Much as I love fashion, and spend ages on deciding what to take when I am traveling, I screw up.  Oh man, have I screwed up sometimes.  Where do I start?  With my pre-college shopping and packing, where I naively assumed that what was in style in my small town would be in style in the big city?  Oops.  Got that one wrong.  Or how about this time?  Back in the day, I went to a weekend of socializing in Montreal, and everything…..everything!!!….I took to wear was wrong.  I wore a long-sleeved dress to a party when every other female was wearing a summ ..read more

No, we’re not going to plagiarize your novel or steal your great business plan.  We’re just hoping that you’ll share your opinions so we can improve our website and your online shopping experience with us.  Is there a topic you’d like to see discussed in our blog?  Something you’ve wanted to learn? Do you want to write a guest post? Is there an easier way of presenting information about items for sale?  Maybe you find the site confusing or complicated? Tell us. Would you like to see photos of the size or brand tags on garments?  Are there photos we ..read more

Some people have a personal style image, for instance, they always look elegant and rich, or they always look like a hippie, or a biker, or a business executive, or sexy, or bedraggled, or whatever.  That’s a personal fashion style, whatever the specific garments or accessories chosen. Take Kim Kardashian, for example.  That’s a sexy, body-conscious style.  It doesn’t matter if she is wearing a pencil skirt and blouse, or a pair of leggings and a t-shirt.  She uses fit and the garment’s cut to emphasize her body’s curves.   People who focus on looking se ..read more

We don’t sell home-sewn garments on this site, but if you are lucky enough to be able to sew or to have someone sew for you, count your blessings! You can have your clothes customized to fit better.  You can personalize your clothes to express your personality and individuality.  You can have that garment you’ve been imagining, but have not seen for sale! If you make it yourself, the time and effort spent constructing a garment will open your eyes to the unfairness of sweatshop practices.  It will make you realize what goes into a well-made item and why it should ..read more

It seems that whenever a brand becomes highly popular with mainstream teenagers, the company starts to lower its quality standards, using inferior fabrics and shoddier workmanship.   The company then floods the market with these poorer quality products, while keeping the price point at its previous level.  (I am not going to name specific companies, but I am sure you know or suspect some of them.) This is not right.  It is unfair to teens (I hate the implicit assumption that the kids will not notice the poor quality) and it is unfair to the people who pay for their fas ..read more

OMG!  What am I doing?!!  I should be telling you to just buy more clothes from Discoveries.  But nope, that’s not what this post is about. This post is about making the most of what you already own.) I like to think of this as a way to maximize your use of what you already have in your closet, while expanding your style variety.  We all get tired of having closets that are full of clothes, yet at the same time we feel like we have nothing to wear. That’s often because we wear the same old tops with the same old bottoms, and we don’t change it up. Yawn…..boredom c ..read more

According to recent statistics, 64% to 82% of Canadians shop second hand. There are lots of good reasons to do this, including financial considerations, environmental concerns, and personal creativity. Is there a difference between second hand shops and thrift shops? Well, usually in thrift shops the primary consideration is price. The lure of low prices and hidden treasures means less focus on customer experience. The stores may be dirtier or crowded, and the items not organized for easy shopping. Second hand stores range from thrift shops at the low end to curated vintage boutiques ..read more

I have heard so much conflicting advice about this and I have tried all the suggestions.  Most of them didn’t succeed. I mean really. “Wear flipflops. Never wear flipflops. Wear lightweight layers. Wear your heaviest garments. Wear a dress. Wear pants. Wear for the weather where you are going. Don’t forget you’re coming back to our weather.”  Why can’t the advice be consistent? Admittedly, some of the failure is likely due to my own idiosyncrasies and flaws.  (I am a magnet for lint, I tend to get cold easily, I fidget endlessly, I often spill on myself, I have permane ..read more

It’s September again. And that means back to school for many. And back to using ballpoint pens for note taking, or drawing on your jeans when the instructor is boooring, or writing reminders on your hand, or inking in fake tattoos, or doodling, or……. You’d think that laptops and phones would have replaced pens, but not so. A pen is small and portable and silent and just plain fun to mark stuff up with. And teachers know the value of making kids write stuff down, since it embeds information more clearly in one’s mind than hearing or seeing or even typing does. (Something about the phy ..read more

If we’re all still avoiding going out in public this fall due to the pandemic, I’m not sure just how many new clothes or new fashions any of us need.  But since it’s fun to daydream and plan, and you might just need to get out of your pjs occasionally, here’s what’s on the high fashion runways of Paris, Milan, London and New York for this fall.  Maybe you can put together a look you adore and keep it in readiness! Thematic dressing is everywhere this fall.  Your outfit should follow a theme and it should have at least one dramatic element.  (Wait ….. is this life advice too ..read more