Local Feature: Gloss

Top - Gloss

Pants - American Eagle

Today I thought that I would share with you one of my favorite stores to shop at in Kitchener-Waterloo (this is not a sponsored post). Gloss is a boutique and hair salon located on King St, downtown Kitchener.

I originally found out about Gloss through a Looks on Campus feature on College Fashion. I was so excited because I rarely see anything related to Canada on that website and this feature not only focused on a Canadian student but it mentioned that she liked to shop at an independently owned store in the city in which I lived! I knew I had to check it out immediately.

I headed to downtown Kitchener to check it out and I was not disappointed. The clothes are beautiful and have interesting details that you don't tend to find at stores in a mall. The clothes do tend to a bit more expensive than say H&M and Dynamite but the quality is much higher. While chatting with the owner she shared how she only orders clothes that are made in North America or Europe as a way to ensure the quality of the clothes. I, for one, am impressed by this strategy because it also supports clothing manufactures in North America and Europe. It's these local producers who have to pay their employees decent minimum wages and end up investing in their local community.

I am a huge advocate for buying local and supporting local and independently owned businesses. This is most likely due to my mother owning a small store throughout my adolescence. I have learned through first hand experience not only how much local businesses support the community that they are in but how much local businesses require the support of their community. 

Gloss is a great example of a local business because it provides fantastic products and services and actively gives back to its community. The store hosts monthly give aways that you can participate in by posting you wearing an item that you purchased there on Instagram. If your post has the most likes by the end of the month then you win store credit equal to the value of the original item. I have already won a month of this contest (winning item posted below) and used my credit towards a necklace and a pair of plum pants that I have worn on this blog. The first photo is the outfit that I have entered for the month of February (Please like it here).

Dress - Gloss

Belt - Colorblind

Boots - Spring

Ring - Ardene

As always I will continue to be 

Just Jacklynn 

Thrifted Thursdays: Blue Velvet DIY

 Oh good Lord what am I wearing you ask?

This is a velvet dress that I found at VallueVilliage two years ago. At the time I had a friend who was good with sewing so hemming it wouldn't have been a problem. Unfortunately that never worked out and this sad dress - full of potential - sat in a drawer.

Luckily (for me) velvet is everywhere on the runways these days so I finally bit the bullet and decided that I would hem it myself. I have a whole week off school and the dress only cost me $7 so why not?

I should mention that I have absolutely no sewing skills whatsoever. Still, I am a determined, independent young lady so I would not let that stop me. I found some no-sew hemming tape and got to work. Again the dress was only $7. Even if it didn't work out I would still have had a crafty afternoon which I haven't had for a long time.

 First to go were the shoulder pads.

I cut off about a foot of fabric. The circumference of this dress was so large that the resulting scrap piece of fabric was about 7ft long. One thing I knew about altering clothes/fabrics is that before you do anything to them test it out on a small hidden piece first. I grabbed a chunk of the scrap piece and tested out my iron on it (apparently irons and velvet don't always work) as well as the hemming tape to make sure that it would stick. Both were successful!

I ironed the (inside) panels of the dress to make sure that I had a straight, flat hemline.

Next I lined the pieces of hemming tape a long my new hemline. I bought a PeelNStick version for roughly $6. Other versions of hemming tape require heat to activate the glue but my kind was sticky enough without heat. I was reminded of this fact repeatedly because while trying to place the tape carefully it would get stuck to my fingers and then I would need a new piece.

After aligning my tape along my new hemline I would pull off the paper backing and carefully fold over the excess fabric. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of this step.

This is the final product. I was very happy with the results. The only thing I regret is that it took me two years to get this done!

Dress - ValueVilliage ($7)

Pride & Prejudice Scarf - Gift from roommate

Belt - Colorblind

Tights - Walmart

Boots - Aldo

Headband - Target

LORELAI: She's a craft person now, so it's not safe to leave anything around her anymore.
RORY: Maybe that's where crafty comes from.

-Gilmore Girls, Season 4

Hehehe I couldn't resist a Gilmore Girls there! But that is me being 

Just Jacklynn

Reading week

It's Reading Week for me and that means that it's back to Goderich for a chance to recharge my batteries. Most of my assignments and midterms were before Reading Week so I can actually enjoy my time off and not spend all of it studying.  I cannot slouch off entirely though.

 Luckily the Goderich Library is really cool and a great place to study. It is in an old triangular building with a turret that is now a reading room. They expanded the year I moved to town so I never had the chance to explore it in its original condition but you can still see parts of the original exterior while sitting in the new Great Hall.

 

Tea & Music are study essentials no matter where I am.

I thought my scarf with a excerpt from Pride & Prejudice was fitting for the library.

 

Just Jacklynn

Thrifted Thursday

Introducing a new thing that I will be doing here - Thrifted Thursday!

I love thrift shopping. It is a great way to pick up unique clothes and it is relatively easy to do even if you have a small budget. Kitchener-Waterloo has a great amount of thrift shop/consignment stores. Because of this wide selection I have quite a few thrifted goodies which should allow me to do these posts with reasonable frequency.

 This first Thrifted Thursday features a great way to keep warm out while it is still cold outside. Nothing says warmth like a cable knit, wool sweater. What caught my eye about this sweater in particular are these tiny little pearl beads woven throughout the front. It adds such a delicate touch that makes this just that little bit more special than a regular cable knit.

I get incredibly pale during the winter. Lipstick helps give some more color to my face. I find that even on mornings that I have to be at school early (8:30 am cognitive neuroscience labs ugggh!) I like to add a dab of lipstick. It helps me feel a little bit more prepared for what the morning will bring and keeps me from looking like a tired, pale dungeon troll.

Sweater - White Tiger Vintage

Tank Top  - Buffalo

Pants - Gloss

Necklace - Aldo

Ring - Ardene