Around the house, mostly thrifted

New tablecloth, made in Jodhpur.

Yesterday was the annual street market in Annecy, which was full of over-priced tat: I can't tell you how many 5-Euros-scarf booths I saw. Though I snapped up two scarves at last year's market, this year, especially considering the 10-Euros-cashmere-sweaters I've found at similar such markets throughout the year that have since turned to rags, the thrill over such dubious bargains has turned rather stale.

There's nothing exciting about cheaply-made goods. All the French markets I've experienced (except brocantes) are like this, and they puzzle me as they completely contradict what I know about France's love for high quality, locally-produced goods. Perhaps these markets are the French's version of Big Box shopping, their form of retail junk???

Lamp: Annecy vide grenier
Bowl and candelabra: Annecy thrift shop.

The long and short of it: the exception to the dirth of uninspiring scarves, sweaters, slippers and kitchen knives, was this amazing hand-printed tablecloth bought at a stall by a man selling textiles from India. Ethnic anything is not so easy to find in this part of France (and the gal next door who sells gorg Moroccan pieces is closing up shop in the New Year and moving to Marrakesh!), so when I discovered this gent, who wholesales across France and has two retail shops in a nearby town, I was thrilled beyond belief.

Hubs and I were talking about the beauty and wisdom (and the sad slaughter of African variety) of these wonderful creatures only the night before, so it was fortuitous that we found a tablecloth with elephants on it. There are peacocks in the middle too.

Though they're different styles entirely, I think the cloth goes really well with this bowl I thrifted at my local shop. Forget the tourist shops if you want to find nice French pottery and such in Annecy. The thrift store is piled high with bowls, plates, dishes, cups - you name it - and all from a few centimes to a few Euros each.

A tale of two candelabras, both second-hand ....

Like everything in my old Canadian pad, many of our decorative accessories are second-hand. I've been on a candelabra bender of late. I've always wanted one but have never found one to suit my budget or style - and the really ornate, Gothic-type styles leave me cold. Then all of a sudden, I find two simple styles back-to-back! The elegant silver-tone beauty was 30 Euros at my local consignment shop (I had money on my account so I count this as a "trade" item).

Then the next day, I was in the thrift shop and there was this heavy rustic pewter candelabra (behind) made by French company Etains du Manoir. For 5 Euros!

Second-hand textiles: Granny's old shawl...

I have a thing for vintage textiles - the more beat up, the better, in some cases. This wool shawl has stains, a few holes and is criss-crossed with hand-sewn stitches from over the years, but I love it. I found it in a junk shop in Toronto, which apparently came in a box marked "Granny's shawl". I knew the shop owner and bet he bought the box for that very reason - and of course, when he shared the story with me, I had to have the shawl.

 ... wool scarf ...

I found this wool men's scarf at a skanky French thrift shop and use it on my photo table as a runner.

... and French scarf.

Meanwhile this second-hand French scarf creates a pretty border on a table showcasing my and my hubby's wooden box collections.

Btw, hubby made me the flower out of an old foil wrapper. So talented. I love this kind of stuff: beauty from trash.

Back in Toronto, I was Queen of the Pillows. I gave away or sold most of the pack when I moved overseas (along with most of my apartment, in the biggest decluttering exercise of my life), though I couldn't let go of them all. I've had the pink and green embroidered throw (back) since I was 21, bought as a birthday gift in an ethnic-y shop in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Kilim one in front was a recent Etsy find.

This oversize one was dug up at a Toronto consignment shop specializing in decor. Apparently it's a custom-made pillow made out of antique fabric. Green velvet anything really rocks my boat, as did this pretty pattern, so it stayed on the "keep" list.

Can't not include the little guy. I've found a few knit patchwork blankets at the thrift shop this past year, and this mini one was very boy-like and will eventually go on Adam's bed. For now, it's the 'safe zone' part of his play area, which you can see he's way out of now that he's starting to roll around!

One of the many looks I created using all garbage and
thrift shop finds in my old Toronto apartment.

I wish I had more than tableaus to show you decor wise, but, living in a semi-furnished apartment that we're planning on moving out of soon, I haven't spent a lot of time stamping my individual style on the place. Perhaps having a husband with his own individual style is another reason! I'm really looking forward to creating a home, and putting together a cute boy's room out of thrifty goodies, once we have a new, larger place. I used to feature a lot more thrifty decorating on this blog, and I miss it. Hopefully the New Year will bring us a new space I can tinker with.

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Second-hand Kenzo & Tom Ford

OUTFIT ENTIRELY THRIFTED/SECOND-HAND (Ok, tights were new):
Kenzo skirt: a euro at an Annecy vide grenier
Etienne Aigner boots: Ebay
Bally bag: consignment shop swap
J. Crew wool blazer: thrifted in Canada
Black sweater: thrifted in Canada
Vintage scarf: gift
Vintage Cadoro necklaces: bought online
Tom Ford sunglasses: consignment shop swap.

I don't really think of myself as a label slut - ie: I don't buy items for the sake of their being "by" someone - and I quite abhor the idea of picking up a lower-tier collection of a designer at a mass market retailer like H&M or Target - though if that's other people's bag, go for it. But that's not to say that I don't appreciate good quality labels, and labels with a neat history or story. And having lived in France for over a year, I've found many a French designer to love.

I've been a Kenzo fan ever since my twis sis thrifted a gorg red floral velvet jacket in Toronto a few years ago. Vintage Kenzo pieces have great colour and texture. Take this lined, wool a-line mustard yellow Kenzo skirt I found at a summer vide grenier for A EURO. LOVE! I never thought the yellow and black bumblebee look would work, but I'm groovin on this outfit (snapped outside the grocery store - yes, us ladies of leisure live exciting lives!).

Then last week, when I took more bling to my consignment shop, I spied these Tom Ford sunglasses. I know Tom Ford more for the fab flick he directed, A Single Man, than for his fashions and famed business sense. But I loved the way these looked on me. They were rather beat up - scratched on the lenses and the frames - so the owner knocked 20 euros off. Since I had sold a few items in her shop recently, I essentially got them for free rather than pocketing the cash I made.

I've mentioned Cadoro jewellery before, but haven't explained my obsession with it. Cadoro was a high-end jewellery company founded in the 1950s in Manhattan. It's known for its handmade haute hippie pieces made out of unusual materials. The jewellery is quite collectible now as the company ceased to exist in the 1980s. Cadoro pieces are so arty that some can be found in New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art.

I'm now a happy Cadoro addict (some of their tassel necklaces rock). I found these two yellow corded necklaces with sliding gold bits online. They're really more summer pieces but as you can see I've managed to work them into my fall look. I have many more Cadoro pieces to share with you! I've stopped buying them but have a nice little collection - my first really meaningful vintage jewellery collection (which explains why there's been a mass exodus of my lower tier vintage costume jewellery to the consignment shop). Guess that means I'm a grown-up now!

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Ancient thermal springs and 90s velvet

Another eventful and busy week! On the pregnancy front, we went to a few appointments, sussed out different places to give birth (hospital vs. clinic), chose the place where I'll give birth, and met with a midwife or **sage-femme** to start the ball rolling on our baby education! 

Also saw the new Tarantino flic in ENGLISH in Annecy (a rare thing to find Original Version English-speaking films here), and received eight boxes of Sultana (or Raison) Bran from a Brit expat mail-order company in the post. The French don't seem to be as obsessed with fibre as are other nations, and hey, a pregnant chick needs her fibre, doncha know! Also went to a **braderie** with a gal pal on the weekend and scored some super cute stuff for a Euro each - will show you soon!

Yesterday hubby and I discovered a town near us that we've never been to, Aix les Bain, an old Roman town known for its thermal sulfur springs (**bain** = bath). In the centre of town stands an old Roman arch dedicated to some old emperor's family or something.

It's a wonderful spot that we'd consider moving to if we stay in this part of the world - smaller than Annecy, but cosier, somehow (and cheaper, by the looks of it). It's warmer as the altitude is lower, but it's still surrounded by the foothills of the Alpes. Like Annecy, it sports a lake right alongside the town.

The Romans enjoyed the thermal springs here, and in the 18th century a spa was erected over one of the main thermal springs in the form of this building, which I think is a government building now. The city became  known as a major wellness spot for the likes of Queen Victoria, Napoleon Bonaparte's Josephine, and many others in the well-heeled set. There are still water spas there today.

After meeting our pals at a Thai resto on the lake (YES! The first Thai resto we've found in this region! We are so becoming regulars as it was amazing!), we took a walk along the lake. It was 10 degrees and lovely.

I'm wearing another 1990s velvet grunge frock purchased from Etsy for a song. It has a high waist and lots of room and is rather tent-like (will be good for later), so I've accessorized it with a blingy velvet vintage belt to accentuate what remains of my waist. The cashmere cardi was a gift; comfy crochet tights and boots were bought new (tip: the crochet or fishnet tights never run, I swear - they truly can last years as this pair has!).

Here's a close-up of the pretty pattern. Jeez, I had my hair cut a few weeks ago and already it looks like a mop. They say your hair grows more quickly when pregnant, mmm.

Bump view. We will def be going back to this town soon, so I hope to take more and better pics of what's on offering there. It's a really pretty place.

Off to buy a French verb book. Have made it to only one class this week, but I did speak French mostly with the sage-femme. I have loads of maternity gifties sent my way from fellow thrifty style blogger pals that I will be showing you very soon! Hope every one has been having a great week - I see a lot of posts I want to catch up with!

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Roman ruins in the rain and thrifted purple coat

I can't believe it, but I don't think I've ever shown you this purple chenille coat I thrifted in Canada years ago. I think it's handmade as there's no tag and a sumptuous hot pink lining. I love it, but I don't wear it often. I call it my Granny coat as the cut seems a wee old-fashioned. Even so, I like the details: the purple buttons, the shorter sleeves, and the slight gather at the shoulder where the sleeve starts. The handbag and gloves were also thrifted.

We went on a little field trip yesterday to the town of Vienne, about a two-hour drive west of here and a little south of Lyon. It is known for its Roman ruins, like this old theatre, which sits smack dab in the middle of the old town. Vienne is right on the Rhone river and I must admit, the gushing brown waters couldn't compare to the crystal clarity of the lake and river in Annecy.

Still, it was a fun excursion. It was a crappy rainy day, not suited to jaunting around outside too much, so we went to the Mussee Gallo Romain (the contemporary building you see here in the background) located across the Rhone from Vienne, which was built around the archeological site of Saint Romain en Gal, a Roman district that existed around the first century A.D. to around 50 A.D. The baths and lavatory are pictured here.

An old Roman road on the site. Note the raised sidewalk on the left! Hey, we know the Romans were pretty civilized. Apparently the sewage pipes ran under the sidewalks (and you can see a good many pipes in the actual museum). The higher sidewalks also meant people weren't splashed by all the muck on the street.

Over the river and a top a hill, you can see the old Roman lookout, presumably.

We did the tourist thing and rented the (English) recorded tour (but read a good many French placards inside the museum). Thursday was the day to go as admission was free, free free! (But normally only 4 Euros).

TIP: In the summer months, the museum powers that be haul out some of the mosaics, which are inside the museum during the cooler months, and place them back onto the floors of their original homes where they were discovered. Only the foundations and the beginnings of the walls of the structures are standing, but I'm sure seeing the mosaics in their original setting would be pretty-awe-inspiring.

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Label Love link up: Canadian labels

Thanks to Jo over at Joyatri for hosting a cool round up called Label Love, enabling us vintage hounds to share pics and info about our fave vintage labels. I think she'll have her Label Love party Wednesday, so check it out.

John Hort of Canada is one of my fave vintage labels, which is just perfect as collecting John Hort purses has been a passion of mine. I don't know a hellova lot about the label, only that, presumably, Hort was an actual person. From what I can tell, John Hort operated mainly in the 1960s and 70s in western Canada (Vancouver), producing handmade purses.

Source:  Wladyslaw, Wiki Creative Commons

I had no idea what the little drawing on the label was until I was recently trolling the Internet and found a discussion on a vintage forum. Hello! How could a gal who lived in Toronto for almost seven years not recognize the city's iconic City Hall, fronted by the public space, Nathan Phillips Square, both of which were erected in 1965?

Not sure why a designer who seems to have been based in the western part of the country put a space-age building in the centre of Canada on his label, especially since Ottawa, not Toronto, is the capital of Canada (though many people mistake it for Toronto, and indeed people in Toronto seem to have the attitude that TO is at the centre of things. I say this without malice as I lived there and also thought that - it's such a great city!). Considering that all my John Horts were found in the Big Smoke, the label is apt.

I have several John Hort handbags dug up in thrift and vintage shops in Canada, and I love them for their simple structural shapes and nifty yet understated hardware. As you can see, this cute cherry red clutch (which I gave away to a friend before I left Toronto, wah, I miss it!) is asymmetrical, not perfect. I paid $13 CAD for it in a Kensington Market Toronto vintage shop.

I hung onto this silver evening bag as I thought it would be indispensable - so much so, it seems, that I forgot it and the rest of my vintage handbag collection in Canada when I immigrated to the UK in early 2012. Don't worry: Mommy has them safe and ound, but alas, that fact means I have resorted to showing you old and rather blurry pics taken years ago. This baby was a mere $2.99 CAD and is in mint condition, found at Goodwill in Toronto.

This patent one was also $2.99 at Goodwill but was slightly beat up. I loved the shape and ribbed detail but gave it to a friend who bought some vintage pieces from me before I moved.

I also kept this one as I thought it was so unique, and I spotted it as a John Hort a mile away. It was way more expensive than what I normally pay, bought from a high-end vintage consignment shop in Toronto called Act Two. The chain is long and I love the orange and black combo. I am guessing it's more 70s than 60s.

John Hort apparently won a design award called the Judy Award sometime in the 60s/70s. Some labels have  "Attribution Judy Award" written on the label with a photo of the award, along with "Made in Canada/Fabrique au Canada." I can't find any other info about the company or when it ceased to exist, but I am always on the hunt for different John Hort purses on the Internet - since the likelihood of finding them overseas is pretty slim!

This label isn't as visually interesting, but the company it represents takes a wee slice out of Canadian history. The James Bay Coat and Blanket Corporation (the company's official name, if vintage product listings on the Internet are correct), seems to have been based in Quebec in the 70s and 80s, I'm guessing, and perhaps earlier. A reference to the company on a trade mark Internet site (the only official company reference I could find) indicates that several trademarks expired or were not renewed in the early 80s, so perhaps the company was starting to peter out then.

James Bay, just so you know, is a large bay on the southern end of the historic and very large body of water, Hudson's Bay, in Canada, and it borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Several different Aboriginal communities live on the islands or the shores surrounding James Bay. The first fur-trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company, which would evolve into Canada's oldest department store (and still exists today ), was erected on James Bay in the 1680s.

Source: Google News

The only visual images I can find of James Bay products are not of blankets but rather coats - and very iconic Canadian coats. Most people who are selling them online call them "Eskimo" coats, Eskimo referring to the indigenous peoples inhabiting northern Canada - but the politically-correct term is now Inuit. I found this image, part of an ad, via Google News in the Dec, 18, 1984 edition of The Milwaukee Journal, so we know the coats were still being made then.

Source: Goolge News

As the ad says, the wool blanket coats were handcrafted by "Indian" women (the politically-correct term these days being Aboriginal), meaning indigenous peoples, though it's not clear what group or groups these women hailed from. The coat pictured above had fox-fur trim and sold for $357 CAD, regular price $449.

My fabulous wool coat by James Bay is more retro than Aboriginal, but I love it. I found it for only $10 CAD in one of my fave Toronto thrift shops - I was with my now-hubby at the time, who had flown over two years ago from the UK to see me. He brought me thrifting luck! I am not so sure that this one is handcrafted, like the others, but regardless it's staying in my closet!

This was a long post but I hope it was somewhat interesting! Thanks for popping in.
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NOTE: Due to the high volumes of spam this blog is getting, I've regrettably had to turn on the word verification function, something I personally hate as my aging eyes often have difficulty with this function. I tried the comment moderation function for a mere hour and had about 50 spams. To save myself from rocking in a corner, I had to resort to this. I really hope it doesn't piss you off, dear readers, and it does, please accept my sincerest apologies and tell me via email if it's just impossible to leave a comment! xoxo

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Handbags: the lost, the replacements, the found again

The thrifted leather doctor's bag I gave away: wah!!

This is a photo of me from a few years ago, pre-hubby. I'm wearing a thrifted 70s coat that I gave away to a pal when I moved. It stank of smoke so I don't miss it much. But I do miss the thrifted leather doctor's bag, pictured here, more than I care to admit - does it sound superficial to say that I regret getting rid of the MASS of thrifted items that I did before I moved overseas? This little number would have been perfect in France - the French ladies do tend to carry handbags such as this over their wrists, just SO - so stylish!

Another thrifted bag I gave away.

This all-leather baby was also thrifted for a couple bucks in Canada. It was given away too (note the passive voice? I can't even handle the guilt). Now, in France, with the cooler weather approaching, I find myself brown-bagless. How could I have given them all away? Was a completely nuts??

The replacement bag: 7 Euros on Etsy.
PHOTO: The Vintage Goody Shop, Etsy.

An obsessive troll on Etsy.com ensued the other night after yearning reveries of my lost bags, in which I tried to track down a worn brown leather bag. I found plenty of options at 40-50 Euros, a price I didn't want to pay to replace two bags that between them cost under 10 CAD. The Vintage Goody Shop came to the rescue with this uber distressed leather bag, on sale for the equivalent of just over 7 Euros! It's Liz Claiborne, not a vintage make or anything, but I've owned them before and the bags are well-made. Plus this one is banged up enough to constitute a Grunge Queen fave, I'm sure.

A second replacement bag, to make up for the ones below that I thought I'd lost.
PHOTO: The Vintage Goody Shop, Etsy.

For that price (so the shopping rationale goes), I could afford to buy another from the same shop, in this case a handmade bag from the good 'ole US of A, by SAS, in a tan distressed leather. It was a little more than 7 Euros but a ways off from 40 Euros, my cut-off point, so I snagged it. It will be my go-to every day bag, I can see it! I can't think of too many bag companies that are still manufacturing in the US, so I'm happy to have this little piece of  history.

Lost, then found again: hiding in my Mom's basement in a box!

The SAS bag was to replace this bag, a thrifted leather beaut I picked up in a Toronto vintage shop for a song last fall, which I thought I had lost forever ....

Remember the box of handbags I thought had gone missing somewhere between Toronto, Ottawa, and the UK, which I was hoping were hiding somewhere in my Mom's basement in Canada?

Another lost but found again leather beaut: hope we'll be reunited soon.
But in the meantime I have my replacement bags!

Turns out they're alive and well: Mom emailed (ironically right after I'd purchased the Etsy bags) to say she'd found the handbag box in the basement!! I made her show me every single one in the box over Skype, a total of 12 missing bags!! Whohoo! I ignored Mom's comment that she hoped I hadn't bought any handbags as I already had enough? (Well, how was I to know? I thought these bags were forever lost. It was only natural that I'd replace them, n'est pas?).

A Goodwill find that is in the bag box.

When I was working in Toronto, I used this 70s clutch as my lunch bag - most stylish lunch bag ever or worst fashion mistake ever?

And who knows when we'll meet again, since there's an ocean and expensive postage separating us? At least I know they're safe and sound at Grandma's, now residing in her cedar chest.

So glad I didn't give this 70s carpet clutch away.

Ditto for this wee patent baby found at Goodwill for a few dollars.

Vintage Missoni-esque carpet bag I will see again soon: can a gal love a handbag any more than I do right now?

It may seem silly to be so attached to my handbags, but I can't help it. They hold life's important baubles, everything from under-eye concealer to I.D. We should revere them, in my humble opin.

I gave away the wonderful patent bag and the plaid clutch behind it, but the wee suede doctor's bag in the front, which I found for .99 cents in a Toronto junk shop, made into the lost-now-found-again-box.
 It's got a red leather interior and is, simply put, utterly glorious.

I may need to ask Mom to ship a few of the lost tribe over to me. The rest can be stowed away in my sis (and her family's) luggage when they come on skiing holiday in the winter.

Isn't it nice to find stuff you thought was forever gone? Sometimes I'll even put things away, so I can experience the rush of finding them again.

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