All Things Bright and Beautiful

I always want bright colours in spring time, they are happy and full of life and fun to wear out to pick crocuses and tulips and daffodils. To my delight, the Spring 2011 collection from Jil Sander just plain delivered exactly the bright, fabulous colours I was dreaming of.  Beauty.

Les Ballets Russes

First, press play so you can listen to this music while looking at the beautiful garments to follow:

You may have already seen a taste of this collection if you follow my tumblr, but I had to post because after New York, London and Milan, Erdem easily remains one of my favourites out of all of the spring collections that I have seen so far.

The feeling I got looking at these clothes from Erdem Moralioglu was exactly the feeling I was missing from a lot of the New York shows.  I was just looking for things that said, quintessentially, "Spring".  A shout-out to Erdem for finally supplying me with exactly what I was hoping for in spring fashion loveliness.

You could see the inspiration of the Ballet Russes costumes in the shapes and sometime prints in this collection. But what I loved most? The details. Lace over lace, beautiful contrasting embroidery, perfect prints.

I will note that while the garments themselves were absolutely lovely, I was very much drawn to these beautiful, feminine shoes (Thanks Nicholas Kirkwood!). I wanted to post more of them but some of the other detail shots included awkwardly-sticking-out-model-toes.  I've always been a sucker for shoes that lace up the leg. There is just something so feminine and inherently pretty about that. Maybe it's not for everyone, but definitely for me.

Music Monday - Wakey! Wakey!

For this installment of Music Monday I thought I would share the music that has been my soundtrack for the last week and a half or so. I have been a fan of Wakey!Wakey! for a while, but this past week I havebeen listening to their album on repeat and just loving it, so I felt the need to share.


I think one of the things I love most other than the great lyrics and melodies is the beautiful piano that features in all of the songs. Having played piano since i was about 3? 4? I can't remember my life without it, In any case, and I love it. So I think that is the main reason for me definitive soft spot for artists that feature piano - and Wakey!Wakey! is a fantastic example. Just watch Mike play in the Brooklyn video above - you'll soon appreciate his amazing talent. At least I hope you will.

P.S. If you recognize the front man Mike Grubbs? It might just be from last season of One Tree Hill where he featured as a quirky bartender. And no, I didn't just tell you that I totally still watch that show.. haha oh dear. At least it led me to a great musical talent that I am appreciating more and more with every listen. Hope you enjoy!

What are you listening to lately?

I dare you to ask me a reference question.

Okay, I swear I'm not posting about this just because it's found in a library. But after stumbling upon it at Recyclart, I couldn't NOT post it because it's seriously one of the coolest things I've seen in ages and it's a home-design DIY I am now dreaming of doing (in a smaller scale version) in my own future house.

It's an entire desk made out of old books, and although I admit I'm curious how they decided which books were acceptable to include in a non-readable desk, I have to say that I love how it looks like a perfectly completed puzzle in spite of variations in colour and size. I think I would be more than happy to forever be a Reference Librarian if I got to sit behind a desk this fabulous.

Music Monday: Oh My My

For this edition of Music Monday, I thought would share the music of another Canadian girl, the lovely Jill Barber. Originally hailing from Halifax, she's a maritime lady at heart, like yours truly. Some of you Canadian readers may have heard her singing a few tunes during Stuart MacLean's Vinyl Cafe (one of my favourite CBC radio shows), since she toured with his show not so long ago.

I had the privelege of hearing her perform live in what was, for me, the perfect setting - an outdoor summer concert at the Home County Folk Festival in London (ON), last summer. We all sat on lawn chairs in the summer sunshine and listened to some fabulous music - she performed with The Good Lovelies, who I featured in a previous Music Monday post that you can check out here.

I think what I like about Jill Barber, apart from the fact that I love the jazzy style of music she sings, is her unique voice. It's a little gravelly, and different from any other. It doesn't appeal to everyone, but I am definitely a fan. I also think she has a really adorable vintage 50's kind of look - she often performs in the cutest dresses, and you can see that same vintage sensibility coming through in her videos as well.

I hope you enjoy! I for one am looking to her upcoming concert here in Winnipeg on the 26th of November.

You Need a Library Card to Check Me Out

Okay, so first I admit, the blog post title is not my own original witticism (much as I wish it was), but rather a quote from a fabulous friend of mine who is just beginning her masters in library science not long after I have finished mine.  It is perfect, I think, especially in relation to these two fantastic dresses by Jeremy Scott - aptly named the Dewy and the Bookshelf dresses, respectively (Poor old Melvil got his last name spelled wrong in the naming of the first dress, but I'll let that slide this time).

I found them whilst perusing Wood Wood and in my current (well, longstanding, actually) love of all things book related, I was, of course immediately drawn to these two little numbers, particularly the first, short-sleeved and less bodycon version.

 At first I thought -- tacky.. but also? hilariously awesome. The longer I looked at them, the more I felt that at least one of these little numbers needs to make its way into my closet. Even if it only meant that I could wear it to work, and just have a laugh with my fellow library staff about how I could camouflage myself in among the stacks.  Trust me, the moment that one of these dresses lands in my hands, there will be an immediate and oh-so-rare but very necessary outfit post of just this situation - the bookshelf camouflage situation that is. How perfectly cheesy but fantastic at the same time, right? At least in my dorky little librarian universe it is. Also nerd-fabulous is the idea of being simultaneously the librarian and the library.. oh my.

I have dreams of the first of these two dresses, worn with opaque black (or perhaps complementary coloured) tights and knee high boots, and the perfect leather jacket from Mackage that I lusted over at Aritzia the other day.