Summer Fashion Week

After a fairly disappointing summer from June through August, Ottawa (and Toronto too) seems to have started real summer in September! Coincidentally following New York Fashion Week (which previewed new designs for Spring/Summer 2018), I decided to make the most of "second" summer by breaking out a couple of my newer pieces that I didn't yet get a chance to wear.

As I've mentioned in the past, my blogger inspirations were not photographers, but fashion bloggers (Wendy's Lookbook and Extra Petite). While most of my blog is photography focused, I do enjoy sharing out my fashion side too! So here goes another summer fashion post, reminiscent of this one that I did way back when I first started this blog :D

The Maxi Dress

This dress is another one of my favourite finds at my local thrift store, I actually wore this multiple times already. Easily my go-to piece when I want to look nice with minimal effort. It has a padded bust too so I can go braless to avoid underboob sweat on those extra hot days (whoo!). I went all in for the boho vibe with the hematite necklace (thrifted) and ring (local boutique) and it was a happy coincidence they had matching hearts. Throw on a denim jacket for the shade or evening and I'm good to go!

The Off-shoulder Top

 This year we saw a huge domination of the off-shoulder and cold-shoulder trend in stores, but I had trouble finding the right top for me. Some were too short or too blousey. I truly felt overwhelmed by the number of options available and had to remind myself to be selective with the design.  In the end, I'm super happy with my find from Forever21.  It isn't high quality but the design is spot on to what I wanted.

In my last year's floral version of this similar concept, my top is much higher quality and was a decent sale price from Guess. Funny thing about this outfit, the SA brought these sailor shorts to try it on with and I fell in love with the look in the fitting rooms haha. One thing I noticed is that I don't like too much skin showing between the top and bottoms, so I do tend to go towards a slightly longer crop top paired with high-waisted bottoms.

Bonus cat photo!

Nick's shark shirt also from Forever21 and again, it's not the best quality compared to his other shirts. But the print is fun and pairs well with his light blue Zara shorts for a "by-the-water" vibe.

Photos from this day were taking at the History Museum in the Quebec side. Great view of Parliament in the background!

Selfie with Parliament!

The Printed Playsuit

I ordered this as part of a giant Zara haul during their sale season. My strategy for shopping Zara's crazy hectic sales is to order everything online and get it delivered to the store to try on. That way, I only try on things in my size and I only carry home the items that I do want (as opposed to shipping it to my place and having to bring to the store things I don't want).  This was the only item I kept out of that haul and it just never got warm enough for me to wear over the actual summer months! So glad I didn't have to wait til next year to break out this fun piece. I really enjoy the whimsical print on this playsuit, it's fun and playful! Topped off with the pork pie hat, I'm channeling my inner Jason Mraz, strumming on my ukulele :)

The Lace Top and White Mini Skirt

More from Forever21, these two pieces are truly fabulous finds in my opinion. I know I said the previous items from this fast fashion retailer weren't the greatest quality, but shopping there can pay off if you take the time to look for the right details.

This top has solid lace construction and pattern on the lace looks classy, plus a nicely scalloped hem. There are good quality metal buttons at the cuffs and down the back and stays trendy with a high-neck design. The skirt is also thick material with pockets and a belt with metal buckle. Also, it's not see-through at all, which is a common problem for white bottoms.

Latest obsession is with these sandals - I had been looking for a mid-heel black sandal for so long. Similar to my dilemma with the off-shoulder top, it's such a simple and common design, I needed the right details to jump out at me. When I saw this pair, the tiny circle buckle and metallic detail in the curved heel made me do my little happy dance :P

Vince Camuto bag
Massimo Dutti Sandals

I love this outfit for a dressy and classy date night look (got the thumbs up from Nick too so yay boyfriend stamp of approval!) but I struggled to find the right timing/weather to wear it. The sheerness of the top + the shorter length on the skirt seemed to conflict with the long sleeve and thicker skirt material. However, it was actually perfect timing last week because it was warm in the sun but cool in the shade. I'm also looking forward to styling the skirt for fall weather with OTK boots to balance out the shorter length!

Hope you enjoyed this fashion-focused post! Fashion definitely is another love of mine and it's been incredibly inspiring to shoot my monthly features for the fashion photography project. Stay tuned for September's fashion project post!

Thanks for reading! :)