style definitions

I've been thinking today about definitions of style and how one might go about defining their own personal style. I have a really hard time doing this because my wardrobe contains pieces from all over the place. I know what kind of image I'm going for in my head, but I can never quite put a label or name to it. This becomes difficult when websites like Chictopia ask me to classify my style in terms of an era or label. My clothing is very rarely all from one era and I'm never really doing a theme. I usually end up putting "classic" "casual" or "vintage" if enough of my pieces are vintage. This is getting boring though! I'm not saying I want to be able to classify my style, I think it's not so necessary, however, it can be helpful for sites like Chictopia. What do you guys think? Do you have a hard time like me defining your personal style in terms of labels? Do you think it's easier to connect with readers if you have a "define-able" style? Let me know in the comments!

outfit deets: shoes, belt - vintage // tights - h&m // skirt - thrifted // top - Le Chateau

This is what I wore today, all day, and it was really comfortable. It was another boiling day so I was happy to be wearing white on top. I liked the look of the tights, because I didn't want to appear too casual - but it would have been cooler without them. Didn't matter so much though because I was in an air conditioned office setting for most of the day.

I liked the way these pictures turned out today - it was just starting to cloud over as I snapped them so I liked the lighting that provided a lot. I had fun with it. Now as I am sitting here I hear thunder rolling in. Time for showers!

out and about in... the junction

Hey guys! I decided to do another little feature on one of my fave haunts around Toronto. I've already shown you guys Kensington Market so today I chose The Junction! I've always lived in Toronto's west end and it's my home. The junction is only a few steps away from my house and it's an area that has been "about to gentrify" for a few years now. Not sure it will ever happen, and I hope that it doesn't, because I love it the way it is. It's a great place to find used books, get cheap manicures, sip a latte and enjoy the view at one of the quiet cafe's or have an awesome eating experience at one of the many restaurants you will find there. The Purple Onion has great breakfast, The Friendly Thai has great Thai food, and The Beet has an amazing organic strawberry and Kefir smoothie. YUM. Also there is a yummy Maltese bakery and a fantastic organic grocery store called The Sweet Potato.

I had lots of fun hanging out and taking pictures in the Junction today despite how incredibly hot it was today. I was dressed pretty appropriately for the heat though so I managed. It's amazing how many new things you discover when you have a camera in tow and are thinking in terms of pictures. I'll definitely be doing this "out and about in..." idea more often because I have lots of places I still want to show you. What do you guys think?

outfit deets: shoes - dexter // skirt - thrifted and altered // necklace & belt - vintage

I'm pretty in love with this outfit. I just recently got around to hemming the skirt and it's one of my new staples. It's got pockets and everything. The shirt and the shoes just went so perfectly too, I was happy with how it turned out!

organic mangoes at The Sweet Potato



organic oranges at The Sweet Potato

I love some of the old houses in and around the junction. This is one I always admire so I snapped a picture of it today. I love the old car that sits infront of it too, it has a great license plate too that I thought I better not photo. Just know though, it's awesome!

Anyway guys I hope you are having a great week!

Til next time,

xxRobyn :)

sweet and rough

Hey guys! Jessica from What I Wore issued a challenge this week to pair up one of your sweet and girly pieces with some of your tougher pieces. So I paired up this flower-print chiffon dress with an old military inspired jacket of mine. I quite enjoyed the results!

The whole tough/rough and feminine/sweet thing always reminds me so much of the last scenes of the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie where Kristy Swanson is wearing this white frilly, really quite pretty prom dress. At some point she throws on Luke Perry's leather motorcycle jacket. Too good. She was so badass.

outfit deets: shoes - naturalizers // dress - h&m // jacket - thrifted // belt - vintage

I'm keepin' it short on this lazy long weekend. Til next time guys!

xxRobyn

kensington market

Hellos! So today I ventured into Kensington market. It's a market in downtown Toronto that has everything from head shops, to fruit and fish stands, to vintage clothing shops, to some of the best cheese you will find in Toronto, and some delicious and quaint little eateries. We went to this place called The Grilled Cheese that just recently opened. I got the "Turk-2000" - which was delish! I highly recommend the joint and will have to return there soon.

outfit details: shoes - payless // jean shorts - real old // tank - thrifted // vest - h&m // necklaces - vintage, thrifted, and from Dale

Kensington has been one of my favourite haunts since I was in high school. I used to go there and buy tonnes of cheap plastic jewellery and sunglasses. Now I prefer the vintage stores like Exile (pictured below) and Flashback (my fave). Over the years the shops have become increasingly more expensive but Flashback retains some pretty reasonable prices.

I took some cheesy mirror shots in one of the stores because I was having some real trouble getting good lighting outside. Not that the lighting was any better in there, oh well! Such is life, I will have to go back another day and get more snaps.

I opted for a pretty simple outfit today because it was really hot. Got up to 29 degrees celsius! These shorts did me well in Cuba so I slipped em on today. I was nice and cool.

I think I might do more posts like these in the future, where I do a little profile of my fave places in Toronto. What do you guys think?

xxRobyn

**links to the pictures that aren't mine are embedded in the photos

mosquito bites

Hey guys, I got a whole whack of new mosquito bites taking these pictures outside today. Greaatt. I also have to stop taking pictures with my mom or grandmother present - they make me make funny faces. They're silly people. So excuse the extra weird faces today.

Today was a good day! I potentially have some exciting news re: the launch of Rhitbee Anne Vintage on Etsy. However, I will say no more until things become more official :)

outfit deets: shoes - thrifted Naturalizers // skirt & belt - vintage // shirt - h&m // necklaces - thrifted
I had a meeting today that I was pretty sure wasn't going to require extremely formal attire so I threw on my favourite pencil skirt, a flowery top and some comfy peep toes and was on my way. For the actual meeting I wore stockings and a cardigan but took them off when I got home because it became quite hot out!

After the meeting I went to go buy conditioner and walked out of the store with shampoo. I swear I had the conditioner in my hand, it must have magically turned into shampoo. I didn't realize until I was on the subway home. Now we have like 5 bottles of shampoo in my house and no conditioner because my mother and I keep doing this.

Alright guys, I'm going to try and get some outfit shots in new locations in the next few days! I need to do some mixing up.

Talk soon!

xxRobyn

hawaii in the city

Hello folks. For the most part today has been rather cloudy and dreary. I haven't been outside a whole lot either, mainly just working inside. I have yet to ever wear this top I altered so I thought I would throw it on to brighten my day a little.

I found this piece at a thrift shop about a year ago. In it's original state it was a floor length moomoo made in Hawaii. It has one side pocket and the reason I bought it was for the adorable sleeves! They're cute little tulip sleeves. Originally I intended to make it into a mini dress but I cut it too short and so I decided to make it a tunic length. I don't think I'm done with the alterations either. It's a little too big and needs to be taken in at the back because it bunches too much. Anyway. I'm going to aim for a bunch of outfit photos this week! So look forward to that. Also, my etsy store is well on it's way to opening. So many exciting things!

outfit deets: tunic - thrifted and altered by me // jeans - Gap // shoes - payless// belt - vintage

til next time guys!

xxRobyn

kimchi&blue dress: four ways

Hey guys! I thought it was about time for another four ways post. This Kimchi&Blue dress had been sitting in my closet for awhile unworn so I thought it would be the perfect to do some remixing with to give myself some ideas as well as you guys! I really love being able to successfully remix a piece a bunch of different ways and I think this dress has so many possibilities. I love that the top has enough interest to be work well with a different bottom but the skirt is full enough to be work with another top. I got it onsale at Urban Outfitters last season. I think it was like 15 bucks - score. Also, it has pockets - double score.

outfit deets: kimchi&blue dress - UO // skirt - altered and thrifted by me // shoes - payless // belt - vintage

I imagine this dress being perfect for a dinner date or a casual summer night out with friends.

outfit deets: kimchi&blue dress- UO // shirt dress worn as coat - thrifted // belt - vintage // shoes - payless

I would probably wear this out to lunch or shopping or a casual family dinner. It is pretty comfy and I just love the interest the clasping hands belt adds!

outfit deets: kimch&blue dress - UO // breton striped tee - ann taylor // corduroy vest - thrifted // shoes - naturalizers

This is most definitely a running errands/going to school outfit. Well, I might change up the shoes to a flat but otherwise this would be perfect for a regular day in the city.

outfit deets: kimchi&blue dress - UO // tee - shirt.woot.com // shoes - vintage

This is what I would call a "bummin around" outfit. I'd wear it whilst lounging around watching some Doctor Who and walking to the store on a summer's night to get some popsicles!

Which remix is your fave and how would you remix a dress like this? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

til next time,

xxRobyn

hurricane glass

Hey lovelies, these will probably be the last pictures I share from cuba. These are two looks I wore out for dinner - the first was to dinner at the buffet and the second was to dinner at the Japanese restaurant (actually, my fave place to eat there.)

Dale and I tried three times to go to catch the sunset before dinner. It was only on the third time that we caught it in it's full glory. I was so happy to capture some pelicans on that night too. Everything I'm wearing here has been remixed previously on the blog (four ways of the brush stroke skirt can be found here)except for the pinky red rose dress which is from h&m. I adore that dress and was so happy to be wearing it on the night we caught the full sunset!

All in all I had a lot of fun being in Cuba and away from the things I am used to, but I don't know that I will be rushing back to any all-inclusive resorts any time soon. The food on the trip was really not that great, but because we were on a resort that was not close to very much we were sort of stuck with it. My stomach continues to reel from the food, but it is slowly getting better. I think the fact that the resort was in Cuba has something to do with the food being sub-par, but I won't get into that here unless people are interested in that discussion! Have any of you been to an all-inclusive resort? Where? How did you enjoy the experience?

Anyway, I will see you guys tomorrow hopefully with another four-ways post. Lets hope the rain holds off!

Cheers!

xxRobyn

substitute scene

Hey peoples, I had a pretty chill day today. Just caught up on the Lost, Doctor Who and Breaking Bad I missed this week, went for a yummy sandwich dinner with a friend and watched the Habs win game six.

The weather in Toronto is completely different than it was in Varadero. So cold! I'll take it over the extremely humid weather we had in Cuba though. My skin is finally going back to normal. I'm done school and it feels so weird to have no school work to do! I better enjoy it while it lasts - I only have a month and a bit before I have to go back to school for summer classes.

Guys, you have no idea how good it felt to have straight hair today. My hair was crazy curly in Cuba and it was beginning to drive me bonks! Also, it was too hot to wear much black or darks in general so I just piled it on as soon as I got back. Sometimes I forgot how much I rely on black as a stand by.

I wanna talk a little about my shoes. I love them! I found them at a thrift shop a few weeks ago. They're naturalizers too! So they're pretty damn comfy now that I have worn them a few times. They're everything I have been looking for for the past few years and there I found them waiting for me... in my size. almost new. at a thrift shop. 15 bucks! Score. I don't believe in fate... but jeez, pretty special.

Outfit Deets: dress - thrift // scarf - vintage // tights - UO // shoes - thrift (Naturalizer)

*listening to: Elliott Smith - Waltz #2

All I listened to on vacay was Elliott Smith and Catherine Feeny. Just went so perfectly with the sounds of the ocean. His music is such a constant for me in my life. I can't listen to him when I'm anxious, but listening to him when I'm calm helps me get through my later anxious moments in a really important way. I wonder if he knew what his music could do. I really hope so.