#MyStyleWEM Contest Announcement!

Are you a teenager who enjoys getting dressed, has great style and loves the camera? Well you could be part of a West Edmonton Mall campaign seen throughout the city! If you're a student, WEM wants you to show them your style by sharing a pic, collage, video or Flipgram on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #MyStyleWEM, or click here to upload your photo on Facebook. In addition to modeling in a photo shoot, winners will also receive an outfit and accessories from their favorite retailers! Teens can enter into the contest until June 24th, 2015. Click here for contest rules and regulations.

Last year's contest was a great success and I'm happy to announce that this year I will be the Official Style Consultant for the 2015 campaign and can't wait to work with the lucky winners! Good luck everyone!

xo

$100 LOFT Gift Card Giveaway!

Floral Softened Blouse - LOFT (it's seriously so soft!)

To celebrate the recent opening of LOFT by Ann Taylor in West Edmonton Mall (which I am SO stoked about!) I've teamed up with the popular, affordable and chic women's retailer to offer one lucky Canadian reader a $100 gift card! It's super-easy to enter, just follow the instructions below. I will randomly choose a winner this Friday. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter to Win a $200 Gift Card to Le Chateau

To celebrate the upcoming launch of Le Chateau's newest collections this Saturday July 19th across Canada at participating stores, I am giving away a $200 gift card to one lucky reader! You can enter below. The winner will be announced at the beginning of next week! GOOD LUCK! Also, I will be at the West Edmonton Mall location from 1 to 4 p.m. that day so come say hi and get personally styled by moi! ; )

*Contest is open to Canadian residents only. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Life, Lately

I'm sorry my blog posts have been sporadic, it's been a busy past few weeks for me but I am back on track now ; ). I didn't have time to take any outfit photos this week so I thought I'd fill you all in on what I've been up to lately instead! Clockwise starting from top left: After about 6 years, I finally got new glasses, Sandy and I and Janis and Vickie at the Every Woman Festival a few weeks ago, watching the F/W 2014 LUXX Ready to Wear show at Western Canada Fashion Week (so good!) and with my date Anton (and his cute chelsea boots, on the right) in the audience.

A few weeks ago I appeared on Global Edmonton's Morning Show with Lorraine Mansbridge talking about kids' and teens' spring fashions at West Edmonton Mall, which was a lot of fun. I styled the outfits using clothing from The Children's Place, Simons and Below the Belt. And funny story: when I was around 8 years old I modeled on Lorraine's show she had at the time called 'Good, Good Morning' and we were reunited again many, many years later for this fashion segment. ; )

And this past Tuesday I got to work on the television series 'Blackstone', playing a nurse (again lol.) I had auditioned many times for this show (it's in its 4th season) and was happy to finally book a principal role! I had a couple of fun scenes with one of the main characters who was a hoot to work with. The episode will air this fall : ).

I hope you're all having a great week! Happy almost-Friday!

Stuart Weitzman Opens at West Edmonton Mall

Good news! Edmontonians don't have to travel to other Canadian cities anymore (or to the states for that matter) to get their Stuart Weitzman fix because the high-end footwear designer opened his 10th retail boutique in Canada at West Edmonton Mall yesterday. Stuart Weitzman is renowned for his sexy stiletto's, especially amongst celebrities, and this store will not only feature his gorgeous high heels but also boots like the iconic 50/50, career wear and handbags. I got a sneak peek of the new space a couple of days ago and I already picked out a pair of these beautiful Highland boots I will be saving my money for. Kate Moss wears them in the video below!

Stuart Weitzman is located on the upper level in West Edmonton Mall right next to Tiffany's. Click here for a map.

And Happy Halloween!

French Connection

blouse + faux leather skirt - c/o French Connection, purse - H & M, 

booties - Madden Girl by Steve Madden, tights - HUE from The Bay, jewelry - can't remember

When I have to scrape frost off my car windows in the morning before driving it (which I've had to do the past couple of days) that means two things: #1 It's reeeeally cold and #2 It's tights season. Tights season lasts about 6-7 months out of the year where I live so it's nice to have a few skirts and dresses on rotation to pair them with. I have a feeling I'll be getting a ton of wear out of this fun, faux leather skirt this winter as well as the gorgeous long-sleeved printed blouse, both from French Connection. Fun fact: Sometimes it gets so cold up here that I will also wear tights under my pants. I'm sure some of you Canadians can relate.

And hey, the French Connection store in West Edmonton Mall is relocating and to celebrate the new space, they are throwing a party! There will be door prizes and discounts all day long and beats by Girls Club. As well, I will be hosting two fashion shows on trends! I hope you can make it! See below or click here for more details.

Express Yo-Self

dress - c/o Express, blazer + heels - Zara, clutch - H & M, 
bow ring - R.W. & Co., necklace - I'm not sure, I forgot!

I'm so happy there's an Express store in West Edmonton Mall now. It seems like WEM is the first place American stores want to land when they venture North. It is the biggest mall in North America so it makes sense, right? And lucky for me, I have access to that mall any time. Or should I say unlucky for me, since I spend money whenever I go there?  ; )

Mom, if you're reading this, thank you for taking these pictures! I know it was hard to focus, literally ; ). And thank you to Express for sending me this beautiful dress, I love it!

Hope you're all having a good week so far!

JACOB Shopping Event!

I'm very excited to announce I'll be hosting JACOB's Spring Shopping Event at West Edmonton Mall this Friday June 7th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.! Fashionista's who attend will be able to get their hands on the hottest spring and summer fashions and enjoy 30% off all regular-priced merchandise! Also, I will be on hand (along with cupcakes) all evening to offer free styling tips and advice. I hope you can make it! I would love to meet you : ).

Life Lately

I apologize I've been M.I.A. lately and haven't written a blog post in awhile! It's been a busy last couple of weeks for me but now I'm back to my normal routine. I was very happy I was able to take a mini vacation to Phoenix last week and relax in the hot sun with my family. I didn't get a tan though because I use SPF 110. (I'm so anal about taking good care of my skin.) We celebrated both of my nephew's birthdays while we were there. That cake on the bottom right was from Walmart and it was better than anything I have ever tasted, even better than my favorite Dairy Queen Skor Blizzard. And it only cost 10 bucks!! (Food is so cheap in the states!) Not sure if I can get this same cake in Canada but I'm on a serious hunt. I also did some a lot of shopping at Nordstrom Rack in Scottsdale. I could spend hours in that store. I'll be wearing my purchases on my blog in the near future ; ).

A day before I left for Arizona, we filmed segments for the West Edmonton Mall Mother's Day Makeover Contest with the 3 winners for Breakfast Television. It was my second time as a Fashion Stylist for the contest and it was another great experience. I had the pleasure of taking each of these ladies on a shopping spree at Simon's and The Bay and styling them for T.V. : ) They also got a new hairstyle and their make up done. Unfortunately I don't have copies of their "before" pictures to show you : (.

And that's pretty much what I've been up to lately! This week I'm also gearing up for our Blogger Clothing Sale. If you live in Edmonton, you should definitely attend! There are gonna be some niiiiice clothes and accessories for sale, I can tell you that ; ).

Win a $4000 Makeover With Me and West Edmonton Mall!

I've posted about this on Twitter and Facebook so I thought I'd better blog about it, too. I am so excited to be the Official Stylist for West Edmonton Mall's Mother's Day Spring Makeover Contest! Three lucky winners will win a complete makeover worth $4000.00. That includes a style consultation with me, a new wardrobe from Simons and/or Hudson's Bay (I'll go shopping with you), a new hairstyle from RAIN Salon and Spa and a makeup consultation and application from either Murale or The Bay. How awesome is that?! I know there are so many deserving, hard-working mamas out there who always put their children first, well now it's time to think about YOU. If you live in Edmonton or the surrounding area you can click here to enter. And oh yeah, the winners' transformation will be documented on Breakfast Television : ). You can also check out last year's coverage here. We had so much fun and I can't wait to do it again! Good luck ladies!

Simons: Like Nothing I've Ever Seen

The new, beautifully-constructed, Simons store opened its doors to its first location outside of Quebec in West Edmonton Mall yesterday and I was lucky enough to get a tour of the 100,000 square foot space the night before with CEO Peter Simons. Let's just say I was amazed, overwhelmed and in awe of what the 170 year old retailer had to offer. I was like a kid in a candy store and didn't know which direction to turn to first! Sifting through the gorgeous store I spotted affordable brands like Wildfox, Volcom, Darling, and more expensive lines like Chloe, Balmain and 3.1 Phillip Lim. I was especially happy to discover Simons brought in clothing by Canadian designers like Eve Gravel. And not only do they carry clothing and accessories for men and women, they sell home fashions as well! It's a one-stop shop! Edmonton has never seen anything like this before, with so much selection, which is why I'm overly excited and can't wait to go back to do some serious shopping at the family-owned business ; ).

photos all from instagram @mariealamode @dressmedearly @advinfashion

(That's Janis in the hat and Andrew and I in the right corner.) Thanks to my friends and fellow bloggers Janis and Vickie for lending some of their instagram pics to me for this post since I was so giddy walking around in the store I only remembered to take a few photos in between drooling over the clothes ; ).

Janis and I actually did an interview with CBC Radio Montreal about the Simons opening this morning which will air this Saturday at 5 p.m. EST and online afterward at this link right here.

I hope you all had a fun Halloween!

Is there a DOCtor in the House?

maxi dress - H & M, booties - c/o Dr. Martens West Edmonton Mall, hat - Roots, purse - Christopher Kon(Winners), 

gold cuff - Banana Republic, gold + black bracelet - H & M, ring - The Bay

A couple of weeks ago I attended the grand opening of the new Dr. Martens store in West Edmonton Mall on Europa Boulevard - the first stand-alone store in Western Canada - and was gifted with these beautiful, chic, black Kimora laced-up booties, which are surprisingly comfortable! No really, they are. I adore these shoes and I know I'll be getting lots of use out of them all year round. So thank you to the very friendly and extremely helpful staff at Doc Martens! And thanks for the tour of the store and for putting on a great party ; ).

Here are a few pics I snapped that night:

Fall 2012 preview: gold, metallic and silver ankle boots

Fun, eclectic prints from the Liberty of London Collection

Women's beautifully-crafted heels

Retro shoes. (Loved these.)

Flirty florals

Brelyn Shannon (Operations Manager), Louise Dirks (Owner), and Douglas Segal (head of Dr. Marten USA)

I hope you all had a great weekend. And now it's back to the grind!

WEM Makeovers on Breakfast Television

Last Friday morning I woke up at the crack of dawn to head downtown to the Breakfast Television studios to get my two West Edmonton Mall Spring Makeover winners ready to show off their transformations on live television! Here I am with cutie pie Landon, a youth worker who needed styling advice and clothes for his job. I picked out his "reveal" outfit for him from A/X Armani Exchange and the shoes are from Rockport! Doesn't he look sharp?

And here I am with the lovely Brenda, my other makeover winner. She was looking for a dress to wear for her son's upcoming wedding in September. We found one that fit her perfectly at Laura. It was the second dress she tried on and we both knew it was  'The One'  when she walked out of the dressing room looking gorgeous in it! All of her accessories are from Laura as well. Her shoes (below) are from Town Shoes.

The winners get ready to make their T.V. debut on Breakfast Television!

Here's what Brenda and Landon looked like before! I convinced Brenda she needed to dye her blonde/orange-y hair brown. She had been blonde for decades so she was a bit hesitant but Tanis, the hairstylist at Rain Salon & Spa and I persuaded her to make the drastic change and she was sure happy she did! Brenda loved the end result. Doesn't she look fabulous?! As part of the makeover she also received a makeup and skincare lesson at Murale, which was much needed - she used to take off her makeup with a wash cloth and water only and never wore moisturizer or eye cream!

Landon's hair needed to be cut and he was pleased with the pompadour I suggested. I also taught him how to accessorize, which he didn't really know how to do before. I wanted to give him a more polished and stylish look.

In addition to the outfits they wore on the show, new hair and makeup (for Brenda!) my makeover winners each went on a separate shopping spree with me which included clothing, shoes and accessories from Reitman's and Laura (for her), A/X Armani Exchange, HS Henry Singer, Mexx (for him) and Rockport, makeup and skincare from Murale and hair products Rain Salon & Spa. We had a blast shopping together and burned a ton of calories in the process ; ).

The two other stylists involved in the makeovers, my friends Janis (left) and Zoe (right) did an awesome job with their winners Dionne and Jennifer!

To see all of the winners' makeover reveals click here to watch the video!

This whole process was such a great experience, I loved seeing how happy Brenda and Landon were with their transformations and I loved getting to know both of them. Huge thanks to the West Edmonton Mall marketing team for including me!

If you need styling tips or help with your wardrobe, please visit my styling website to see the services I offer!

I hope you're all having a great week : ).

*photos 1, 3 and 5 courtesy of Janis