I’ve never been a girlie girl by any means. I know designers, what’s “trendy” etc. but mostly due to my own personal style, attitude and honestly - budget - I’ve never been on the cutting edge. Over the last few years that best I could do was learn to dress for my body type. It’s like what Stacy and Clinton say - ignore the size numbers and get things that fit your body. I’ve also been able to find things that shape the top of my torso without ballooning out and way from my waist, making me look as though I’m in my second trimester. Long story short, I’m far from being an authority on fashion like the women who contribute to The Style Spy — who just so happen to be hosting an event this Friday.

The Style Spy is a group blog where you can find cosmetic tips, trends, latest looks, and enter contests. Last week I received an email notifying me of the Fabulous Life Event, which upon first inspection wouldn’t normally be my scene, but when I saw that it was taking place at The Bay downtown - I was sold.

What: The Style Spy’s Fabulous Life Event - Lounge, Red Carpet, Hollywood Snapshots, Cocktails & Appies, Perfume Bar, Jewelery Bar, Door Prizes, Swag Bags & sketches.
When: Friday March 14, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Where: The Bay Downtown, 674 Granville Street, Vancouver
More Info: The Style Spy

The Bay is definitely where I find the best clothing and everything is usually discounted when you get to the till, which is always a treat. (Latest purchase: Pink, silk, Nine West tunic for $29).

Aside from the location, I thought it would a great opportunity to meet Erica, founder of The Style Spy, with whom I’ve shared the occasional blogosphere correspondence.

I also knew someone who would immediately appreciate an event like this would be Keira-Anne so I enlisted her as my date. Through the magic of Facebook I discovered another blogger with a keen sense of what’s chic will be attending so it will be nice to meet her as well.

If you’d like to attend sign up to be a Style Spy member by visiting the site, then be sure to RSVP by emailing party [at] thestylespy.com and who knows, maybe I’ll learn a thing or two.

A while back Duane and I were on iChat talking about how it was almost lunch time. We exchanged some html talk like *hunger* me */hunger* (replacing * with the brackets of course) and it soon evolved into some php code that I simply can’t share because it may further screw up the format of this blog post. Needless to say, it was really fun… and uber nerdy.

I was browsing around this evening on the lookout for some new nerd-friendly t-shirts after being inspired by this shirt last week and a conversation Meg had on Twitter this morning. Unfortunately all I found was a serious lack of geeky t-shirts for women.

I’m not talking about the pink (and don’t get my wrong, I like pink) and sparkley “Geek Girl” shirts. I don’t want a shirt that states the obvious, I want something that would instantly display my geek-cred not one of those “*tits* */tits*” tops. (again, replacing * with the brackets)

Shirts like “I (heart) my Geek” are also cute, but I don’t want something that says I’m with a geek. ThinkGeek almost had me with “#!/usr/bin/girl“, “#include love.h” or with their babydoll version of “There’s no place like 127.0.0.1” until they threw on the ruby slippers.

This isn’t about feeling the need to validate my geekdom with a message t-shirt, it’s just that you know, I happen to own a few select message tees. They’re fun to have in the closet to bust out every now and then.

I think I can almost dig this little number from Cafepress, “Roses are #FF0000“, and upon flipping through the pages there are a few more gems like: “Turn me On“, with a cute little Mac power button, “Mac Chick Pro“, and okay I even got a chuckle out of “There’s Nothing Funny About Tubgirl“. I also like the pinup concept, but not sure I like this design in particular.

From Jinx I found the following that were pretty decent: “I’m only here because my server is down“, and “Arrogant Linux Elitist“.

I also giggled quite often looking at Syswear, however it was more of a sympathetic giggle followed by a groan: “That’s funny, it worked on my machine“, and “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature“.

But seriously, where else can I find some fun geek shirts, made for women, that are not gamer talk, contain no references to MySpace but just plain old… geeky?

Seriously, how much is it to ask for some fan merchandise for women that isn’t full of bling? I don’t want pink, sequins or sparkles, just some items with the team colours so that I can represent. I’ve ranted about this in another post but that was before I laid eyes on some of the “new” gear in the Canucks team store online.

Women can like hockey, and they can be fashionable while showing support for their teams and by fashionable I mean wearing things that are complimentary to the female form, contain the team’s colours or logo, and come in all sizes for women (big and small… in all areas).

Word on the street is that the sports jersey section of The Bay downtown (the part that borders on Granville Skytrain Station) sells official-looking fitted women’s jerseys that are quite stellar.

I’m not a girlie girl although you will catch me wearing pink things and giggling like a schoolgirl on occasion. However, when it comes to hockey I know where the line is and that it certainly does not contain any sequins.

I picked up a copy of LouLou Magazine while I was getting my hair done at Envy the other day. Geez, look at me, reading fashion magazines and sitting in a salon for the second time in as many weeks. It was the first time I’d ever glanced at LouLou and the one-page green shopping guide caught my eye. It featured a laptop bag made from recycled seatbelts, a Cargo PlantLove lipstick case made of corn, and a purse that consisted of an old skateboard deck fashioned with a clasp. Admittedly, the skater clutch caught my attention the most and with the url “BeckyCity.com” posted at the end of the page, I knew I’d remember to look it up when I got home.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in New York City, Beck(y) is a shrewdly designed collection of handcrafted, one-of-a-kind bags and accessories constructed with recycled skateboards and plush, high-end fabrics. [Beck(y) Bags]

The Sk8bag handbags look pretty awesome and come in square and curved mini-tote clutches, but Beck(y) also makes two styles of unisex messenger bags, belts, buckles, money clips and even an iPod case.

My neat-meter peaked when I also found out that whenever anyone donates a used deck to be made into a handbag, Beck shares a slice of the profits with skateboarding-related charities.

Beck established the Boards 4 Bowls program. For every used board she receives Beck donates $3 to a variety of non-profit organizations dedicated to building and maintaining public skateparks across the country. Beck currently works with the Tony Hawk Foundation, Jeff Anderson Memorial Fund and Elemental Awareness. [Beck(y) Bags]

On the Beck(y) website it says the Sk8bags should be available in Vancouver at Lark 8th Ave. I may just have to take a trip to Lark (which also has a blog) so I can hopefully spend the rest of my happyfrog funds on something eco-nifty… although I may only be able to afford the money clip, still - it’s worth checking out.

Update: D’oh! I might not be able to count this as a happyfrog purchase cause they’re not made in BC or by a BC company… will be on the lookout for more goodies to share!

Aside from worrying about not being tan enough, or having the right summer outfit, there’s a new front for non-anorexic-sized women to battle this summer.

Photo credit: kk+ on Flickr

In the series Seinfeld, muffin tops were coveted items [wiki]. They were sold alone and not with the actual muffin itself because they’re the tastiest part. Tony linked to an article on the LAist yesterday about a different kind of muffin top:

I must ask you Los Angeles: how can we eliminate the social pressure to compress the entirety of one’s belly fat into a sausage-like ring around one’s waist? What sort of protest must we organize to free the spare tires and allow them to disperse in their appropriate locations (i.e. inside the pants)? Which government office should we alert to the rising of the muffin tops over the waistline? [LAist]

Before we hop on the jump to conclusions mat, what the author is really trying to say is that it’s a pet peeve, more than anything. Similar to bra straps showing and thongs visible from the top of the pants.

This is not about being overweight or having a BMI over 30 or society’s pressures to be thin or eating disorders. This is about what the hell were you thinking when you left the house in that outfit with your gut hanging over your belt like that and why did you think that was okay? [LAist]

It happens to everyone and it’s very hard to avoid. The simple solution is to buy clothes that actually fit your body. You can be larger, have an hourglass figure, be bodacious and voluptuous and still not look like the Michelin man. It’s about proportions, sizes, flattering shapes and textures. I am no spring chicken myself but I try my darndest not to cram alls I got into something 3 sizes too small or tiny just because it’s trendy. I’d rather look good and be comfortable than conform to what Robson tells me I should wear - for the sake of it being in fashion.

Oh and if you’re wondering, Tony put his money where his mouth is and posted a pic of his rubenesque muffin top of his blog today as well.