I remember finding my dream wedding dress and not being able to stomach the $3000 price tag. It may not seem like a lot of money to some people, but as a newly engaged and broke University grad, $3000 was almost the price of my last tuition bill. With a wedding to pay for, honeymoon costs looming and the possibility of buying our first home – I just couldn’t do it. So I decided to get a little creative and find a good compromise. Once you get your heart set on a dress and a style, it’s hard to get that idea out of your head. So what did I do?

I went hunting for sunglasses back in January for my sunny vacation and it seemed like my usual haunts had nothing in stock. Instead of finding sunglasses, I would find racks upon racks of hats, scarves and gloves. Guess it just wasn’t the season for it. The spring collection has now finally hit stores and my fave places are now stocking stacks of different styles in every bright hue. And I've met my love again: the $8 sunglasses I buy every season. What are they?

I am over winter. My sweaters all look depressing, I have already lost a pair of gloves, my scarf is too itchy and I am officially ready for my wardrobe change. Spring is a comin’ and if you’re going to be out there singing in the rain, you might as well look stylish doing it. Get ready to say buh-bye to that goose down jacket, here are my favourite trench coats for spring…

Before the Christmas holidays started, I was in a bit of a frenzy that didn’t permit me to go about my usual well thought out gift buying pursuits. This year it came down to a four hour time slot the weekend before Christmas when I had to get all the gifts on my list and a couple of swanky outfits to get me through the holiday parties in Vancouver—not exactly what I call a leisurely shopping experience.

In the last little while it had become abundantly clear that the 90s are making a major comeback in terms of style. Whether it is Wall Street Journal articles about Elaine Benes as New York’s new style inspiration or hilarious websites about 90s television characters that would fit in perfectly today, the pop-culture realm is overflowing with love for the New Kids on the Block era at the moment. All this reminiscing really got me longing for one staple of my 90s wardrobe in particular…

I’ve never been much of a nail painter. In fact, until recently I have been known to be a bit of a nail biter. The best way to stop biting your nails, it turns out, is to start painting them, so I have started to acquire quite the collection of nail lacquers in order to keep my digits out of harms way.  Just last week I stumbled upon a colour with so much zing it functions as a bit of a mood enhancer—I know that’s a lot to ask of a nail polish, but I swear it’s true! Check it out after the jump.

Buying without trying is a risky business. In certain situations, however, (like say, when I live in Calgary, and my beloved Anthropologie is nowhere to be found) a girl has got to do what a girl has to do. I recently fell head over heels for a slightly retro, multi-coloured silk dress on the Anthropologie site. This love was so deep that I was willing to shell out some pretty major coin (shipping and duty from the states are nothing to scoff at) site unseen and place my very first online clothing order.

Ummm…if the colour scheme of this blog is any indication, it is easy to see we are big fans of pink here at styleswept. That particularity is especially prevalent when I hit the makeup counter. No surprise, then, that after Sephora makeup artist, Adi Lando’s, shared her pick for recreating Natalie Portman’s flawless fuchsia pout I had to run out and get the shade for myself…

I know, I know, the song poses the question, “what are you doing New Year’s Eve,” but that info is far less important than what you will be wearing for those scrambling to make their wardrobe decisions. To me, New Year’s is the one night of the year when you can be your most glamorous self, so that is exactly what I intend to do….