Fashion

Over the past few years, I've developed a thing for fashion. I'm not exactly sure how it crept up on me, seeing as I used to be the type to wear oversized, worn out overalls, folded over and tucked in to look like jeans. I shudder just thinking about it. Anyway, over the past few years I've realized how much better I feel when I know I look good, and I've made it a priority to always feel that way.

That was relatively easy to do in Ottawa. Now I live in London.

European style is different. And while I'm not one to blindly follow the crowd, my sense of style has always been based on looking well put together without necessarily standing out too much. Classic with a twist; a nice silhouette with a bold colour or an interesting cut. Here, you stand out if you aren't more daring.

Rather than give in to my shopaholic tendencies (difficult, since amazing clothes are everywhere I turn), I'm trying very hard to simply reconsider how I pair items together. So far, I think I'm doing ok. My scarf collection has certainly seen more daylight in the past week than it had in the previous year. And I'm definitely going to be loading up on tights... and maybe a few key items like those fabulous green patterned pumps I saw in Camden Market (I'm still dreaming about those).

Beyond that, I'm going to rely on the help of Closet Couture -- a free website based on every little girl's fetish for paper dolls. You upload pictures of your wardrobe, then mix and match to create outfits. You can even design outfits for other people, or have them design them for you. Along with my flare for fashion, I've also developed a love of design in general, so I love this concept. I spent all of yesterday editing and uploading photos of my dresses and shoes. I still have a long way to go before all of my tops, jackets, vests, trousers (I'm being careful not to say pants), skirts, belts, and scarves are up there... but I can sense the potential, and I can't wait.