This past Thursday was Penningtons “Style To Surprise” event, in which they premiered their new Fall/Winter 2011 collection. I was among the lucky bloggers who were invited to shop their new line and get treated to a night of luxury and well, a virtual surprise waiting for us in the change rooms.
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| Garcia & Sashagai of Flaws of Couture, Karen of Curvy Canadian, Adrienne of Big Girls Bigger Dreams, Sadia of Rawr Manifesto in front of our limo |
Penningtons was kind enough to offer the fashion bloggers in attendance a very reasonable amount of shopping money to explore their new line. Now, seeing as I swore out Penningtons years ago and deemed it pointless to even venture inside of the store, I was a bit reluctant and frankly, worried that I wouldn’t find anything to my liking. I kept telling myself that if all else failed, I’d stock up on cardigans and accessories. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I not only found decent basics but a fair amount of clothing that I’d actually go out of my way to own. By no means am I saying that Penningtons has reworked their collection so well that I’d shop there on a regular basis but I can see that they’re taking a step in the right direction. I was also extremely pleased to know that they were willing to hear my suggestions on what to do with their stock of clothing in order to bring younger customers in. Am I hopeful? Very much so. Call me what you will but I truthfully think Penningtons is willing to listen and take a step in the right direction.
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| Karen, Alison, Fran, Sadia and I posing after a long day of shopping |
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| Sadia and I relaxing after a few hours of shopping and mingling.
Now for my favourite part — what I wore. I’m sure some of you will remember this outfit from a few months back when I did mini-photoshoot with a friend. I wasn’t sold on it then, maybe because I was too overwhelmed with how many alterations needed to be made but I gave this dress another shot. I threw it on Sunday night as a potential outfit for the Addition Elle event I went to but deemed it too fancy for the night. A few tucks and folds turned this dress into the perfect choice for browsing Penningtons’ new line and hanging out with fellow fashion bloggers. I’m actually really pleased that I decided to give this dress another chance because well, I’m suddenly quite in love with it. Now that its beginning to get colder outside I can definitely see myself wearing it more often. I did brave it out with heels for awhile but my feet eventually grew too tired and I switched to flats. As per usual, I kept it pretty simple with few accessories and threw on lipstick for the final touch.
 
All in all, the night was actually quite enjoyable and I really didn’t want it to end. It was so fun getting to see some old friends and to meet other fellow fashion bloggers. I’m really grateful for events like this existing merely for the fact that its an excuse to hang out with people who appreciate the same things I do. As per usual, there was a ton of pictures taken that night but some of my favourites were shot by the staff photographer that night. Unfortunately, not all of the photos I wanted to see made the cut but here but here are a few of my personal favourites.
  
Dress/Belt – Chicstar
Heels – Walmart
Flats – Payless Shoe Store
Clutch/Ring – Aldo
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