So, friends, I think that my favourite things to share with you lately are the really weird things in shop; but it’s just I feel like they don’t get enough appreciation sometimes (Gasp! Like Smelly Cat!), especially when in-store browsing time is so limited! So weird things it is!
It’s not a Wednesday blog without a vintage coat these days, but check out this super *different* coat I’ve chosen for this week! No more long winter coat from the 40s…let me introduce you to vintage cropped western-inspired jacket! Made in Canada, wool and, my favourite part….
…….buttons and tassel!
Wear with the sleeves rolled up over your acid-washed denim dress (which is a story for another day)!
This awesome artsy dress is from Osei-Duro, which is a Canadian brand from Vancouver who use textiles and artisans from Ghana in the production of their hand-made designs. The fabric here is a light cotton that feels like linen, and there is a delicate pattern weaved in (not sure if you can see it on your screen, but it’s there!).
This dress has a huge batwing and is narrow in the bottom, so the whole thing looks like a cape (which, as you know, is very important to me)!
To give you a sense of the fit, I tried it on for you and took this dark, blurry picture. On me the lower part of the dress was too snug for my hips, but you get the idea of the overall look.
So to me these tiny earrings look like insect wings or something (which, alone, is very cool and pretty!), but the consignor informed me that these hand-made earrings are “helicopter keys”. YES, OF COURSE! I have seen similar things in other handmade jewellery which are also identified as “helicopter keys”, which I have found so unique in juxtaposing a very mechanical/industrial element with something delicate like tiny earrings. I’m in! But, um, when I looked up “helicopter keys”, all I got was normal looking keys. Like, seriously friends, I think I am missing a major piece of this puzzle. I love to believe that helicopter keys look like something a fairy made, but I can’t find anything close to this in terms of real-world helicopter keys and, in fact, the only images that come up for helicopter keys that look like this is other hand-made jewellery! I am taking this waaaaaaaay to personally and will be referring to these as “fairy wing” earrings until someone can come into the shop and produce actual helicopter keys that look like this. Please.
Friends, it’s fine, you can totally rock these pants!
They are hand-made by Devi-Deva in Montreal, and while I might have a weird relationship with plaid, I love the kinda vintage feel of this warm red and black plaid especially on these types of pants!! So cool!!
Friends, we have loads of great hats in the shop, but this one is one of the weirdest ones! It’s from our friends down the ave at Workhall, too!
Am I ready to solve small-village crimes in the 1920s by inserting myself into official police investigations where I eventually get accepted by the grumpy detective in charge because I have a 100% success rate of crime-solving OR WHAT?!
I may not understand helicopter keys, but I know my way around a hand-knit sweater! Look at the cable work here and all the stitch patterns! It even has pockets….
….and a slight bell sleeve for extra style points!
By my very favourite part is….the little wrapped buttons!
So, friends, you know how I am a big fan of Birds of North America (and I am taking you all down with me!)? Well, I managed to get Alex hooked as well, and this week Birds of North America are having a big sale. Since Alex and I are such fan-girls, we knew about the sale in advance. Worried we might be buying the same dress and feeling the need to really strategize to get the ones we are dying for, we decided to make a chart. We spent a REALLY long time discussing which type of chart we should have and there was even at one point a very serious consideration of a white board with red string criss-crossing all over the place. I am not even kidding, friends.
In the end we took this so seriously that we ended up putting together a complex, colour-coded google doc that we worked on until 10 at night! (That’s an hour passed my bedtime….but also an hour into my drinking-red-wine-at-night time!) Now, the irony of this whole thing is that Alex and I have very different tastes and we never end up with the same choices at all! When sale launched yesterday, we sat side by side in complete silence on our phones; it was like we were writing an exam!
I will be in on Friday and Saturday if you want to pop in and hear all about my purchases (herein know as my birthday and/or xmas presents) or show me a real helicopter key, and Alex will be in Thursday and Friday if you want to hear about her Birds of North America items and compare!