Kate does Toronto...

On Wednesday night last week, along with the wonderful girls at Lotus Leaf, we celebrated the launch of Dear Kate underwear here in Toronto! We have been loving the fashionable and functional underthings from this made for women by women underwear line ever since they were known as Sexy Period. Fresh off a successful re-brand the girls thought it was time to bring the amazingness of no more "oops moments" to Canada and we are so glad they did! We threw the best underwear party ever with champagne, sweets and thanks to our lovely and talented seamstress Paulina, customizable panties! Everyone went home with a bedazzled pair of Dear Kate underwear and the knowledge that although Kate can't reschedule your time of the month or train your unborn child, she can make life safer for your favourite dress. Even when we don't feel so hot, sometimes it's nice to know we can still look it because who wouldn't  be looking their best with the peace of mind that Kate has them covered? Kate provides the back-up you need without sacrificing style and comfort! It is now possible to truly feel like a rock star every single day of the month. So let's flash that killer smile and take on the world shall we? It's amazing how the right underwear can truly change your life.

Thanks to Emile Faga for these photos! To see more check out the Dear Kate facebook page!

Little (Winter) Luxuries

Since we are under a deep freeze I thought I would post a few of my winter essentials. Nothing like adding a little bit of luxury to warm up your everyday routine.

Using a serum during the winter is a must. This on by Avene is my favourite.

Hanro describes itself as "pure luxury on skin" and that is no word of a lie. From their "Woolen Silk" collection, this luxurious wool and silk warmwear looks and feels like butter. If a girls gotta get her behind into long underwear, let this be it.

Here we have Acca Kappa's White Moss Body Butter, Hand Cream and Nourishing Face Mask. These are all perfect products for adding some extra love to your skin. Which in this weather, will be appreciated.

If you can't tell by now I am obsessed with skin care. Elabloom facial oil is made locally right here in Toronto twice monthly on signature "bloom dates" ensuring it is always fresh. The 100% pure and natural extracts it is made from keep your skin hydrated and permanently glowing. I use this regularly and in the winter mix a few drops into my Olay Restorative Sleep Cream (like I said, obsessed). Moisturizers everywhere have got to try Elabloom. It will make such a difference in your skin!

Soy unsweetened green tea lattes from Starbucks. So good. Starbucks being right across from the store. Also good. Extra hot nowadays don't forget!

Photos from here, here and here.

LOVE YOUR BODY

Tomorrow is Now Foundation's "Love Your Body" day for 2012 so we just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone to love every part of their bodies.

All of the parts you don't like are worth loving anyways because they make up the whole beautiful package that is you! Too often we focus on size and especially when talking bras it's really shape that plays a significant part in finding the right one. Ladies, your breasts are often looked at in terms of size no? I've probably written about this before but it is definitely worth repeating since thinking in terms of too small or too big isn't going to get you anywhere. Two women, with roughly the same figure, aren't going to have the exact same breast shape are they? Therefore you need to consider that shape to get a comfortable and supportive fit! You'll come up with the correct band and cup if you follow the shape of your body. It makes sense doesn't it? So forget about size for a minute, since all it is is a number and a letter, and embrace your shape! It's the outline for something so much more and remember, like this year's campaign says, "Drawing outside the lines is beautiful."

xox

trep

Keeping it Real

For those of you who haven't yet heard of "Miss Representation" please watch the film. I watched it with my sisters and was completely blown away by the way the media treats women and how this in turn affects how men treat women and how women and girls treat one another. I honestly didn't realize what a terrible state things are in; it was such an eye opener.

Miss Rep and I Am That Girl have gotten together this weekend to lead the "Keep It Real Challenge" aiming to increase awareness on the importance of real beauty and to encourage publications to use REAL instead of retouched images of models. Part of they way you can participate in the challenge is by writing a blog post so I thought I would share how PERT is doing her part! Even if it is small, I'd prefer to play a small part in making a difference rather than be a big part of the problem!

At the shop I try not to display any images if I can help it. You will rarely see catalougues, posters, banners or window displays specifically advertising the lingerie I carry in the store. My sales reps always want to send me press kits full of this material because this is how the brands are helping me to generate sales of their product and I always say no, no and no. First of all, I don't want to waste the paper, and secondly, who wants to shop for lingerie (especially lingerie!) surrounded by giant posters of women they don't look like or identify with? These press images are almost always gorgeous but since it is the lingerie they are trying to draw attention to I'd much rather let it speak for itself. Wether or not a delicate lace is shown on the body or on it's own, one cannot deny the detail, craftsmanship and wonder of this fabric. Women don't need pictures trying to convince us to buy into this apparent sexy lifestyle that comes with having fancy underthings. How we feel in the lingerie we wear should be dictated by how it fits and the experience we have while shopping for it; not by posters reminding us that air, gel and water are going to give us breasts worthy of a pair of angel wings. Does lingerie even exist in Heaven?

Real beauty is just that. Real. So at Pert you get to gawk at the real stuff, try it on if you want and dance around on our pink floor. There will always be something that makes you feel and that feeling could be anything. It could be weary, timid, doubtful, uncertain, curious, interested, surprised, excited, strong, tenacious, impulsive, bold, playful, free or comfortable. All of which are beautiful and triggered not by anything fabricated, but by the fabrics alone.

This is how we are keeping it real at PERT.

Join in the "Keep It Real" challenge here.

Getting Fit!

Although we don't market ourselves as a fit boutique, we gladly offer this service to our customers and we were prompted to write a brief post encouraging bra fitting after being sent an article this morning about The Boobie Trap's campaign regarding the horrors women face when wearing ill-fitting bras.

The Boobie Trap is a lingerie shop in Newfoundland and they have come up with and launched a campaign with the initiative to highlight the problems women face when wearing the wrong sized bra. The campaign was styled with the horror movie in mind, and even though Halloween may be over, wearing the wrong bra size lasts forever if you don't get out there for a bra fitting! Scary! We think their idea was quite clever, a lighthearted approach to the common problems of wearing the wrong bra size such as "quadraboob" and "the shelf." Both are indeed horrible if you ask us here at Pert.
With all my underwear experience I can say that it is true, most women are wearing the wrong bra size. It is important to get fitted for the correct size because in the right bra your breasts will appear smaller, perkier, your clothes will fit better, and it can help to relieve back and shoulder discomfort therefore improving your posture.
Overall a bra fitting is truly a very uplifting experience, a breast of fresh air if you will! If you aren't sure what to do this weekend and have never been fitted, we suggest gathering a few girlfriends and heading over to your local lingerie boutique for a bra fitting. I have no doubt the staff will be happy to help you find your correct size, and just as a side note I won't be held responsible for the damage done to your credit card. We little lingerie shops are always full of a few too many delicious treats.
Happy Friday!
xox
trep

For more about The Boobie Trap's campaign, check out the article written about it here.

Love Your Body

It's "Love Your Body" day!

This is a very important message for women and girls of all ages (men too)! The largest campaign is put on every year by the NOW Foundation, the National Organization for Women, but the idea has caught on and pretty much everyone out there is supporting this cause. If you aren't, you should be!

Simply take a moment and tell yourself you are beautiful because you are in fact, beautiful! If you are having trouble believing it, you can change this! There are so many resources at our fingertips that can help us lead happy, healthy and enriching lives. If you are someone that struggles with your body image, and let's face it, who hasn't, you know that this can interfere with how you live your life everyday. A great thing about this campaign is that it encourages us to look at ourselves and our bodies and see the good and the bad and realize that although we may not love everything about our appearance, there are things we do love and we need to embrace this and run with it! Focusing on the positives gives us the fuel we need to make a change. It's all about positivity, encouraging a healthy body-image and celebrating self-acceptance!

 

Ladies, I encourage all of you to celebrate your curves today! We whipped out the tape measure at Pert and we're rocking 32-25-35. Petite yes, but we have a little junk in the trunk that we're keeping amazing all the time because we have chosen to climb the stairs to our apartment. Also, thanks to our properly fitted bra,we're looking and feeling very perky. E cup. When Ludacris was rapping about double D's he was clearly missing out. 

Take some "me" time today, tell a friend they are beautiful, call your Mom, or your sister, and tell her you don't know what you would do without her. Compliment a stranger. Look in the mirror and focus on everything wonderful that is staring back at you. And repeat after me: 

"My body's too bootylicious for ya babe."

Find out more information about the NOW Foundation on their website here.