zhangling❤photography

I say this practically every year but fall is really my favourite fashion season. I love all the seemingly endless possibilities that come with layering and being able to play with different textures and materials. Oh, and all the rich colours! There's so many fun ways to pair fall tones. Unfortunately, fall in Ottawa can be cut short by a cold front that takes us pretty much directly into winter. As much as I enjoy certain fall favourites (like light coats and leather jackets), it's really important to have solid transitional pieces that work well across both seasons so you can get more wear out of your items. Vintage camel coat (borrowed from mom) Forever21/H&M chunky scarf (borrowed from mom) Lilac cashmere sweater from Babaton Vintage Levis (thrifted) BP booties from Nordstrom Fall favourite: Vintage denim There's something so casual and chic about the washes and cuts in vintage denim that goes so well with the fall colours. A lot of blue denim or ev...

I've lamented in the past over how Ottawa doesn't have a real spring season and it jumps very suddenly from winter to summer, usually in May-June, right around the annual Tulip Festival. This year, however, we got some sort of pseudo-spring, with the frequent rainy days and fluctuating temperatures. The weather gods must be smirking down on me with their little practical joke but joke's on them because I was super motivated to come up with cute spring outfits! So here goes my very first Spring Fashion post, whoo-hoo! The theme for the outfits below are two colours that I've had a longstanding struggle to wear: pink and purple. I've mentioned in previous blog posts that growing up a tomboy meant rejecting a lot of pink and purple, that even to this day, I'm finding it a challenge to incorporate both colours into my wardrobe. A lot of historical attempts have always felt a little bit like playing dress up, as opposed to actually utilizing pieces that were a...

Ahhh I'm so glad I'm finally publishing this post! I've been planning and trying to work on this for so long (basically right after  2017 Fall Fashion post ) but following more of the intentional structure of my 2018 Summer Fashion Trends post . So again, I have three trends that I've enjoyed through the varying stages of fall -- and actually, I believe would work well into winter too! Just pop on a thicker coat or parka and done. So without further ado: Trend 1: Mad for Plaid All plaid is pretty trendy but I've been seeing glen plaid (grey monochrome plaid) in particular everywhere this fall. From blazers to dresses to skirts to pants, I've been seeing this pattern in all mainstream stores (Zara, Dynamite, Forever21, etc.) Glen plaid pants from H&M Bustier bodysuit from Dynamite Leathers sleeve blazer from Danier Heels from Aldo My pants are actually from last year December, another one of those purchases that sat in my closet for a long t...

It's been a good summer for thrift shopping, both at the monthly 613flea markets and my local thrift stores so I wanted to dedicate a blog post to my summer vintage finds. I especially enjoy vintage items in the summer because they're a lot of fun to wear: big full skirts perfect for twirling, whimsical prints and colours to match the cheery, sunny weather. I also wanted to share some tips when shopping for second-hand vintage that I like to call:  How to tell Vintage Finds from Old Crap . Read on for my tips + outfits from a weekend trip to Niagara! Tip #1 : Look at the tags to understand the materials - cotton, silk, etc. Even some solid quality polyester has been good to me, like the skirt in this outfit below. Vintage sunhat from Lady Arkenstone Vintage at 613flea Mustard ruffle top from H&M (thrifted) Pleated skirt from vintage Liz Claiborne (thrifted) Brown sandals from Massimo Dutti This navy pleated skirt was an awesome find. As previously mentione...

One of my most anticipated activities for the summer is having a barbecue. It's always a good time with friends gathered around, relaxing with the patio door open, drinking refreshing beverages and chowing down on some good ol' fashioned comfort food. So when my super talented home chef friend Charlotte reached out to collab on a ribs & summer bbq concept in the spirit of Ribfest, I was all too happy to accept! Charlotte has cooked for me twice before, Korean stew and brunch spread with dutch baby pancakes . This shoot was a much larger operation as the she made an incredible amount of food that also took much longer to cook. It really was a whole day affair (not to mention the prep work she did the night before!) Plus, more dishes meant more moving pieces to arrange on the table. It was a definite challenge for me, but one that I was eager to take on! Our shoot was actually indoors, but drape a gingham tablecloth from the dollar store and you could believe we're o...