I ♥ U "Sassy"

Does anyone remember reading "Sassy" Magazine back in the 90's?

I LOVED that magazine!!!

I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for this wonderful publication.  I really have to give my younger Sister Monica, credit for introducing me. I was about 16/17 years old at the time. She would subscribe to Sassy and each month I would patiently wait for her to finish so I could enjoy reading each wonderful page.

I vividly remember my heartbreak when I learned that Sassy Magazine would cease to exist.

Where was I going to get my inspiration to change a pillowcase into a dress? How was I going to learn about John Fluvog, sex, drugs, and alternative music?

Being a very girly Rrriot girl, the transition to reading "Alternative Press" was musically satisfying but the absence of "Sassy" still left a void in my punk DIY fashionista heart.  I was still too young to fully appreciate Vogue and anything else left me feeling empty.

I will always love "Sassy" Magazine for re-assuring me that different is awesome. No one did that better and no one probably ever will.

I would love to get my hands on some back issues so I could show them to my Nieces when they get older. I don't know if they'll appreciate them like I did, but I hope to be the kind of role model to them that Sassy was to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sassy_%28magazine%29

Stay Gorgeous Darlings!

XOXO The Fashion Ninja
LiZz de Savoye
lizzdom.tumblr.com

I MADE THIS!!!

Guerilla Fashionistas listen up! 

You are the master of your own destiny! No one dictates your look but you! 

That chainbelt you HATE is now that necklace you LOVE!!

Stay Gorgeous Darlings!

XOXO The Fashion Ninja
LiZz de Savoye
lizzdom.tumblr.com

Return of the Doc!

Doc Martins are BAAAAAACK!!!!

I said they would return this time last year and slowly but surely, I have noticed little black-8 hole versions creeping onto the feet of young girls everywhere!

Of course, me being me, I have chosen instead to go to the next level and found THE most adorable two-tone pair for work!
 
Stay Gorgeous Darlings and remember you heard it from this Rude Girl 1st!

XOXO The Fashion Ninja
LiZz de Savoye
lizzdom.tumblr.com

And now for your DAILY DOSE OF AWESOME!!!!

Today for your "Daily Dose of Awesome" I would like you to stand in front of the mirror you feel you look your best in.

Now look yourself right in the eye and say:

"What was that!? HELL DAMN YES I'm amazing!!!"

Repeat until Gorgeous!

You're Welcome. :]

XOXO The Fashion Ninja
Lizz de Savoye
lizzdom.tumblr.com

To French or not to French?

My little Sister treated her Bridal Party to Mani’s and Pedi’s the day of the rehearsal last Friday.   

SCORE!! 

We were so spoiled where we went!

I could have sat in that massaging chair while getting my toenails painted allllllll day long!

As per usual, the dilemma of what to wear on the hands and what to wear on the feet came up.  All the girls were unsure about what colours to go with, long or short, round or square? Bright or Neutral?  And so on, and so on........

As always, I think the choice is yours.  You have to wear it, so you should love it!

Now, most Brides usually go for the classic French Manicure.  It makes sense!  It looks elegant, hides any dirt under your nails and makes your diamond ring shine, shine, SHINE!!!!

But me, I changed it up a little.  I went for a very light pink shade by Essie for my hands on a round tipped and shorter nail. Since I work with my hands,  I like my them to look clean and this is the best way to do so.

For my tootsies, I went for a bright fuchsia by O.P.I. to match the Brides Bouquet.  Although my shoes were closed toe, at some point I knew I would be changing into sandals.

Et Voila! Elegant hands, fun toes!

I must say, the Salon we went to was wonderful!  They were so busy but made each of us feel as though were the only clients there and that we had all the time in the world! 

I will definitely be returning there in the future!

URBAN NAILS is located at Broadview and Danforth.

http://www.urbannails.ca/ 

Appointments are highly recommended!

Stay Gorgeous Darlings!

XOXO LiZz de Savoye
The Fashion Ninja
http://lizzdom.tumblr.com/

The lobby of the nail salon is so nice and peaceful.

Fuchsia by O.P.I. on my toenails, baby pink by Essie on my hands.

Urban Nails Salon

Say it with Flowers!!!

The next time you go to the florists (or anywhere else) and say the magic words "Wedding", watch how dollar signs magically appear in the eyes!
Can you say "Highway Robbery!?"

This very thing happened to my Sister.

Surprise!  Surprise!

And being the amazing woman she is, she politely thanked the florist and left.  She then went to a different florist, ordered 72 Gerbera Daisies and 6 white roses, watched an online tutorial and had me over for a bouquet making party!

I won't tell you how much money she saved, but it was considerable!!!!

Have I ever mentioned that Fuchsia is my FAVORITE color?  LOVE THESE!!!!!

By the way, it's a known fact that you can't making Bridal bouquets without copious amounts of champagne and orange juice.

You'll notice the green floral wire wrapped around each stem.  Brilliant idea to prevent the daisies from wilting. It also just makes the entire bouquet that much stronger.

I'm so proud of my double bow!  That's probably a result of my endless bow tying at my day job.

The Brides Maids bouquets and Tossing bouquet!  Done and Done!!!

Monica is such a smarty pants!  She kept all the bouquets in various water containers in her crisper over night!  They were literally fresh as daisies the next day!

The day after the wedding, Monica gave us all a few of the center piece flowers to take home.  I put mine in a bowl with water and they are classing up my coffee table quite nicely!

And of course, my Brides Maids bouquet looks lovely on my shelf in the living room!


I wish I could show you the actual pictures from Monica and Colin's Wedding, but they are on Honeymoon right now.  I promise to post once the photographer has given them their choices to edit through.

Enjoy your 1st day of Summer!!!!

And of course, as always,

Stay Gorgeous Darlings!!!

XOXO LiZz de Savoye
The Fashion Ninja

What do you mean you don't have this!?

As per my Sisters request (and since she is the Bride after all), I will be covering up my tattoos during her Wedding ceremony (and for pictures) tomorrow.

I don't want to, but it's her day, so I will.

But how do you do that in June with out passing out from over-heating?

Well, me being me, I decided to leave convention. Instead of the usual "go-to" pashmina, why not cover up with a pretty, nude colored, lace shrug instead?

Seems pretty simple doesn't it?

You would think so......... 

But as per usual, I have a habit of making up things that don't exist. And so yesterday after A LOT of searching in almost every store imaginable (the week prior), I went back down to the fashion district to go buy more fabric to MAKE IT MYSELF!!!

I tweaked the pattern from my favorite "Costa Blanca" summer shrug.

I just smoothed out the front panels to let the lace sit on my collar bone instead of falling across my chest.

To give it that "heirloom" effect, I chose to stitch the entire piece by hand so as not to interfere with the integrity of the lace.

I lightened up the photo to show you the detail in the lace, but in truth, it is actually much darker & almost the exact shade of my skin.  

Et voila!  A very sweet, subtle, shrug that will not only HIDE my tattoos, but will add a touch of romance.

Here's hoping for bright, sunny skies with just a sprinkle of rain in the morning for good luck.

Stay Gorgeous Darlings!

XOXO LiZz de Savoye
The Fashion Ninja

Shoegazing CAN be lucrative!!!!

3 months ago today I was descending the escalator at work when I noticed something familiar and green floating around at the bottom.  Without missing a beat I swooped down when I reached the bottom and promptly marched to the cash office. 

I had found a $20 bill!

SWEET!!!!

Being the honest gal I am, I turned it in and patiently waited the standard 3 months for it to be mine!

And so today I treated myself.

Once upon a time I was the specialist for "Juicy Couture".  I have a rather LARGE collection of charms, but I never got around to purchasing the actual charm bracelet.

You better believe I did today!  With my staff discount and that $20 bill, I only ended up forking over about $28 out of my own pocket!

*GigGle*

Whoever said "looking down while you walk is a bad thing" is probably a very poor person!

 

Stay Gorgeous Darlings!

XOXO Lizz de Savoye
The Fashion Ninja

CUSTOMER FOR LIFE!!!

I went shopping with my Sister in Yorkdale Shopping Centre last night and had
THE BEST customer service experience I can safely say I have ever had!

A friend of mine had given me a coupon for a free lip gloss at "Kiehls" since she knew she wasn't going to make it up to Yorkdale before the expiry date.

SCORE!!

So I happily (and dutifully) took it in hand to the counter in the wonderful smelling and enchanting looking shop.

It was at this time that the Kiehls associate (Tracy) asked me if I had a customer profile with them.  What can I say?  I'm honest and I told her how I came upon the coupon.

Anyone else would have told me "you're not a customer here?  Too bad so sad!  You can't use this then!"

But instead she simply offered to create a customer profile for me so I could get this coupon at a later date.  AND she set me up with some amazing samples!!!!

DOUBLE SCORE!!!

She asked me about my skin routine, my hair care etc. etc.  And as she pulled each sample out of these amazing apothecary drawers, she would scan each one into my profile so I had access to what I had tried anytime in the future.  How wonderful is that?  Further more, to make my samples last, she suggested that I simply prick the end with a pin so as not to let any air in.

Talk about an A-HA moment!

Needless to say, I am MEGA impressed with Kiehls and am looking forward to trying my samples.  You better believe I asked for a business card and gave Tracy major kudos at the end of my visit!

Can you say "Customer for Life"!?

On a closing note, I was SO thrilled with my experience that I made Monica (my little Sister) go buy a beautiful pair of shoes for her wedding at Holt Renfrew.

This shopping trip was a GREAT SUCCESS!!!!

But you'll have to wait another week before you see them!

Stay Gorgeous Darlings!

XOXO Lizz de Savoye
The Fashion Ninja

I now pronounce this dress to be GORGEOUS!!!

After much trial, tribulation, tantrums and tears, I finally have TWO Bridesmaids dresses made.

And just in the nic' of time too!  My little Sisters wedding is on the 18th!

To be fair, I have no formal training.  I have not had the privilege of attending Central Saint Martins.....and it's been about 10 years since I last made a dress.
What can I say?  I am no Alexander McQueen.  But instead of trying to be him, I am simply aiming to be Lizz de Savoye instead.

But I have had the good fortune of being taught to sew by my late mother.  Further more, I have picked up some very useful techniques from my BFF who DID study Fashion and Design!

So as per usual, I fearlessly took the leap!

I know, I KNOW!!  What the H was I thinking when I offered to make these? What can I say?  I LOVE a challenge!  And I can't wait to make more dresses!  Apart from those blasted zippers, I had a bawl!  It was total agony and sheer ecstasy!

I won't visually take you through every step (do you have 12 hours?)...but I will show you some of the more fun parts!

Maggie, my cheerleader!

I think she enjoys the sound of my machine, "Atomic Betty".  She also purrs like a kitten.

MONDAY, JUNE 6th:  KATHRYN'S DRESS

Pinning the outer sheer layer to the satin under layer was essential before sewing the skirt to the bodice.

Creating the pleated waistband took about 2 hours alone.

Well worth the time and effort however as it is the central part of the dress and draws everything nicely together.

 Sheer outer layer of bodice front.

 Satin lining of bodice front.

12 hours of marathon sewing later...... I finished Kathryn's dress Monday night!
Hooray!  And Happy Dance!

Going to do a final fitting with her in Sat. eve.  My fingers are crossed that it fits her beautifully!


TUESDAY, JUNE 7th: MY DRESS!!!

Ah zippers, my old enemy!

Even with a zipper foot, you still vex me

and inspire many swears.

Have I ever mentioned my love affair with MOKUBA?

It is the most heavenly ribbon store in the world!  I don't care that I paid $35 for ribbon.  It looks gorgeous and that's enough for me!

I still have a long way to go with installing zippers and lining.  I cheated on this dress however and just decided to top stitch the lining in.

Don't judge me!

Since this is a strapless dress, I added ribbon loops to hang it by.

My favorite part!

I had a bawl sewing the ribbon to the bust line and the hemline.

Such a simple yet pretty effect!

My 2nd favorite part!  Attaching the tulle to the lining!

I had to make sure I didn't use to too much though.

Nobody wants the Black Swan for a Maid of Honour!

Et voila! 8 hours later I present to you, MY DRESS!!!!!

She looks so pretty!

Can't wait to show you pics from the wedding!

Stay Gorgeous Darlings!

XOXO Lizz de Savoye
The Fashion Ninja