For those who are trying to embody effortless Parisienne chic.
Category: fashion
Breakfast at Tiffany’s Townhouse for Sale
Breakfast at Tiffany’s is one of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen. I love everything about it, especially Audrey Hepburn’s performance as Holly Golightly, poor little rich girl. It’s a love story that’s unusual but very heartwarming and the entire film is full of quips to keep you entertained. Holly is so enchanting that anyone who stumbles upon her path melts in the palm of her hand and as a viewer, you too get caught up in her spell.
{Holly and Paul Varjak out front of the townhouse}
Imagine being able to recreate your own Breakfast at Tiffany’s fantasy every day, in the same townhouse where Audrey Hepburn danced and sang and cried, while being able to call it home? Although the price is high (they’re asking $8 million), you get more than just cinematic history. Apartment Therapy got the scoop from Habitually Chic: “The building was converted from a duplex back into a single family home and now boasts four floors, four bedrooms, and naturally, five powder rooms.” Sounds ideal for any glamazon facing the day to day life of being a New York City girl.
{Iconic green doors of Holly’s townhouse}
When I Shop the World Gets Better
Does anyone recognize the book my title is quoted from? It’s one of my favourites, but I’ll let you think about it for a little while before I give away the answer. When I read the book for the first time and saw that line, it struck a chord with me. I have always seen shopping as a form of therapy and one that worked quite efficiently. Suffering from a broken heart? A new pair of shoes is a quick (and sometimes costly) fix. Bummed about your job? Go buy a new blouse to wear to work this week. School stressing you out? Find the comfiest sweats you can, buy them, and go home and lounge. See how easy it is to treat your problems with shopping?
I digress from the point of this post, which is to explain why I haven’t posted in the last week. If you’re following me on Twitter or Instagram, you may have seen that I spent the last week in Toronto with my dear friend Will. It was a marvellous vacation and exactly what I needed to re-invigaorate my creative side. We spent two days of the trip wandering throughout downtown, going in and out of shops, walking through Kensington Market, as I fell hopelessly in love with the city. It was a funny reminder of how love can happen so fast… yet this time, I was falling for an area code, not a man. I was speechless at the number of stores that were on Queen Street West alone and yet I could imagine spending the rest of my weekends and days off walking through every part of Toronto, searching for more places to get lost in.
Toronto has something for everyone and today I am sharing with you three stores I think you should check out if you live in the 416 or are going there to visit any time. These stores have a place in my heart and wallet and I look forward to going back and raiding them for even more amazing pieces for my closet and home.
Black Market
I have never been as happy and excited to be in a store as I was Black Market. A curated vintage and alternative clothing shop, nothing in the entire store costs over $10. It’s the craziest thing in the world and the most magical thing for a shopaholic to know. When we walked down the stairs into the store, it transports you to the 1990’s (or what I imagine they were like). The walls were scattered with printed t-shirts, oversized graphic crewnecks, denim everywhere, and lots of references to shows and artists that were a blast from the past. Having such reasonable prices means you can stock up on a ton of vintage and know you’re pulling off your very own unique sense of style. My favourite part of all? The pins. I’m a sucker for pins and Black Market has a wide selection, yet my favourites had to be Adventure Time and Archer characters.
Visit Black Market at 256a Queen Street West Toronto
Public Butter
Toronto has such an amazing presence when it comes to vintage shopping. Where I come from, we have one Goodwill, and I have never seen so many amazing thrift finds there as I did during my stay in Toronto. Public Butter was a store that Kami recommended we go to and she is someone whose style I love, so I trust her taste in clothing stores. Public Butter was an absolute dream to visit because it’s vintage was curated so perfectly, each rack made me feel like I was Diana Vreeland putting together a photo shoot with Richard Avedon and Veruschka. The way they had their letterman jackets, fancy furs, gowns, and so much more were exquisitely showcased so you could really see what they had to offer in each varying style.
Visit Public Butter at 1290 Queen Street West of Dufferin
{image via Public Butter, Public Butter Instagram}
Outer Layer
If you don’t know this about me, I am obsessed with stationery and paper goods. I don’t know what it is, but I love being able to disconnect from my phone and laptop, and write in my notebook. Outer Layer caters all of your stationery needs, from boxed letters to Moleskine leather bound journals. The store also carries skin and bath goods from brands like Burt’s Bees, Rocky Mountain, and Soaptopia, perfume, candles, jewellery, and more. It’s a hole in one if you want to buy someone a gift, get their card, and the bag all in one shop.
Visit Outer Layer at 577 Queen Street West
Ed. Note: The answer to my title caption is Confessions of a Shopaholic!
Most Fashionable Pumpkins
WhoWhatWear has been one of my favourite blogs to follow from the very beginning. They stream tons of new content every day that stems from fashion to beauty to home with lots of tips and tricks in between. WhoWhatWear has two sister sites, Domaine and Byrdie, with the former being dedicated to home and the latter, entirely beauty focused.
Today on WWW, Peter Dolkas (you may remember him from his appearance on Candidly Nicole!), shares how their team decided to do pumpkin decorating a bit differently. Straying from the traditional jack-o-lantern, these pumpkins are perfect for anyone who loves fashion. From Anna Wintour to Rachel Zoe, I’d consider keeping them as year round decorations.
{Andre Leon Talley}
{Anna Wintour}
{Grace Coddington}
{Jenna Lyons}
{Karl Lagerfeld}
{Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen}
{Rachel Zoe}
Pretty cute, huh?! Head over to Domaine to find out the materials used and how to get a head start on creating your own fashion pumpkins.
images via Domaine
Double Double
Kelly Mittendorf and her alter ego show off the season’s best furs in this high action editorial.
images via Visual Optimism
Into The Wild
Right when I was about to start wishing for warmer days, this Vogue Paris editorial comes along starring Anja Rubik, making me anxious for the fall weather to stay permanent. Fashion never ceases to amaze me at how quickly it can change my mind about things…
{images via Studded Hearts}
Shape Shift
Karlie Kloss, Sasha Pivovarova, Aymeline Valade, Coco Rocha and Lexi Boling show off the season’s different textures and shapes in this editorial for Vogue Italia. Shot by Steven Meisel and styled by Karl Temper, it’s one you don’t want to miss.
{image via Glossy Newsstand}
The Collecteur
After reading about mixed media artist Giulia Scalese on Honestly WTF and Racked, I had to share her art with you. What originally started as a diary of her favourite pieces and accessories has became a place to house her quirky yet talented works of art.
{all images via The Collecteur}
What do you think of Giulia’s art? Let me know in the comments!
High Fashion Halloween
It’s the spookiest time of the year. The days are beginning to get shorter, the leaves are changing colour, and stores are promoting all of their Halloween goodies. I for one, am looking forward to this year’s Halloween. It has always been one of my favourite holidays because it’s an opportunity to dress up, and as anyone in fashion knows, we all love a reason to get dressed up. The past few years I haven’t went all out for Halloween but I blame that on my coming of age. This year, I vow to up the anti in the costume department. With a sea of costumes floating around in stores and online, I decided to do something different. With the Spring/Summer 2015 showings having just ended, a plethora of new collections have been introduced. I made it my mission to hunt down some high fashion looks from the collections that could double as Halloween costumes.
Au Jour Le Jour – ice cream
John Galliano Joins Maison Martin Margiela
John Galliano, photo by Patrick Demarchelier, via Business of Fashion
The king is back. John Galliano has been appointed Creative Director at Maison Martin Margiela. After video surfaced in 2011 of Galliano spewing Anti-Semetic remarks in a Parisienne bar, the designer had to leave his post at Christian Dior, a brand he had spent almost 25 years working with.
The last few years have served as atonement for Galliano, who admitted to having problems with drugs and alcohol. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to produce so many collections every year, with all the pressures of being a highly credited designer while simultaneously trying to manage a life outside of the public eye. He has worked with Anti-Semetic groups and apologized on numerous occasions as he understands what he did was unacceptable and I believe he is genuinely sorry. He was accountable for his actions and now, three years later, he is ready to take the helm once again.
After a three week stint working for Oscar de la Renta, rumours spread that Galliano may be the designer’s successor. Although he didn’t take a position at the house, his influence in Oscar’s Fall 2013 was apparent. After Maison Martin Margiela’s mysterious founder retired in 2009, there was no identifiable team of designers. For the first time, they will have a Creative Director who is renowned in the industry. Parent company OTB Group’s president, Renzon Rosso, said in a press release that he “looks forward to his return to create that Fashion Dream that only he can create, and wish him to here find his new home.”
My most sincere congratulations go out to Mr. Galliano and I hope that his return to fashion is triumphant as the legacy he has created for himself thus far.
Lost In Reverie 