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It’s official…2014 is out, 2015 is in! But before we move on to all things new and exciting, I wanted to do a little revisiting, in part to look back on the wonderful year that 2014 was, and in part to have this post for posterity, and in case I ever need a reminder of some awesome things I did last year. If you hate those “me, me, me” posts, then this one may not be for you. Sorry (not really).
2014 started out pretty well for me, unlike 2013 (credit card fraud galore!), I kicked off the year with a brand new video segment I created in partnership with Yorkdale and Max Kopanygin, called Styled By Nelia. Since January, we shot 9 segments, with 9 amazing retailers, and plan to shoot lots more in 2015. Since I truly hate to be on video, this was a huge challenge for me, but I got more and more comfortable with every episode we shot…and hope to get a little better with each video going forward.
In February, I had the pleasure of participating in a photoshoot for eLUXE’s Spring 2014 lookbook, featuring Canadian bloggers. And as I will find out later, this will not be the last collab with eLUXE that I would shoot in 2014.
As spring arrived, I found myself mingling with Zac Posen at Holt Renfrew, admiring his exquisite gowns, laughing at his charming jokes, and taking silly photos with the man of the hour.
In June, I turned 30! It was a big milestone for me, and I chose to celebrate it with some friends in Paris. A visit to the Eiffel Tower, Laduree, and CHANEL, followed by a romantic dinner at the Shangri-La Hotel made my birthday quite unforgettable.
But what truly made my Parisian getaway special this year, was a private tour of CHANEL’s 31, rue Cambon boutique, before it even opened to the public and a visit to Coco Chanel’s personal apartment, where I got to sit on mademoiselle’s couch, spend the hour learning the fascinating history of Coco, and pinching myself.
From Paris, my friends and I jetted off to the South of France, where we met up with my childhood BFF, who lives in Europe. You know those people that you only see every couple of years, but feel so connected to, as if they’ve been near all along? She’s one of those, and I was so happy to spend some quality time together.
Upon my return to Toronto, I participated in my second eLUXE photoshoot of the year, styling an outfit inspired by Samsung’s latest phone. I still regret not buying that Smytheblazer after the shoot.
Coca-Cola made my summer a little more special in 2014 by sending le bf and I somepersonalized Coke bottles. I probably was a little more excited than a normal person should be about a bottle of pop, but growing up with an unusual name, and never being able to buy anything with Nelia on it, this felt pretty special. Don’t judge!
As the summer was coming to a close, I had yet another exciting photoshoot opportunity. This time, with Fashion Weekly magazine, for their Fall 2014 issue. 4 other lovely bloggers and I got to glam it up for an old Hollywood-inspired shoot.
TIFF came to town in September, and with it, scores of celebrities. For the second year in a row, I was able to be a fly of the wall at Holt Renfrew’s Variety Studio as a guest of Moroccanoil , where the who’s who of Hollywood hung out for a few days. I had an adorable encounter with Mark Ruffalo, got to chat with the loveliest Bill Nighy, observed the Cumberbatch phenomenon from up close, tried to muster up the courage to talk to Keira Knightley, and generally had a very celeb-studded TIFF experience. During the same week, I also got to hang out at the Armani party with Denzel Washington, attend a private TIFF dinner for a Kevin Kline film, and sit front row at a Bill Murray gala screening, for which I had to wait in the pouring rain for over an hour – totally worth it.
Later that month, I flew to New York to attend NYFW, and while there, had the pleasure of visiting the New York CHANEL showroom, where I got to see (and touch!!!) the brand’s Fall 2014 Couture collection. This stuff is what fashion dreams are made of.
On that same New York trip, I also finally made the leap to platinum blonde – something I’ve been itching to do for years. Lucky for me, I was able to book an appointment with Lucille Javier, who took my locks from dark brown to silvery blonde in just 10 hours. I honestly couldn’t have picked a better person for the job. She’s amazing!
Back in Toronto, during WMCFW, something really cool happened. Well, several cool things, actually. I got to hear Solange DJ at an after-party, took photos with Minnie Mouse, and photoboothed with Coco Rocha. Yup, it was my favourite fashion week ever.
That season of WMCFW, my outfits got snapped by street style photographers, which meant lots and lots of media mentions, which was quite nice. Seeing this photo by Stefania Yarhi as the lead-in image to a Fashion Magazine article was pretty cool too.
In November, The Room brought Thom Browne to Toronto, and my friends and I got to mingle and chat with the lovely designer. Acrobats on stilts circled the room (clad in Thom Browne, of course), floral wallpaper selfies were snapped, and once again, The Room’s team have outdone themselves and threw an unforgettable soiree.
Another crazy thing that happened to me in 2014 was meeting (and hugging) Drew Barrymore at the FLOWER Beauty preview in Toronto. She was incredibly sweet with all the attendees, passionate about her affordable new beauty line, and we even bonded over our love of CHANEL. Obviously, we are meant to be best friends forever.
In December, le bf and I packed our bags, and escaped to Miami for a few much-needed days of sunshine, R&R, yummy food, swimming, sleeping, and more food. I am still working on posting the rest of the outfit photos from this trip, because I need a reminder of sunny days that will surely come sometime in the next 6 months.
And there you have it – 2014 in photos (and one video). Of course, these moments are mostly blog and fashion-related, and not every day last year was a happy one. But instead of dwelling on the negative, this is how I choose to remember 2014. Here’s hoping that 2015 is full of adventures, laughter, and lots of sunny days. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading and for all of your support! I hope you stick around for the ride!
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