The Girlfriend Tips

Some of Amelia's girlfriends tips:

1. Buy your shampoos, lotions and soaps at Winners. You can buy salon products at half the price.

2. Wear a shower cap when you’re showering and you don’t want to wash your hair. You can really get in there and enjoy yourself!

3. Invest in a good dry shampoo like Oscar Blandi that works for your hair so you can wash your hair as little as possible. Better yet, buy it at Winners!

4. Every manicure should be a shellac polish.

5.  Use a small makeup bag to keep your purse organized.  Things like a Tide-To-Go stick, bandaids, purell, needle and thread, tampons etc. can go in this pouch.  You will always be prepared for any situation.  You only have to fill it once, and it’s easy to change purses.

6. Only show one part of your body at a time. If you show cleavage cover your knees. If you're showing a lot of leg, cover your shoulders. Be classy!

7. Buy a short, nude coloured slip with a thick waist band. On a hot day, it will absorb the sweat and you won’t get any marks on your dress. Plus its pretty sexy.

8. A hair foundation (chignon mesh) under your bun will make it look much bigger.

9. Use open ended bobby pins for buns, or corkscrew bins. You don’t need hair elastics that will leave a line in your hair!

10. It's better to be single, than to be in a miserable relationship.

The Best Socks for People Who Hate Socks

I have always been very particular about what materials I would allow on my feet in legs. For a refresher about my experience with ballet tights click here. 

Finding a great pair of comfortable socks has been a life long battle. My first memory of trying to make my socks scratch my legs the less began on the reading carpet in Grade 3. Our teacher Mrs. Bolton used to read us stories from her wooden rocking while we all sat on the carpet. I used to play with the suede on her pumps and somehow during this time myself and the other girls started rolling down our socks. Picture knee high socks being carefully rolled down to create a large roll at the tops of our ankles. This was my solution to create what I would now call ankle socks. We would spend a lot of time and effort rolling them down and afterwords the roll would be so large that it would prevent our  jeans sweatpants from reaching our shoes. I might add that this was also the time in my life that I started wearing Hawaiian shirts to school on Wednesdays. 

Anyways, the point that I am getting at is that I hated socks creeping up my shins, and even more so if they were so tight they created a line in my calf. I also hated scratchy polyester socks that made me feet sweat. Unfortunately at 10 years old I didn't know this is why I didn't like my socks, and I just assumed all socks were made equal. Boy was I wrong! (this is also why I didn't eat pizza until I was 19 since I thought all pizza tasted like the cheesy, greasy stuff my parents ordered every Friday night.)

I've struggled to buy comfortable socks that look good but also do not restrict my raging calf muscles. I currently have one pair of striped socks from Simons in Montreal that meet this requirement and I started handwashing them at night so that I could re-wear them the next day. I was avoiding every other sock I owned. I will also add that almost every pair of socks I own have been a gift from my Mother. It's not her fault though...I never took the time to tell her my sock issues.

Recently, I got to the point where I hated all of socks so much that I just stopped wearing them all together. I would declare in the mornings, "I HATE ALL OF MY SOCKS!!" then throw my bare foot into a leather boot. This new style generally worked for me. I am lucky that I am not someone with "foot odor"(or at least I don't think that I do).

Unfortunately, if I went anywhere where I had to remove my shoes in public, such as the doctors or dentist office, I would be stuck walking barefoot on freezing cold floors or getting salt and gravel over my precious peeps. The 'no sock' solution wasn't ideal. I needed to find socks I wanted to wear!!

One night this past winter I hit up the mall trying to find the perfect pair of black pants (which I am still searching for) and found myself in the Gap looking at socks. I knew I needed to make this purchase count! These were my prerequistes for purchasing new socks:

1. Did they look nice on the foot section? (who cares about the ankle part, no one sees it anyways)

2. Were they made from cotton? (polyester would not do...too scratchy)

3. Was there the left-over threads from the design pattern on the inside of the sock? (If so, then no...this gets caught on my toenails and again feels scratchy)

4. How tight was the top of the sock? 

I've made the mistake of ignoring one of the four criteria on prior purchases, then I get home, try them on, hate them, and immediately need to give them away. It's a major waste of money but great for my Mom. 

On this particular day I spotted something I never knew existed. There was a black ankle sports sock! It was 1. plain black, 2. cotton, 3. had no threads inside and 4. only hit my ankle! I had been wearing my white sports socks as a treat on days that I knew no one would see my socks and I needed a little extra warmth. These new black socks would allow me to wear them in public and every day my feet would get treated with nice tight arch support. 

I bought a couple of pairs and loved them so much that I soon found myself doing the same thing that I did with my striped socks. I was saving them for important days, and washing them in the sink to have them the next day again. While at the new Joe Fresh store, I discovered something amazing...three pairs of black sports ankle socks for $6!!!!
I bought two packs and I haven't turned back since.

I currently have 9 pairs of socks which I love, and I can easily go back and buy more if I really want them. Everyday I enjoying selecting my socks and never feel like I am settling for something that I am going to want to rip off my feet by 2pm. Stop the sock at my ankle saves my calf from ever being restricted, and again that nice tight arch feels so good all day long. Why didn't I discover these sooner!?!!


(P.S. I ate two pogos while writing this post)

My Favorite Jeggings

I first commented of my love of the Bay in The Bay: How I Love Thee. After a visit yesterday to my favourite department store, my love has been yet again re-affirmed. 

I had made a "contract" with myself back in October that I would not buy any new clothes until Christmas time. While shopping for Christmas gifts I purposely avoided all of my favourite shops so that I could not be tempted, and I am pleased to report that I was successful! Yesterday I finally decided that I needed to visit the Bay. I took 2 hrs washing my hair, shaving my legs, applying my make-up and picking out an outfit that would be easy to change in and out of, while still be light-weight. There is nothing worse than shopping while having to carry about a heavy coat, or having a fussy shirt that takes 5 minutes to put back on. 

Jeggings

I left for Les Promenades de l'Outaouais around 2pm, and was in the store 15 minutes later. I was really going for one item. New Jessica Simpson jeggings. I was introduced to these jeggings back in 2010, and after hundreds of wearings, mine had become a little thin and faded in the knee area. They were currently on sale for only $39.99 so I decided to get a second pair.

I went straight for the Jessica Simpson section upon my arrival. They had lots of dark rinse jeggings, some black ones, and tons of Forever Skinny jeans. They had my size in everything, and I thought for a change I would try the jeans as well. I grabbed about 6 different styles and sizes, and headed to the change room. I was pleasantly surprised that the Forever Skinny jeans fit even better than the jeggings, and I needed them one size smaller!! #score. The only real differences between the two are that the jeggings are tighter, have a slightly smaller ankle width, and have no fading on them. 

I took the leap of faith, and traded in my favourite pants for something new. I wore them last night, and although they are a little shorter, they fit my hips better. They also have lot less spandex in them so I am hoping that they don't stretch out too much. 

If you don't have a pair of either I highly recommend them because of their higher, curved waist. This is amazing for the following reasons:

1. When you bend over at work you're not showing off your crack to anyone
2. No muffin top
3. No gap between my back and the pants, therefore no need to wear a belt
4. You are never pulling up your pants. They are already in the right spot
5. They are sexy and make your legs look super long. 

Forever Skinny Jean in Abyss

I struggled in university trying to find a pair of jeans that fit both my hips and my waist. I would avoid jean shopping like the plaque and never found a pair that didn't feel like they were pulling the skin off of my hips. In my late twenties I have finally found jeans that fit comfortably. I love them so much, that my Twitter profile picture is a pair of Jessica Simpson Jeggings! 

If I've convinced you at all, run to your closest Bay store or the thebay.com and get some Jessica Simpson jeggings or Forever Skinny jeans while they are hot and up to $30 cheaper. Your thighs will thank you. 

The Perfect Black Tight

Sadly when I saw the snow on the ground this week, I knew it was officially the end of bare leg season. Each year I try to stretch out the viewing period of my pale legs as long as possible, but there always comes a day when its just simply inappropriate to have my bare knees poking out. 

I've always been extremely picky about socks and tights, and I still am. I can remember sitting with my Mother in our family room before Saturday ballet class crying as she put my pink ballet tights on. I really, really hated them but would wear them to class as long as I could get them off as soon as I got home. There was nothing worse than having to go to the hockey rink wearing a snow suit and ballet tights. I still get goose bumps when I think about it. 

There was a very awkward stage of my childhood when I refused to wear tighst anywhere but ballet class which meant that my Mom couldn't put me into cute little dresses during the winter months. It came to me wearing a bright purple, crushed velvet pant suit with a "bubble leg". They were not quite an MC Hammer pant since they had much more volume down around the ankle. I also had a pair of the pants in black which I would wear with a white top with gold polka dots. These outfits were my only chance of attending Christmas dinner "tight free" and it was not a pretty sight. 

When I was in Grade 7, I was invited to a ballet at the Canadian History Museum (formerly the Canadian Museum of Civilization) with a ballet friend of mine and her Mother. I threw on my crushed velvet suit and eagerly followed along. During the intermission my friend was complimented by our ballet teacher on her cute little outfit which consisted of brown ankle boots, with pink socks, brown tights, a tweed skirt and a little sweater. I'll admit even now that the outfit was flawless. I stood there so ashamed of my pantsuit and vowed to never wear it again!!

Around the same time a new type of ballet tight had just come on the market, The Mondor 310. These microfiber tights where soft, thin, comfortable and didn't itch my skin like the other ones I'd been wearing. The second I put them on it felt like I was wearing a second skin. Not only did I not hate wearing tights to ballet anymore, but I was willing to wear the tights elsewhere, even to a a holiday event. 

Fortunately the tights came in ballet pink, "jazz class" beige,  and "special event" black. I could buy them fully footed, or with a hole in the bottom to sneak my foot out of when my blisters required tending. I used to have a weird thing where I only liked tights once they'd be worn a couple of times, but with the 310's, the fresher they came out of the dryer the better!

Slowly, I built up a stock of about 8 pairs of the Mondor 310's. Unfortunately they were about 15 dollars a pair so my Mom wasn't too eager to give me money every time one got a hole in the toe. Practically every single pair I owed had a toe that was sewn up, but it didn't matter, they were perfect to me. I still own several pairs of ballet tights and I haven't danced since I was 18. My friend Lauren still has her black 310's from high school. These things last!

Now as an adult I am still very picky about my tights. I refuse to wear any kind of nylon or pantyhose and always will. I can handle a fashion tight for short periods of time, but after a while that sagging crotch drives me bonkers.  

Over the years the 310 tights have gotten even better with a knitted waistband, 3D technology to support the leg (and crotch) and they never seem to get any runs. They've even come out they a fish net tight which is bound to be flawless. I always buy mine at Malabar's in Ottawa but any dance or figure skating store will carry them. 

Do your self a favour this holiday season and buy yourself some black Mondor tights. Not only will you be in fashion, but your legs will look long and lean. The days will be long, especially when a work day becomes a holiday party so buy a pair of good black tights where the crotch will stay in place, the waistband will reach your bra and your legs will never, ever feel the slightest itch. You deserve it!

Rid Yourself of Blisters Forever!

Blisters and my toes go together like Spencer and Heidi. I can't remember one without the other and they are really a pain in the ass. 

As a dancer growing up, my feet were often being squished into new tap shoes and pointe shoes. I am sure you've all seen what can happen to a ballerina's feet after a couple of hours in a pointe shoe from movies like Centre Stage and Black Swan. The foot gets sweaty, it cannot breathe, its rubbing back and forth, back and forth and then BAM! There is a nice big blister exactly where you need to put the shoe the next day. 

I actually seemed to get the worst blisters from a new pair of tap shoes during summer school. My feet would be used to relaxing in a flip flop all summer long and were now being confined into a tight space without any hosiery (which I immaturely refused to wear), in 25 degree weather. It was a recipe for disaster. I do not need to go into detail of how I used to continue to dance each day on these dying feet, but the damage was done. I know had blister scars that would plague me for the rest of my adult life. 

What's a blister scar? Well I have nice big bumps on my toes and on the back of my heel which are the first part of the foot that a new shoe attacks. I cannot even begin to count the numbers of blisters I have incurred when trying to break in a new shoe, and wearing an old shoe again after a long absence. I was starting to think I was the only one. 

Recently on a trip to the Bay I spotted a great pair of faux suede black pumps. I love the way a suede shoe looks with a pair of black tights. Its seamless really. I tried on my size, and although they were a smidgen tight I figured that they would stretch out just a little. They were a great deal, so I paid up and wore them to school the next day. 

What came next? A right toe blister. I used a trick that my Mom had taught me to try and solve the problem. I took a broom, and put the toe of my shoe into its handle. Next I pushed the shoe down as far as I could into the handle to try to stretch out the toe area as much as possible to give my piggies a little more room. 

A few days later I tried the shoe again and the same problem and blister persisted. No matter what I did, this shoe was going to blister my right foot. I could have told this exact same story for the flats I bought later that summer. 

After complaining to my Mom about my problem, she told me something that I had never quite realized before. The broom trick only worked with LEATHER shoes, not synthetic fabrics. Only leathers (ie animal skins) can stretch out under warm conditions and create a perfect mold of your foot. Once the shoe has set, it will never give you a blister again because it won't rub on your toes bumps, it will gently surround them. 

Was real leather the simple solution I had never considered?

Since that fateful day, I have gone out a re-purchased a pair of real suede black pumps (they still look awesome with tights). I have no had one blister from these shoes and I have worn with with and without hosiery. Of course, real leather is more expensive, but isn't it better to have a pair of comfortable shoes you'll wear over and over again instead of a pair you cringe at every time you see them in your closet? Leather also lasts a long time and can be repaired. I bought a pair of black leather high heel boots in London, England over 6 years ago. I've had the heel re-tipped and the sole replaced, but those buggers will not quit! They are just as comfortable now as they ever were and I couldn't picture a sweater dress without 
them!

So what are you waiting for? Keep your toes and heels the break that they need. I know cheap shoes are tempting, but are they worth the blisters?

The Bay: How I Love Thee

 My love affair with The Bay has been up and down like any good dysfunctional relationship. As a child I only have a few shopping memories. The first is trying on about 40 bathing suits at Sears around the age of 8. My sway back was causing my Mother and I some trouble with the fitting, so we felt it was important to try on every single size 8 swim suit in the store. We settled on a scandalous side cut-out suit, with four little bows that held the two sides together. You can imagine how great my tan lines were that summer.

My second memory is going to The Bay in grade 4. We purchased a smashing pair of magenta pink shorts with purple trim, then the matching purple and pink layered tank top, and the matching purple t-shirt. Who knew I would be putting together two outfits, with three simple pieces. I wore this outfit until the seams were frayed.

Back in 1995 there was no La Senza girl, Gap Junior, or Old Navy in Ottawa so the Bay and Sears were our only options for respectable children's clothing. I guess I should admit that only a year later I was rocking several sweatsuits from Cotton Ginny and Northern Reflections. This is a part of my past that I am not proud of, but I wasn't the only girl wearing a "Spice Mice" shirt on the playground. I'd still go for a good stirup pant today. 

Fast forward into my high school days, and I wouldn't be caught dead walking through the Bay, let along purchasing anything. My Mom has always been a very strong supporter of The Bay herself and never wavered from the store during this time difficult time. Sure, she would support me buying the exact same semi-formal dress as everyone else at Jacob, but I knew deep down that she wanted to get me into something Jones New York.

By the time I entered university, I started to realize that there were certain things that The Bay just did right. I would drop by on weekends when I lived in Kingston for a pair of tights, an umbrella, or maybe a pair of shoes. I would also buy all of my brother's their Christmas sweaters at this surprisingly diverse store. Once I entered the work world and my taste in clothing was starting to mature, the Bay went through the same transition. Suddenly, I was dropping by to check out a pair of Jessica Simpson jeggings that my roommate Ashley had recommended. I was swinging by after work to grab a Guess bathing suit that actually came in my size. I was bringing friends on weekends to look through their shoe department or to grab some Clinique lipgloss. I don't know exactly when it happened, but all of the sudden I was madly in love with the Bay!

My favourite things about the Bay are Bay Days, weekend sales, and my HBC mastercard. Where else in the mall can you buy designer clothing on sale? It seems like everytime I drop in to pick up a gift from someone's registry, a new set of towels, or a pair of panties, I get them for 15% off! Use my HBC credit card, and its another 15% off!! It's madness really. 

The Bay has really changed their line over the past couple of years, and now a twenty something like myself can find almost everything I need for my wardrobe in one stop. If you haven't been by the Bay recently, what are you waiting for?

Are you wearing the right size?

This story begins in Grade 8. I was a very late developer (if you know what I mean). I don't think I even started wearing a bra until the middle of 8th grade. My best friend at the time was very supportive of my situation and constantly reminded me that I was as flat as a board, and that some day, if I was lucky, I might be able to compete with her blossoming 32A's. 

Fast forward to Grade 12, and I was rocking out in a 36C. I was loving life and she was still wearing a 32A. I wouldn't normally criticize someone for having a small cup size, in fact I am sometimes a little jealous of their ability to wear a low cut top and show off their elegant chest without the sluttiness of huge boobs cracking through the sides. In this case, I was glowing in the fact that I was teased mercilessly by someone who hadn't grown a larger cup since we were 14. My boobs and I felt good. 

With these new found boobs, I was wearing low cut tops, bouncing away on the dance floor and overflowing out of bathing suit tops I bought on the beach in Acapulco (I later gave away that bathing suit to my cousin, which I still regret). I even bought a couple of Air Bras where the padding is a little package of air. I really didn't need this extra lift, but I did know enough not to buy a water bra. Man were those heavy!

The Panache Superbra

As I entered university I was blessed to grown yet another size into a traditional 36D (or so I thought!). My boobs continued to bring me love, and prosperity, and containing them was easy while wearing lululemons and hoodies. 

Enter the work world. Five years ago, I began teaching and started to wearing button up blouses. This is where my padded bras from La Senza started to give me trouble. I just couldn't get that middle button to stay shut and was always adding pins to keep them closed, or with the help of my mother, sewing them shut. 

My cousin was getting married at the end of that September and my Aunt was on the search for a great strapless bra. One of her girlfriends told her about a new store in Westboro called BraChic: a bra fitting boutique. She went, bought a great strapless bra and couldn't be more pleased. What she was surprised about the most was that they had measured her for a completely different size than what she had been wearing for 50 years! My cousin also went for a visit, and came home with several bras also in a size that she had never imagined. I knew that I had to visit this store for myself! What I didn't know, what that my life and how I wore my shirts was about to change forever...

Locked and Loaded in style

I arrived at BraChic and was instantly in awe of all of the lace, silk, and colours before me. Almost all of the bras in the store come from the UK where they clearly understand the needs of woman better than us in North America. I guess Margaret Thatcher did more for her country that we ever imagined! 

The sales ladies were so kind, calming and they really knew their bras. I knew I wanted a strapless bra and a black bra. At the time they only sold two different styles of strapless bras because they knew that these ones were the best. She first measured me and declared me to a smaller band size, and a MUCH larger cup size than I had been wearing. Much to my boyfriends dismay, I don't need to give you my actual size, but it just sounded crazy to me and  is not available in any traditional bra shop. She explained that I had a small rib cage, and that every inch my bosom expanded from my chest was an extra cup size. I was wearing 6 inches of extra bra that I didn't even need!

I bought the two bras, thanked her profusely and went home to try on all of my clothes. My shirts now buttoned, cleavage didn't spill out of dresses, and I felt about 10 pounds thinner. I promptly got rid off all of the other bras and committed myself to a life of well fitting clothes. 

Fantasie's Fabulous Strapless Bra

Since that fateful day, I have purchased more bras from BraChic, but also discovered I can order my rare size on eBay direct from UK stores for around $30/bra. I love the brand Panache and have never found trouble finding exactly what I need. This is also a great site to browse for lots of different style available.

I have recommended BraChic to every large breasted, and even small breasted friend I have ever encountered and not one has been disappointed. I can't express to you how many friends have put finding their perfect bra size on the backburned, then finally took the time to go get properly measured. Every single one of them thanked me, and went on to recommend BraChic to other girlfriends. Fortunately, I discovered my proper size while in my twenties, and I hope you can do the same.

Who would want to burn their bras when they are this comfortable?