Weekly Vlog | Gigs, A Snowstorm, Skiing & Eating

I hope you enjoy watching this fantastic week as much as I loved living it. Apologies for the lack of posts this month - I have been mad busy working and then spending my weekends enjoying life. I might write a little post about it all and I should be much freer from April so please bear with me!

Izzie x

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | LOOKBOOK | PINTEREST

Three Ways To Wear Gingham Trousers

Izzie x

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | LOOKBOOK | PINTEREST

What Is Worthy Of Sharing?

SKIRT - VINTAGE | TURTLENECK - VINTAGE | COAT - VINTAGE | BAKER BOY CAP - VINTAGE (SIMILAR VIA ASOS) | BOOTS - DR MARTENS | BAG - COACH* | SUNGLASSES - RAY BAN

Location: Rue Clark, Montréal 

I have been sitting on these photos for a few weeks now, wanting to share them but not being sure what exactly I wanted to write. To any fellow fashion bloggers reading, I don't know about you but I usually plan outfits that I want to shoot and share on here, often having a particular topic or new item in mind that I want to discuss. Well today's outfit is not one of those planned outfits but quite simply an outfit I threw on a few weekends ago when the temperature rose to 5 degrees (a very exciting moment), the sun was shining and I could finally wear a skirt for the first time in months. I liked the outfit so decided to shoot it during a rather delightful Saturday stroll through Le Plateau but I am certainly not wearing anything you haven't seen before - perhaps it's the complimentary colours, silhouette and general look that I think makes it worth sharing. 

"Worth sharing" - it's an interesting thought and a question that I am sure that lots of you reading this will have at the forefront of your mind most days. I guess I questioned whether this look was "share worthy" because it didn't contain any new items, wasn't particularly groundbreaking and doesn't really follow any current trends. But you know what? This is me doing me - mixing grunge elements of the 90s like tartan and Dr Martens boots with 60s shapes of the A-line skirt and fluted sleeved polo neck top - two eras I love combined to make one rather awesome outfit.

In addition, I love these photos as a whole and I think that makes them worth sharing. Outfit photos are actually not just about the outfit you see but also the location that has sometimes been carefully chosen (or in this case luckily stumbled across), the different angles and frames used and the light. They can also be about the occasion - these photos remind me of a time in between two bouts of colds where the sun came out, 5 degrees felt like spring and the Montreal thaw began and if the pure happiness I felt on that day does not justify sharing these photos then I don't know what will. 

Do you plan outfit photos in advance? How do you decide what is worthy of sharing online?

Izzie x

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | LOOKBOOK | PINTEREST

Retro Primary Colours

DUNGAREES - OLD ZARA (SIMILAR VIA ASOS & ZALANDO | TURTLENECK - VINTAGE (SIMILAR VIA REVOLVE) | NECKSCARF - VINTAGE | SHOES - CONVERSE

Location: Boutique Eva B, Montreal

Hello there!

I apologise for my mini hiatus last week - often I take a little break when I am feeling uninspired but that is not the reason this time. This time, time is the reason (how many times can I say time?!) and that I have not enough of it. I am currently writing this post on the bus home from work after a 10 hour shift. Since December I have been juggling a marketing internship and my new role at the vintage shop and I feel that my work/life/blog balance - or imbalance - has finally caught up with me as I mentioned in a recent INSTAGRAM POST. 

It's frustrating because I am feeling really inspired and I often spend some of the weekend creating content, only to not have the time to edit and post it during the week. So writing posts on the bus might have to be the answer for now but today I'm sharing some photos with you that I had been thinking about for a long time and finally shot this weekend. 

As soon as I moved to Canada, I knew I would struggle with fashion blogging in winter and even though the temperatures have been quite mild recently, I still wanted to try shooting indoors for change - and for the comfort! These photos were taken at BOUTIQUE EVA B - the craziest, most interesting vintage shop I have ever been in. Amongst the (mostly organised) mess, there are some special corners that I knew would lend themselves perfectly to shooting outfits photos, including this awesomely retro wall of old VHS cases. I took to PINTEREST for inspiration for the outfit and this editorial GEEK CHIC photo and this artificially lit RETRO SUPERMARKET SHOOT confirmed my vision that primary colours and a 60/70s silhouette would go well in this setting. 

It certainly was a challenge to shoot indoors (on a dull day) with a mix of natural and artificial light but I think it adds to the aesthetic to the photos and it is the kind of glow I was hoping to achieve. They are certainly not perfect photos but they are pretty good for a first try and I think it's good to also show experimentation on here - and not just the glossy stuff - because I am damn pleased with the result. 

The outfit is simple - I layered a bright red turtleneck (I've recently rediscovered my love for red) under these blue denim kick flare dungarees that I have worn to death on and offline since I got them over a year ago, finishing off the look with a patterned neckscarf which really brings the primary colours together. In an ideal world, those white NIKE CORTEZ with the red tick would have been my footwear of choice but alas, I have not got round to purchasing them yet so I opted Converse instead and they compliment the boyish look perfectly. 

What do you think of these photos? I hope you like this retro inspired shoot!

Izzie x

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | LOOKBOOK | PINTEREST

Three Ways To Wear Levi's 501 Jeans

Izzie x

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | LOOKBOOK | PINTEREST

The Coach Saddle Bag

BAG - COACH* | COAT - VINTAGE | JEANS - VINTAGE LEVI'S | SHIRT - TOPSHOP | BOOTS - DR MARTENS

Location: Montreal

Introducing the Coach saddle bag (and ignoring the windswept and red nosed look that comes from shooting while ill in subzero temperatures). It is pretty rare that any type of bag features on Fashion Et Moi, in fact I cannot remember the last time one did. I have always been a "shoes girl", preferring to spend my hard earned cash on statement boots (or an array of outerwear) so when Coach got in touch about working with them on their latest campaign, I jumped at the chance.

I had actually been thinking about purchasing a crossbody bag for a while as this is something that was definitely missing in my limited Montreal wardrobe. I was fed up of always using scruffy tote bags or my Kanken backpack in which I carry my laptop everyday to work (hence no bags appearing on the blog) so a smaller, more luxurious bag was definitely on the cards.

Enter the Coach saddle bag - a classic piece that has recently been reinvented from its original 1970s design and one which has been copied time and time again. It is just the right size for all my essentials - I have been known test out a bag's size by emptying my belongings into it while in the shop - and I can fit my Olympus Pen camera, purse, phone, skincare must-haves etc into my Coach saddle bag without making it look overstuffed.

I genuinely cannot recommend this bag enough. Let's not ignore the elephant in the room - this bag is relatively pricey by my standards and although I was luckily enough to be gifted it, I can totally understand the price tag. I know that I am going to have this bag for life - its smooth glovetanned leather feels super durable, the structure is nice and sturdy and I feel so fabulous when I wear it.

This bag is certainly another reason to get excited for weekends and I have found myself styling both day and evening outfits around it. I absolutely love how well it matches my burgundy Dr Martens boots, which I have no choice but to wear day in day out when there's snow on the ground, and the Coach saddle bag certainly makes my winter outfits look more put together. This particular look is one that I have been turning to a lot since these perfect Levi's 501s (more on them in Sunday's video) walked into my life last month and I love how the copper colour of the leopard print shirt goes with the burgundy accents.

So, to sum up - I've had my first experience on owning a luxury item and I am hooked. Do you have any pieces which completely change how you feel when you wear them?

Izzie x

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | LOOKBOOK | PINTEREST
*I was gifted the Coach saddle bag for unpaid Instagram posts but all gushing opinions about the bag are my own.

I'm Wearing A Yellow Coat

JEANS - VINTAGE LEVI'S | TOP - VINTAGE | COAT - VINTAGE | BOOTS - OLD ASOS | BAKER BOY CAP - VINTAGE

Today I'm wearing a yellow coat. That is not something I ever thought I would do but here we are. When I was younger I used to hate colours like yellow, orange and bright green thinking they were too brash and, well, I just simply didn't like them. However, in recent years I have become fond of these colours, especially for adding a bit of interest to an outfit whether that be in the form of a statement shoe, a loud bag or, in this case, some bright ol' outerwear.

It was love at first sight between me and this gorgeous yellow wool coat. Honestly, if it was black then my search for the perfect black wool coat would be over but I love the fact that it is yellow. This type of shaggy wool coat paired with its loud hue run the risk of being labeled a "middle aged coat" if not styled right but I am pretty happy with today's retro inspired look.

I decided to let the coat do all the talking by wearing blocks of colours that were not too overbearing. I paired my new vintage blue Levi's 501 jeans (video coming on Sunday with more ways to style them) with a simple cream turtleneck; a baker boy hat finishing off the look perfectly with a nod to the sixties. I felt great wearing this outfit and I certainly added a welcome bit of colour to crowds of black puffer jackets on this milder Sunday a few weeks ago.

I feeling rather frustrated with footwear at the moment because I am certainly not going to let the snow and gritty pavements of Montreal ruin any of my precious shoes so for the time being expect old black boots like these or my Dr Martens. Oh, I actually think my burgundy DMs would look great with this coat - perhaps I will try a more wild, colour clashing outfit next time, what do you think?

Izzie x

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE | TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | LOOKBOOK | PINTEREST