Giveaway win from The Little Dust Princess

Ok, so I guess many of you know that I am really bad with putting up posts in a timely manner, so it shouldn't be a surprise to you that I won a giveaway from Jessy of The Little Dust Princess a MONTH ago!!

Better late than never right?  Here are some pictures!

Necklace:  Giveaway Win from Jessy and Naughty Baubles

Top:  mark by Avon

I love how this is such a statement necklace!  I can just throw on something super simple and this necklace totally makes the outfit.  Thank again Jessy for hosting! :)

*** Don't forget to enter my giveaway!!!  

 It ends Sunday January 30th!!! ***

Petite Fashion Challenge #5

Petite Fashion Challenge #5 was graciously hosted by Cynthia of Shorty Stories  and the challenge was to "brighten up your Winter blahs".  This challenge was timely as it's definitely grey and dreary out around here!

The challenge was as follows:


Create a sophisticated work appropriate look that has no more than one dark piece (it can be a skirt, pants, a blazer, sweater etc...) excluding shoes, accessories and hosiery.

So...I'm not sure how I did in the "sophisticated" aspect but I really don't have many bright main pieces!  Most of my wardrobe consists of neutrals and I throw in colour with some individual pieces or accessories.  My casual wardrobe on the other hand (especially in the Summer!) is a lot brighter.

Anyway, here it is!

Blazer:  Mexx

Dress:  mark by Avon

Necklace:  mark by Avon

Boots:  Me Too (Winners)

Tights:  Ellen Tracy - NOT petite friendly!!!

I honestly don't know if this worked or not.  I work in a casual environment and have worn this dress to work before with a cardigan but I do usually wear it in the Summer.

The dress is not a perfect fit on me, but the style of it isn't meant to be fitted.  It's actually quite comfortable to wear - perhaps I should make a point to wear it more often!

I also wasn't sure what type of necklace to wear with this dress but I opted for something long since the neck on this dress is so high.

And here's a peak at the back of the dress.  This is why I wouldn't be able to wear this dress to work without a sweater or blazer on top!  I think the back is a bit revealing for an office.  And please excuse my hair, I was having an unbelievably extra frizzy day when I took these photos so up into a hair tie it went!



I must say I'm loving these Petite Fashion Challenges as they are certainly pushing me to think more creatively!  Here are my previous entries:

Petite Fashion Challenge #1

Petite Fashion Challenge #2

Petite Fashion Challenge #3

Petite Fashion Challenge #4

To see all the other lovely petites that participated in Petite Fashion Challenge #5 please visit Cynthia at Shorty Stories for all the links.

Lady Like Cardigan

I tried this sweater on MONTHS ago at H&M but I had already made a few purchases at that time so I left it behind in the stores.  Then later I saw this on Ping and it definitely stuck out in my mind.  I love how Ping styled it.  I'm not as creative as she is so I just threw it on with my favorite trouser jeans.

Cardigan:  H&M XS

Jeans:  Banana Republic size 0P (I found a similar pair here)
Necklace and Earrings:  Avon

I love the feminine details of this cardigan.  The little bows at the pocket area (no pockets!) and the buttons are really pretty too (kins of sparkly!).

For some reason I've also been fascinated with braiding my hair.   My bangs are starting to grow out so they're at that awkward length where they kind of just get in my way.  I decided to try out the braiding thing:

What do you think?  Is it too juvenile?  I got some compliments (from those that noticed) and it definitely does the job of keeping my bangs out of my face.

So, I'm noticing that all my poses are pretty much the same :P  Taking pictures is a lot of work for me and definitely does not come naturally!  I feel really silly posing a lot of the time so does anyone have any tips on posing?

Also please don't forget to enter my giveaway!!!

***Disclosure:  I'm trying out affiliate links.  Clicking on links in this post may yield a small commission.***

Giveaway Time! Featuring Dara Dot Designs

As promised I've been working on a new giveaway!  This giveaway is to celebrate reaching 100 followers on this blog :)  When I started this little blog I remember when my friends in the petite community all started following  and I was soooo excited!!!  I have only one friend IRL that I discuss this blog with on a regular basis so she thought I was pretty funny when I started.   I never ever thought I would have 100 readers!   It seriously excites me to no end!

For this giveaway I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do.   I really wanted to give away something unique and preferably Canadian made.

I had first heard about Dara Dot Designs while looking at my sister in law's friend's photography as she did a shoot for Dara.  I loved her stuff but back then I was very hesitant about online shopping.  I hadn't heard about Etsy yet and I didn't have a pay pal account!  Then I stumbled upon Dara's site again while searching for make up artists in the Toronto area for my friend that was getting married.   If it weren't already meant to be I actually met Dara by fluke at the One of Kind Show in December.   Fast forward to a few weeks back and I signed up for Dara's mailing list and befriended her on Twitter.  I had wanted to buy stuff for myself and a friend of mine so I also picked up a little something as my giveaway.  Phew, what a long story LOL!

This is taken off of the Dara Dot Designs website:

Designer, owner and Fashion Design grad, Dara Frydman, fell in love with the idea of applying her design background and use of textiles into her accessories. Incorporating a variety of fibres and skins such as felt, bamboo, leather, stones, and metals; each unique design strikes an eclectic "arts and crafts" feel.

I love her designs because they are simple but very different.  And they are so versatile!  She is not only a Canadian designer but she is based in Toronto AND she is a fellow petite standing proud at 4'11"!!!!  It was totally meant to be ;)

Here are the two items I picked up for myself (and me trying to mimic the different ways wearing the scarves :P ):

Dara Dot Designs Ruffle Scarf in Blue/Cranberry Leather

Dara Dot Designs Loop scarf in Cerise

The model does a MUCH better job of showing how to wear the scarves in different ways.  Check it out if you have the time:

dara dot designs promo from Justin Borja on Vimeo.

And to one lucky winner I will be giving away one Ruffle Scarf in Blue/Grey Leather:

***Please note:  All items were purchased by me from Dara Dot Designs.   I am now an affiliate of Dara Dot Designs so if you click on the sidebar icon and make a purchase I will receive a small commission!***

Rules:

Open to all readers.

Mandatory:

1. Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect (click the "follow" button on my side bar)

2. Check out Dara Dot Designs and let me know what your favorite item is

3. Leave me an email where you can be contacted

Bonus Entries:
(+1) Follow me on Twitter

(+1) Tweet about this giveaway

(+3) Add my giveaway button to your blog side bar

<a href="http://curls-and-pearls.blogspot.com/2011/01/giveaway-time-featuring-dara-dot.html" TARGET="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3aPzD2PBzHNqFXtw6DC4gjgNmqdQT5a-wN76IuaXg1LgnQXYEpeh-Bh0EteaLGZpcAPbVZPFcveTnlWMzFYauiTU2OcPVUyROeT7GoHold7RGPzjunePYqsdfxt7ON2UvbawcxAU0kbA/s288/Dara%20Dot%20Designs.jpg"></a>

Please fill out the form below and Good Luck! (Don't forget to scroll down and click "submit" at the end)

***Giveaway ends Sunday January 30th, 2011 at midnight EST***

New Boots and a boxing day purchase

I have so far been keeping up with my 2nd resolution posted here by taking pictures of outfits everyday.
Ok, ok I'm lying.  I'm only taking pictures on the days I actually get dressed LOL.  Honestly, yesterday I don't think I changed out of my PJ's at all except to go out for a couple hours.  And then I just threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater since I wasn't going to be taking my coat off.  So my resolution will be tweaked to taking pictures when I actually get dress ;)

Here is an outfit from the other day featuring my new boots from Miz Mooz and one of my boxing day purchases from Simons which is a department store in Quebec.

Top:  Twik from Simons XS/TP

Belt:  Danier

Jeans:  Gap Always Skinny Cropped 00 (no longer online similar here)

Boots:  Miz Mooz Gayle sz 7 (from Haute Look)

Back view of the boots

They can also be folded down

They're not PERFECT and I prefer them with jeans than with a dress but the gap isn't too bad at the calves. I do love them though the leather is just so buttery and soft and they're really comfortable to wear!  I can go all day at work and I'm good (I usually wear flats on the weekends).

And I apologize,  I just realized I should've measured them for everyone!   I will try to do that this week and edit this post afterwards.

*** I have some exciting news - I will be holding a giveaway VERY soon!   If you follow me on Twitter you might have read that I woke up on New Year's day to discover that I reached over 100 followers! 

I was so excited :)   So please stay tuned!  ***

H&M Pencil Skirt

I didn't do too much shopping over the holidays - I think I wasn't really looking for anything in particular and I didn't feel like fighting the boxing day / week crowds.

I did manage to pick up this skirt from H&M though; I had been looking for a grey pencil skirt for a while.  I think grey just goes with more items in my wardrobe.  It's not as harsh as black and much easier to work with than brown in my opinion.

Since my work environment is really casual I thought about how I would dress it down a bit and so I paired this skirt with some really casual pieces.

Skirt:  H&M size 4

Top:  Old Navy XS

Cardigan:  Gap XS seen in this post  (yes I'm wearing it AGAIN!)

The top I'm wearing is essentially like long john material :P  It's such a comfy shirt I feel like I could sleep in it.  Here is what it looks like with the cardigan undone.

I took the belt off that came with it since I had planned on keeping the cardigan closed the whole time anyway.  Here is a close up of the pattern of the skirt.

Overall I really like this skirt.  It's fully lined and I think the quality is really good especially for H&M.  I didn't get this skirt on sale, I paid $39.95 Canadian.  But I have been searching for a grey skirt for a while now.  The fit of the skirt reminds me of another H&M skirt I have - the black lace one that many other petite bloggers have.   I have worn the lace skirt several times already and have yet to take a picture!

My one pet peeve with this skirt that I noticed throughout the day that the lining kept peaking through when I sat down and sometimes when I stood up if I didn't readjust the skirt.  I wonder if hemming just the lining a smidge would help at all.  Thoughts?


And I wore my Christmas present from my husband - my single Tahitian pearl necklace :D  <3

Has anyone else seen this skirt at H&M?  I saw it in black and an orangy red colour as well.  I think the size 2 would fit a lot smaller petites well.