Outfit Post: Maroon Pantyhose and the "Husband Sweater"

MAROON PANTS

 Maroon pants are very popular right now and have been for the entire season. Walking down the street in Toronto you can easily spot tons of girls sporting maroon skinnies - I believe that has something to do with the fact that  H&M has an inexpensive pair available en masse. And there is no harm in grabbing a pair, you go girl, I aint judging. BUTTT I did try a pair on and the fit was tres horrible pour moi. As you get *ahem* older, you tend to gravitate towards better quality and better fitting brands for jeans/pants. Soooo, when it comes to coloured denim I really like Urban Outfitters  (as you can see my mint coloured jeans here) or J Brand (more expensive). But you don't necessarily want to spend $100-$300 on an uber trendy coloured denim that will probably last only one season before you get sick of the colour. Fret not, I have a solution for this and its.....Maroon opaque pantyhose! I got a pair from H&M for $10 or something and it completely fulfills my fall colour craving! By wearing maroon pantyhose you can be on trend and add some fun to your everyday neutrals :)

HOW TO WEAR MAROON PANTYHOSE:
- Keep other elements neutral (you will have maroon legs to balance the neutrals) 
I dressed it casually below but you can:
-  Pair w/ a black skirt and white shirt with black blazer (with cute ballet flats or loafers)
- Pair w/ your classic Little Black Dress or grey dress and black pumps
- Pair w/ knee high boots (and any variation of the above outfits)
- I would add any colour purse and metallic/blingy accessories to complete the look

 HUSBAND SWEATER:

Another fun tip is to borrow your husband/partner/boyfriend/commonlawpartner 's sweaters. And if you don't have any of the above, shop in the mens section! The "Husband Sweater", a personal take on the boyfriend blazer (which is really misleading, because who actually wears their boyfriends blazers?) is a comfy and chic choice for those casual days/events. I love androgynous style, there is something so chic about wearing a mens shirt or sweater. And nowadays menswear is getting more adventurous with colour and pattern, so even shopping in the mens section is fun! Anyways, I borrowed this beige Club Monaco sweater from my husband (a sweater that I got for him last year). He has no idea I wore it, but now he will I guess ;P

HOW TO WEAR THE "HUSBAND SWEATER"
- Since the sweater is over-sized usually and loose-fitting, pair it with tights or skinnies and some cute loafers and you are good to go!
- pair with biker boots and some cute accessories (arm candy, scarves etc)

OUTFIT BREAKDOWN:
Husband Sweater- Club Monaco (Free!)
Black Skirt -  F21 ($20ish)
Pantyhose - H&M ($10ish)
Scarf thingy - FCUK ($50)
Boots - Browns Shoes ($200ish)
Jacket - Aritzia ($120) - the one that everyone and their mom has
Disclaimer: I took these pictures a few weeks ago, hence the different hair :) #bloggernotsosecrets

There they are! The Maroon pantyhose

Gazing out into the unknown...

Some more gazing

layered up

Let me know what you think! Would these tips work for you?

 Once again photography by Priya Crasto (crasto.priya@gmail.com) :)

Beauty: Blunt Bangs

THE EXPERIENCE:
This is something I've been thinking of doing for a long time. I first entertained the notion about 3 years ago but just never was 'ready' for such a change. If there's one thing about me you should know if we're gonna be friends is that I'm cautious, and spontaneity scares me sometimes lol. I take risks but they are usually highly calculated risks with Plans A-F set up in the event something goes wrong. Sounds crazy? It probably is.....

So no wonder it took me 3 years to actualize an idea for a flippin' haircut....I got a fringe! Lucky for me it's still in style (although if I really want to do something I don't care if its trendy or not). I took the hair plunge a week ago and went from long layers, no fringe, to full on blunt bangs with one easy snip.What finally prompted me to do this? It was one of those things where I had the idea percolating in the back of my mind for a while and one day I just decided that it was time, I needed a change. And with my hair I don't mind cutting it off because my hair grows back SUPER fast (#browngirlproblems) - which is great for hairstyles but not so much for everything else (I swear brown girls keep the laser hair removal industry afloat). I always envied my Asian friends who never seemed to have hair growth except for where its supposed to be, on their head! Anyways, I digress...

Back to the haircut, so since this was a big deal for me, I decided to go to one of the best hair salons in Toronto, known for their creative hairstylists, called Brennen DeMelo. I did my research and booked an appt with the highly recommended Shawna who is a senior stylist. She was amazing, understood exactly what I wanted and did a beautiful job executing the cut. 

THE RESULT:
And here is the final product: (I tried to mimic those infomercial "before" pictures, they always look so miserable )

BEFORE  :(                                                                                      AFTER - Ta DA! :D

I LOVE my new haircut!! I didn't realise that with something so simple as adding a fringe, I could change my look so drastically. I love it. 

THE MAINTENANCE:
The maintenance hasn't been so bad, the KEY in styling bangs is to blow-dry them FIRST, downwards using a comb, do that right away as soon as you get out of the shower, because if they dry on their own even a bit, they will end up looking funny and frizzy. And if you add too much product to it, they will look flat and oily. I blow-dry first and then use a straightener to get that sleek look.  Since I got the cut last week, I've washed my hair more then usual to keep the bangs looking fresh and fluffy.I bought a dry shampoo by Kevin Murphy, in the event I didn't have time to wash my hair (pictured below). It was about $15 for the travel size and $24ish for the bigger one - I bought the smaller one since I'd never tried a dry shampoo before and didn't know if I would like it. (Batiste is a cheaper alternative, found @Shoppers). I tried the dry shampoo once but it dried my hair a lot and it went all staticy - so it might be better to use it in the hotter months. 

Anways, this sounds like a lot of work but it's just a few extra steps when I'm styling my hair and its SO worth it! I was actually really lazy with my hair before, put minimum effort in and didn't really care. But with this new cut I feel compelled to style it properly and I don't mind at all! Of course the days when I'm rushed and don't have time, I'll use a cute headband and pull my hair back and call it a day. But for now I'm really enjoying the new me :)

PS: I posted these pics on my Instagram @saimastyle and my Twitter last week, join me there to see more :)