of Wendy and Tealish! I had no idea there were sooo many different kinds of tea! Did you know Tealish has over 150 different types of tea from around the world… So as I was saying, we were treated to a tea of our choice, and this is when Wendy gave us a brief summary of what to expect on the tour; soon after that, we hit the streets for some shopping!


    “Cat Tilt boasts a rotating collection of hard-to-find pieces that any fashionista worth her stilettos would hang in her walk-in closet.”

    We went a little crazy in there, but Alison (the owner) was amazingly hospitable, she even recommended a few yoga studios in Toronto for me! Cat Tilt is famous for it’s yoga inspired collections; with clothing racks full of amazing pieces from Aviator Nation, Stewart + Brown and much much more!

    Wendy picked out a few things for each of us, and I have to say she was spot on with everything she picked out for me. Wendy says I have a playful and bright personality that is reflected in my style! Hey now!! =) I had tonnes of fun in Cat Tilt, make sure you check it out. There’s so much good stuff, and the fabric feels SOOOO GOOOD!!

    Emma looking cute!

    Alison and I


    “… the Girl Friday look never goes out of style… Every item in Girl Friday is hand-picked by Nixon, who scrutinizes each piece when buying and designing for each season.”

    So we finally managed to tear ourselves away from Alison and out of Cat Tilt, and headed to Girl Friday. A boutique that boasts gorgeous clothing, all hand picked by owner Rebbecca Nixon; as well as Rebbecca’s very own in-house label, Girl Friday. Wendy did her thing and picked out clothing for all of us, and even challenged a few of us to try colours we said we’d never wear!


    OMG this leather jacket was soo AWESOME

    the best part!

    Fabulous!


    “…a fashion boutique that offers a unique concentration of local all-Canadian fashion, jewellery and accessories designers.”

    “We realize how difficult it is for new and up-and coming designers to break into the business, and therefore, we provide these talents with the opportunity to sell and receive feedback on their products”- Alexia Lewis, Founder.

    OMG Pho Pa! I love Pho Pa! I think I had a few fashion-gasms in there! I was oohing and aahing left, right and centre. Wendy picked out more gorgeous stuff for us, but one thing that stood out in particular was this silvery/gray “space” themed “jacket”; it was AWESOME/COOL/CUTE/SUPER COMFY, I was so excited I forgot to see who the designer was! And I couldn’t take any more pics for obvious reasons.

    Pho Pa Ooh la la

    Lindsay and Wendy

    This girl looked AMAZING in this. I wish I could’ve gotten another angle but store policy & pics don’t mix!

    they have the MOST AMAZING belts!

    Fun times!

    It was an afternoon full of laughs, jumping in and out of clothing, discovery and of course very fashioneducative (that’s right, I made that one up to). People are often terrified of Image Consultants, and I would be too after seeing some of these “reality” tv shows, where they are insensitive and are throwing your clothes away! But Wendy? Wendy is a god-send. She focuses on the good; so when she’s suggesting clothing/accessories she’s making that suggestion off of what would look good/better on you, in the kindest and most entertaining way. She doesn’t focus on what you shouldn’t wear!! Wendy is the BEST!!

    ps: Many of the boutiques have generously offered discounts on the clothing, so make sure you book yourself a tour ASAP!

    Visit Wendy’s website here
    Got a question for Wendy? Click here!
    For more pics click here

    xoxo

    Bella

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    Luxe for Less!!

    No, you’re not dreaming, nor are you hallucinating. Rodarte’s Kate and Laura Mulleavy are Target’s next GO International designers!! I still can’t believe it! This dynamic duo just snagged the CFDA Designer of the Year Award, and are known for sending fashion crowds into gushing, post-show frenzies!


    The dynamic duo!

    “what you’ll notice is an amazing eye for detail… it’s very feminine, yet very modern…” -Joshua Thomas


    “The collection incorporates a rich mix of patterns and fabrications and everything from sequins and bows to faux fur. “- Joshua Thomas

    The key with Rodarte is layering…There are stand-alone pieces and pieces that can worn together to create an ensemble by layering different patterns, textures and prints”- Joshua Thomas :Target Spokesman

    The collection boasts 55-pieces that I imagine will be just gorgeous, and launches in most Target stores and online on December 20th through to February 6th, 2010 (Christmas pressies!! ahem ahem)

    A lot of people are worried that it will be difficult to translate Rodarte’s hand-wrought designs for the mass market, but Target assures us that they have “stayed true to the spirit of of the luxury-priced lablel.”
    What do you guys think? You think they can pull it off? We’ll just have to wait and see =)

    xoxo

    Bella

    Ps:GO International is an innovative program that focuses on young or emerging designers; featuring Erin Fetherston, Rogan, Jonathan Saunders, Thakoon etc.

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    I LOVE The Februarys!!!

    I know Ty does all the music/movie stuff, but I REALLY LOVE THIS BAND!

    I guess what’s GREAT about the Februarys, is the genuine love and energy that’s flowing amongst them, not to mention the DYNAMITE music!

    These guys genuinely love what their doing, and they love doing it together! Something that a lot of bands/groups are missing these days… you don’t feel that connection, seems like it’s all just for the camera… you know kinda phoney… But these guys! These guys get two thumbs and a high-five up for keeping it 100!!

    “my favourite records are always when I’m going through something personal. I put on a song and I connect with it, and then you’re like ok, it makes it a little bit better. then everytime you hear that song it makes you feel better about the situation. and that would be awesome if our record did that for people coz then we’d be changing lives I guess… Like super hero stuff. It’s cool.”- Brody Tavares brass/vocals

    Brodie Tavares, Matt Bender, Matt Gibson, and Lucas Lawrence

    Look out for these guys, they’re gonna be HUGE!

    Check out their myspace page here!

    xoxo

    Bella