1. Uggs
2. Leggings as Pants
3. Extreme amounts of skin

It’s only Day 3 of the Calgary Stampede and I’ve already been exposed to all three.  The one out in full force during these 10-days of summer is number three, showing extreme amounts of skin.  Whether it’s shorts so short that I can see cheek, or shirts so low-cut, I’m afraid one of the girls will make an appearance, too many women are wearing too little clothing.  Take these usual fashion don’ts, pair them together, add a splash of cowboy flair and you’ve got the worst of the worst at the Calgary Stampede.

Backstage at D&G

The most painful part of Stampede fashion this year is the fact there are so many western-inspired options available in stores this year.  I picked out 16 cute, western-inspired pieces for my College Candy post, Doin’ it Out West.  With the popularity of chambray, floral, ruffles and other western-looking items, there is no excuse for poor fashion at the Stampede.

Last week I watched the CORE Fashion show showcase Stampede Fashion from retailers in Calgary’s downtown shopping centre.  I have to say I was pretty disappointed with the styling.  The vast selection of items available in stores that could be combined to emulate a western vibe were noticeably missing from this years show.  While most of the boot choices were perfect, I was uninspired by the cocktail dresses and leopard print that hit the runway.

My picks for a western-inspired outfit with a huge dose of class, include denim jackets or vests, overtop classic pieces that, when paired with the right accessories have a western feel.  Below, this otherwise simple sundress can be cowgirl’d up with a brown leather belt, cowboy boots, and other accessories.  This is just one way to dress up in western attire to maintain sex appeal without showing an extreme amount of skin.

Classy Cowgirl by Elle&Bee featuring GAP accessories

Browse my Polyvore for a few more Cowgirl chic looks.

Bryant Park cupcake from Crumbs Bake Shop (Leah Wong)

On my last day in New York I went to Crumbs Bake Shop across from Bryant Park, as I was in a rush to eat it, get back to my hostel and head to the airport I didn’t make a lot of notes on this cupcake.  The cupcake I had was the Bryant Cake cupcake, I know, I’m lame, but I thought there was no better place to eat a Bryant Park cupcake than in Bryant Park.  This cupcake has chocolate cake with chocolate mousse inside, topped with cream cheese icing, chocolate cake crumbs and white chocolate curls – an absolutely divine cupcake.

Bryant Park cupcake filling (Leah Wong)

Flavour: Bryant Park
Cake: 4/5
Icing: 5/5
Presentation: 4/5
Location: 5/5
Flavour Selection: 5/5
Total: 23/25

This was a very good cupcake, though I did find it to be too big.  The cost of a cupcake is $4.50 here, and definitely worth it.  I love cupcakes, but part of the appeal is the individual size of them.  I felt that this would be a cupcake much better shared, which I find difficult to do with a cupcake, especially this one, as it was slightly flaky and hard to hold together – something I typically find with filled cupcakes.  On a nice day, I would definitely recommend sitting in Bryant Park with a Crumbs cupcake as it was a very nice area.  I did a little damage at the Original Penguin store.  All in all I would recommend checking out Crumbs, just make sure you go with an empty stomach as their supersized cupcakes are difficult to finish alone.

Nadia G, the master chef on Bitchin’ Kitchen makes me want to cook in style, so don’t be surprised if you see my cooking up a storm in heels and a gorgeous dress in the fall!  All I need is the perfect apron to protect my beloved dresses.  While I think I might try and make my own, there are many different styles on Etsy for those who cannot sew (or do not have mother’s that they hope will help them!) My favourites are the cupcake and hedgehog aprons from Annie’s Attic, or the cupcake one by Baked With Love Aprons.

Image from Bitchin’ Kitchen.

My absolute favourite look is Coco’s masculine riding look.  Showing the impracticality of trying to wear a dress while riding a horse, this look incorporates practical pieces that would fit into anyone’s wardrobe.  White button-up shirts are a wardrobe staple that can be dressed up for business appropriate looks, or dressed down for casual attire.  Other notes from this outfit are: masculine pants, which can be channeled today with the popular boyfriend pant; the menswear vest; and the necktie tied into a bow, though now, this is often incorporated into a shirt.  While it might look sloppy to put too many menswear pieces together, pairing feminine pieces with menswear inspired pieces to update the look. 

The last part of the film showcases Coco designing her line of clothing.  Though she is wearing a skirt in this photo, her look is still quite basic – although very elegant.  For workwear, a look inspired by Coco Chanel is easy to pull off.  Clean lines and solid colours, paired with classic accessories create a professional outfit.  Buying quality pieces that fit well, is a smart investment as they will last for a long time.

Screenshots borrowed from Fanpop.

Cupcake and Coffee from The Magnolia Bakery

I recently took a little trip to New York City, so of course I had to try a cupcake from the world famous, Magnolia Bakery.  With three locations in Manhattan, I went to the location in the West Village, right across from the Marc by Marc Jacobs store. This is the bakery’s original location, since it opened in 1996.  This bakery has been credited with the “cupcake craze” that emerged in the late 90s.  It is also a stop on the “Sex and the City” tour, as in one episode Carrie and Miranda sample their cupcakes.  I was almost hesitant to try the cupcakes as I’d heard mixed opinions about the bakery’s most popular item.  As they also offered up many tasty looking mini-cheesecakes, I was tempted not to try a cupcake.  However, my inner cupcake connoisseur knew I had to be able to compare all other cupcakes to the one that started the craze.

Vanilla Cupcake from Magnolia Bakery (Leah Wong)

Flavour: Vanilla with Vanilla Buttercream
Cake: 4/5
Icing: 4/5
Presentation: 5/5
Flavour Selection: 4/5
Location: 5/5
Total: 22/25

Initially I found the icing on the cupcake a little too sweet, and considering I have a major sweet tooth, that’s saying something.  The more I ate, the better it got.  For once, I was happy not to have the cupcake towered high with icing, as it was super sweet.  There were quite a few flavours to choose from, but they were all pretty standard.  The cake was good, but not anything special.  Overall, the cupcake was worth it, though I can’t see standing in hours for a good, but standard cupcake.  As I went first thing in the morning on a Thursday, there was no line up, but I’d been warned by friends that I should be prepared to stand in line.  I adore the location of the West Village location, it was right across from Marc by Marc Jacobs, down the street from James Perse, and a few blocks from a major sale at Olive & Bette’s.  While it wasn’t the best cupcake I’ve ever had, it’s easy to tell how they are the basis of a craze, which other bakers have built upon and improved.

The classic fashion sense of Audrey Hepburn is timeless, meaning that even today clothing from her movies can be used as inspiration.  The black lace dress, especially, can be incorporated into anyone’s wardrobe, with the rising popularity of lace in stores.  Black lace dresses from ModCloth and Ruche are modern day interpretations of this famous dress.  In the movie it is paired with a gorgeous matching eyemask, dramatic eyeshadow and statement earrings.  Though this look was meant to blend in at the Ritz bar, the elegance of this outfit is far from understated.  When shopping for a lace dress, keep Audrey’s ladylike elegance in mind, and steer clear of the super-short mini dress from American Apparel.

Another main feature of Audrey’s look in the film, is her bee-hive hair.  Though this look might seem best left to the 1960s, Jessica Schroeder of What I Wore proves this look can be updated and worn in the present.  Other accessories worn by Audrey which showcase the best of the sixties are the pillbox hat and the round, oversized sunglasses, popularized by Jackie O.

With each costume change, Audrey has a different statement coat.  Each style is quite different, but all are equally gorgeous.  As retailers are slashing prices on their winter stock, keep your eyes open for statement coats for next winter (or if you’re in Calgary, like me you can probably start enjoying them now!)  The Venice Biennial Jacket from ModCloth and the Holly Golightly Trench from Lulus are just a couple coats that echo Audrey’s elegance.

Screenshots borrowed from Movie Title Stills Collection and Fanpop.

Japanese Ginger Cupcake from For the Love of Cake (Leah Wong)

This post is a long time coming, I went to For the Love of Cake back in March, but never got around to posting my review.  I first heard about For the Love of Cake because of their Mancakes - you read right – a cupcake made for the men in your life.  These decadent cakes use “man-worthy” ingredients; the flavours range from Maple Bacon to Guinness Chocolate. The other specialty at For the Love of Cake, is the 4-dimensional cupcake, made up of cake, icing, garnish and filing.

On my trip to For the Love of Cake, I made it not too long before closing, meaning I was faced with end of day selection.  The only two flavours offered up were Japanese Ginger and Maple Bacon – being a vegetarian I obviously chose the former.  According to their website the Japanese Ginger is “A tangy ginger cupcake filled with a plum sake reduction and topped with cream cheese frosting and a plum slice covered in a sake glaze.” Needless to say I was intrigued by the complex list of ingredients.

Cupcake Filling (Leah Wong)

Icing: 5/5
Cake: 5/5
Presentation: 5/5
Location: 2.5/5
Selection: 5/5
Total: 22.5/25

While there were only two flavours available when I went into the store, at the beginning of each day, the bakery tweets (@4theloveofcake) the selection for the day.  At the beginning of the day there are around nine flavours available, so if you want to have full pick, go early in the day!

As I tried the cupcake a while ago, and do not remember the specifics, I can’t go into detail about it.  I would however, recommend going to For the Love of Cake to try their cupcakes for yourself.  The flavours are complex, while there was minimal icing, with the filling I did not desire more.

Currently, Liberty Village seems quite the trek for a cupcake, as the area is not fully developed.  I think as the area grows, it will become a much more desirable area to check out.  Right now, there is a cute boutique located next to the shop, which I would recommend to any fashionista.

1. Always be on the lookout – I tend to find my favourite pieces when I’m not even looking for them. When I’m shopping I’m always on the lookout for good deals and special pieces that are unlike other things in my closet.

2. a) Shop sales – I shop high end sales, and keep my eye out for good deals. In order to avoid frivolous purchases I try and buy things that I covet at full price. It’s not a good deal regardless of price if it’s not something you really need.  One of my signature pieces, the Club Monaco zebra dress, was found for only $69 – it hit the racks at $189 but I watched until it went to a price I couldn’t say no.

B) Know seasonal sales – my favourite boutique in Calgary has amazing boxing week sales. I’ve made it a rule to only buy jeans during this sale so I can afford my Fidelity jeans, the only brand I really like.

Nanette Lepore Dress (Danielle's Consignment Boutique)

3. Shop consignment – I haven’t had much luck in this sense in Toronto, but while home in Calgary I have a circuit of consignment stores I frequent. At one, shopgirls from Holt Renfrew regularly consign their only once worn dresses that I can snap up for a fraction of the cost.
B) Watch sales – Danielle’s Consignment Boutique in Calgary has sales regularly, meaning you can often get at least an additional 20 per cent off items.  This Nanette Lepore dress started at $189, but when reduced in price I managed to snag it at a discount.
C) Shopping online consignment – if you know how certain brands or labels fit, it’s safer to buy from online consignment boutiques. However since you can’t try them on, there is still a risk it won’t fit and will be a waste of money.  If you live in Canada, check out My Ex-Closet; depending what city you live in, you can even arrange to consign your own pieces through this site.

D) Vintage & Thrift Store – I have friends that find a lot of pieces from either vintage or thrift stores around Toronto.  While I don’t have a lot of pieces found from these types of stores, I do have a few fun pieces I have found – for example, I have this semi-ridiculous bright purple, high-waisted skirt found at Goodwill for $7.

4. Know when to spend and when to save – There are some items that are worth a splurge and others that are not. As I outline in the College Candy article, items that you wear often are worth the money, while trendy items worn for only one season are not.

5. Consider cost-per-wear – This fits into the spend and save attitude.  Items that you wear a lot and for multiple seasons will have a lower cost-per-wear than trendy items that go out of style after a season.  I usually put more money into classic items as they not only go with almost everything else in my closet, but they transition timelessly through seasons.

Macaron from Frangipane Bakery (Leah Wong)

I have a huge sweet tooth, and not just for cupcakes. One other of my many, many dessert loves is the macaron. A Macaron is the French version of a macaroon – made of egg whites, almond flour and sugar. They are light, sweet and come in a variety of flavours, depending on where you buy them. I first became intrigued with macarons while watching Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. The scenes in this movie are my idea of heaven – desserts and outrageously extravagant outfits enjoyed with tea.  Frangipane Patisserie (215 Madison Ave) is where I found these macarons – they were very yummy and I would highly recommend trying some! I tried raspberry and salted French caramel macarons.

Red Velvet Cupcake - Dessert Lady (Leah Wong)

Presentation: 3/5
Icing: 4/5
Cake: 3/5
Selection: 1/5
Location: 5/5
Total: 16/25

Despite the high cost of the Dessert Lady’s cupcake, it was exactly the type of cupcake you could make at home. While I know cupcakes in generally range from $2.50-$3, this cupcake fell on the high end of the price spectrum, though the quality of the cupcake did not justify the price. The Dessert Lady has a prime location, and with the higher overall price range of things in Yorkville, it’s understandable that they would have a higher price tag on their cupcake, but honestly, in the future I would buy a cupcake from Starbucks over this one.

For starters, the cake was really dry. I’m a huge fan of red velvet cake, but I was disappointed with the cake portion. The icing was fine, though I felt they should have topped it up much higher to compensate for the dryness of the cake. The icing was a light, cream cheese icing that wasn’t anything special, but was the best part of the cupcake. I also wasn’t impressed with the presentation of the cupcake, even though they pipe on the icing only after a cupcake is ordered, it didn’t cover the entire top of the cupcake, one of my pet peeves. It also wasn’t very visually pleasing, definitely not the type of cupcake I would as a gift. As I mentioned before, there was only one cupcake to choose from when I was there – I would have preferred to try the Amaretto cupcake as it is at least a unique flavour.

All in all, the only thing the Dessert Lady has going for it is the individual semi reusable container the cupcake came in, and the  location, though with three-four Starbucks in close proximity I’d rather go there for a cupcake than return to the Dessert Lady.