Guest Post- Candice of Brilliant Sugar

Blog world, meet my best friend Candice. Candice and I have been soul mates for close to two decades, and she's pretty well the most beautiful woman I've ever met (gushy, I know!). I'm seriously thrilled that she has decided to start her own style blog. You must, must visit her adorable space right here!. Happy reading!


Hello Doll Parade readers! I'm so happy to have been asked to take part in Kristin's guest blogger week. As a new blogger (it seems strange to even call myself that, to be truthful!) I am embracing this opportunity to say hello and hopefully share my little blog with more readers.

It makes me especially giddy to share my first guest post on Doll Parade - truly one of my favourite blogs! I'm lucky enough to not only know K. in real life, but to share a sister-like friendship with her that has spanned - whoa - almost 15 years! We go way, way back. It's fitting though, to be posting on her personal style blog, as we've watched each other's style evolve tremendously over the years. I've always been and continue to be inspired by her knack for taking risks and having an intangible ability to make basics look stylish. If anyone knows how to embellish, it's my best friend.

This outfit combines two of my favourite colours - black & red. I'm a sucker for red lips and have been wearing them with the most casual or dressed-up outfits for the last year or so. So fun! The skirt is a favourite of mine - it's full yet light and it adds a certain edge, I think. 

I hope you'll come visit me at www.brilliantsugar.com for more treats in the coming weeks. You can also follow me on Twitter at @_brilliantsugar. 

I've admired other blogs for years and I'm so excited to put mine out there - I must admit, I'm feeling pretty smitten with the whole process!

To my best friend - thank you for being eternally stylish, supportive and super inspirational. Love!

(Blouse: Forever 21 Pin: Gifted (Unknown) Skirt: H&M Tights: Hue Shoes: Aldo)

Silver Lining

I joined Kate for another Sunday photo session, and threw an outfit together on a whim, outlining a standard look of mine: black with a touch of bling. As you are probably aware, Canada can be cold. Today was one of those days that was so insanely beautiful through a window, with bleaching sun and glistening snow adorning the streets. Outside though: different story. I still had numb fingers inside this warehouse nook. Thank god for it, though. Canadian Winter blogging can be a challenging hobby, guys. 

I have come to realize that this skirt goes with everything. It is like the dog or cat that I never had: always there for me, hiding under my bed at times, and cozying up to me when I feel lost and confused. It seems to fall into an outfit perfectly, no matter what you pair it with, and as Kate said, "it has volume AND simplicity". Perhaps the most perfect black skirt. I realize that the J. Crew earrings are repeats as well, but I just can't stop wearing them.  This is not their last appearance, and I hope that's okay. 

I picked up this tunic for its sequin pocket and first paired it with an olive military jacket during warmer Fall days. I really enjoy the gauzy white portion that comes out at the bottom. I'm sort of in love with floaty layers, and find it beneficial to create shapes and volume on a 5'3"ish stature. Kate did a great job making me look tall in these (for me), though, and I absolutely love it! 

(Tunic: Esley, Skirt: Mexx, Earrings: J. Crew, Headband: AWear, Shoes: Aldo)

Have the very best Monday, everyone.  Thank you for reading. 

White Washed

Hey Thursday. Since I'm pretty new at this blogging thing, and I'm still adapting to being "on schedule", I'm kind of impressed that I'll be making a quota of four outfit posts a week for my first few weeks now. I'm still deciding on exactly what other content I want in this blog, and I would love some feedback from you all. How much text is too much text? Do you like blogs that are quite personal, mediocre-ly personal, or just a few lines of text in regards to the garments? I know that I really like to talk about styling, but I love lots of other things, too. I guess I'm still finding my niche, and whatever it is, I need it to be sincere. 

Here we have a small shoot I did with Kate of O My Heart! The light was tricky in here, but I was in love with the way it hit some of these photos. I'm pretty obsessed with anything white in palette, and I got to borrowed Kate's Sam Edelman "Effies" for the occasion. I wanted to run off in them! I just love their height. I felt like an amazon lady (okay, I was still under 5'8", even in these - sigh). I also wore a new vintage find - this leather skirt. I pretty much stick to buying furs or leathers in vintage only - I thought this little guy was pretty fun with both pockets and some front detailing. 

It's blizzard-ing outside here in Eastern Canada, and I'm dreaming of the fun landscape it may give me for some photos tomorrow, if I have the time. I have a fun little Rewind post for you for Friday, which features me sporting a actual child's size denim dress. There will be ruffles, so stay tuned. 

(Top: BB Dakota from Je Suis Prest, Skirt: Vintage, Wedges:  Sam Edelman, Necklaces: Aldo & Forever 21, Earrings: J, Crew, Ring: ReNeu Boutique)

Rewind - Common Thief

Hello again! It's Friday, which is the day that is currently dedicated to my Rewind post of the week. Since I only started blogging a few weeks ago, but started taking photos in - oh - May - I have so many backlogged outfit posts. 

My very first rewind featured an outfit from a few years ago, when I was living in Ireland and simply thinking about starting a style blog. Can you tell I procrastinate a wee bit? The second rewind outlined my love for summer, and featured a small photo session that was done in a cornfield. For the third rewind, I sported a floral romper with tights, as it was September and the air was starting to chill. In that post I described my most frequent photo location, which is where I am in today's rewind. This was a few weeks before the Autumn had hit, on the very last day of August. 

I remember this day so well. It being one of the last days of summer, all of my pals were taking off to multiple beaches and swimming holes in order to enjoy one of the last hot days. In lieu of that, I had a date with my brain, spending my day solitary to take a walk across thebridge, visit the trees, and get some coffee.

I was inching towards fall, as you can tell from the military colored dress, brown tones, and sequin bag. I'm still searching for a perfect sequin clutch, but this one did just fine in a pinch, as I was lusting over all things sequin and maybe still am. I just cannot get enough!

(Dress: H&M, Shoes: Nine West, Belt & Tote: Thrifted from reNeu Boutique)

It's kind of late here in the East, and this whole blogging thing has been making me severely miss my bedtime. I think I will sit down over the weekend and work myself out a decent schedule in order to fit everything in during weekdays.

I want to say thank you to all of the bloggers who shouted me out this week - Tieka of Selective Potential, Kate of O My Heart!, and Barb of barbbarbbarb. It is hugely appreciated, and made this week of blogging so much fun. Thank you for reading, commenting, and following as well - every word of encouragement I've received from you new followers has really made my days. Happy weekend!

You Are What You Love

If you are reading this right now, it means that I survived my Monday back to reality after my vacation. I may have required a coffee the size of my head to get things moving and shaking, but I'm back on track, back in the game, and back in the saddle, so to speak. I'm so excited for this post for a few big reasons. First of all, this was my very first photo shoot done with another blogger! Featured below is the beautiful & stylish Kate from O My Heart! - who I have been pals with for a number of years. Doing outfit shots together was so much fun - it's so much easier to be animated when you're with someone who a) understands outfit shots and b) laughs hysterically at your out take pictures. 

The second big reason this post was extra exciting to me was so I could take the opportunity to shout out a big thank you to Tieka of Selective Potential for helping me with my blog design. Tieka did my entire layout, including my header, buttons, font titles, linking, and well.. everything! I put this outfit together in direct inspiration from one of the first outfits that got me hooked on her blog last year - so gorgeous - I hope I did you justice with this interpretation!

(Dress: French Connection, Tights: Hue, Wedges: Aldo, Scarf: Mexx, Belt: Thrifted, Earrings: Aldo)

This dress was given to me by a dear friend who wore it once - beautifully - but decided that it just didn't suit her. It fit me like a glove, and I was so thankful to inherit such a high quality LBD. Thanks, S. <3 

To return the favor of these beautiful shots, I did Kate's photos for the day, and we finished with some hilariously effervescent side by side shots. Go on over to Kate's blog to see the rest of her look. So lovely!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

New Years Eve

Hello hello! What a fantastically fun NYE I had. A few friends came over for a small gathering at my house, where we had a fire, some delicious treats, and many bottles of champagne. After all of the house festivities took place (including a very fast and blurry countdown and these fast and blurry outfit shots - apologies, we were tipsy), we went out dancing into the wee hours of the night. I shared so many hugs & kisses that night, and ended the evening with a moonlit walk across the river to my big comfy bed. I hope that everyone had a wonderful NYE. 

(Dress: Beverly, Tights: Hue, Earrings: J. Crew, Shoes: Michael Kors)

All photos were taken by the most lovely Kate of O My Heart!

Happy New Year!