White is my favourite look for summer, although I love white all year round, it’s especially my favourite choice in summer. I love the fresh, crisp, clean look of white–simply devine!
This boatneck summer sweater from Simons has a beach vibe and so I wore it to the beach in Kincardine where my youngest son bought a house recently. He hasn’t moved in yet, but when he moves in this summer, I’ll be able to visit him and enjoy the beach on Lake Huron with the best sunsets in Ontario.
A stroll around town and admiring the gardens is always a pleasure!
As a child, I loved playing dress-ups with my mother’s clothes. I used to handsew outfits for my Barbie dolls. I enjoyed playing with my paper dolls, spending hours to carefully cut out their clothes. Remember those?
I sewed my very first dress for myself at 10 years old (my mom signed me up at a local Singer sewing machine store for a summer activity). As a teenager, I continued sewing clothes for myself and even made a suit for my brother, Johnny – the drummer boy.
My dressing room is my little boutique and every morning, I go “shopping” to choose my OOTD. Sometimes I pick out a top and then decide what to wear with it. Other times I’ll take a scarf or shoes or jewellery and plan my outfit around that.
On this particular day, I wanted to wear this white lace with pearl gray peplum top. I decided to pair it with my white skinny jeans, added an angel wing necklace (a gift from my dear cousin Marion) and metalic sandals.
My daughter Jean learned how bad overconsumption and fast fashion are by watching THE TRUE COST. So she decided to do something about it and opened an eco-boutique five years ago in Seattle. This month she had to close Drizzle & Shine in-store shopping, but I’m happy to announce she has moved to online.
We moved! “May 2nd was our last day in our Capitol Hill location. We’re exclusively online now. You can read the details on this blog post.
**We have online shopping (with free shipping for orders over $50) and we’ve started refreshing inventory with lots of spring goodies.
Welcome to Drizzle & Shine! We’re an online eco-boutique. You’ll find a carefully curated selection of clothing, shoes, and accessories. We specialize in items that are kind to the earth and animals and that are made by people who are treated fairly.
We love to showcase local designers, small businesses, and businesses that make a difference in the community—and world. You don’t need to break the bank to do your part. Eco items that are made to last will make you feel great.”
~Drizzle & Shine
Doing good has never looked so good!
This breezy white tunic arrived in the mail from Drizzle & Shine (it’s a soft, loose knit and a little longer in the back) I can also wear it at the beach as a coverup.
A white summer top is a staple for any woman’s wardrobe. I love adding pops of colour to an all-white outfit. Simply switch things up with scarves, accessories and shoes to create another look.
red scarf
blue scarf
pink scarf
“The worst part about closing the Drizzle & Shinephysical location was laying off my wonderful staff. I didn’t make this decision lightly. And frankly, it wasn’t really a choice. We just can’t stay open and pay the expenses of a brick and mortar store with the drop in sales we’ve seen since the beginning of the pandemic.
Going exclusively online doesn’t take the time and work that running a physical location requires. People are the best part of a store. But without customers to interact with, displays to set up, shelves of inventory to replenish, events and fundraisers to plan and run, there isn’t enough work for any of us.”
If you follow my blog, you know that I promote slow fashion: fair trade, cruelty-free, sustainable. Who made my clothes is important because no one should suffer for fashion (See THE TRUE COST on my side bar).
It’s an urgent matter. We need to care. That’s all it takes.
Information + Compassion = Solution
A video I put together on the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of some of the clothes, shoes and jewellery from Jean’s eco-boutique.
On the corner of Cherry Blossom Road in Cambridge, we took a little break from the busy day to stop and admire the crabapple trees.
Our oldest son and his family moved into their new home. It’s been a hectic month with packing and moving. On our way to help them on the final day of their move (out of their home in Cambridge, Ontario) we stopped to enjoy this beautiful sight.
Since I’ve had a dream to visit Paris someday to experience the splendour of Cherry Blossoms in their glory, I saw this as an opportunity to enjoy the glorious sight of twenty crabapple trees in full bloom right in my own backyard (so to speak).
I wore this lightweight summer sweater that I bought at Simons in Toronto–white, cotton knit which I can wear with any pants in my wardrobe and goes with every pair of leggings I own because it’s long enough. I have the same sweater in pastel green.
My Paris bag makes me feel like I’m in France–not quite, but I do have a good imagination.
This pastel green V-neck sweater also came in forest green. Green is such a tranquil colour, perhaps that’s why God chose it for trees and plants in nature, which has a way of making us feel serene and contentment. That’s one reason why a walk in the woods or a stroll through a park is so beneficial and has a calming effect.
Even though I really like green in nature, I rarely buy green clothes. This sweater came in a dozen colours: pink, burgundy, baby blue, navy blue, gray, ivory, black and white. I’m glad I chose this shade of green.
I had a hard time deciding which colour to choose and I only bought two (my other one is white). I may go back to Simons to buy one more. It’s a lightweight, cotton knit and I’ve paired it with white jeans for a fresh spring look.
Green is a neutral, I think it goes with everything. We can learn from the flowers; every flower of every colour has green leaves.
I just had to go back before these marvelous magnolias are gone with the wind. I am so fond of blossoming trees and if I had my choice, they would last for the entire spring season.
My dream has been to see the cherry blossoms in Paris someday. We had planned it for our 50th Anniversary last year … alas! … not all dreams come true. Yet, I will continue to dream for some dreams do come true.
My theme has been florals this spring, I wore this floral top with red pants recently and now it looks ready for summer paired with white skinny jeans. I wear them more often than I wear blue jeans.
These pink booties were bought in the last century on one of our many shopping excursions in the USA to outlet malls. Those were the days!
This weekend I happened to notice a magnificent magnolia tree not far from where we live, still in beautiful bloom.
I was wearing one of my favourite floral tops which I’ve shown recently, but this time with black pants and red booties. The pants are faux leather and faux suede and were a gift from one of my dance students.
I like changing up outfits to create a different look and getting more milage out of my clothes. While I don’t have a capsule wardrobe, I do think the 30 wears challenge is a great idea. I’ve already worn this top at least 10 times this spring. Pretty enough to go out of the house and comfortable enough to wear at home. Have you joined the challenge?
My love affair with florals germinated as a child and blossomed in my teen years during the ’60s.
Inspired by my mother who adored flowers; besides having floral prints on her gorgeous dresses and blouses, we had floral drapes in our living room and her bedroom had a bedspread of pink roses with matching curtains. She bought the same bedspread for me with matching curtains in lavender.
Influenced by the flower power of the ’60s, I began sewing bellbottoms and tops with floral designs. For my wedding, I made a daisy wreath for my hair. You might say I was a flower child.
It’s grown into an obsession with so many floral prints in my wardrobe: daisies, roses and sunflowers to name a few–petite fleurs to big bold flowers–they are becoming my trademark lately.
If you saw my previous post you’ll notice that this is part 2. I bought two tops at Simons, made with the same eco-friendly fabric: LENZING™ ECOVERO™ | SUSTAINABLE ECO-RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTION| A LOWER FOOTPRINT – forest conscious, reduction of emissions, water conscious.
On our weekend excursion to Kincardine, I was delighted to see the magnolias were still in bloom! I look forward to these blossoms every year!
A walk along the beach of Lake Huron and it’s the end of a perfect day!
Flowers always make me smile because I see the beauty of God’s creation!
Flowers are never out of season and never out of style.
I bought two floral tops at Simons recently. This one with a black background. It’s super soft and I love that it’s made with an eco-friendly, sustainable fabric.
“LENZING™ ECOVERO™ | A LOWER FOOTPRINT – forest conscious, reduction of emissions, water conscious
Viscose fibres are produced using certified wood pulp from sustainable sources. Choosing these fibres helps protect the world’s ancient and endangered forests.
These fibres generate up to 45% fewer carbon emissions compared to conventional viscose. Moreover, their manufacturing reduces the impact on water by 33%”
The magnolias are in full bloom early this year, but a cold spell is making them fade quickly. The flowers on my top will never fade.
Salesladies make the best models, as I mentioned in my previous post. This is another pullover that one of the salesladies was wearing when I was shopping at Northern Reflections (Canadian Women’s Apparel Store) proving once again that real woman make better models than mannequins or clothes on a hanger.
This pullover has a peplum back and fun patchwork with plaid print and jacquard floral design in red and blue, perfect to pair with blue jeans. It’s a lighweight jerseyknit and a great transitional top for spring.
A carpet of dainty blue flowers makes such a pretty backdrop in the spring and this year they are out early.
Do you know the name of these little flowers?
My blue beret is made in England, a recent addition to my Basque-style beret collection. I have 13 berets, all–except one–are thrifted. That’s not counting my knitted berets and a velvet beret and two faux fur trimmed berets.
I’ve always liked the look and thought berets are great for anyone, sort of neutral like jeans. Berets can be worn with casual clothes and they also look elegant with dressy outfits.
A Day Trip To Kincardine
Just the right outfit for a stroll along the beach of Lake Huron on a pleasant Saturday afternoon in Springtime.
