Sickness and Glamour

So, both Caitlins are currently sick as all Hell, but before getting sick, I, Kaitlin, got the chance to check out a night of Fashion Art Toronto (FAT), Toronto's Alternative Fashion Week.

Instead of overwhelming you by trying to describe the whole night and all of the collections in one post, I figure It would make more sense to break it down, collection by collection.

I would like to start this all off with the collection I enjoyed the most: Pure Plastic by Calgary based designer NRT Fashions.

 First Off, I would like to apologize for the photos... Caitlynn's the photographer here, not me.

The whole collection I thought was very well put together. It was cohesive in both design elements and colour story.

I found each look on their own interesting, and even with it's eccentric tendencies, there were quite a few pieces in there that I would love to own (striped pants and skirts, and that cool as hell folded skirt)

There was definitely no lack of interest in this collection, my favourite part (aside from the excellent use of... duck tape) would have to be the unexpected mix of materials. There were chains, plastic, tape and leather among the well chosen fabrics in this collection.

I have to admit though, a few things did really bother me about this collection.

First off, the music that accompanied the show was a poorly looped "the New Shit" my Marilyn Manson. It was looped so badly and it just kept playing for the entire show. I just wanted it to stop!

And it wasn't just the bad loop job, it was just all so cliche when you put it together. Marilyn Manson, goggles on the models heads, then the last look (a leather jacket with a big ol' Slipknot patch on the back of it) and the designer herself wearing a big Slipknot hoody just ruined it for me. I was once very into the heavy metal scene and nothing bothered me more than those kids who professed their love to bands like Manson, Slipknot and KoRn. Of course, upon further investigation, NRT has never done anything remotely close to a collection like this; all of her previous work tended to me a bit more on the pretty and girly side than this dark piece of work. So I guess I can dismiss the bad cliches as just naivety. I'm confident in saying that if NRT keeps going in this direction, the cliches will disappear, and the work will keep getting better and better.

If that all just went over your head, let me just say this: I am a snob when it comes to heavy metal and goth and I always take it personally when people try to make reference to it and do it poorly.
But hey, that's just me, the collection was really good.

If you have any love of the dark, or alternative fahion, NRT Fashions is most definitely worth checking out.

Floral Print

As we enter spring we have a perfect fashion find. 

This second hand floral print top was found at Exile in Kensington Market. It was a great price as well, only 12$. Practically a steal! It is in perfect condition and although it is not vintage, its still very cute and very spring. We certainly are excited for spring and all of the great fashion that comes out in the warmer seasons.

Magic Flute

 In the cold winter months we got all dolled up and went to the Toronto Opera Company at Queen and University to see the amazing production of the Magic Flute.
Kaitlin and I believe that the opera is not an occasion for jeans and certainly not sneakers. We could say that we were fairly disappointed in the attire that we saw on our evenings at the opera.  Maybe we are just stuck in another time period but we think that you should try to match the romantic and classic atmosphere you get when you attend an opera by how you dress.
This beautiful floor length gown was perfect for the occasion. It was found in Kensington Market's "Vintage Depot". Although normally we only find the absolutely ridiculous there, this black lace dress was a perfect surprise. Its a 1980's dress made in California by a designer named "Roberta". I felt so great in the dress since it fit me so perfectly. It was just classic enough for the opera but has just enough unique details (the slit and the bow in the front) that I felt like myself in it.

White Leather Shoes

In an act of spontaneity the other day, we all went out together for the first time in a while. After smoothies, we came across something that always brings mixed emotions from us: a closing sale. Usually, we love closing sales since they usually cut prices in half, and being cheap as we are, we love getting more for our dollar. Unfortunately though, this closing sale was on at a Queen Street West Vintage clothing store. Boo hoo :'(


Take Me Back is located at 1692 Queen St W, almost at Roncesvalles (or at least, it will be for the next week or so D:) and is (was) a truly wonderful store. The owner is wonderful and friendly and, in the few times we got around to going there, always managed to talk us into buying more than we intended. They always had a good mix of both mens and womens clothes and lots and lots of shoooes(!) all for reasonable prices.


This week, we picked up a couple items for Craig. The first I will post right now, but the other will have to wait because he loves it and wears it everywhere (and he's not home right now).

These are a wonderful pair of white leather shoes dating back to about 1960. Made by "Timpson" "the shoe people", they're in absolutely perfect condition: not a mark on them! What's even better is they were inexpensive: hand made in England real leather shoes for half of what it would cost to buy a new pair of pleather shoes made in Japan. We love vintage.


Anyway, the school year is almost over and I've got me a job, so I will be out all summer vintage shopping like a crazy person. I encourage everyone to do the same, so we don't have to see anymore of these wonderful and sad closing sales!

Frou Frou

 In a bit of a rush a travel bag was needed when heading back home to Kingston, Ontario for a couple of days. Rushing off to one of the closest and most reasonable priced stores in the area on Queen West between Parkdale and Roncessvalles, Frou Frou was the first store that came to mind. 

After talking to  the fabulous and extremely nice owner about the situation he pulled out the most perfectly cute and appropriately sized purse. It can hold  two days worth of clothes and it's from the 1960's. It was purchased at an extremely great price of 15$.

 If you have the time this is a vintage store so worth checking out. They have hats, dresses, coats, and purses all squeezed into a rather small space. There is always something to find at Frou Frou and its one of our favourites!

Bungalow West

Located in Kensington Market where there is always something to find, Bungalow and Bungalow West were both stores that left us a bit disappointed. Although our good friend Kayla Heath did find a fantastic sweater/cardigan, it was a bit of a search and hassle. First at Bungalow, a rather large store with a decent selection, was way over priced. Then across the street to Bungalow West the prices were much more reasonable and it actually had vintage clothing section. Overall these stores aren't necessarily fantastic but you may end up being lucky like our friend and have the possibility of stumbling upon something cute. 

A fabulous affair.

Unlike some people we do not take going to the opera lightly. While other people attend in jeans and a tshirt we try our very best to look as amazing as possible. 

This beautiful and elegant dress was found at Exile in Kensington Market for a low price of 30.00. The dress was designed by Ursula in 1981, a Switzerland dress company. 

The piece that helps brings the outfit all together is a waist belt from the King of Kensington, one of our favourite stores. This black belt has a large gold circular piece that is tasteful and not over powering and only bought at a price of 10.00 . 

All that is needed is a bit of jewelry and a hat then this outfit will be complete, if you have any suggestions just leave us a comment :)  

Welcome to The Cabaret

One of Toronto's number one Vintage stores, the Cabaret, is locatedon Queen street West. Probably one of Toronto's more famed vintage stores, it never fails to please and always has the best quality vintage in town.

The atmosphere at the Cabaret is really what makes it unique. The minute you step into the store and off of Queen West, you feel as if you've stepped back in time to a very classy store.

The Cabaret's specialty without doubt is formal and semi-formal dress. They cater to both men and women with everything from tailcoats and spats for your men to glamorous evening wear for every woman.

The one downfall to the Cabaret is the prices. Though their selection is worth every penny of the price (dresses are usually a few hundred) it's not something a starving artist or university student could ever afford.

Luckily, the Cabaret also has a gorgeous assortment of jewelry, hats and accessories for both men and women. Though none of it is cheap either, a student might be able to stretch their OSAP money to cover a nice necklace or a pair of gloves and be greatly rewarded by the feeling of wearing something so high end.

The staff at the Cabaret are also a big help, so if you're not sure what you're looking for, need help finding the perfect necklace for your dress or even just want to hear a bit about the store, feel free to ask.

Overall, the Cabaret has earned it's reputation as one of Toronto's best, and although the prices can be a little disappointing (even depressing) to us poor kids, if you ever buy something from there, you will learn that it's well worth every penny.

Vintage Find of the Day

So Kaitlin's Gran is probably one of the most amazing women that I have yet to meet. She is always checking up on Kait since she moved to Toronto. They write emails, talk on the phone and makes sure that her university bound grandchild is alive and well.. Its amazing that they are family as well as best friends.

 One of the fabulous presents that she recently gave to her granddaughter was a vintage circa 1980's blue hat but the unfortunate thing for Kaitlin is, that is doesn't fit. The fortunate thing for me is, it fits me. So now I have a very cute and ultra chic hat to borrow thanks to Kait's Gran.  : )

Dior's new look

Hey guys, kind of a big deal here right now.

The other, we decided to go on a big adventure and check out some of Toronto's best vintage stores that we hadn't yet visited.

One of our first stops of the day was I Miss You. The store is located at 63 Osslington ave just north of Queen West. Their specialty as we quickly found out, is vintage designer clothing.

Their prices are really reasonable, considering the names that they sell (Chanel, Dior, Balenciaga, Hermes, Birkin, YSL etc) and the condition of all of their clothes. I'm not saying that I could waltz in and buy an outfit, let alone even afford a dress, but hey, I'm a university student, I shouldn't be able to afford clothes from anywhere. That said, there were still plenty of gorgeous finds within my price range, be it shirts, skirts, shoes or accessories.

Of course, if you know me, you know what I went for right away.

And then i saw it. And then it was on my head. And then it clicked and I knew I was leaving the store with this hat.

From Christian Dior's 1947 "new look", my gorgeous new hat might just be my new favourite thing in my possession.

 Velvet, with a nice ribbon and a cute little bow,this was a perfect find, for only $40.

Takes about a million pins to keep it on my head, but it's very worth it.

I think the morale or this story is I Miss You is most definitely worth checking out, even if you don't plan on buying anything, you might just be surprised... and go home with the coolest piece of vintage clothing ever.

A Common Store

Living on West Queen West here in Toronto we have a huge variety of high quality vintage stores within a hop skip and a jump of us. We try our very best to introduce you to as many of these as possible.Of course, not every vintage store reduces us to excited little giggling fashionistas. A store very close to our house, Common Sort, has the habit of leaving us very disappointed.

Common Sort is located on Queen in cozy Parkdale and though they do have some interesting items and somewhat reasonable prices, their selection of clothes tends to be lacking. Not only do they have an excess of ugly clothes (which is great I guess for the ever growing hipster popular in the area) but are totally lacking in small and large sizes. Between the two of us, we've only ever found ONE ITEM OF CLOTHING THAT WILL FIT IN THIS STORE. And it's not due to lack of trying.

We will say that their accessories are rather cute, and that they do have an okay selection of shoes (but, again, good luck if you have bigger feet)

 The verdict: If you are a size medium hipster; have fun! If not, don't bother. Its not worth the time.

Vintage Find of the Day

This item was found by my mother at the Public Butter. We checked the RN numbers and this cute and comfortable short was made in the 1960s and is 100% original. The Public Butter always seems to have fantastic sales on and is definitely worth checking out.

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

As you may have noticed, we've been somewhat lacking in updates over the holidays, but our downfalls in updates, we've made up in awesome fashion finds.

Over the break, we've been gifting and getting tons of new and vintage clothing and accessories and in the process have discovered some new shops we'd like to introduce you to!

It's really hard to for us to choose what to post first, but I guess we'll start with some cute handmade pillbox hats!

I found these for myself while I was trying to Christmas shop for my family. Ophelie Hat have a lot of very cute designs, everything from berets, to fedoras to feather hair pieces. TO top it all off, the designer was super nice, and helped me find hats that look great on me. (After pulling out big, black garbage bags just full of handmade hats!)

If you'd like to see some more of her work, you can check out her website here: http://www.opheliehats.com/ though I've found she has so much more in person, so if you can make it out to a show, it would definitely be worth it.

I found Ophelie at the Toronto One of a Kind craft and design show. I've gone every year for the past few years and it seems to just get better and better. If you're ever in TO, it's well worth the money to see the show, even if you just head to the food section and eat free samples all day ;) http://www.oneofakindshow.com/xmas10/


This hat design I liked so much, I couldn't decide between two colours... so I bought them both :D

The exaggerated leaves in the design really frame the eye, and make for a really striking piece.

Ever since I bought that red vintage hat, I've been on a bit of a hat rampage, and these hats really solidified my obsession. Along with these hats, you'll be seeing some others in the next month, as well as some cute vintage clutches, hounds tooth galore (another new obsession of mine) and some new and old jewelry.

From the Caitlins, we hope that you had some fantastic holidays and that your new year brings you fabulous clothes!