I know I talk about the weather way too much BUT it’s so annoying lately! Has anyone else noticed a lot of people this year are taking their warm weather getaways to Florida etc. at end of April or early May? Smart! Anyway, the good news is that at least it’s feeling springy because the days are getting way longer. It’s nice to not have to drive home from work in the pitch dark and to be able to put the kids to bed in a dusky light. Right?
Longer days are good for the social life too. I’m definitely more open to being spontaneous and accepting a last minute invite to meet up for drinks or dinner after work. It’s just easier to get out and about a bit more. Last week, I met up with friends at Actinolite, a new restaurant on Ossington North of Bloor. It’s a cool little neighbourhood-y place opened by our friends Justin and Claudia, another husband and wife team. Claudia is a food stylist and producer for Top Chef and Justin has cooked at Susur, Batifole and other top restaurants. The food was awesome, the atmosphere casual yet chic and it was just really nice to get out during the week instead of always waiting until Saturday night.
This week’s Style Fix shows you how easy it is to put together an outfit that can take you from day to night with very little effort and fuss. Change your shoes, touch up the lipstick and off you go. Enjoy!
This week, our Weekly Style Fix video features my favorite style icons. I am all about women developing their own personal sense of style. My goal is to offer women wardrobe essentials that they can make their own. I love when we get a couple of girlfriends or sisters come into the store and try on clothes together. Its so fun to see how the same dress can look completely different depending not just on the women's body shapes but also on how they wear it and their personalities. I have seen sisters come in and one is boho-hippy chic and one is uptown and they can try on a bunch of the same things but just look so wonderfully different, lovely and amazing because of their personal style. Anyway, hope you like today's video which is my shout out to three of my favourite style icons: Coco Chanel, Kate Moss and Gwenyth Paltrow. Check it out to see why I think these women have great style. Enjoy!
How is everyone enjoying the "summer" weather?! It'll go back to being spring I am sure but the warmth has everyone in a great mood. It also has lots of women scrambling to quickly change-over their wardrobe. Some of us aren't feeling quite ready to show our paste-y winter skin but its getting to be that time. A great way to transition to the spring season is by adding fun, colourful accessories to your outfit. Brights are really hot for spring summer - they are fun, happy and can instantly brighten up pale winter skin. And, if you're more of a neutral wardrobe gal, accessories are a super easy way to add a bit of colour. Check out today's style fix video for some tips on how to use accessories to wear colour now. Enjoy!
This week's style fix video gives you a little peek at my design process - start to finish. When we started Ziliotto, Bruno and I debated whether I should just design my own line and we'd work on getting a distributor to sell my clothes through other stores or whether we'd be really crazy and be designers and retailers too. We went for crazy! While its busy, one of the great things about being a designer and having our own boutiques is that I get constant interaction with you guys, the fabulous women who come to our store and inspire me.
I'm very inspired by street fashion too. Its so cool to now have stores in three different hoods. I find there's a real distinct look for each of our Ziliotto neighbourhoods. Queen west is all about the cool vintage coat and loop scarf. Danforth is puffy coats and super fun, whimsical hats and I've seen a lot of ladies in fur coats, hats and accessories (real and faux) in Bloor west. Can't wait to see what the spring/summer looks will be in each.
So come visit and continue to inspire me. Your look may end up in one of our lines! Enjoy!
It’s been an absolutely awesome week getting to know the Bloor West hood and the great people who live there. Thanks so much to everyone who has stopped by. We are really loving it so far! My Italian side is needing some extra discipline to resist the cannoli two doors down – while it warms my heart and makes me think of my nonna, I gotta stay on that clean living plan!
All our stores are feeling really spring-y. Even though it’s been an insanely mild winter, we’re feeling a bit done with big boots and heavy coats. March break is coming up, and we’re all ready to embrace spring dressing. This week’s style fix features our fabulous Alarice’s favorite spring looks. Alarice is mostly at our Danforth boutique and our customers there know that she’s a fashion gal who knows her stuff and is an amazing stylist. Check out her top looks for some spring inspiration. Enjoy!
The new Bloor West store opens tomorrow!! I fear Bruno may have one of his typical all-nighters. No matter how much we plan, it’s always exactly like that reality show Opening Soon with final details being down to the wire. I will make sure I get at least a few hours sleep so I’m fresh and fun. Please come visit me! (2380 Bloor St. West) Our spring line has started to arrive. So if the grey and rain is getting you down today, you’ll love that we’ve gone back to basics with some adorable print tees. The soft pastels of the print instantly make an outfit feel springy and light.
My in-laws will be arriving very soon from France and all I can say is Dieu merci! I jokingly and lovingly call Bruno’s mom “ma bonne” since she completely takes over the household and will make all good again. She will have everything running smoothly in no time. Cannot wait! With her arrival, my to do list shortens and I always do a bit better with my “self-care,” which is what today’s Style Fix video is all about. Feeling good really does make such a difference to how we look and carry ourselves. “Be good to yourself” really should be everyone’s number one fashion and beauty rule! Check out the five strategies I’m focusing on right now. Enjoy!
A big thank you to everyone for sending me birthday wishes last week and for making our Queen of Hearts event such a huge success. Merci! Time goes so fast that I could hardly believe it was my birthday again. And, honestly, some days if feels like we just opened our Danforth location and now I have exciting news that in a matter of days, we'll have a new, new location. I'm kind of bursting that it's happening so quickly!
Our newest store will be opening in Bloor West village at 2380 Bloor Street West. I've heard there's a massive network of great women in that hood and I can't wait to get in there and help them build their fabulous spring wardrobes Ziliotto style. Check out today's style fix video for a few of my favorite, fun looks from our spring collection. It's been grey this week but spring's honestly going to be here before you know it.
It’s our last Style Fix of January and I am happy to update
you all that my strategies to avoid the Jan blues worked (for the most part). Big
whooo hooo!! Thanks again for all the tips sent in. And, a really big thank you
for all your support for our little videos we make! I have to say, I’ve enjoyed
becoming a youtube-er. We have a lot of fun shooting them. I’m so touched when
friends and customers tell me they watch them and it’s also been interesting to
get comments and feedback from unknown viewers who just stumble upon us.
This week, we’re introducing a new series called “top five.”
Watch for it the last week of the month – the categories will change up and we
are always open to suggestions. Let us know what you’d like to see.
Since we have so much fun dressing our amazing customers and
doing what we can to make you look even more fantastic, I wanted to start with
my Top Five Fashion Mistakes. We’ve all made one or all of these little
“don’ts” at some point. Ya live and learn, right? But, if we can avoid a few
key fashion faux pas, we have a better chance of looking great and feeling
comfortable in our own skin, which I think is the number one way to look your
best.
Check out our Top Five Fashion Mistakes video and let me
know what you think. Enjoy!
Well, despite the snow and poor driving conditions, I have to confess that I am much more relaxed this Friday than I was last Friday! Thank you to all of you who tuned to watch our television network debut on CBC's Marketplace as the show tested our customer service. It was a great opportunity for us but boy was that nerve-wracking! Bruno and I were cringing in the back room during the taping while fake salespeople gave our customers horrible customer service and hidden cameras filmed the reactions. We soooooo wanted to run into the store and say sorry its just for a television show! It was all good in the end and we've gotten great feedback.
Thanks to all of you who passed on your tips for fighting the winter blues. I got great advice about a tea that is supposed to help. I'll try
to post it later. And, one of my favorite tips was to smile more. I'm going to try smiling lots on my longer, slower drive to work today and
focus on the fun side of snow. I'll keep you posted!
As we mentioned, cash flow in January can bring on the blues for many. This week's Style Fix video looks at some great ways to use key basics to stretch your wardrobe and stretch your budget - always a good thing during the post holiday cash crunch. It honestly doesn't take much to turn a few basics into week's worth of looks. Check it out. Enjoy!
While that greeting sounds chipper, anyone who knows me knows that January is always a tough month for me. The celebratory season is suddenly over, I feel a bit sluggish from too much fun in December, Toronto gets really gray and cold and the store slows down so I feel a bit dull and lonely. I have worked hard the last two years to combat these January blues and this year I thought it would be fun to share some of my tips.
Colour is huge this time of year. Yesterday, my friend Julie burst into the store wearing a bright tomato orangey-red hat. She looked so joyful (OK, it was her birthday) and fun that it made me want to throw on some bright, bold accessories too! She totally inspired my first anti-winter blues style fix video. Click here to check it out. Also, please email or facebook us any of your fave January blues busting tips. The more the merrier we will all be. And come visit me so I don't get lonely! Enjoy!
