Street Style: St-Laurent and Sherbrooke

Now that the snow is finally starting to melt (look! pavement!) and people are shedding a few layers, I can finally start accosting random strangers and taking their photo. ;-)

I've always had a love-hate relationship with the Lolita look. Anything that infantalizes women tends to  make my skin crawl but there is something to be said about the more classic Lolita styles, such the ones Fanny Rosie was wearing when I happened upon her on St-Laurent last week.

This gorgeous coat is from Mary Magdalene, as is the skirt and the boots are John Fluvog and were bought at their Montreal shop, on Rue St-Denis. I'm also not usually a fan of the Fluevog shoe but I'm a suck for spats and the embossed leather used to create these is really beautiful.

To see more of Fanny Rosie's outfits, check out her personal style blog. A lot of her outfits are breathtaking and her styling is always immaculate.

Oh. And I'm using capitals from now on. 

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Another One Of My Tumblrs: Photos of Montreal, Then and Now

i really want to set aside more time to write about montreal but, in the meantime and for the last year or so, i've been posting photos of la metropole on one of my tumblr accounts. i must admit that the photos are so far all from "then" as opposed to "now" but i cover interesting themes and feedback has been quite positive thus far. check it out!

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Today's Look: Early 90's Marks & Spencer Blazer

today i wore a vintage, marks and spencer blazer to work. it boasts the m & s gold buttons with crossed-rifle insignia and a long, slim line. i've had it for about two years and found it at the mmrc. it's the first time i step out in it, as it had been stored for my shop during all this time. i recently decided that it should be mine, after all. i tried to find a photo of it online, in order to create a collage depicting today's outfit but it is nowhere to be found.

if the three blazers in the following collage had a bastard love-child, it would look like the blazer i'm wearing. the rest of the outfit is pretty spot on.

my searching did lead me to an article written by pauline weston thomas, for fashion-era.com, in which she says:







"The classic blazer, a late 80s early 90s fashion, remained popular with women over thirty five, especially with subdued worsted wool straight trousers. One blazer sold by Marks and Spencer rumoured to have been designed by Armani was voted a best buy by a national magazine. Many UK women owned at least one of the colours it came in, which ranged over a 10 year era from navy, bottle green, camel, black, wine, red, saxe blue and several dulled tartans.

By mid decade, with its gold finish buttons, now a leftover sign from the 80s, it began to look quite dated, even though the shoulder line was softened and narrowed. Still available it is worn mostly now by generations over sixty."

this may have made sense to someone of a certain age, about ten years ago but times have changed and old is now new (again). i got three compliments on my blazer today and all before two p.m. so if it's not shaped like a box and its shoulder pads aren't so high as to mess with your peripheral vision, then i say rock that late 80's/early 90's blazer, girl!

(i'll take a photo of the blazer this week-end, when i get to see the light of day!)

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25 Days of Etsy Christmas Gifts. Day Twenty-Five: Montréal, Part Five.

we have finally reached the twenty-fifth and last day of this series! i hope you have all enjoyed discovering new artisans and small businesses and that most of you have found gift ideas that appealed to you. 

please note that almost half of these shops had much more inventory when i first scouted them out and bookmarked them but we're lucky because a good portion of the shops i had fallen in love with are currently set on vacation mode so i can't share them with you at all!

today, the final ten etsy shop are all based in my hometown of montréal, québec. remember them throughout the year, too!

1. sara lagace offers up a wonderful mix of silver jewelry and accessories made with recycled fur. 

2. i love, love, love rocky b creations! i met barbara, or rocky b, at a craft fair a little over a year ago and immediately adored everything she'd painted. if you have anyone into rockabilly, tattoo, psychobilly, tiki, mod or pinup culture, you must check this shop out!

3. for super fun clothing in eye-catching prints, be sure to have a look at what kayleigh peddie has in her shop!

4. i've already featured not one but two items from purpose design but how could i not include julie's shop in this list?? if you have anyone who likes to bake or cook on your list, you must take a look at what's in stock here!

5. le chat clothing is another shop to check out for stylish designs from la belle province!

6. for your mini, four-legged friend, how about a warm, wee coat or even a rain coat from creations anne-claude?

7. how adorable are faux fauna's creations? 

8. josiane perron is definitely another local designer to keep an eye on. why not start this holiday season?

9. in addition to these original, wood and guitar string wedding bands, ebeniste offers up a lovely selection of handcrafted wooden jewelry. 

10. after seeing countless, "rippled" (or, er, warped) bowls made from old vinyl records, i'm really digging groove bowl's sleek, original design. i'm sure someone on your list will, too!

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25 Days of Etsy Christmas Gifts. Day Twenty-Two: Montreal, Part Two.

i'm having so much fun with these montréal lists! today you'll see a lot of jewelry but i have to start injecting them into my posts more frequently if i don't want to supply you with ten jewelers on the last day of this series; we have such an abundance of beautifully handcrafted jewelry made right here in montréal! 


1. for stylish, feminine fashions, check out local designer, vicky dubois.

2. have a look at a selection of over one-hundred-and-fifty lovely jewelry items at nelly van see.

3. for fun and mostly geeky ipad and phone pouches, hair clips and necklaces, be sure to peruse yummy pocket!

4. i'm really stoked to be featuring this next shop! my homegirl, claire carny, runs south side soaps, a an awesome rock n roll, rockabilly and tattoo culture-themed body care product shop, based in ndg, a borough in south-west montreal. please note that south side soaps is not taking anymore orders on etsy before christmas but claire is happily taking local orders. extra bonus: miss carny is graciously offering a 10% discount to all local readers of my blog who wish to make a purchase. you can order a premade gift basket or customize your own for gift-giving, for an additional $3.00. 

to place an order and encourage a rockin' local momma, please email claire at: southsidesoaps@gmail.com

5. i recommend métal en bouche for fun yet tasteful, handcrafted jewelry.

6. be sure to check out kimberly fletcher for gorgeous, excessively well handcrafted leather goods!

7. it's getting cold outside so why not warm up some people on your list by ordering something pretty and handmade from knits by nat?

8. whether you're looking for a phone cover that is geeky, pretty, classic or bad-ass, you'll probably find it at i art monograms.

9. giving little guys on your list a craft kit means giving the gift that keeps on giving so why not put together a gift basket with paper, glue, pencil crayons, marker, scrapbooking accessories... and one of these cute little artist's aprons from set carré?

10. i find myself drawn to several of the pieces from mélanie favreau jeweler's present collection and i'm sure someone on your list would too!

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