Hello Louis!

This is what I wore today. Then I logged onto Face Hunter and realized that I was unconsciously channeling this girl. Note the epic socks/oxfords combination. She looks weirdly familiar. Maybe I went to public school with her doppelganger?

This Face Hunter girl in purple and loou from wardrobe_remix remind me of dolls. Hello dolly!


Speaking of Hello Dolly, I have a really good story about Louis Armstrong. My one grandma was at a Louis Armstrong concert (probably in the 40s? Must remember to ask when and where) and yelled out from the crowd "Satchmo! Why do they call you Satchmo?" He must have heard, because he replied in that smooth froggy voice "Just a nickname baby, just a nickname". And that is my epic grandma Louis Armstrong story.

P.S.: I may love Lulu and Rumi, but I freaking hate drop crotch pants and crop tops.

Attractive Celebrities

Can we just ignore the controversy over Frances Bean Cobain's "suicide" themed 16th birthday party and focus on how freaking gorgeous she is? I love her semi-goth black hair/red lipstick. Sure it was a little tasteless, but....


You have no idea how glad I am that Olsens Anonymous exists. A huge compilation filled with stylish Olsen twin pictures I have never seen before? Yes please. I'm definitely going to wade around there looking for closet inspiration.


I am already enamoured with MK's ruffly brown coat.

Great Adventure

It seems like every time I wear these pants, the weather outside is melancholy. Red plaid certainly brightens up the day! I seem to be obsessed with is lately (see below post). The soundtrack to today will be the song that plays in the background of Urban Audrey, I think its by the Arcade Fire.

Its strange, I don't have much to say but I feel the need to blog again today to compensate for this morning's horribly banal post. Right now I am working on a history paper worth 20% of my mark in that class. Hell, I am certainly feeling the pressure. Soon enough midterms will creep up on me too. School is such a pain. Always has been and always will be, I suppose.

Alexander, Hold Your Brother

I wish this blog was a newspaper, and in that newspaper there was a feature called "Nerd News" where I would chronicle all the nerdy things I do. For example, "I had an hour long conversation about the economy", "I went to the library today" or "I was elected Vice President of the University's 'Quiz Bowl' trivia team". The guy who is president was actually on Jeopardy's Teen Tournament! I was so impressed.
P.S.: No makeup = cover face in most innovative way possible, hence the finger goggles.

Anyhow, I don't have much else to say so I'll leave you with some uncredited pictures that I find highly inspiring.

Hippie Ragamuffin

Today's outfit is pretty simple, but I feel the scarf gives it the extra kick it needs. Like hot sauce. Except tie-dye hot sauce. I stumbled upon a "buy one get one half off" deal on scarves yesterday and I knew that I just needed this one. Step number one in expanding my tie-dye collection. The first thing I will do when I go home is buy a kit, and tie-dye the hell out of all the free white shirts I've acquired.

If I end up having a knack for tie-dye, then I pledge to move on to bigger and better things, like bleach. Providing I have the confidence, I would love to follow through in making bleached jeans as awesome as Kirsty Lee's, using her excellent tutorial.

Watch out! I'll be a tie-dye menace before long.

"Intricate Baubles"

I kind of love today's outfit, who cares if its too fancy for just grocery shopping and studying? I wish the details came out more clearly in the picture though, perhaps click to enlarge? The vest is crochet, there are are little stars all over the dress and the necklace is made up of all sorts of intricate baubles. Before coming to University I was a little afraid that my personal style would fade into oblivion and I wouldn't even have time to blog, but clearly I have conquered that fear! The weird and wonderful wardrobe of Isabel prevails, and I really couldn't be more happy about it.

Ohio and Michigan

I wore this yesterday to go to the library and finish assignments that are due this week. Ever since I got here I have been questioning whether or not Environment and Resource Studies is the right major for me, but this research project I'm doing on the Alberta Tar Sands/a 1976 book called simply 'the Tar Sands' by Larry Pratt is reinspiring my passion for environmental issues. Plus, there is a field trip to tour 'green buildings' in Ohio and Michigan soon that I am hugely excited for!


My passion for thermal socks, spectator brogues and rolled-up pants is also continuing full speed. Also, thanks for all the wonderful comments on my video blog. It made me want to do one again soon, but I'll need something excellent to discuss. Any ideas?

The one and only Vlog!

I finally figured out how to post my vlog. Rejoice! The premise is basically that I was tagged by Rhiannon to reveal "Amazingly Useless Facts about Me!" and decided to respond in video blog form. I actually figured out how to work 'iMovie' on my laptop in order to do this. Quite exciting. Jeez, I hope people actually watch this...

(I watched this again and it was really weird watching myself talk on camera. Hopefully my bizarre personality isn't terribly offputting to anyone.)

You could have seen the real me!

Back to civilization, and its time to dissect some FACE HUNTER. Actually, I made a vlog for you guys but can't figure out how to post it so more on that later.

Jesus Crikey, this girl below is wearing just about everything I wish I was wearing right now. That is the grandpa cardigan vest of my dreams, and she is just rocking those leopard leggings with brown shoes. I might strangle her out of jealousy if I was bitter. But I'm not, so I'll just continue admiring her epic outfit.

Again with the leopard pants! I loves them! The glasses are leopard print too, which just about breaks my heart. I was going to get leopard print frames but they didn't look as good as the Burberry ones I'm currently sporting.

Ummm, could this girl and the last girl not be twins? Hair twins, at least. The hair is my favourite thing about this next picture too. The flag print scarf is cool too, but I'm not hardcore enough (or American enough, for that matter) to wear it.

It wouldn't be any fun without a smidgen of negativity, right? That's just who I am. Enough with the fucking pantsuits, Mr. Yvan! What do you suppose he finds so terribly attractive about jumpsuits? I swear you can't go on that website without ten pictures of people wearing awful jumpsuits attacking your eyes. Frig, I hate jumpsuits. Enough.


I really wish this post was my video blog. Godspeed!

Skull Ring, Moss Ring

Is there a way to look fashionable while going camping? Probably not, so no outfit posts for a while. My program is venturing out into the wilderness for the weekend.

So umm, not going to lie. I almost (emphasis on almost) bought a pair of those grey crochet Ugg boots. I was trying them on, and thinking "Lalala, these look like a cozy grey sweater. I love grey sweaters! Lalalala." Then when I looked into the mirror, and common sense came rushing back. "Holy shit, these are nowhere near as flattering as a grey sweater! I have cankles and they're hard to walk in!" Thank God I didn't buy them, or I would have to forfeit having a fashion blog altogether.


...and now for something completely different. Moss rings! Yes, its a ring that you can grow moss on. Kind of like a Chia Pet for your finger? I seriously want one.


Big thanks to my roommate (we're both enviro-geeks) for tipping me off about this one. In fact, go to the website In Habitat for more interesting eco-friendly creativeness. There's an entire 'fashion' section you can check out.

Flowery Goodness

It was just a little chilly today, so I decided to cozy it up in a sweater, thermal socks and moccasins. This is probably the best comfy clothing combination I could come up with that didn't involve sweatpants, which I would never wear outside. See, fashion and comfort can be compatible! I just bought the sweater yesterday - its quilted, has a small floral pattern all over it and is the warmest thing I've worn in ages.

P.S. -I remember bashing the hell out of printed hoodies (a.k.a. 'bunny hugs') a while ago, but can this just be the exception to the rule?

Faaaaancy Pants

This is what I was wearing this morning. Hooray, I'm finally getting the hang of mixing patterns! Then I actually went out and realized it was too hot to be wearing a long-sleeve shirt, and these shoes were too fancy to be walking around on the grass in. So I changed into this. I look pissed, and truthfully I kind of am because outfit number 1 was waaaaaay better.

Chaos and Random Order

If I ever met this man, it would be the most cathartic day of my life. (Face Hunter, you really do have the knack!) The fact that someone is still rocking that hair restores my faith in humanity. If we really want to deconstruct the hair, it looks like a seriously exaggerated version of Steve Urkel's hair. Let's now discuss Urkel's status as a renegade fashion icon? Please? Stripes, plaid, suspenders and high-waisted pants have each weaseled their way into my heart and seeing them worn altogether reduces me to a state of bliss.

Sailin' On

Please excuse the boring outfit, I just couldn't decide what to wear with my new moccasin boots and wanted to give them a 'blank slate', if you will. But in order to prevent this from looking like Kate Moss 4 years ago, I found these Native-esque necklaces that I have owned forever and just forgot about. There's a Turtle clan one and a tiny pair of moccasins!

Oh, and as much as I try to push them out of my brain these Marc Jacobs shoes are haunting my sleep. They're a little bit granny and a little bit grungy - I seriously need them. ASAP. If there are any rich creeps out there who want to make my dreams come true, then just holla.

Keith Morris is a nut.

Yay, special visitor this weekend! For the first time, I went to explore this new city for a bit and ended up with these wicked $4 moccasin boots.

Its kind of nuts, because yesterday I was thisclose from doing a post on how badly I wanted moccasin boots. Now Urban Outfitters can eat my freakin' dust! Life is good and I'm leaving to watch the documentary American Hardcore (which I have wanted to see for ages) in a couple minutes.

Schoolmarm

Sometimes life's a bitch, but other times fortune tends to smile on you and you (or me at least) turn into a mushy-gushy optimist for the time being until another crappy thing comes along. Its no secret that I love brogues. Its also no secret that I can't find a decent pair - until yesterday when I was browsing through the racks and unearthed a heavenly pair of Via Spiga oxford heels in Winners.


Yes, they were a tad pricey and a half size to big but I couldn't leave something so perfect behind. I don't think that 'heaven incarnate' is too strong a term to apply to these shoes.

Cabin Fever

Oh rejoice! Its finally getting chilly enough to wear what I want. And what I want to wear are thermal socks - unapologetically. Yes they are from the men's section at Zellers, but I find so much inherent beauty in these things its a little disturbing. For the coming months, I will most likely pair these fuzzy wonders with everything I own. Be prepared! I have had these socks sitting in a drawer for a while, but when I saw this picture on Blog de Betty, I absolutely knew it was time to dig them out.

Are those not the most perfect shoes ever! There was a girl in my night class who was wearing these amazing brown oxfords, so I struck up a conversation and found out they were Jeffrey Campbell from Urban Outfitters. Why must it be so easy for some people to find a solid pair of brogues, and such a trial for me?

This is what I wore yesterday, looking mad as a hatter. Its not a great picture, so I probably would not have posted it had the skirt not gotten so many comments! No less than 5 people approached me about my weird and wonderful newsprint pencil skirt and they were all shocked when I told them it was thrifted.

Oh, will you just look at me?

The best part of NY Fashion Week isn't the shows, its Iekeliene Stange! Who cares if she's wearing a Turbonegro shirt (ew), she looks like a mismatched hippie troll and I like it. I saw a pair of Etienne Aigner studded loafers at a thrift store that look just like hers - why did I not buy them???

So yeah, Fashion Week? You know how magazines mash together frightful adjectives in an attempt to describe something? This season is definitely "comfy-meets-business". Yes, I'm shameless. Alexander Wang did not disappoint. Total student wear.

Then there's Karen Walker. Also perfect student wear. Instead of buying overpriced sweatpants from the Campus Shop, why not save up a couple extra pennies for these loose plaid pants? The price difference probably isn't that much!

Speaking of being a poor and resourceful student, you do the best with what you have. So when a Toga Party calls, you use what you got. And sometimes all you've got is bubble wrap. Yes, K. is wearing a bubble wrap toga! Everyone was trying to dance up on her and pop the bubbles all night!