Holt Renfrew

Holt Renfrew is a high-end Canadian department store. This is my favorite department store, and has been around a lot longer than most would assume. The store was first opened in 1837 as a hat shop in Quebec City. In 1889 a Toronto store was opened. Since then stores have also opened in Ottawa, Winnipeg, London, Edmonton, Calgary, Hamilton, and Vancouver. In 1987 the store came out with its own fashion magazine. In 2006 Holts magazine split into two different issues, one for men and one for women. And in 2004 Holt Renfrew was named the 'Store of the Year' by the National Association of Store Fixtures Manufactures. Holts has been compared to many high-end department stores including Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys, and Bloomingdale`s. Holts sells designer brand clothing, jewelry, accessories, footwear, fragrances, and beauty products. A few designers carried by Holts include Mark Jacobs, Coach, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Christian Doir. Holts has gained many celebrity costumers over the years, and have added special services to suit their needs. Personal shoppers and exclusive fitting rooms/suits for their celebrity clients are available. Also, Holts recently added its own restaurant Holts Cafe to three of its locations. Overall, Holts has grown into Canada's most fashionable store, and is continuing to prove itself as a  major fashion icon.

To Learn More Visit Holts Website

Advice for New Moms: Pink Wallpaper

Today I'm thrilled to welcome back Shannon Darby, designer, mom and blogger behind Pink Wallpaper and The Designer's Attic. I've been a huge fan of Shannon's killer sense of style for a few years now, so it's little wonder that I'm completely in love with all the products she recommends here. It's great to know that there are plenty of functional -- yet still stylish -- baby products available on the market today.

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{Taylor's nursery, designed by Shannon}

Thanks so much for inviting my to participate in your "new mom series" Averill!  I am so excited for y'all and your soon-to-be new addition!  I am Shannon from Pink Wallpaper and I just had my second baby, a little boy, 4 months ago.  As much as I would like to say I am a master at parenting, I can assure you I am far from it!!  So I thought I would share some of my favorite baby items that I have in my home.  As far as the advice part- well, get your rest while you can because it's a crazy world out there once that bundle of joy arrives. :)

My Fav's:

Fitted crib sheets from Dwell Studio- LOVE them....they are cute, affordable, and make great backgrounds for picture taking :)  I have a couple of these because you need more then one for when those diapers leak!

Bla Bla's are the cutest stuffed animals, hands down...I also love the rattles and mobiles. Stacking blocks from Dwell Studio- great because they are soft and not to mention adorable for your baby to play with!

Dwell Studio's changing pad covers- best looking ones around and very well priced (I promise i don't work for dwell, i am just a huge fan of their stuff!).

aden + anais muslin swaddle blankets are wonderful!  Love how light weight they are -- perfect for swaddling at night or for a blanket when they are in the swing or on a stroll.....

I have both of these high chairs: the nano is great for 4-18 months.  When they first are learning to eat, a tray is a must b/c it gets super messy and it's nice to have the leather seat that can be wiped off easily. another added bonus for this high chair is that it folds up and can be stashed away. then we graduated to the tripp trapp chair- LOVE this chair.  It looks stylish, can grow with the child, and comes in a rainbow of colors.

This bath tub ROCKS!  Super cheap and the best baby tub I have ever used.  My son can't roll out of it when I am bathing him and it keeps my hands free.  My baby has super sensitive skin so we only use dove's unscented soap to bath him...our pediatrician's recommendation.  And after bath time, a hooded towel is a perfect way to keep him warm (and cute)!

Like I said, I am no expert....my baby isn't sleeping through the night and the lack of sleep sometimes makes me crazy....but I forget about it all in the mornings because he is as sweet as they come and loves his mommy!! Best of luck Averill....I can't wait to see that adorable baby boy!!

Interview with Wasimah : Where Style Meets Modesty

I had the pleasure speaking with Umm Ibrahim, business woman  from Queensland, Australia, about here wonderful line of modest clothing. Her original designs are so feminine and fresh. Personally I love her long skirts, a must have for any MODEST DIVA!! Please be sure to check out her wonderful collection at http://www.wasimah.com.au/

1. What is your name and the name of your company?

Umm Ibrahim and my company is Wasimah - Where Style Meets Modesty

2. Why did you choose the name for your company?

We actually chose the slogan before we chose the name, we loved the idea of the slogan & we felt the name Wasimah which means elegant, fit well with the slogan...a little backward I know ;-)




3.What inspired you to start Wasimah?

Our primary inspiration was the lack of availability in the west for stylish yet modest good quality clothing for Muslims at an affordable price. We wanted to give Muslims the opportunity to cover within the guidelines of Islam, to step away from the more traditional Abaya into more contemporary styles & in fabrics that are more suitable to our climate. We believe our range of designs is a combination of East meets West, yet still retaining the Islamic guidelines of hijab.

4. There have been a few changes with the company. Tell of us about the exciting new changes.

There is so much going on at the moment, Wasimah started out with myself & another sister who is a good friend of mine & still helps me out in many ways masha Allah. Up until recent days she has chosen to move onto bigger & brighter pastures al humdullilah (praise be to God). Wasimah is now a family owned business, my husband has taken on full partnership with a vengeance haha masha Allah. We are giving Wasimah a complete makeover. A few weeks ago we opened a shop in Brisbane, this is very exciting masha Allah. We are currently working on giving our website a facelift & updating it with so much new stock, there's so many great changes taking place at the moment masha Allah it's all happening. It's a very exciting time for us al humdullilah.



5. You are a niqabi, tell us about your journey to becoming a niqabi, and how have you included fashion for niqabis in your clothing line.
I put on niqab at a time in my life where I felt I wanted to do more to come closer to Allah, I'd begun focusing more in seeking the pleasure of Allah aza wa jel & niqab was one more way I could achieve that al humdullilah. I am in the process of creating a new range that I hope to encourage all Muslims niqabi or otherwise & non-Muslims to dress more conservatively but still look elegant & stylish & amend the look of the garment depending upon how they choose to accessorize it.




6.Are the pieces in your clothing line original designs?

Yes they are, we pride ourselves on the quality of our garments & the styles masha Allah.



7. What can we expect from Wasimah in the future?

 (Goals, events, etc.) Ooohh lots of good stuff to come...a new range of Wasimah dresses insha Allah. A collection for the more conservative Muslimah. A complete face lift for our website. We are hoping to wholesale our upcoming range. A fashion parade in the near future & whatever else comes about in the process ;-)

8. Are your clothes for Muslim women only?

No. We have recently introduced cutting edge designs for men & boys thaubs, to my knowledge, there is no other option available in the market to date that meet the style & quality of this range masha Allah. We have taken on board a number of new designers & we hope to meet the needs of the entire community by supplying an East meets West collection of top quality, stylish & cutting edge range for Men, Women, boys & girls designs insha Allah.

9. Do you think that fashion and faith are contradicitons?

My personal belief and that of my religion is that they shouldn't be. How we choose to dress, to behave, whether it be indoors amongst sis's or with our husbands or whether it be out & about, we must dress & behave according to what pleases Allah. Our Prophet peace be upon him said: "Allah is Beautiful & He loves beauty. This beauty pertains directly to what falls within the guidelines of Islam. You can look beautiful outdoors & indoors but this must be done so with the aim of pleasing our Creator.

10. Why do you find modesty so beautiful, and what would you say to encourage young women to dress modestly?

I would say to young women, modesty is beautiful as it enables others to view us for who we truly are & not for the objects & fashion victims society & the media dictates us as women to be. Cover yourself & protect your beauty from prying eyes & the temptations of other's & keep it for those who are special to you, your family & your husband. Above all else, this is what pleases Allah, nothing is more beneficial to you than pleasing Him

     

Decorating with Quentin Blake

As a child, my primary passion was drawing; in fact, I spent the first ten to twelve years of my life convinced I was going to be a children's book illustrator or Disney animator. Little wonder then that two of my leading role models were Walt Disney and Quentin Blake, an English illustrator and author who is probably most famous for illustrating the works of Roald Dahl. Dahl's fantastical, decidedly English and just a little bit dark tales were perfectly suited to Blake's quirky cartoon drawings. And oh how I loved both the stories and the drawings as a child.

As a soon-to-be mom, I appreciate Blake's illustrations (and Dahl's stories, actually) as both child-appropriate and adult-friendly. There's nothing saccharin sweet about these drawings, nothing overtly childish and their appeal (at least in my opinion) is cross-generational. In fact, I've been knocking around the idea of doing large-scale color copies of several of my favorite Dahl book covers and using them as inexpensive art in my son's nursery.

Blake's new collection of fabrics and wallpapers for Osborne & Little, dubbed Zagazoo, are unmistakably Blake and exhibit his trademark whimsy and wit as his illustrations have for decades. And now that I've seen these, I just know I'll have to incorporate at least one of these charming patterns into my nursery design. While I'm still debating which, I'm thinking of having the crib bedding made out of Alphabet Tales, which includes miniature illustrations for each letter of the alphabet. But there are plenty of other fantastic prints to choose from:

I love the typography of Quentin's ABCs wallpaper, which comes in a wide range of colorways that work with just about every fabric in the collection. My favorites though include a couple of very cool black backgrounds, which impart a fun chalkboard look without the mess of the real thing.

Darling for a girl's room and would pair beautifully with the Alphabet Tales print.

I like the larger scale of this print, and the wonderful color stories. This would be a great print to design a room around, pulling out specific colors in different accessories and other fabrics.

Animals are a classic motif in children's rooms, but what I love about this print is that it lacks the cutesy-pooness usually accompanying them. Another great thing about this print is how gender neutral it is.

 

Perfect for your little skateboarding dude or dudette!

Jewellery in beautiful designs

Sterling silver bracelets are the best choice for the people who are fashionable and stylish. These designs of these bracelet changes every year. There are bracelets with simple and heavy designs, which are chosen according to the taste of the people. We can see that even men wearing these bracelets. Sterling silver bracelets are designed using sterling sliver in combination with other metals like yellow gold. They are also designed with the gem stones according to the horoscope. This kind of bracelet is designed in different weights and in various models. Sterling silver bracelets can also be worn for different parties. These bracelets are designed with hangings of different shapes and sizes. The hangings increase the beauty of the bracelet and make them look more attractive and fashionable.

Twilight jewellery is the latest designs in jewelleries that are widely in demand across the globe after the release of the movie twilight. We can say that, it is a collection of different types of jewelleries used by different characters in the movie. Twilight jewellery includes rings, bracelets, necklaces, wrist bands, etc. One type of jewellery is the Bella’s engagement ring which is used in the eclipse series of the twilight. This is the ring given to Bella by Edward as a proposal ring. Other famous jewellery is the Rosalie necklace with Cullen family crest on the locket. Twilight jewellery is very expensive but still people are crazy to buy. There are many websites available online that provides information about twilight jewellery. These websites offer discounts on these jewelleries so that any common man can purchase them.

Stud earrings are worn by many people irrespective of their age group and gender. These earrings are simple in look but are very attractive. They are available in various sizes and designs. Generally, among the types of earrings, studs are very comfortable to wear. Stud earrings are available in simple designs and are mounted with different types of stones. Some of stud earrings are designed using pearls of different colours. These pearl earrings are in great demand and are widely used. Diamonds are also used in designing the Stud earring.

Jewellery that changes life

Silver engagement rings are the choices by many brides to wear at their engagement or wedding. It is very difficult to choose these engagement rings as there are many different beautiful designs and models. The bride chooses her engagement ring that goes with the wardrobe. There are also other metals used as an engagement rings but sliver engagement ring is widely used. There are many reasons why people go for the sliver metal. It is because the jewellery made using this metal is less expensive when compared to other metals. These rings have the same loom as platinum, which is very expensive metal. Sliver engagement rings are as precious as they bind two people’s heart and soul. The widely used rings are with diamonds.

Sterling silver rings are other types of rings made up of using sterling sliver. These are in great use as they can be worn in many different occasions. These rings can be gifted to dear ones on different occasions. This is the best gift to be presented to the mother on the mother’s day and can also express the feelings for her. It is one of the great gifts for Valentines Day to show the love. Sterling sliver rings are available in combination with other metals and stones, which increases the beauty and look of the rings. The price of these rings is high when designed in combination with other metals. Sterling silver rings are available at different jewellery stores at different prices.

Eternity rings are the best jewelleries when planning to buy a ring. It is the first choice by many people when they step in the silver jewelry stores. These rings are also chosen by many people as their engagement and wedding rings. Eternity rings can be either worn as a daily basis or occasionally depending on the choice of the person. We can see that these rings are widely being used in many different movies and television shows. These rings are also available in plain round rings and also in various designs. Eternity rings are available for both men and women. These are also available in a pair for the couples.

Yoon Eun Hye in Louis Vuitton Fall 2010

A lot of famous faces showed up to the 5th “Love Your W” Breast Cancer Fund-raising Party on October 28th, held at the Hangang Park.

So many famous Korean Celebrities attedted the event, with a fabalous fashion and outfit. Stars who attended included Yoon Eun Hye, Uhm Jung Hwa, Park Jin Hee, Han Ji Min, Lady Jane, Lee Yo Won, Han Hye Jin, Lee Yeon Hee, Yoon In Na, Lee Yoon Ji and many more.

The most got spotlight actress may be the sexy Yoon Eun Hye (윤은혜). She showed her cleavage in her tight dress while wearing Louis Vuitton Fall 2010 Apparels and Shoes. As for her choice of footwear, Yoon Eun Hye had also chose a pair of pumps from Louis Vuitton Fall 2010 collection.






Actress Choi Yeo Jin (최여진) opted for an outfit from Prada Fall 2010 collection. She goes over the top pairing the outfit with leather gloves and knitted socks. Completing her look with a clutch and pumps from the same collection.






More photos Korean Celebrities fashion in “Love Your W” event :






















Watch Yoon Eun Hye at Philip Lim Seoul Fashion Week summer/spring 2010 Video here