How much is that taxidermy special in the window?

This had got to be one of the grossest things I've seen in a thrift shop window - it's just icky on so many levels.

The fox about to pounce upon and kill the birdie; the REAL fox and the REAL birdie; the $50 price tag; the dust mites that surely must be coursing through every ounce of organic material on the thing; a beautiful piece of driftwood made hostage to this gruesome little death tableau - oh, I could go on.

I was all the more horrified to see a "SOLD" sign on it the day after I snapped this shot.

Almost as bad as the fox hat with fox head still on it that I saw in the same window a few months earlier (hey I'm not judging the thrift shop: they take what they receive, and they clearly have no problem selling items such as this!).

Brr. Doesn't the doll in the blue dress behind the fox, watching, make it all the more creepy?

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Alexis in vintage necklace with gifted Grunge Queen shoes

This is my friend and co-worker Alexis, wearing some fabulous costume vintage bling around her neck.

I love the colours; I love it that she stole it from her sister's closet.

The piece says "West Germany" and reminds me of a brightly-hued plastic multi-tier necklace I have with the same stamp.

Apparently the necklace was given to Alexis' sis by a friend whose granny had passed on.



I like that Alexis decided to go all-black for the rest of her outfit. That way the pops of yellow and orange really stand out.

She's wearing some yellow 1980s shoes I picked up last year for under $10. They were just to great for me to leave behind, even though they weren't my size.

They ended up fitting Alexis perfectly.

You go girl!

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Tabula Rasa clothing in Toronto and my new skinny jeans

Fellow grungers, I know this is going to be hard to believe ... but ... sometimes I buy new.

This is a RARE Grunge Queen moment: my entire outfit here is new! Crazy eh?

I finally took the plunge and bought my first NEW pair of skinny jeans. Now I'm an addict. I bought 'em at a hip new boutique on Broadview Ave. in T.O. that I'll share more info in in a sec.

The top, bought from Eight Clothing on Pape Ave. in Pape Village. The granny crochet top, from an old-lady shop in Pape Village. The sandals, from some shoe shop, and the bling, from Gay Isber at the Royal Ontario Museum
in Toronto.

The jeans were from this new hipster vintage-esque shop on Broadview Ave. right at Danforth in Toronto.

Tabula Rasa
owner Jennifer Park has created a nicely edited yet creative collection of new and vintage women's clothing and accessories in her recently opened shop.

A former fashion student and Ryerson who designed for Le Chateau in Montreal, Park moved back to the 'hood she grew up in to open her store.



As Park explained to me, she could have opened on Ossignton but she wanted to support her neighbourhood. And if the media attentionshe's been getting is any indication, I'd say the Ossington crown may have already made its way over the Bloor St. bridge to her.

In store you can find new skinny jeans for about $100 alongside carefully selected vintage pieces that complement them.

I mean what I say about her collections, though she is not designing or selling her own clothing - yet.

But both vintage and new pieces are carefully selected to form their own collections in store. As you can see here by the "Midsummer Night's Dream" collection (I love it that she names them), a mix of new and old beauties complement eachother in colour and style to indeed form a collection of sorts.

Park is artful yet slightly minimalist in her use of the all-white space, a design ethic the clutter bug in me admires.

Everything is carefully thought and and presented - with an eye for showing the merch off rather than obscuring it ... as is often the case in vintage shops.

I like that Park interprets "vintage" through her own lens, opting for pieces with styling that is applicable today.

Many of the looks are contemporary but are crossed with a 1980s preppy look I don't like for myself, but adore on others.

Look for new and reworked vintage jewellery, along with new and vintage handbags, shoes, and clothing.






I may go back for the bamboo and recycled polyester Flashdance sweatshirt or hoodie, super soft and in pretty blue and lavender hues, only $42 for the sweatshirt and $50 or so for the hoodie.

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Diana and vintage bling

Today I did a shopping column with my vintage pal Diana from A Touch of Vintage, who is looking very cool in her Preloved tunic bought and made locally in Toronto from vintage fabric relics. I also love her elasticized harness made by Montreal's I Heart Norwegian Wood. Very neat look with the leggings, vintage shades, and amazing shoes from Toronto shop Balisi.

An obvious style maven and vintage lover herself, Diana has not only a good style eye, but she also has this great talent for picking items out for others that completely suit their style personality.

As I discovered today.

While we were in the midst of our shopping sojourns, Diana presented me with this lovely 1970s burnished silver-tone pendant and chain by AVON.

She found it at a clothing swap and thought of me, the sweetie.

Needless to say, I love it. It is very MOI.

I don't know much about AVON bling, except to say that some pieces that were designed by the stars (Liz Taylor being one) are quite valuable.


After Diana and I had finished our shop, we parted ways and I was off to Leaside for an interview, again for the newspaper I work for, the Town Crier in Toronto.

When my interview was done, I was was sooo close to the Goodwill off Laird Drive that, well, I just had to pop in on my way home (don't tell me editor).

It was hotter than Hades in there, but, with bling on the brain, I did an intensive rummage in the bins splayed all over the counter in the shop.

I found this rather industrial looking pendant and chain for $2.99 (cheap for Goodwill these days, I have to say). I got it for a steal as the chain is broken, but that can be easily repaired. I like the rough-and-tumble look to it - it totally suits the rock n' roll persona I'm playing out these days.

I also found this stamped Sarah Coventry pin for less than a twoonie, made in Canada.

Beam me up, Scottie!!

Seriously, do you think Star Trek was the inspiration for this baby?

Not sure if I'll ever wear it, but if it'll come in handy if I'm ever a Star Trek babe for Halloween

Sarah Coventry bling is pretty easy to find and collectible in one sense, but I'd warn you against spending too much on these pieces as they are pretty easy to dig up at garage sales and the like. I paid $15 for a SC cocktail ring at The Bead Goes On in Toronto - a good price - yet recently saw a SC pendant for $60 in a vintage shop - too pricey for the GQ and most collectors, I suspect.

Speaking of Sarah Coventry jewellery, I also found this filigree owl pendant that's a couple inches long, again signed Sarah Coventry.

Owls are very hot now; I'm seeing them all over Etsy and the motif seems to be inspiring designers as well.

It's not really my bag, but I couldn't leave it there.

Perhaps I'll give it to Diana, to keep or to sell.

Speaking of Goodwill it's 50% off day tomorrow, though if you go to the one I did today be prepared to bring your portable air conditioner.

And if you want to learn more of Diana's A Touch of Vintage Etsy shop and studio, check out my review on a new blog I'm developing (that is still in major Beta mode, so bear with me), She Shops Toronto.

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Retro oversize shades - my collection

The long weekend in Toronto has been lovely, even though I've been chained to my desk working on a contract.

Last night I let loose and went out. Here I am in my latest vintage acquisition, a pair of authentic 1970s sunglasses! Aren't they fab?

I picked them up in a vintage shop that's squirreled away in the basement of a book shop. The place is called "Vantage Ground" and it's located at 758 Bathurst St. just south of Bloor in Toronto.

The shades were $15 and still had the original tag on them (which said "Valentino", ha ha, not THE Valentino).

There was also the original sticker still stuck on one of the lenses. I was thinking that perhaps the shades were repros, or reproductions, but on second thought I don't think so. They just look too well made to be contemporary fun shades - does that sound too cynical?

I have a thing for retro over-size shades. Here are the purple ones that started it all.

I may look a little scary and pale here - it was after an event and I was tired - but hopefully these glasses speak for themselves. Second-hand but in great shape, they were reposing in the window of an ancient hardware store on Danforth called "Tracey's Hardware." And they were $3!

Then there's these crazy ones, made in Italy, ooh la la, but picked up at my fave vintage bling and handbag shop in the city, "The Bead Goes On" just off Bayview Ave. at Soudan in Toronto.

They were $15. The blue is slightly freaky on me, but I wear them when the mood and outfit is right. They are so impossibly retro!

And last but not least, I scored these vintage babies at the Toronto Vintage Costume Jewellery Club Show & Sale April 24 at Leaside Memorial Gardens - for five bucks!

Dealer Anita was selling them for her auntie - they belonged to her and Anita told me she remembered her aunt wearing them decades ago!

Actually I owe Anita a buck so they were really $4.

Which ones do you like best?

And while we're at it which haircut do you like best? As you can see I'm growing my hair after being short short for years ....

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Gay Isber sample sale Friday, May 21 in Toronto

Ahh, bling.

A gal's best friend.

One of my fave local jewellery designers, Gay Isber, is having a major clear-out sale - tomorrow only! If you live in Toronto it's so worth stopping by.

Gay uses vintage chains and beads, Swarovski crystal and new elements to create big, bold and beautiful neck pieces, bracelets and earrings.

For the sale, items start at $8 and many average $20-35.

Gay sells on the Shopping Channel, at the Royal Ontario Museum, and more. This is the sale of the century!

This earrings are only $15 each.

Sigh.

Wish I still wore earrings.

Funnily enough, the pieces I'm showing you here, though I love 'em, aren't really for me.

I love pretty, but I need my pretty mixed with rock n' roll.

So I spent hours there while Gay and her colleague Jess helped me find just the right pieces.




There's a whole room of samples and last year's stock for $20 a pop - I kid you not. Chunky necklaces that were selling for $100+ last summer at the ROM are now 20 smackeroos.

I loved this purple Swarovski crystal and silver tone piece. But silver is just too pale for pale moi.

I did find a huge multi-tier gold necklace made of vintage chains from the 1950s to 80s.

It was originally $100, but I snagged it for $20.

Other pieces are $30 and $35, with earrings for $5 and $15.

I can't believe I didn't buy this to go with my gold chain, for $20.

As you may know, I love that combo of rock n' roll with feminine.

It still may be there tomorrow if you drop by!

I think I may go back and get some gifts.

Gay does everything from over-the-top to more classic, refined pieces she sells on the shopping channel.




DETAILS:

Friday, May 21 from 11 a.m to 10 p.m.

55 Charles Street West
Buzz 101, Apt 1903
phone:416-515-1885

Oh, they have Interac!

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Green dreams

Yesterday was a stressful and busy day, but I'm going to share the happy parts of my day with you:

The day began with this retro Hoover vacuum spied outside my apartment dumpster as I was heading to work in the morning.

Just look at the dust bag at the back. The pattern is so pretty it could be a handbag!

Appliances are more muscle-bound macho industrial now, perhaps to appeal to the growing male market - no longer us chicks staying at home and doing the cleaning!


When I got to work, I saw that one of the Canadian Geese that hang out around the building had had her little ones - and here they are sunning themselves on a low hill, with mommy not pictured by very nearby.

Aren't they adorable?

They'll be waddling around the area for the next few weeks. The geese come back every year. I wonder what attracts them to a semi-industrial area where I work?

Then, at lunch, some of the work gang went to the Dairy Queen nearby, which we'd never been to in spite of having worked down the street for a few years!

Here's my pal Chris, wielding a Blizzard for our editor - Banana Cream Pie or something - do you know they still put real bananas in?? We watched them chop it up and everything.

We had burgs and fries and ice-cream outside on the patio - a great way to celebrate the day as it was super warm.

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