Category: Personal and Goals

OBVIOUSLY, I’m not that much of a diva, nor do I only buy designer. I may have a flare for the dramatic at times, but I do exercise some limits when it comes to buying clothing. As much as I would love to buy designer clothing and accessories, I’d rather spend my money on plane tickets, travel related stuffs, adventuring and shenaniganning. Also, usually I could care less about something being “designer” or not. Once in a while, though, it’s nice to treat yourself to clothes that make you feel like a million bucks, as they say. That’s why I had ‘Buy Designer Jeans’ on a previous version of my 30 before 30 list. I couldn’t justify it then, so I scratched it out. And I can’t quite justify it now, but you know….

So on Friday, my friend Shari and I decided to go shopping. First up, we’d rush to Chinook Mall for the grand opening of Express. Why did we get up early to rush?? Clearly there would be deals and a huge line up and free swag and a lot of hoop-la! There was no line up. Or free swag. And there was no hoop-la, since the grand opening was actually at 4 pm. In any case, there were some great deals, and the store was not filled with annoying customers, which made for a pleasant shopping experience. I didn’t know much about Express before I went there. Apparently it’s a huge store in the US with some very nice clothing, from casual items, to work-appropriate outfits, to night-on-the-town type wear. The deals were good, so I bought myself two belts. I also tried on some clothes, and what I found out was this: 1) Their small extra slim fit Express 1MX shirts fit me amazingly!! 2) I am now a 29 inch waist, and their slim fit Photographer dress pant accentuates my butt and fits me beautifully.

After Express, Shari and I were talking about the difficulty with buying jeans that actually fit well. We all know how it is- we buy a pair of jeans from some store off of the rack, and before we know it, we hate those jeans because something just doesn’t fit quite right. Well, I had heard about a place called espy in Calgary. espy offers a combination of designer and affordable wear, and the stylists will help you find just what you’re looking for. According to their website: “espy knows that fashion and style are not about what you spend, it’s about your attitude and how you mix it together that makes you a style icon”. Shari and I decided to take the chance and go, knowing fully well that the prices may be a bit high. And even though we’re both stylishly awesome and sexy beings, we both felt that a style intervention and denim fitting were necessary in order to find the dark wash jeans we were both seeking. We also wanted to be style icons, of course…

We walked in and fashion stylist Tianna greeted us. She told us a little about Espy, since we had never been there before, and after learning about what we were looking for, her and another stylist Jay (I think that was her name) were off to find clothes for us! Tianna found some amazing pieces for Shari (those jeans looked awesome, Shari!) and Jay pulled some jeans for me to try. First up, a pair of Fidelity jeans. I have never felt so awesome in a pair of jeans, especially after a first attempt! The colour wasn’t right, so I tried on the equivalent pair in a dark wash. Damn, I looked good! (Ha!). Then Jay asked me, “Are you good for shirts?”, at which point I thought, “I could use some shirts!”. I told her to think of something and dress me. “Really?”, she asked. “Yes :)”, I replied. I was basically giving her free reign to dress me up! And so off she went to put something together. She returned with a shirt, T-shirt, sweater, and blazer jacket, and had me start layering. If I could afford everything, I probably would have just taken it all and never changed out of it! Basically what I’m saying is that Shari and I were looking quite good that afternoon. Not that it’s a huge stretch or anything… ;).

The espy Experience was more fun than anything. It felt great to have a stylist choose clothes for us, and we could see how everything worked together. Fashion, style and clothing are investments and they can really make you feel good. What’s that phrase, Clothes Make The Man? I don’t quite believe that, but I do think they can make quite a difference and can make you feel quite good :). In the end, I bought those Fidelity jeans, and can now retroactively add it to my list and cross it off, just because I can. “Buy Designer Jeans”. Check. Also, thank you to my friend Selina for helping me make the decision to buy the jeans! She was just a phone call away, and she loves fashion, so I knew I could count on her :). I won’t say how much I paid, but let’s just say I’ve never paid that much for jeans before. And as long as I care for them, the jeans were well worth it! Apparently, espy will probably offer a Groupon deal in February ($39 for $100 worth of denim, or something like that). Shari and I will be going back, fo’ sho’! Thanks Shari for a fun shopping day! Thanks to the stylists at espy for the jeans!! And thanks to RBC for my credit card, which allowed me to purchase these jeans!!!