The Chosen One: My New Bag

Sorry for the lack of chosen one posts lately.  I haven't been sharing, but I've still be wearing some undiscovered pieces from my closet.  This particular installment features the new bag I bought at last weekend's vintage clothing and textile show. 

It was the only thing I bought that day. My neighbouring vendor was selling it.  As I crept away from my booth momentarily I knew I was going to get myself in trouble. And sure enough I feasted my eyes on this lovely bag and I had to have it.  By this point I had made enough to justify my purchase and the rest is history. 

I love the slouchiness of this bag and the colours and textures.  A perfect size for all my essentials.  I sorta cheating on this chosen one, because, well, it's a new piece and of course I'm going to want to use it right away, but next week I plan on finding something that's been sitting in my closet unworn.  Hopefully this time I'll share with you all....

My New Lace Curtain Dress

So a few things came to mind when I was working on this little number, first it was this, then it was this, I love a repurposing challenge, especially when it's something I can wear.  You might remember a couple of posts ago, I had mentioned how I was looking for a cute lace mini dress, well I thought to myself, how often do I see lacy curtains on my thrifting adventures??  Those would make a really cute dress! 

I have a very simple and wonderful Built by Wendy pattern that I had used before, and was exactly the shape and style of dress I had in mind. So on my last thrift trip I picked up one panel of a lace curtain with cute daisy flowers, and cut out the pattern with the lace.  And an hour later I ended up with my dress!   

I didn't have mouse friends to sew for me, neither did I have a Troy to critique my outfits.  I did have $3.99, a sewing machine, and an hour to put this together.  It was incredibly simple and I am so pleased with the end result.  The only thing I would maybe change for next time, is find a sturdier (wait can I use this word now??) lace.  This lace is quite delicate, but still does the trick.  Now I can't wait to wear this with my new platforms!

A Saturday Well Spent

Nothing like ringing in the first spring Saturday than at the Toronto vintage clothing and textile show.  We had such a fun time, and met a lot of wonderful people.  It was my first time doing this show, and I was so impressed by it.  When all the vendors opened for business on Saturday morning, I had literally died and gone to heaven!  There was so much wonderful Vintage to be had.  I didn't know where to start! Luckily my sweet supportive husband came to help me out ,so I could wander off and explore.  I surprised myself and only bought a bag.  I decided I was only going to admire the lovely dresses.... 


Accessories table in my little booth



My Booth



Some broaches I was selling in my newly thrifted display case!


There was a lot of variety, and I got to see some very lovely pieces.  I took pictures of some of my favorites. 

Yesterday, I couldn't help but feel a little scared for the future of vintage.  I guess while thinking back at all the amazing things I saw on Saturday, the thought crossed my mind, that one day such unique, well preserved vintage items aren't going to be as easy to find anymore.  Sometimes I wonder where the things I find come from, and am so thrilled when a gem crosses my path.  It's such a thrill, and I would hate for that experience to just fade away. 




A sample of some of the amazingness at the show




Love the print on this blouse



Beautiful feathers on an amazing hat box. 



SO MUCH PRETTINESS!

One of my favourites, enamel flower pins.



I'm really loving mini dresses for summer this year.  I was good and didn't buy this one...

All in all, we sold a lot of our vintage pieces to make way for new stuff coming in for spring/summer.  I will be adding some of these items to the shop this week, so stay tuned.  Also if you haven't already heard, I am giving away a $50 gift certificate over on The Button Owl, so if you haven't entered, you should head on over the Nesha's blog to check it out and leave your comment to win a chance at $50 worth of vintage!!  Good luck :)

Friday's Most Wanted

The second edition of Friday's most wanted.  I've been looking forward to this all week!  I finally got a haircut yesterday after months of waiting. I feel like a new woman today! So in honour of this wonderful Friday here are some items I've been on the look out for this week.



Feather hair extensions.  I've been eyeing these for about a year, but with spring and summer approaching, this would be such a fun way to update my do!
You can find these HERE

I love the way the sun pokes through the tress in this photo. A gentle reminder of early spring mornings.
Beautiful photo found HERE

 

Would love me a pair of Swedish Hasbeens.  You can buy these one's on Mod Cloth



Looking for the perfect red blazer.  My weakness for red jackets  has gotten to me once again.  This would look so cute with a little floral dress and clogs.  I'm officially on the hunt.  You can find this one HERE

 

Looking for the perfect mid length navy trench for some spring puddle jumping.  I'd say this is perfectly adorable!

Found HERE



 



Would love a new pair of cat eye glasses.  I love the metallic detail on these

 

There you have it folks. This week's list...  Looking forward to the Toronto Vintage Clothing and Textile show tomorrow.  Can't wait to see what treasures the other vendors will have.  It's been a while since I've had a public sale. I'm looking forward to learning a few new things, and meeting some new people!  If your in town, stop by and say hello :)

Les Enfants Sauvages



Via Les Enfants Sauvages c/o Marie Christine

 I stumbled on an amazing shop called Les Enfants Sauvages on Etsy, and I'm in love!    In my books this style is so perfect.  Lots of colour mixed with more subtle lines.  I love dresses that look so put together that you can wear all day without fussing. I really like their Mystical Autumn Dress.

Les Enfants Sauvages is a beautiful concept inspired by the designers background in ccultural aanthropology.  The ethnic prints and bright colours are so well interpreted into modern easy clothes.

 Check out their site for past season look books, which are all impressive.  I'm not clairvoyant, but I definitely see one of these beautiful pieces hanging in my closet in the near future!

Last Minute News

This Saturday March 26th I'll be set up with many, many vintage goodies at the Toronto Vintage Clothing and Textile Show.  If your in the city or surrounding area come by and check it out.  It promises to be loaded with great vintage finds!  This is my first time doing this show, so I'm excited to see what other vendor's have (hopefully I won't spend too much eep!)  You can also check out their Facebook page for more info.

So this means I will be going to be putting the Etsy shop on Vacation Mode just for Saturday. Head on over to the Etsy shop in case you wanted to snatch anything up before Saturday. 

In other news I am working on a new logo and blog design.  Clayton is helping me with it, since I seem to be all thumbs when it comes to HTML.  I gave it a try a couple weeks ago and I couldn't get anything to work.  So husband to the rescue!  It's frustrating cause I know exactly what to do, but I just can't figure out how to do it myself. This doesn't mean I have given up.  I'm going to get Clayton to teach me...

One more thing.... I will be selling some of my handmade goods (and maybe some vintage) at Art Marmalade, a fashion, music and art expo taking place in Orono April 10.  I've got lots to do for the show, but can't wait to put together a little collection of things!

Ta Ta for now :)

Friday's Most Wanted

Good Friday to you all!  I am starting a new feature called Friday's most wanted, where I'll be sharing what I'm lusting over this week.  Since the list of things I want always seems to grow by each passing week, and my wallet gets lighter and lighter, I thought this would be a good way to get my urge to splurge out of my system.  So here goes....

Jessica Simpson Dany Heels
Hello tall shoes!  Can never have enough of these in my opinion.

Vintage 60's Mini Dress
The perfect dress for the summer.  Playful, light, and chalked full of bohemian nostalgia. 

Vintage Silverware Spoon Garden and Plant Markers
As spring rolls in, I am planning out my summer garden.  These would be perfect for my favourite thing about summer....Herbs!

dream car print
This gorgeous photographic print by Abbytrysagain is amazing. I could stare at this photo for hours.

Boards of Canada Geogaddi
I have been so into this album for years now, but only own a CD copy, and since vinyl is king in our house, I need to replace my cd copy. 

There you have it! Have a wonderful weekend. 

Now That's What I'm Talking About

Via Lonny Magazine

Browsing through the new Lonny Magazine today, I stumbled upon these great images.  Going back to last week's shoe post, this is exactly what I need!  If only a dressing room were in the cards for me.... 

Checking In

Not much going on over here. I've been working on updating the Etsy shop with some wonderful things.  I have loads more to add, since last week was a good thrifting week.  But if you already haven't dropped in, check out the many new shoes and boots.  There are more coming when I get an hour to add the rest.

Spring and summer are just around the corner and I have many, many cute dresses to share with you all.  It's never too late to book a Vintage Ramble party, and what better way to ring in the new seasons with a little get together with friends to shop for pretty summer dresses!?!  It's loads of fun!

I've also been sewing here and there, and just finished a batch of woollen pillows with embroidered hearts.  I love transforming these wool blankets into pillows.  They are just so snugly! I am debating weather or not to open a tiny hand made shop on Etsy.  It makes me a little nervous, but I might give it a try one of these days.

Shoe Love

Over the weekend I stumbled upon this great site Closet Visit . ( forgive me if you already know about this, but I was very excited to make the discovery)  The pictures are drool worthy, and I love the questions each of the ladies has to answer. 

Some fun for the sun.  Can't wait to wear these with maxi dresses and rompers

After spending about an hour on the site, I was inspired to rummage through my closet  I have been discovering a lot of potential in my clothes through doing the Chosen One segments, but I hadn't dug in deep enough to do a much needed shoe inventory. So this weekend was a perfect opportunity to see what I had for the upcoming summer season, and what I had grown tired of. (Maybe a shoe update in the etsy shop this week...) 



My  obsession with clogs started last spring, and has not gone away.  In fact I'm probably even more into them this year, and can't wait to wear these with jeans, chambray dresses, and skirts



I lined up my pretty feet and picked out some of my favourites that I will definitely be wearing this summer.  I am so excited for the new season, and am now racking my brain trying to figure out a better way to store my shoes.  Half of these shoes I either forgot I had, or were buried too deep in my closet to bother fishing them out to wear. 

Of course I needed two of the same pairs of platforms!  I loved these shoes so much when I found the black pair a few weeks ago for $3, and I was more than happy to add them to my collection

All of these shoes I have found a thrift stores at one point or another.  I tend to hoard them, and eventually as different styles get popular I will wear certain pairs more often than others. On the whole tho, I tend to stick with a few staple pairs all summer, and neglect some of the more pretty shoes.  I am planning on changing this habit this summer.

As summer approaches so does wedding season.  Some sparkly numbers for fancy nights out.

How do you store your shoes? Currently I have most of mine in shoe boxes, on four shelves in my closet. The problem is I have forgotten what shoes are in what box, and I haven't gotten around to putting pictures of the shoes on the boxes. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!

The Chosen One Week 6

As ridiculous as this sounds, it's a challenge to try and wear all the winter coats I own....I was excited to wear this week's item tho.  I took a break from my tried and true winter gear for a weekend, and wore this coat that I had never worn before.  I thrifted it not too long ago, and it looks hand made.  It's not lined, but wool so it was the perfect coat for the season.  Glad I wore it last weekend as it's way to cold this week to give it a spin. 

I am feeling much more positive today, and don't feel as frustrated with all the negativity I've encountered this week online.  Hoping to start on the right foot this weekend and enjoy 2 days  away from work.  Still one thing left to do tho.... pick next week's chosen one item! Yikes I have no idea, going to have to rip apart my closets.... until next week ♥

Can't We All Just Get Along?

I am not one to rant and share my opinions with people I don't know, but I have been seeing a trend lately on blogs, twitter, FB etc that I was compelled to write about it here today.  Why are people so mean?! There is so much public criticism of other people's work and creative ideas, by other individuals in the same community.  It seems increasingly that some style bloggers, etsy shop owners, twitters think it's perfectly fine to share their negative opinions,  to their many followers/readers.  It's fine to have opinions, but if you ask me when you are sharing those hurtful opinions with thousands of people you just come off looking like a huge JERK.  It disappoints me that many people who I admire and  who's blogs I enjoy reading are acting like they are entitled to put people down. I know there are always going to be critics and naysayers, but it's just disappointing I guess.  Needless to say I have stopped following people like this. 

I try my best to be positive, but when I see stuff like this happening, it makes me want to stop blogging all together.  But then I think of all the wonderful bloggers who are out there, delivering thoughtful and insightful content (eg. this post was wonderful!).  Hopefully this wasn't too ranty, but I really needed to get this out of my system, as it's been bothering me for some time. 

On a lighter note, I have been continuing to update the Etsy shop all week.  Today I'll be adding some lovely skirts.  As the snow melts and the sun gets brighter I am encouraged to start adding a few springy items, so I will try to keep adding items every week.  Hope you enjoy! (and thanks for listening)