Waiting for the Crash of Guitar Solos

Dress // 1960's Vintage // Shoes // Chelsea Crew // Tights // ASOS //


This is one of the gorgeous outfits that I snagged at the Vintage Clothing show this weekend. This soft and beautifully detailed 1960's Grecian gown was the perfect thing to wear under the white cherry blossoms that seem to be in bloom all over this city. Although the dress' origin was the free-lovin' 1960's flower children, I felt more like a character out of Jane Eyre or anything Jane Austen for that matter. There is something inherently forlorn about these dresses...Maybe it's the way the wind catch the layers of delicate voile but I always feel like I should be standing out on an unending sea of green marshes of the English moors...waiting, eyes searching for something off in the distance.

 

I was on the look out for one of these dresses last Sunday at the Vintage show and found this little treasure right before we left, hidden behind the more brightly coloured patterns and beaded dresses that were clearly the trend at the shows this Spring. It was one of those dresses that found me, more than I found it. I don't know if I'm the only one out there who has this experience with Vintage shopping, but I'd love to hear if you've ever felt that way too! The neat little touches are what makes this dress special. The tiny flowers sewn onto the neckline, the ruching at the bust and on the back. And the silk ribbon can both tie around the whole dress but there are also this amazing little slits which allow the ribbons to be tied under the top layer of fabric, allowing the voile at the back to fall out away from the body, almost like a bridal train. Very, very cool. Transformative dresses with secret tricks like that are such a joy to me!



Hope you're all enjoying your weekend thus far! I went to a new Yoga studio today and had the most lovely time! It's in this old warehouse and it feels more like an open Art Space or Gallery than a gym! The teacher was just the sweetest too and the whole class was wonderful. I'll for sure be back there. And they even use a part of the space as a Sunday Art & Produce Market so I'll be checking that out tomorrow!!! What are you up to this weekend? Hopefully the weather isn't as rainy as it is here in Toronto for your own escapades! Thanks for all the lovely comments - missed you guys! - xoxo

With Hearts on Fire...

Dress // Vintage via Etsy - SallyJaneVintage // Tights // Forever 21 // Glasses // Amazon.com // Earrings & Necklace // Thrift // Shoes // Beyond the Rack // 

 
The flowers are out, the sun is shining down on Toronto and it's finally starting to feel like Spring is here to stay. My lovely, *and talented, friend and work-playmate Sahar, has been kinda enough to start taking my daily style picture for me! We've been having a ton fun thinking of locations to shoot at so stay tuned for some exciting new backdrops here on Vintage Redheads!! I'm happy I get to share this little endevaour with my workmates since they're a big part of my day, my life and my fashion inspirations. I love coming into the office and knowing that I can make someone's day but wearing a brightly coloured pair of tights on the gloomiest morning of the week. It's nice to know that even something so small can make someone smile so big :)


This beautiful fire red dress is one of my favourite dresses for this time of year. It's light, perfectly fitted and has a wonderfully whimsical pattern of multicoloure feathers falling down and swirling all around me. This little treasure came from Sally Jane Vintage, one of my favourite vintage shops on Etsy. I adore Etsy for vintage finds. Sally Jane Vintage has a fabulous shop online and she's amazing at finding the most unqiue and on-trend pieces (and plus, they're always bright and colourful - right up my alley). She also has a phenomal blog that is always full of gorgeous insprational pictures, style trends, interesting music and more! Her vintage selection on the site is carefully selected for fit, function and fun! Her dresses are full of antique character and rich histories just like ones you'd find in upmarket vintage shops. But without the hassle of leaving your cozy little home ;)




The little, surprise details on this dress are my favourite part as some features only come alive when you put it on too! The wide, round sleeves with elastic wrists give it a wonderful shape - an almost Victorian-esque look. And the folded, wide collar that extend all the way down the front is another great vintage touch that makes this dress a unique little treat for the Spring! Prints, either mixed together or not, are huge this season and it's nice to be able to break into your closet full of outrageous 60's prints and 40's patterns and know that despite travelling back in time, you're on trend, right now :) And to go with the slightly 60's inspired pattern, I donned this great pair of heart glasses ala Lolita. Hearts on fire indeed! :)

Happy Monday :)

Bowler Hats & Bright Prints

Dress //Ruche// Cardigan & Bowler Hat //Nygard// Shoes //Ardene/ Tights //We Love Colors//

A few weeks ago I had the lovely opportunity to attend Toronto Fashion Week. It was a busy, exhilarating, exhausting but most of all inspiring week! I'm sure posts from here on out will be spotted with bits and pieces from various collections I saw while sitting amongst all the bloggers, editors and fashionistas in attendance. The coats were off in the record setting warm weather in Toronto and everyone was just so happy to be free of their cumbersome winter jackets that even the most conservative dressers couldn't help but embrace the bright coloured fashions that perfectly matched the sunlight streaming down all around us.

Fashion Week is a strange, tented time portal for those who pass through those velvet curtains. Bulky winter coats and cool fall colours come down the runway when outside the Spring flowers are blooming and the chill of the winter is but a mere shadow on the horizon. These preview collections give onlookers a glance behind the glass at the styles and trends of the Fall/Winter season to come. This may make sense for the industry and all those writing up on fashion months and months in advance but for me, I can't help but find my Spring wardrobe to be immediately inspired by the dynamic and beautiful color combos, textures and curious accessories that I saw as trends for Fall/Winter 2012.

One show which stood out above others for me was Arthur Mendonca's Fall Collection. Mendonca always proves to be one of the more interesting collections and his accessory stylings are always sleek and simple, contrasting his elaborately detailed clothing. This year, after the seemingly unending collections of black upon black, an explosion of colour was just what the week needed to finish things off. Friday is usually a very quiet day. The week is at an end, the shows tend to be from newer, less notable designers and the crowds tend to peter out. But Mendona held a sold out studio show, full of anxious onlookers and his collection did not disappoint his audience.  His collection balanced body hugging, feminine, lace patterns and masculine, architecturally styled suits topped with bowler hats - a personal nod from the designer to Stanley Cubric's "Clockwork Orange". Mendonca finds that beautiful blend between soft furs & hard leather textures, sweetness & sexiness in his tailored dresses and a perfect understanding of the modern working woman.

 I found my own little bowler hat some time ago and it has become a staple to my spring wardrobe. As my denim vest was the item that saw the most play in the summer, this hat never seems to miss a chance to top off an outfit. You just need to be sure it's not too windy as my tiny head only barely fits this hat and with the slightest gust of wind I have more than once almost lost this hat to the streets of Toronto.



The lace on this dress and its bold colouring, was something I felt was truly Mendonca and styled along with this bowler hat I felt like I just walked right out of his Fall Collection. I'm not a stickler to "Spring Style" vs "Fall Style" or adhering strictly to what the season's trends advise. I'm inspired by the creativity of designers I saw during Fashion Week and I'm happy when I can find something within my toolbox that I call my closet to ignite new ideas for my own daily stylings - whenever they may come and where ever they may come from.



Hope you're liking the new background my new balcony provides for my photos! I'm trying my best to find the right time of the day to shoot and get my daily style pics done for y'all! I have quite the Spring outdoor to-do list to make this balcony summer ready!! ...Buy a new standing BBQ, plant herbs, install flower beds along the railings and plant with beautiful Spring flowers, and finally put in some large trees to give me some privacy from my neighbours! Phew! A trip to Canadian Tire is in order! What do you have planned for Spring? Tah Tah for now!!!

Spring on St. Patrick's Day

Seeing as it was St. Patrick's Day, your favourite Irish, red haired lassies were dressed for the days festivities! And the Vintage Redheads thought there was no better of an occasion than this, to come out of our winter-hibernation and get back into the swing of things!!!





The winter & work has taken a toll on daily blogging, for both Sarah and myself. Albeit this winter has been unduly warm and short, coming home just after nightfall made it hard to take pictures of the days attire. And when you don't have someone to take the pictures for you, you end up standing out in the cold, without your jacket on, fiddling with the tripod and timer, trying desperately to get a few shots off before the sun goes down - or your neighbours come out and think your nuts. Things in my life, as lovely as they all have been, just got on top of me and somewhere in the thick of it all, I just lost touch with the blog. But I never stopped thinking about it and everyday I dressed with the intention of taking photos to share with you all <3 But the sun is out, Fashion week is over and reignited my enthusiasm once more to get back on this blog and share - when I can - my forays into this strange and wonderful world of daily (or more like once-a-weekly) blogging…



For St. Patrick's day, I held a small shindig at my new loft with a few of my friends, cases of green beer and delicious food! From the balcony, we could hear the raucous laughter of the bar hoppers and the hearty Irish music from downstairs provided a lovely background track throughout the evening.



Sarah and I had very differing outfits for the joyous festivities. I went with the traditional green, in various hues & patterns. Bright green tights, classic 1920's t-bar shoes, and a cute little clover green dress to top it all off. As I walked down the street to fetch groceries and beer, onlookers & fellow green-attired Torontonians smiled and waved at me in celebration of Irish Pride! I only get to wear these adorable clover earrings once a year and they were absolutely itching to jump off the rack that morning when I went to go put them on. I love to embrace the tradition of wearing green on St. Patrick's day. For any of you who know me well, you know holidays are definitely my bag. I go all out and never miss an opportunity to style my look along with the theme of the day. I truly felt like a shamrock in this dress, its simple & soft scalloped sleeves like four little clover leaves draping over my shoulders. It was the perfect dress for the lovely Spring (or more like summer) weather we've been blessed with here in Toronto.



Sarah, on the other hand, went against tradition! She looks gorgeous in green, wears it all the time and thus, wanted to surprise us all by showing up wearing only a green scarf and modelling this intricately detailed paisley dress. The colours almost sparkled in the sun and we all were mesmerized by its wonderful designs, seemingly Celtic inspired and very fitting for the day. But not to worry fellow Irish countrymen (and women), Sarah was sure to wear her true Irish pride right near her heart. Upon a small silver chain, hung a beautiful Celtic knot design which proclaimed her proud Irish roots. And how can you beat that hair?!!



In honour of St. Patrick, we held a pizza making party! Ok yes, pizza has nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day but had pizza been popular when he was knocking about, I'm convinced he would have surely indulged himself in these cheesy treats. Everyone made one kind of pizza and we shared them amongst the guests. Pesto, prosciutto, feta, olives and more were some of the many toppings which decorated each of the beautiful pizzas floating around the room that evening. I even had the pleasure of creating a dessert pizza complete with brownie dough, cream cheese sauce & with strawberries, bananas & nut toppings! Pizzas and green beer seemed to be the perfect combination for an all around fantastic evening.



The boys had fun climbing up my new library ladder and belting out songs from Beauty & the Beast as they did so (although we had to remind Jason several times that "Just around the river bend..." was from Pocahontas not Beauty and the Beast...) Our little sing-songs matched the enthusiastic choir of singers below and as the night drew to a close - at least for me - I was gently sent to sleep listening to the last of the drunkards sing their Irish lullabies outside my window...

How did the rest of you spend your St. Patrick's Day?!!!  I'm hoping to be around here much more come the Spring! I've missed you all :)

Thankful

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Wishing all my lovely American friends and followers a lovely Thanksgiving. I hope you all found yourself this weekend sitting around a table full of your family and friends, great food steaming on the table and laughter and smiles all around. This outfit has both a lovely little story to go along with it and I felt it was wonderfully festive for the occasion. I've got a little anecdote for y'all today, so read on and enjoy!


 
Someone asked me on the subway this morning, "What inspired you to wear all those colors?" I paused for a moment, unhooking my earphones from my ears and said, "Sorry, what?"
 
They smiled and said, "Well, I mean...look around." Before I could answer, the subway stopped at my stop and I had to rush out to the door, slightly bewildered. As I got off the train, I glanced down. My bright pink tights glowed against my red coat and my sequined cap was reflecting little dancing lights all over the tiled ground. I had a a polka dot skirt on underneath and a yellow and blue striped jacket popped on top of a simple black tank. Quite the eclectic styling if I do say so myself. But I wouldn't have it any other way.
 
As I stared down the subway hall and looked around me, dozens of people followed up and down the stairs in a sea of black and grey coats.  Jesse (one of my good friends) had made a few comments during Fashion Week, where she was working, that it was so easy to find me in the midst of the crowds of black clothes and blond haired patrons. She just had to look up for the red hair sticking out above the masses or the bright tights weaving in between hundreds of pairs of similar black pants. It was like I was a tropical fish, swimming amongst darkened seaweed. "No matter where you are," she said, "I always can find you."
 
Although it's not my Thanksgiving, I thought I would take this time anyways to thank all you wonderful readers for the amazing community we've built here and the encouragement you've all given me over the years to keep being the person I am :) Bright tights, weird patterns and all. In the end, with whatever you do, you have to make yourself happy. To make yourself smile. And despite what other might think of as strange and unusual, my overly bright, dreamy and sometimes even fantastical wardrobe makes me smile. It makes the dullest morning cheerful and even the darkest day a little brighter. Because sure, sometimes there will be someone to make you laugh, make you smile and make you happy, and on today of all days we can be thankful for those people. But, to do it for yourself, to make yourself happy, is one of life's greatest pleasures. It's hard to come by but worth the journey. I'm still finding my way, but I want to thank all you lovely people for helping guide me there.....and thanks for listening to my stories :)

In Grandma's Attic....

// Dress // BB Dakota // Tights // We Love Colors // Blouse // ASOS // Shoes // Vintage //

No, I'm not dead...but I've been soo sick my lovelies and the weather isn't helping....The Fall breeze has given way to Winter's chill and I'm not a happy camper...Anyways, here's an older post to fill in the gap.

Denis Gagnon has always been a favourite designer of mine and his showing at LGFW in Toronto and his show didn't dissapoint! All week I had been wearing florals in celebration of his new collection (from which I had seen glipses of here and there) and sure enough, the first outfit which walked down the runway could have been straight out of my closet! I paired one of my favourite BB Dakota flowered dresses with this cute and playful peter pan collared blouse and bright blue tights from We Love Colors. I got these great blue shoes from Goodwill but as it was raining when I left the house I put on my rain boots and forgot to bring them along. But I ended up wearing my lovely Blue Chelsea Crew's which were waiting for me at the office which ended up being an even better combo for the outfit! For many reasons....It was one of those outfits which is trying to make its last appearnce before the Winter makes it impossible to wear floral dresses without feeling ridiculous

Florals, florals everywhere....









Gagnon's playful and entertaining collection was full of fabrics and patterns that seemed like they were pulled out from your grandmother's attic. Antique, pale colours and blooming roses covered the clothes like polka dots and the cheerful smiles of the models were all you needed to see how such an eclectic yet fun pallette can make you feel. His tailored tuxedo jackets, masculine fits and black backgrounds were a wonderful contrast to the very feminin blossom motifs. I would have worn every single piece that came skipping down the runway. I'm excited to see how affordable brands will translate these key stylings into their collections come the Spring. H&M has already been pretty ambitious with their Versace collection so it will be great to see how other companies follow suit.




Ok, that's all I can muster for today. Toodles :)

Little Nemo in Slumberland

// Pants & Top // ASOS // Boots // Forever 21 // Broach // Vintage //

If you're going to make me wear pants, I'm going to make them as bright as possible. I already miss my dresses. Summer is behind us now and I know I can only pull of wearing double layers of tights for so long before I have to start wearing real pants again. So instead of fighting the onslaught of winter, I've embraced it the only way I know how. With colourful insprations! I don't know how many of you are familiar with Winsor McCay's and his Little Nemo in Slumberland comics but I hope you all check out his stuff after reading this post if you're not already well versed in his beautiful surreal world called Slumberland. Little Nemo was a dreamy, out of this world comic printed in the New York Herald Newspaper from 1905-1914. Nemo would fall asleep every night and be transported in his dreams to a fantastical world called Slumberland. Little Nemo is one of my favourite pieces of print/illustrated literature and gives me inspiration whenever I'm lacking it.

I cannot recommend more getting a hold of a copy of the huge, actual print size and color mastered collection and pouring over every mesmerizing page! The bound volume of colourful prints sits on top of my television and I try to flip to a new page everyday so when I'm walking past it, the visions of ornate, mystifying architecture and detailed costume trimmings awake my imagination and spur on my style. There is an element of Victoriana to Little Nemo and since Victorian stylings and fitted tailoring are already so prevalent in my winter wardrobe at the moment, it is no surprise that elements of Nemo's world would sneak in there too.

I felt that this outfit, with its bright yellows and dark paisley embellishments was something straight out of the pages of the comic. I could see myself walking down one of the many street in Slumberland and encountering Nemo on one of his journeys' into the great beyond.

I thought this specific comic was very appropriate to show as their legs are almost as long and ridiculous as mine, lol.