It’s like a switch was flipped, friends, and then all of a sudden it was no longer appropriate to wear the same sweatpants for 15 days in row (you know, until laundry day. AKA the day you run out of underwear. It is a very sad day when you have to scrounge up a laundry-day-outfit that is WORSE than 15-day pandemic-sweatpants!). So I went out in the totally pandemic-appropriate outfit I had been wearing for over a month and discovered that some sort of pact had been enacted and everyone else was back to regular clothes. It’s been a clunky transition, so let’s explore some regular clothes and remind our brains why we love them!
Well, our faves Oak + Fort have done that thing again where they mark the garment as size “one size”. Thanks Oak + Fort! But I can’t stay grumpy at them because this top is actually pretty sweet. I LOVE this colour, friends.
I was a bit confused about what was going on here, but I tossed it on a mannequin and it came to life a bit more. I feel like this reads more as an optical illusion off-the-shoulder top than a straight cold-shoulder top. But since the mannequin has no arms I was still unsure how I felt about it, so….
…I tried it on myself. Now, no one is more surprised than I that the whole “one size” thing might actually be a real thing this time! I found it flattering and I actually like what they’ve done with the shoulders. Also, this top is linen, and I feel like that somehow elevates this top from milk-maid to, um, milk-gender-and-marital-status-immaterial-person-who-deserves-a-living-wage-in-exchange-for-highly-specialized-work-with-farm-animals. Or something.
Friends, guess what? We have Smoking Lily in the shop!!. This one is a skirt (but I think you might be able to pull it off as a top or dress!), with that soft jersey fold-down waistband that is just what we need during this time of unusual eating habits.
Helicopter print! Keep being you, Smoking Lily!
You may need to gently put down your tea/glass of wine/entire bottle if tequila. Friends, this awesome mustard yellow dress is from one of my all-time Canadian faves Birds of North America! (And yes, Birds of North America is in the tight race for most clever brand names along with Alison Wonderland and Gentle Fawn!) Friends, this dress is all clipped to fit the mannequin, but it’s actually a very accessible size 14. It’s got a great shape, gorgeous colour and pockets, but the star of the show on this one is….
…the back! Ta-dah! This great design feature in the back takes this dress from Saturday Market to Close Friend’s Wedding!
(You can get more Birds of North America in Edmonton at Arturo Denim on 124th!)
UPDATE: Friends, I fear I have mislead you. I clipped this dress to make it look nice on the mannequin, but it really IS a size 14, even though it doesn’t look like it thanks to my stellar mannequin-dressing-skills. Here is how it looks on a hanger:
Still gorgeous!
I am usually a size 10-12, and I am very busty; this dress is too large one me, but I have taken pictures to give you a better idea:
This will fit a person who is larger than me in the bust and waist:
(Sorry if I got you all excited because you are the size of our mannequin!)
Friends, we are going to do a wee explore of these earrings from Canadian designer Anne-Marie Chagnon! These lovelies are hand-made in Montreal, but they are the type of piece that just when you think you have taken it all in, you discover a whole other world of coolness (kinda like when you shop at Red Pony -if you remember those days- and you think you’ve gone through everything in the shop but then all these other things pop out at you!) (Those days will be back soon, friends, just hang in there a little bit longer!) Anyways, these earrings are at once geometric, industrial plus soft and artsy. And that was already enough for me. But THEN…..
…I flipped them over and it was like a whole different earring! The notched dark piece (wood? Resin? Tile?) is to me like a secret note from Anne-Marie Chagnon herself! The “back” of this earring is designed with as much thought and intent as the “front”, and, friends, I think I like this side even more! I love the contrast of that notched square with the organic feel of the stone and tumbled metal bead! And do you see how they come up right to the top of the pewter square, so they remain completely hidden from the other side! This earring is messing with my mind, and I LOVE it!
Really, it’s like 2 earrings in one! So pretty….and mysterious!
Speaking of more than what it seems from the front, here is what seems like a simple black tank from our friends down the street at Workhall!
But THEN, in the back it does this! How breezy and elegant is this?!
Now, our mannequin has surprisingly wide shoulders, so I feel like you need to see this on the hanger so that you can picture how it would hang on a human, which I think would be more of a cross over look like the way it hangs here:
Ooooooo, this super-cool top comes to us from the future! And also from Vancouver brand Okakie.
I love how the grain of the material is placed going in different directions. This is a great way to show off the organic weave of the fabric!
But, friends, is it deliciously weird OR WHAT?! Even when on the hanger I was all “I love you, but what the heck is going on here?!”. Like, often times there is some sort of mathematical or geometric relationship at work that we can figure out. This one seems legit nonsensical!
So, finally I just decided I needed to try it on for you. And, lo and behold, it turns out this is one of the most gorgeous pieces EVERRRR! It hangs absolutely beautifully and looks so elegant and artistic!
Ok, I’m prefacing this next piece with the note that came inside because I think this note ALONE is so awesome! The consignor shared that her mother brought this bag home from a trip to Denmark in the 80s , which is such enriching context for what we are about to see….
Ta-dah! How beautiful is this bag?! I love love LOVE a transparent bag (they’re from outer space!), and the square shape of this one is so grown up and all business!
This one is in such great shape, too, and has such purposeful details.
I’ll share with you now that there is a tie for my favourite thing about this purse. First favourite thing is: these lucite handles! There is something so cool about them, and they are so sturdy and unique!
But my other favourite thing about this purse is the black sleeve inside…..black removable sleeve, that is! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! I have died. (Wear that Birds of North America dress to my funeral, though!)
Here it is with the sleeve removed. (My least favourite thing about this purse is how hard it is to photograph. You know, on account of being invisible!) Friends, I already have a transparent bag, so I really SHOULD NOT be drooling over this bag as much as I am. Then again, how many is too many transparent bags?
Oooooooo, this LBD from our not-forgotten local faves at Noul is super special while acting like it’s not a big deal. As I have often found, a crew neck like the one on this dress brings a dress down a notch and helps it read a bit more casual, where the fuzzy (and a bit sparkly!) lower half of the dress is so unique, whimsical and even a bit edgy!
Hopefully you can see it better here; not over-designing the dress was a good move on the part of Noul. (PS the size is marked as medium, but it definitely looks like a small to me.)
You know how sometimes you will come across an item and it will be something like “Hey, the neighbour at the summer house our family stayed in for a long weekend when I was 7 had that exact same thing!”? That’s what this top is to me, friends! This is a handmade top from a Toronto maker (who no longer exists in the clothes-making world) from whom I bought a pink wrap dress 14 years ago! The brand was called (and I always found this very clever) “Fresh Baked Goods”! Anyways, here is a Fresh Baked Goods top! I can’t believe we have this in the shop!
This top is so cute, though! You know how I love clothes that look like a lab coat? I also love a subcategory of clothes that look like aprons! Are you feeling the vintage apron vibes?
Zips up in the back.
Friends, we have started taking consignment appointments again (check out our consignment info page for how it works!) and so much incredible stuff has been pouring in from some of my favourite consignors, I feel like I might have to do 2 blogs per week to keep up with all my favourite things! (Don’t get too excited, though, because I seem to still be spending a significant amount of my time crafting elaborate Important-Adult-sounding excuses for why my children have not submitted completed homework pretty much every week. Um, because I am a Very Busy Scientist type person who invented Post-Its and actually my children are geniuses who spend all day at the lab making complex computations and bubbly formulas and they certainly do not spend all their time looking at screens while I stand at the kitchen counter staring into space eating chocolate chips and peanut butter that I melted in the microwave thinking it would turn out like a peanut butter cup but actually just ends ups congealing in a half-burnt blob but I’m still going to eat it because it’s the good chocolate from Earth’s General Store.)
But, there is exciting shop news! We are going to do a very gentle re-opening starting Saturday, June 6th. Red Pony will only be open on Thursdays and Saturdays for the beginning, and we will only be allowing 3 people in the shop at a time, and the 3 people will chosen by how well they compliment me on my glasses and tell me how much they love the blog (just kidding! But, you know, feel free to give me compliments anyways!). Luckily, the online store will still be going hard, so you can still get your Red Pony fix even if you are choosing to remain at home.
And now I will commence the Weeping With Gratitude portion of the blog: friends, as there is light at the end of the tunnel and it looks like many of our local independent stores are going to make it, I just want to point out how incredible Edmonton has been in supporting all the independents. Despite complex things like scheduled curb-side pick-ups, online lessons, no try-ons, navigating online shopping (Royal Bison being cancelled!) etc, you really stepped up and worked extra hard to make sure to mindfully support the local independents and we are all so amazed to see how much you really care. I am so thankful and proud of you all!
Anyways, all the blog items are available in our online shop and, as always, I am giving you a head start on the Instagram people. I’ve missed you and I can’t wait for us to finally have a proper catch up!