Faith Style

Aurea Crotty, founder of Savoir Faire Professionals Inc. and owner of Pretty Savvy, is a communication professional with over 10 years of management experience in: marketing, advertising, customer service, and coaching. And she’s a mama!

Her goal is to help women accelerate in their professional development, establish personal confidence, and provide women with the tools they need to achieve their potential. Aurea understands what it takes to be successful in both the professional and personal world, not to mention she is a beautiful soul with a lot of heart. I asked this mama of two her thoughts on Style.

S: Why do you think Style is important?

A: Style is important because it is our message to the world about who we are. We are seen before we are heard; our image is our strongest form of non-verbal communication. Our style is also a creative outlet for us to express ourselves as individuals and be unique.

S: What are your secrets to Authentic Style? How do you stay true to yourself, while running a household, business and raising children?

A: It can be a challenge to feel and look great when you’re a mom on the run…but there are a few tips that have helped me manage my style and hectic schedule:
• Invest in good quality clothes – not every item in your wardrobe has to be top notch but if you mix and match your good quality classics with thrifty trends, you’ll always look great!
• Shop and organize your closet in outfits, even for casual wear
• My favorite accessories to have on hand to spice up any outfit:
• A great jacket, hat, scarf, jewelry (only one at a time –don’t overdo it)

S: What are the items in your life that you absolutely couldn’t live without?

A: A great pair of jeans and jacket! (I love jackets)

S: Do you have any exciting news you’d like to share with us? Or can you share what your inspired to do next?

A: I’m working on great new Fall / Winter programming that is going to inspire and help women with their lives and careers. I’m inspired to create more events that bring likeminded women together.

Want to meet Aurea and other fabulous women, join us for The Art of Mix & Mingle next Wednesday July 7th!

I recently attended an event and sadly almost every woman in the room was wearing a black dress. Yes, sometimes the event may call for formal attire but this was not one of them. Everyone blended into one another looking the same, the only woman that stood out and I recognized was the one wearing a vibrant, fresh and chic orange blazer. She looked fabulous, warm, friendly and interesting. Isn’t that how you’d like to be described?

For many women, black is the go-to colour when it comes to wardrobe choices, because it can be very slimming and it goes with everything. But unfortunately black is not the universally flattering hue we all thought it was. The main problem with black is that is emphasizes dark links, wrinkles and shadows on our faces sometimes when they’re not even there.

So instead opt for brighter colours or if you’re looking for a neutral try brown which is much softer on most skin types. And if you do want to wear a black top choose one with an open neckline or add a colourful necklace/accessory. COLOUR creates beauty, attention and has the ability to change our mood!

Ashley Phillips is the creative spirit behind the eco-friendly line of Baggage. Ashley scours Goodwill, Value Village and the Salvation Army looking for old leather and suede couches, cushions and vintage jackets to recycle into beautiful handbags that carry not only your things but it’s own personal history and story.

Each bag is one of a kind, environmentally friendly and intelligently designed; making them a unique and chic gift for anyone on your list. Visit www.baggagehandbags.ca for all the different styles available for sale online or for a list of the retail stores.

Come experience Savoir Faire Professional’s community of friendly, influential, smart, engaging women.

Kick off your summer with a fabulous night dedicated to the appreciation of art and meaningful connections.

Building on the success of 2008 and 2009 SFP Inc. wants to offer you another great opportunity to build meaningful connections, have fun, and be inspired!

With over 85 women in attendance last year, SFP Inc. is hoping to make this one even bigger and better!

The backdrop to our evening will be Engine Gallery, a stunning contemporary art gallery in the heart of the historic Distillery District. We’ll be featuring work from Canadian artist Stacey Camp. Stacey’s work is like candy on canvass, her work merges together the use of collage and highly saturated hues of paint. Hints of recognizable imagery can sometimes be found in her paintings to act as a doorway, a starting point into a new world of experience. Artist will be in attendance.

Making our night extra special, we’ll be serving up some top notch bevi’s and gourmet appetizers that are sure to delight the palate.

We are committed to helping you make connections that extend beyond our events. That’s why we’re facilitating those connections in a meaningful way through networking activities designed to introduce you to likeminded friends.

Meet network contacts and begin developing meaningful friendships!

Our events create a safe and inviting atmosphere so you can feel confident attending by yourself.

Date: Wednesday July 07, 2010

Location: Engine Gallery 37 Mill Street (Distillery Lane)

Time: 7:00 – 9:30pm

Cost: $25 members $35 non-members

I think it’s extremely important to know yourself on the deepest level and sharing what it is you stand for. Today I’d like to express my philosophies, the things I try to emulate and encourage on a daily basis.

Positivity breeds positivity. “The fact that there is always a positive side to life is the one thing that gives me a lot of happiness. This world is not perfect. There are problems. But things like happiness and unhappiness are relative. Realizing this gives you hope.”– Dalai Lama

Hope creates a smile that is intimate and real.

Peace: Let it seep into your bones and project it out through every outlet in your body, because it brings ultimate joy and happiness.

Do good. Be a good person. Check out the Daily Challenge to create profound change through small and simple daily acts of kindness.

Live every moment with complete intention.

Satya: is a Sanskrit word that means “the inner truth permeates all”. Be honest with yourself and others.

Love. A wise woman said “Love knows what’s best for every situation. Love transcends policy and history. Love innovates. Love is everything we’ve been asking for.” Thank you Danielle.

Change. “Be the change you want to see in the world” Gandhi once said. If you want to see change you must start with yourself.

Balance. Try to create it in work, in life, in love, in friendship – in all aspects of your lives.

Connect. Grow. Laugh. By understanding ourselves better, we can evolve into beautiful, authentic people. Experience the journey more so then focusing on the final transformation and remember to laugh along the way.

What are some of your philosophies? How do they help you create a rich and authentic life?

Have you ever received negative messages about the things that you love? In my life there have been two things that I’ve received some real negative messages about: style and performance. I’ll talk about performance another day but with my wardrobe consultation coming up Thursday, my mind’s on style.

Ever since I was a little girl, I loved clothes. I remember my red shirt with the frills down the front, my pink blouse with the ballooning sleeves, my crazy yellow oxfords, my red skater dress with the twirling skirt – all of these I wore in public school. I remember spending hours pouring over pattern books my mom brought home, choosing from each page which sleeve I liked best, which collar, which length, expressing my preferences and honing my taste. Clothing was a daily act of creative self-expression.

I don’t just remember how my clothes looked. I remember how I felt in them – both how outfits amped up a particular aspect of my personality and also how they sensually felt against my skin. The mood of a flouncy skirt and sandals was so different from a pencil skirt and heels – and I loved them both. Over time, my changing wardrobe expressed different periods of my life. They represented me as a dancer, as a student, as an artistic director, as a club chick.

It came as a shock to me in grade 7 when I discovered that clothes could also define your status, and that people could use clothes to pigeonhole you. That was antithetical to my take on fashion but it was certainly a popular view. Over time, it also became clear that in many people’s view, being concerned with fashion meant that you were materialistic, superficial and quite likely, a snob. And if that wasn’t bad enough, we all know the impact that a limited view of beauty has had on the self-esteem and confidence of countless women and girls!

How could I in good conscious love fashion?

I think the answer comes in taking a stand for love. It’s crucial to our expression of ourselves that we be allowed to love what we love. Fashion can be a way of expressing our love for colour, for texture, for shape. With fashion we can celebrate our uniqueness, our sexiness, our sensibilities, our sense of humour. Where fashion turns against us is when we let someone else dictate what is loveable and what is not, the latter often being our poor, tender bodies.

So many wonderful things in this world can turn into cages when they’re accompanied by ‘shoulds.’ Fashion, work and life can all become oppressive when we feel we must follow rules that someone else prescribes. And fashion, work and life can be fulfilling and expressive when we define for ourself what is beautiful, what expresses our sensibilities and our spirit.

So, don’t be afraid to have style…

Your style.

Guest Blogger

Jamie Ridler MA CPCC is a creative living coach and founder of Jamie Ridler Studios.

I traveled to Italy to rest and rejuvenate from the challenges of running Aradia Uptown Toronto, my pole dancing for fitness business. I got rest and relaxation but I also got an unexpected education in style! After completing Safina’s Full Package Signature Style series I discovered I had a lot of ground to cover when it came to updating my style to match the professional business owner I had become in my 30s. I started to pay closer attention to style magazines and to what people were wearing on the street. I found glimpses of the signature style I hoped to create but found myself still on the look out for real inspiration.

Inspiration often finds you when you aren’t expecting it. Arriving in Italy I had my usual travel wear ready to go… comfy shorts, plain tank top and running shoes. When traveling comfort is king for me as my partner and I tend to walk from sunrise to sunset. But it didn’t take long for those comfy clothes to start to feel really uncomfortable as I found myself in the middle of one of the most stylish capital in the world. All around me both women and strutted their stuff in polished shoes and the latest in clothing and accessories. I have never seen anything quite like it. These people wore stilettos like they were their favourite pair of well worn flip flops. Everyone looked so fresh, vibrant and energized. Women flaunted layered outfits adorned with unabashed accessories. Men wore tailored tops and pants and carried fancy brief cases that rivalled even the most expensive designer purses. When walking down the streets I found myself ignoring the historical architecture and instead drinking in the beautiful people that adorned the sidewalks like wild blossoms in an open field.

I had found my signature style! These women were pulling it off effortlessly. Its free flowing breezy cottons tops and bottoms in air light colours adorned in lace detailing and accessorized in petite blossom scarves and long falling pearl necklaces. Its red hot heals that are actually comfortable! No kidding! I’m the queen of runners and I found a pair of heels that are beautiful and unbelievably comfortable from day one! There’s no having to “work them in” and I’m telling you they are stylish as hell! Its unbelievable but true!

Coming home was a bit of a culture shock. Everyone is dressed as I do when I travel. The energy feels grounded but lower. I look at all us Torontonians and think… we’re so uninspiring. I even ventured into Yorkville where women are dressed to the nines and felt the air to be more pompous than crackling and energized as it was in Italy.

When I got home I laid my new found pieces on my bed. My closet felt unworthy of such royalty. I immediately completed the clutter cleaning Safina and I had started months ago. All of a sudden all the old pieces I couldn’t part with seemed undeserving to lay in the same drawer as my Italian wear. I whittled an entire drawers down to one top leaving a ton of new empty space to be filled by beautiful pieces that make me feel crackling and energized.

A couple of days later I wandered into Au lit fine linens at Yonge and Davisville, a specialty store that serves a mix of vintage french furniture and fresh flowing clothing styles. I had wandered in just before closing but was drawn in by its crisp white feel. I wanted to breath in the energy I hadn’t had a chance to taste since Italy. As I was running out the door a cute pink cotton top with floral bunches adorning the neckline caught my eye. I didn’t have time to stop and check it out but I thought to myself… maybe there’s hope here in Toronto. I hope to keep my italian inspired signature style alive. I hope to embody the free flowing passion, beauty and breathlessness of this magical culture. As before, i have a lot more to learn but finally I have a point of reference and inspiration for my newly evolving signature style.

Guest Blogger, Alishia Sala is owner and head instructor of Aradia Fitness Uptown Toronto, a pole dancing for fitness company located in the heart of forest hill at Allen rd and Eglinton. Visit her website at www.uptownto@aradiafitness.com or contact Aradia at uptownto@aradiafitness.com or 647-284-6424.

Yes we are women.

Yes we are invincible.

And yes, we are tired!

Tired of having to be it all, do it all, and keep it all together for everyone else.

Not only do we need to take care of ourselves, our jobs, and our families… now we are charged with changing the world too!

I don’t know about you, but more and more I find myself exhausted and overwhelmed by all there is to do, and frankly I am over it! The problem is, often it doesn’t feel like there is anything I can do to change the situation. The old solutions aren’t working. We need new tools.

That’s why I am joining women around the world to claim this summer as the Summer of Self Love… I’m peeling off the pressure and putting on the peace, love and happiness.

And you’re invited to join us!

Three women whose approach to life I find groundbreaking, fresh and relevant to the challenges we women face – finding more time, trying to keep it all together, attaining the mythical state of balance – are offering a 40-day Summer of Self Love Virtual Retreat where they will share the formulas they’ve learned for achieving inner peace, self-love and lasting happiness… that is why we work so hard isn’t it?

Learn more about the Virtual Retreat and the creators, Christine Arylo, author of Choosing ME before WE, and NY Time Best Selling authors Marci Shimoff (Happy for No Reason) and Kris Carlson (Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Women) by clicking here.

I listened to their mini-retreat free call on Saturday where they shared some of what we will all get from the 40-days… I can’t wait to start on June 22^nd.  Here’s some of what we will receive:

• Rewire the 7 major patterns that keep you working so hard – unable to slow down even when you have time.
• Access to your underused feminine super powers, including the feminine super power of invitation, intuition, receiving and pause. (if you don’t use these now, you’re working way too hard.)
• Find happiness and peace even in the chaos.
• Turn off the CNN ticker tape in your head so that you can act smarter, faster and with less effort.

Our super woman sisters in the 60’s danced in the fields for their freedom. In the 70’s they burned bras. Today, forty years later, we take a stand to say “Enough! We want to change the world, make a difference AND we want take care of and enjoy what we love… including ourselves!”

Here’s to a fabulous summer of self-love!

P.s. You may be wondering why 40-days? I asked too. Apparently the yogis, metaphysicians, and brain scientists all agree if you can do anything for 40-days you can change self-sabotaging behaviors into self-empowering ones.