Bundling up ...

Little late, but better than not at all, right! Tonight I was delighted to find out that Logan Couture, Scottie Upshall and myself all follow Justin Bieber on Twitter.

Today was cold and snowy, and my Terriers played the second of two games in two nights, (my Dogs are now up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series heading into the Stampeders' barn after two overtime wins tonight and last night!) -- but the thing about two games in two nights is ... what do I wear?

For any of us who spend any amount of time in an arena other than an NHL one, we know it can get pretty cold in there. Even the walk from the parking lot can be quite frigid. So, not too many people are going to get to see your clothes. After years of experience (and finally armed with my own cash) the Montrealer in me garnered the best way to keep looking fly at the rink is to spice up your winter wardrobe.

Myself, I own six winter coats. One is my parka, which I often refer to as my -20 coat ... got me through winters in the harsh conditions of Montreal, the foothills of the Rockies, and the city known for it's bad weather ... Winter-peg.

My faux-suede tan-coloured coat isn't particularly warm, so I tend not to wear it when it's really cold outside, but it looks great with a dark jean, and I have a tan scarf with a dark denim pocket on it and a chocolate faux suede purse I like to throw together with that one.

Another one that isn't particularly warm is my checkered coat -- red and white checked with a fur-trimmed hood, which I began pairing with my mukluks. My handmade black suede mukluks are trimmed with black rabbit fur and hand-beaded with red, white and black snowflakes. I wore this to a game one night while I was working, and there was a movie shoot going on in our arena late at night after everyone was gone. After the Terriers game, I was waiting in the hallway for coach, and the girl in charge of wardrobe for the movie thought I was an extra! "Oh ... I'm not in the movie, I work here."
"Really!? What a great outfit." Must've looked the part, I guess ;)

Last season I bought two wool pea coats that have a nice cut to them. One is black and the other is dark purple (but a blue-purple as opposed to a red-purple). I thought I was through, but this year, there were these brown coats everywhere! Camel. A colour that in no way would ever look good on me. I debated buying one for quite some time, until my most trusted fashion source for all things Canadian, suggested another colour that is equally as "in" but won't wash out my skin the way camel would. RED!

The Montreal Gazette had a story in their fashion section (if you don't read the Montreal fashion news, you should definitely check it out!) and suggested a red coat. So I bought another one. I had seen a leopard print coat earlier in the season, lusted after it for a while, but the Gazette advised against it ... so I picked a leopard scarf instead.

I have a number of scarves as well, and mittens. I like leopard, so I also have some gloves with leopard trim on the cuffs -- both black gloves, but one in regular brown leopard trim and one with white/black snow leopard time. I have three pairs of boots, though I would like to get a brown pair at some point.

These rhinestones on my grandma's brooch are iridescent

I also have a number of brooches, which I like on the lapel of my coat. A little bling on your coat is a classy touch. Some of my favourites include a lacy silver snowflake, the whimsical vintage rhinestone piece I recently acquired from my great grandmother who purchased it in the 1960s, and a small gold dog. The dog, who is sitting, as opposed to in the usual standing-up doggy pose, is a Terrier, which looks not only like my dog, Rusty, but also like the Terriers' logo. "Do you wear that because you love us?" one once asked me.

Some things to keep in mind when you're getting dolled up
- depending how cold it is outside, dressing in layers is usually a good idea
- make sure your earrings are not the type that will get caught in a knit scarf (it's never fun to realise *ouch* your earring is stuck in your scarf!)
- if you're wearing light-coloured outer-wear, watch your makeup -- I have a cream-coloured puffy vest that constantly has makeup smudged on its high collar
- lip products are key in winter - lips can get very dry in cooler weather, so make sure you've got your gloss or balm handy. (I suggest a stick of some kind, as opposed to a pot, for winter so your fingers aren't gooey when you stuff them back into your mittens or gloves.)

Four of my coats: black coat with b/w leopard satin scarf (my winter purse is b/w leopard as well),  my red coat with leopard scarf (from Montreal-based Jacob), purple coat with green scarf (bought in Flin Flon last year for my birthday) and finally my checkered coat and mukluks.

Well, that's all for tonight ... hopefully tomorrow I'll be a little earlier with my post!