A Narcissist's Dream: 8 in 1 Dress

Sara Robson is one of Vancouver's most talented designers. Her line, Narcissist Design, is most famous for its fantastic signature dresses, and in particular - the little black dresses. Chanel has invented these as we all know, but Ms. Robson has injected them with contemporary innovation.

One of my most favourite dresses ever was a one-of-a-kind sample of a strechy woolen black & blush little black dresses a-la-Chanel (the contrasting colours, stitch details and ruffled frontline were very Chanelesque without looking even the tiniest bit cliché). In the meantime, I have grown out of it size wise, which left me a very unhappy woman, who needs to constantly compensate for the lack of that dress with buying more funky shoes...

Last week, I was unable to control myself as I passed by the Narcissist boutique on Main street and dared come in to finally try their 8-in-1 Pamela dress – a cocktail dress/evening gown that can be worn in more than 8 different styles, as you can see for yourself in this video. The poly-spandex textile allows for maximum flexibility and fit, and the innovative cut can be shaped into many different styles, including ones that require no bra whatsoever. This dress is perfect fro travel.

The reason I was unable to stay bound to reason and budget was that one dress, my size, arrived that morning in the most unusual colour combination of dark brown (almost black) and cream interior (my favourite colour combination). Knowing I am not likely to find it again in that perfect colour, I figured I should just go hungry for a couple of weeks while feeling absolutely fabulous in this flattering innovative dress (and while I’m at it, I might even drop a few pounds, who knows, and finally fit into the other dress I mentioned before).

Early Signs of Fall

Early Signs of Fall, originally uploaded by Theresa Di Moan.

Time to get those cozy knee highs again... I can feel the air becoming crisper in the mornings. The sun rays more forgiving. When it comes to fashion, fall is definitely my favourite season. Interesting textures and an overall classy look with some funky details always make me happy... And in fall they also keep me warm yet absorbent to whatever light remains in the atmosphere.

Beautiful Stilettos can Take Away your Beauty

Leg, originally uploaded by Its All About Mich!!!.

As if we didn't know that already, here comes an article about all the health risks of over-wearing stilettos and the horrible via dolorosas a woman will need to go in order to fix these.

I've always been an advocate for comfort shoes - as long as they also look cool, that is.

Fortunately, there are so many lovely flats (i.e.: just look at all the ballerina shoes I've got!) and sassy kitten heels. Nothing feels better to me than wearing a comfortable shoes all day and knowing they also look sexy.

Think twice before you wear a stiletto. Especially if you are walking or standing a lot. You may not be able to show off your sexy toes and feet forever if you overdo it.

OK, lecturing time is over. But really, we were born with such beautiful feet, I know I wouldn't want to give up on them!

Absolute Favourite Femme Fatale Makeup!

Found this Kohl version of Guerlain at Shoppers Drug Mart today, and everything about it is just fabulous. The packaging, the kohl... The fact that it's so readily portable in a purse or a pocket. And it's not too expensive either. I almost forgot all about kohl. Definitley the best way to add make up to my eyes. SOmething I discovered at the age of 10 when we had to dress up like bedouins for a class project. All the girls wore face covers, and I brought this kohl and got all of them to accentuate their beautiful eyes - the only thing that left of our faces!
On another note, I thought I'd share with you two other favourite eye make up of mine:
Bad Gal Lash mascara from Benefit (the tagline for this is that it's like false eyelashes, pretty close!).
And last but not least - Shiseido's Liquid Eyeliner Pen- it comes with cartridges! No need to dip in the brush, you just press a button on top to squeeze more "ink". It makes the most perfect lines ever, as the brush has just the right shape and thickness. Perfect for a 1940's- 1950's movie star look! It's the most expensive makeup I've ever bought, but there is no way of going back now. It's the best eyeliner. Ever.

Eavesdropping on The Meaning of Life on a Zebra Crossing

Overheard in Girls Toilet, originally uploaded by Heidi B.

As I was walking back from a particularly strange Salsa class tonight (I was re-doing beginners level, and nobody showed up except for this guy I feel terrible embarrased dancing with, because he looks waaaaay too interested in me! And to top it all off, he insisted on accompanying me for way too much of the way until I finally managed to point him to where his bus stop was; darn it! I missed my chance of window shopping at Holt Renfrew when I can have it all for myself! - more about this ordeal at a later time, perhaps) - Anyways, I was just crossing a zebra crossing (a particularly long one), as I heard the most unlikely chain of words come out of a male mouth: "do you ever think about what's the meaning of life?". I was so astonished I had to turn back almost immediately to see which lips the words came from. Somehow, I managed to hold myself back from responding, as I realized I just landed on a treasure that can be most accurately defined as ear candy and food for the voyeristic soul.

The mouth belonged to a young college boy I assume. He was with a friend just his age. There was nothing out of ordinary about them except that they were having a soul-to-soul talk in the middle of the intersection. I thought this was just a one-time successful line (and probably a cynical one) ended up being a soul-to-soul conversation between two young men that I would have never heard on the street before. They kept wondering on and on and actually were listening to each other. I mean, don't we always think that men don't listen?
Well, I guess these two college boys were just every woman's dream of a listener... I'm going to try to recall the conversation before I completely erase it from my cerebral tape recorder, I think it went somewhat like this:

Existentialist: "Do you ever think about what the meaning of life? I mean, do you ever just wonder why we are alive anyways?"

Friend (listens, you can hear it): "Yeah... Sometimes"

Existentialist: "Well, you know, sometimes I get this existentialist (wow! he knows what he's thinking about!) feeling that there is just no meaning for anything"

Friend: "I felt like this when I was studying really hard for my exams. And than I was sitting in the exam room thinking just this. But after the exam ended and I started having fun again I forgot all about it".

Existentialist: "I was trying to imagine what would have happened if I was rich. Would I be happy than? I don't think so!"

Friend: "I would be definitely be happy if I were rich!"

Existentialist: "I might be content. But I wouldn't be happy. Or have more meaning to my life just because I have lots of money".

(me thinks I should so eavesdrop on this conversation! They seem so busy I think I can do it in a completely uncunny way: I'm going to follow them from upfront! And so I decided to just pretend I'm just another girl in front of them and made sure I'm at the same pace, stopping only occasionally to pretend to be distracted by stuff that ordinary girls that never listen to college boys conversations do; I kind of missed a few lines this way, but I got a lot of this conversation, believe me; I think I missed something about meaning of life leading to relationships somehow so I'm not going to fake that missing link in the conversation).

F: "So what about that girl of yours? How is that going?"
E: "Well, she is just so much higher than me, like, I'm on the first floor and she's on the eighteenth floor. All she thinks about all the time is what shoes to wear..."
(well, that sounds just like me! I think to myself; this guy must be sarcastic; he must be trying to say that she is just shallow and materialistic and is only interested in fashion and her looks; well, apparently I was wrong)
E: "She always needs to make sure that she's not going to look taller than me. She is really worried because I guess I am just a little bit taller than her or just about the same height. She always wears flat shoes!"
F: "She should just find a guy that is way taller than her than!"
Precisely. And let me hang out with these two college boys. I never knew existentialist innocence can be so sexy.

Letting Go...

Letting Go..., originally uploaded by Theresa Di Moan.

Letting go of an ugly shoe is a lot more difficult than letting go of someone you really love. There is no comparison, really. Except for the letting go thing. But just as you are not quite convinced that I walked all the way home with one shoe, you shouldn't be convinced too easily that I've let go of someone I still love and just hop around happily all by myself or start investing in a new pair of shoes that I don't even know if I like yet...

Silver Crocs and green lycra footlets from Payless ShoeSource. Colours in perfect harmony with nature...

Bowling Shoes

Bowling Shoes, originally uploaded by Theresa Di Moan.

Went bowling for the first time in my life yesterday, and it was so much fun! Of course, putting on these old rugged pair of bowling shoes was half of the fun... Wore these with nylon mid-calf sockie tucked under a brown lace-trimmed pair of leggings.

Best Window Display

DSC03187.JPG, originally uploaded by Theresa Di Moan.

There is no doubt about it: the most exciting window display in town belongs to an eyeware boutique with one of the lamest of names (Granville Mall Optical). There is always something to stare at in their windows, in fact it's like an entire art gallery. Sometimes dioramas, other times artsy ceramics with questionable fuancionalities, frightening masks or their current exhibit of gothic gowns, made entirely of paper!

The reason I'm showing you this is because for the first time in my life, I've gotten a pair of sunglasses over $20 (just a little short of $200) and I love them! They came from this shop, not surprisingly. It's not the first time I find something explicitly cool there: perscription glasses for my best friend (talking about funky!), or the best ever, bold squarish glasses for my geeky x-boyfriend (I totally saved his sight that day, not to mention maintaining his great looks which lasted longer than our relationship).

Well, this time I was there for me. The gentleman in the shop (who has always been helpful before) picked these ones right away. And he was right. They may not look all the impressive on their own, but on my face they totally rock. Plus their colours are like nothing I've seen before. I just couldn't stand the idea of another black or turtle shell pair of glasses again. No thanks... The model is "Riddle" by Oakley, the frame is "pink latte" and the lenses are bronze. I like my windows now...

Lately...

Lately, originally uploaded by Theresa Di Moan.

Perfect for dancing, Fluevog Lately flats with a sophisticated T-Strap provide comfort without compromising style. Worn here with a pair of Hue's lingerie for feet and a strapless hot pink dress with original print by Cherry Blossom. Here is a closer look at the phenomenon:

Lately, originally uploaded by Theresa Di Moan.

Happy Pride Weekend!

Pride Peep Toe 05, originally uploaded by Theresa Di Moan.

Especially for Pride Weekend, here is a peep toe & slingback sandal from Rocketdog, spotted at GIA shoes. Add some purple nail polish... and I'm now definitely feeling ever so proud!

Also, I found a few other cool ones online, like these rainbow plaid diva stilettos from Irregular Choice:

While the down-to-earth can wear them dreamily this way:

The proud Allstar's Chuck Jones die-hard fans will love this pair!

And for pride babies I can't think of better slippers than these:

Have you spotted any fabulous pride related shoes or socks? Please say hi and post a comment!

White Ballerina Sockies

White Ballerine Sockies, originally uploaded by Theresa Di Moan.

White is rarely my colour of choice when it comes to socks. But these little ballerine sockies, laed up with flower-tipped elastic ribbons, is a new favourite. They are soft in both look and texture and make legs and feet look pretty and graceful.