What I saw Wednesdays (XI)

May 25, 2016 Yannick Vie

I love the colour of this golden dress; with a matching hat* and closed-toe pumps you could wear it to a royal wedding.

What I saw Wednesdays (X)

May 18, 2016 Yannick Vie

Friends, what I love about rompers is part of my fashion paradox: I love wearing vintage styles, but I also like looking like I'm from the future.

What I saw Wednesdays (IX)

May 11, 2016 Yannick Vie

We are offering 20% off to Fort McMurray residents (just show ID), so if you have friends, family or guests that you are hosting (proud of you!) that had to be evacuated, or if you yourself are one of the evacuees (also proud of you!), we hope we can do our part to help out. (And, really, if you are feeling overwhelmed with all the stuff that needs to get done and you just can't make it down in business hours, just call or email and I can open after-hours.... Whatever helps!)

And now here is what caught my eye this week! First off, check out these orange Miz Mooz flats!

The straps on these are so cool...it's kinda like a ballet shoe, but it's orange. To get the full effect, here is my foot-selfie...

(There's a little zipper on the back of the heel to take them on and off easily)

Remember the Tokidoki print bag from the back-room last week? It's a Lesportsac with so many top-loading zipper that it rivals Matt&Nat in zippered-compartment complexity!

And here is it's colleague, a lovely grey floral Lesportsac:

This cute jersey dress is a completely unique item. Seriously, each piece by Canadian designers Loden Clothing is printed by hand, so all items are different! Plus, it looks like they only sell in markets, and mostly on the West Coast, so you can't just find Loden stuff just anywhere. (PS this dress has pockets!)

Also last week in the back room, remember how excited I was about the Camper Twins?!

The "Twins" series by Camper feature shoe pairs that go together, but are not identical to each other. Notice the pattern is different on each shoe:

Simple tunic from our friends at Oak+Fort:

Despite it's dressy shape, the material of this dress reminds me of a lab-coat, which makes the whole look much edgier:

I love the look and shape of these grannies!

Check out the cute diagonal pocket on this Lululemon wrap dress! The tags are still on this one, and they suggest that you just throw this dress on when you have finished your work-out. Well, you know I like a tag with a story.

Lululemon dress (NWT), Size 8, $40; Bell necklace, $20

Speaking of tags with a story, check out what it says inside this Lily Bloom bag:

I also like me some unexpected hardware on bags:

This beautiful cover-up is so amazing! It's so flattering, and looks like something an artist in the 1920's would wear. I would wear this over a one-piece jumper this summer...(just as soon as find one!)

I'm not sure if the colour of this dress is coming through on your computer, but it's a beautiful peacock colour with gold threading running through....

....and it has a wee button in the back!

A couple of long, comfy yoga skirts from our friends down the ave:

Karma skirt, Size S, $36; Loft 82 skirt, Size S, $34

I'm always so impressed when shoes have an amazing architectural shape to them, like these Tsubos:

This stretchy skirt is so comfy! It almost came home with me....and it has pockets!

These awesome camper twins are NOT shoes:

What I saw Wednesdays (v.VIII)

May 4, 2016 Yannick Vie

I came across some great stuff this week, friends! Shall we start with silk from conscious-fashion Canadian company Ursa Minor out of Montreal? This designer is ticking all my boxes with this salmon coloured silk top:

I didn't know Ursa Minor when when I reached for this top, but I knew I had found something unique just from the tag:

Hand written tag? Someone took some time creating this garment!

The Corey Lynn Calter dress in the cover picture for this week has pockets! Remember when they didn't put pockets in dresses? Those were dark times in fashion.

This awesome blue suede bow belt was the first thing I picked up this week! It totally made me think of something Rebecca from A Clothes Horse would love (she would probably have a matching bow-bag and bows on her dress too!)

Here's the thing about this belt: it was way too big for the mannequin....I had to pin it in the back with clothes-pins for the picture. So don't be fooled by our mannequin, this belt can fit many sizes!

This blue dress was such an exciting discovery! It's hand made, and I think it's silk! The pleats and stitching are amazing, and it's even lined! I just love items that were made with love and attention!

If you like pretending that you are a mermaid pretending to be a human, here is your dress:

BCBG Max Azria dress; Size XS, $68; Necklace, $12

I discovered another cool designer from Montreal with this Creations Encore top:

This top does just not stop, check out the back!

Checking the tags on this one, I knew they would have an interesting approach to design and production, and their thorough fashion philosophy did not disappoint!

Just some unknown recycled fibres, made in Canada, as one does.

Creations Encore tag. This really touched me!

And here is another blue top that is partying in the back:

Now, doesn't this vintage skirt totally remind you of the dress that Rachel wore on the one where they all go to Jamaica?

This Floreat dress also has pockets....and a removable sash....AND stretchy rusching in the back for comfort!

Here is a super cute necklace to add some edge to your vintage dresses :

And these super-cool front-back black swan earrings!

For those times when you just want to relax...

Before we check out the back room this week, let's have a moment of shopping theory. Lately it seems that I keep hearing that it's hard to shop second-hand because the sizes are too small. So I just wanted to remind everyone of the golden rule of second-hand shopping: try everything on! Sizes vary so much by brand, you will never know unless you try it on.

Here is a true story about size to illustrate my point. Last week I had to go to a ribbon-cutting ceremony, where I knew I would likely have to be in photos and schmooze with MLAs to try to get more funding for some very important community-development programmes. I would have to dress like an adult (I even considered wearing high heels! But I didn't). I had narrowed down my choices to two silk wrap dresses from Banana Republic (via Red Pony, for real!), one green and one blue. I tried them on for Rod and asked what he thought. Helpfully, he responded "I don't know, they both look the same, what's difference?". Um? I explained to him that the blue dress was a size 8, and the green one was a size 0. After an intense moment in the hockey game he suddenly said "WHAT? How can you be an 8 in one dress and a 0 in another?!". So you see, don't try to apply your math degree to wrap dresses or to any of the other great things at Red Pony. Shoe sizes: yes. Other clothes and unique finds: you just never know until you try them on.

Now, the back room was once again busting with items I was dying to explore! But, I followed the rules (mostly!) and keep everything organized the way I found it. Get ready to pee your pants, friends....