prints – modacarta

DAY 14 – 25 Days 25 Looks

May 29, 2017Posted in 25 Days 25 LooksTagged 25 Days 25 Looks, Brave, conquer cancer, Courage, fashion, Fight Cancer with Style, mixing prints, moda, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, prints, spring fashion, SS2017, stay positive, style, Summer Fashion, ThePMCF, We can I canLeave a comment

Mixing Prints

To achieve great style and a unique look you need to master mixing prints. I will admit that I am still a novice and my MO is to choose subtle and simple prints to mix.

Style Cues

These leopard print jeans appear grey from a distance so I consider them to be a neutral piece. Now I can add almost any print to them and it will go. This Zara top is a good choice because the print, although bold in size, is subtle in colour and goes with the grey. Another option for these jeans would be a striped top.

TIP – to mix prints effectively choose a tone-on-tone print that becomes the neutral piece. Then almost any print in a similar colour palette will go and give you great style.

Side FX

The radiation treatment I am undergoing has 2 main side effects. Loose bowels (diarrhea) and fatigue. To combat the loose bowels a change in diet was required. I followed the diet guide provided by Princess Margaret and it really helped me. I eliminated diary, added white carbs and ate only the recommended fruit and veggies from the list. The fatigue feels like my legs are made of lead and super heavy. I try to walk or do yoga a couple of times a week even if I don’t feel like it. I was walking at such a fast pace after I recovered from surgery and now I feel like a snail. I know this is temporary and I will be back in good form after my treatment is over.

Today’s selfie I took in the atrium of Princess Margaret. This space is so full of light and is a great spot to check my social media if I’m early for my appointment.

Design Inspo

June 20, 2016Posted in shoppingTagged design, fashion, inspiration, inspo, moda, paper art, prints, shopping, SS2016, styleLeave a comment

Inspiration can come from anywhere for a designer and an artist. Yesterday I was adding to my paper supply at the Paper Place in Toronto when a sheet caught my eye in the clearance bin. I knew I had to have it.

Inspiration

When I got home and unrolled it I immediately had designs in my head and a blog post for today. The vertical panels in this paper screamed tunic and shift dress in my head, so I got to work.

Designs

Here are final designs. A shift dress with a feature panel in the front and a tunic & pants outfit. I have no SS2016 runway reference for these designs. It was my own inspiration for these looks. Although the tunic and pants are my favourite look.

M for Missoni

May 11, 2016Posted in Brands, Industry ProfilesTagged designers, fashion, knitswear, moda, paper art, prints, profile, spring2016, style, trends3 Comments

The colourful zig zag pattern has represented the house of Missoni since it was started by Ottavio and Rosita Missoni in 1953. They first sold their iconic knitwear in America at Neiman Marcus. Italy has always been known for knitwear and innovation in clothing manufacturing and the Missoni brand is a testament to that.

Season after season Missoni delivers colourful knitwear and accessories that add flare to your wardrobe. They also have a Home line with pillows, throws and towels all with iconic zig zag pattern. Missoni did a collab with Target a few years ago and on launch day the Target site crashed because of the demand for this brand! Here is an ad from that collab featuring Margherita Maccapani Missoni modelling some of the pieces from that famous collection.

For SS2016, Missoni featured tons of stripes in multi-colours or black & white like these outfits below. I love the use pattern and solids – it makes black & white so interesting.

Looking at Fall 2016, colourful sweaters and over-sized blanket scarves were featured.

I have several Missoni scarves and I love the pattern and colours. I also have this adorable bear from Christmas 2013 when Missoni partnered with Holt Renfrew to raise money for African relief efforts. I spent an hour looking at every bear until I found one with the cutest face and placement of the pattern that I liked.

Check out my post on scarf tying. The video uses Missoni scarves to demonstrate the techniques.

Flat Lay Spring – Part 3

February 20, 2016February 20, 2016Posted in BrandsTagged clothes, color, fashion, fashion photography, flat lay, moda, ootd, orange, outfits, prints, style2 Comments

The Whole Look

For this final installment of flat lay spring I laid out some outfit choices. These are my favourite apparel colours because all of them work well together. Orange with navy, turquoise or grey is unexpected and I find it softer than red. It also is amazing with my skin tone.

From Left

This navy blazer in heavy pique cotton was a steal at $8 from Ann Taylor Factory Store. IT was on the clearance rack with additional mark downs. I love the polka dot lining! The skirt is also Ann Taylor and I bought it New York. The pattern is very graphic and surprisingly it goes with a lot because of the neutral beige background of the print. These turquoise jeans are my favourite for spring. They are Not Your Daughter’s Jeans and fit me perfectly. I have had them for a couple of years and they have slightly faded but also become super soft. The t-shirt is Joe Fresh and the print caught my eye because I just recently started pairing orange and grey.

Putting it all together

Here’s how the 3 installments look together. I’m wearing the taupe comfort sandals from Part 2 with this outfit.

Florals Revisited

February 7, 2016February 7, 2016Posted in TrendsTagged art, D&G, designers, dresses, fashion, florals, flowers, moda, paper art, prints, romantic, shoes, spring2016, style, trends1 Comment

My very first blog post was about the dark floral trend from SS2015. I was inspired to write about this topic after reading about the acquisition of this painting entitled Wisdom of the Universe by Christi Belcourt at the AGO in Toronto. I took this photo of it when I was visiting during the holidays.

It’s now been a few months and many blog posts later but florals are still on my mind as we approach Spring 2016.

The shoes in the feature image I purchased at DSW over the holidays and thought they would be great for Spring and will add visual interest and colour to almost any outfit from jeans to skirts. These shoes reminded me of the Dolce & Gabana esthetic. Bright colours and flowers like this photo.

Here are 3 floral looks from Spring 2016 that really caught my attention. Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen and Erdem both showed romantic floral maxi dresses. I love how free and flowing these dresses are.

This pantsuit from Escada is bright and unexpected. The great thing is you could wear the pieces separately and create a mini floral wardrobe for spring.

I also wanted to design something unexpected in paper so I created a white shift dress and added light and dark floral panels to each side. I love the black, white and pink combination and might have to plan a visit to the fabric store!

Resort Report

January 17, 2016January 17, 2016Posted in Brands, TrendsTagged dresses, fashion, Fendi, moda, paper art, prints, resort, style, the6ix, trendsLeave a comment

Winter has finally arrived in Toronto with below 0 temperatures and snow storms. Everyone be will thinking about the sunshine and beaches down south so now is the perfect time to look at Resort wear. Continue reading “Resort Report” →

DARK FLORALS

May 30, 2015June 28, 2015Posted in TrendsTagged darkflorals, florals, prints, trends1 Comment

Many designers showed florals for Spring which is predictable for the season. What piqued modacarta’s interest was the trend toward darkness.

Dark florals add drama and a bohemian tone to dresses, 2 piece outfits and even accessories. The added BONUS is one investment in dark florals gives you year round wearability.

COOL EDITORIAL

Marie Claire’s June 2015 edition features a floral accessories editorial by Kyle Anderson with photographs by Mitchell Feinberg. Check it out on new stands or online.

EXCITING COLLAB

Maison Valentino teamed up with Celia Britwell, British textile and fashion designer for their pre-Fall collection. On modacarta’s wish-list is the tall, dark floral boots. View the collection video and pick out your must-have.

THIS WEEK’S BLOG READING

REFINERY 29

ANNA DELLO RUSSO

GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS

REAL CONDO LIFE

PAPER ART

This 2 piece outfit consists of a crop top and wrap skirt. Throw on a blazer for work or wear as is to a summer music festival. The outfit was constructed using chiyogami hand-made japanese paper from the The Paper Place.