A New Year: Best of PPMeow

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Happy New Year friends!

Hope you rung in 2016 with love in your heart and a smile on your face. 🙂

I’ve been a social butterfly all December long, and for NYE I spent it cozy with my bae Netflix – for a quite me, myself and Irene evening.

❤ ❤ ❤  It. Was. Glorious. ❤ ❤ ❤

As for resolutions … this basically sums it up for me:

1930797_10153818096882905_3037596641247621160_nI started this fashion & lifestyle blog as a fun outlet to share the things I liked.  Over the past two years, the blog’s focus has moved more and more into an “online journal of the life and times of moi” – showcasing What I DID and What I Wore! 

Having just celebrated the blog’s 2nd anniversary (yay!) … there are a number of things I want to start introducing into blog content in 2016, I will definitely continue with many more of WID and WIW type-posts in the upcoming year. 😉

There have been some fun, new, winterized outfits in the first 10-days of January, and if you’re following my Instagram channel you’ve caught a glimpse of them.

But for now, let’s take a look back to my favourite looks on the blog from the LAST YEAR!

  1. Poodle Skirt Perfection – You know how much I love the retro 1950’s look?  I had the perfect opportunity to finally wear it … to the opening of Bean and Baker Malt Shop this summer.

2. Sea-side Sun Dress – This was a cheap buy from Old Navy and worn many times from spring through summer.  Special thanks to Rebecca Northcott Photography for the photoshoot.

3. Picnic Parasol – This green checked dress was custom-made for moi in Vietnam when I visited in March.  It was the perfect outfit for the annual Toronto Vintage Society Picnic.

4. Florals & Stripes – Mixing patterns more bravely was something I did a lot of this past year.  THIS was one of my favourite combos from Spring.

top 8 of 20155. Hibiscus Wrap Pants – Travelling was a major focus for me last year…and these fab wrap pants were a fashion find in my exploration of Asia – KL, Malaysia to be exact.

6. Peek-a-boo Pencil Pin-up – Found this curve hugging pin-up frock for $15 at one of Tatyana’s super-duper sale events.  It was perfect for the White Kitschmas themed TVS Holiday Celebration.

7. FATkini – In the 30-something year’s of my life, 2015 was the year I embraced my bod, buddha belly, thick thighs and all, and wore a bikini bathing suit!!!  It was the “most liked” photo on my Instagram and even the lovely GabiFresh commented on it!!!

8. Hello, Yellow – Ah, yes…this yellow skirt ❤  Another custom creation from my travels to Asia – Hoi An, Vietnam.  It’s been styled many different ways all last year…and even helped me create a Snow White Lindy Hop Halloween look.  Love. This. Skirt.

There you have it!  My Favourite Looks from the past year.  Which is your favourite?  Tell me in the comments section. 🙂

And stay tuned for new blog content all year long!

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Toronto Vintage Society’s KITSCHMAS CABIN!

10849868_1501533426796396_1296356340448560908_nEarlier this month the Toronto Vintage Society gathered together to celebrate all things MERRY, KITSCHY and BRIGHT by turning the Cadillac Lounge into a winter cabin!

But what the heck do we mean by “Kitschy”?  Good question!

“Kitsch”, according to Wikipedia, is;  (/ˈkɪ/; loanword from German) is a low-brow style of mass-produced art or design using popular or cultural icons. Kitsch generally includes unsubstantial or gaudy works or decoration, or works that are calculated to have popular appeal.  Click here to read and see more about exactly what this means 🙂

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The Event:

$5 at the Door got you entertainment galore!!  40s/50s themed decor and suggested dress code with Best (and kitschiest) Dressed prizes to be won!  Along with vintage cocktails flowing all night and home made treats, handmade kitsch and vintage chachkas for sale!

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The Cadillac Lounge transformed into our Kitschmas Cabin

The Toronto Vintage Society never does anything half-assed …. always FULL ass! 😛

Not only were we able to transform the Cadillac Lounge into a wintery holiday cabin, there was all kinds of fun entertainment all night long to get everyone into the festive spirit no matter what your ‘thing’ was.  There was even a Nail Artist: Strawberry LIPs n TIPs creating one-of-a-kind holiday art one nail at a time!!

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Loving my amazing Rudolph nail art – outstanding!!!

This party was non-stop entertainment which included…vintage vinyl and holidays classic movies played all night long by our very own DJ Tarana Pete…

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DJ Tarana-Pete spinning vintage vinyl & holiday movie classics

PLUS Performances by ELVIS and his burlesquing alter ego – Blue Suede Sue.  Then the adorable Miss Kitten Monroe.

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Me with the talented Tia Brazda and delightful Kitten Monroe

AND performances by the Tia Brazda Swing Band with her hit song Christmas in Mexico!! Take a listen and get yourself a copy… Tis’ the season for this catchy toe-tapper of a tune 🙂

Ooooh…and there was plenty of swing dancing too!!!

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Me with my skirt all a-twirl!

As you can see…..We PACKED the place!  It was a spectacular night!!!

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I’m pretty sure I managed to sell raffle tickets to every single person in here!

And to top it all off…..we even had an amazing Winter Wonderland of a photo booth setup with SANTA!

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Click here for the full TVS Photo Booth album — each picture just jumps off the screen with happiness and joy!

If you didn’t make it out to the event, you can relive the fun – prepare to smile your faces off 🙂15863724779_c6e16886d9_k

Dancing went on until the wee hours of the morning …. AND there was even karaoke in the backroom!!!

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Collage-o-Fun captured by my iPhone …

I’m not gonna lie, due to all the liquid courage (who knew apple cider and rum would be such a delicious combination) I may have gotten up on stage to belt a tune or two.  There is evidence of this on someone’s phone…dun dun dunnnn 😮

 What I Wore: 

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Photo Credit: Val Soo

I picked up this Alika Circle Polka Retro Dress during Tatyana‘s BOGO event – yup…Buy One, Get One FREE!!!  This dress comes in a variety of solid colours that are just as lovely.  But I really, really, really loved this black, white and red polka-dot pattern.  And was determined to xmas-ify for THIS holiday event!

With an amazing lattice style around neckline and sleeves you really don’t need any accessories to jazz this frock up! The waist features a bow at the center that leads to its full circle skirt. There’s a three-eye-hook closures above the back zipper…which requires a buddy’s help, at least in my case 🙂

The Alika Circle Polka Retro Dress
The Alika Circle Polka Retro Dress WITH crinoline

The dress on its own is quite lovely with the full circle skirt.  But it gets even for amazing with a puffy red crinoline underneath! Plus, it hides any additional lumps & bumps that may have resulted due to vintage cookie eating the weeks before….click here to see what I mean. 😉

And I’m happy to say that EVERYTHING I’m wearing in this post came from Tatyana Boutique on West Queen West, in Toronto.  To read more about Tatyana’s new Toronto location click here.

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Red Crinoline,  Harlow Heel red shoes and Audrey red purse  courtesy of Tatyana Boutique – Toronto.
The Alika Circle Polka Retro Dress
Photo Credit: Val Soo

As lovely as everything looked all together,  my outfit was incomplete.  It was missing the much needed “Kitschy” factor.

AND THEN THIS HAPPENED…..a fabulous Poinsettia fascinator!!!    Hand-made by the crafty curator of TVS, Miss Jacquie – isn’t it amazing?  Totally helped perfect my look for the evening’s event! 🙂

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Handmade Kitschy Poinsettia Fascinator …. I’m told that there are some available for sale at Damzel’s East location, FYI 😉

 

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Earrings from Your Big Sister’s Closet; Hair flower made by Jacquie Jeffery

And ….TA-DAH!  My vintage kitschmas look was complete!

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IMG_6001 Blurry end-of-the-night selfie

Extra Bonus to those reading this right now!!!  Tatyana Boutique will happily give you 15% off until December 31st by mentioning this blogpost friends >>>>

Merry Kitschmas to you!!!  Ho! Ho! Ho!

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Electro Swing Toronto’s Vintage Hollywood

We were at it again folks!

Electro Swing Toronto’s event this month was attended by moi and several TVSers (Toronto Vintage Society) to work the door and help judge the best dressed competition that is held each time an Electro Swing event happens.   Tonight’s theme:  VINTAGE HOLLYWOOD!

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DJ Medicineman (founder of Electro Swing in Toronto) often recruits TVS to help him with vintage related things – and so far these collaborations have been fantastic!!!  To see the other ones I’ve attended, click here , here and here.

 

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Me wearing what I was told is a “80s does 20s classic black Hollywood peplum dress (BlackMarket Vintage on WQW for $10).  And Joy!!!   Photo Credit: Shermette
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And Joy in an amazing Audrey Hepburn inspired look with jewels, gloves, cig holder and everything!  **swoon**
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Joy and Shermy … in their amazing vintage dresses giving their best vintage-non-smiling-bored faces.

Here we are on stage…trying to gauge audience applause for winners of Best Dressed: Dapper Dude and Dashing Dame:

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Tah-Dah ….TVS with the winners of the Best Dressed Competition:10678675_858557714155119_4323999616347087932_n

Check out my magical hair transformation courtesy of Jacquie – done in two mins flat in the green room at Revival!!!  Thanks Miss Jacquie 🙂

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My dress was a simple black – a classic hollywood look – with gold Lemay.  I was told is a “80s does 20s classic black Hollywood peplum dress (BlackMarket Vintage on WQW for $10).

10686012_10154703568310397_1397556525_o 10718258_10154703568350397_125929054_o I threw on a black feather boa (Dollarama) and excessive blingy jewellery (most of which i got as wedding presents – Indian people love giving jewellery to brides)…and off I went.10718503_10154703568255397_846272105_o

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Collage -O-Fun had at Electro Swing Toronto’s Vintage Hollywood night!

 

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Me being ‘Door-Whore’ at Revival …
Electro Swing with Toronto Vintage Society
TVSers: Jacquie (Founder of TVS), moi, Shermy and Joy

For complete photo album of the event, taken by David Tom Photography, click here.  AND to read about the event from Shermy’s perspective visit her blog Shermette. 🙂

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The Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Last month I was nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.  Thank you so much Jacquie, founder & curator of the Toronto Vintage Society,  for the kudos and recognition friend.  I’m oh-so thrilled to know that the wee space I’ve carved out for myself in the blogosphere is actually being read, let alone being deemed as ‘inspiring’ and award-winning.   I am truly humbled.  Thank you 🙂

very-inspiring-blog-award_zps19a927bfUpon receiving this blog award, I must now share seven random facts about myself – dems da rules.  So here I go…

FACT #1:  Repeat.  Play.

Sometimes I’ll discover/rediscover a song, and I will replay it – on repeat – for countless hours on end.  Annoying, maybe. But I can’t help it.  There are a few songs that are hauntingly beautiful.  So beautiful, that listening to it once is just not enough.  They NEED to be played and listened to over and over for hours…to truly be heard.  Tracks that have this quality who have been on my constant repeat loop recently are:

FACT #2: I cannotgirl-swim swim

Yup.  I never learnt how and am somewhat afraid of the water.  When I was little my Pops took me to the public pool and gave me one simple instruction:  sit on the towel and wait for him to return from a lap.  Naturally seeing him dive in so easily, I guess I figured I could too …
He returned to find me being revived by a young lifeguard.  Needless to say we returned home where my mom gave him all kinds of sh!t.  To this day whenever I feel water in my ears, I freak out just a bit.  Now, this hasn’t stopped me from enjoying pools and oceans whist on vacay.  I’m an excellent wader and have mad noodle-floating-skills.  I’ve signed up for “learn to swim” workshops a few times at local community centres …however, the adult sessions have always gotten cancelled due to lack of interest & signups…and there is no way I’m going to join the 14-year-olds in the youth sessions.  Nope.  Not.  Gonna.  Happen.

FACT #3:  Facebook Game Addict

You know those annoying Facebook alerts you get cuz someone is asking for lives for some silly online game to unlock that next level …. well, friends…..that’s me.  I’m that girl.  I’m the one playing those kinda games.   Candy Crush.   Farm Hero.  Scrabble.  Words With Friends.  And my newest obsession: Cookie Crunch. This addiction has gotten so bad that for a little while I would wake up in the middle of the night to see if my ‘lives’ have been restored, so I could play some more.  Gotta get to that next level.  I just gotta.  Sick right?  I know.  Shameful, guilty pleasures of my life.

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FACT #4:  I love punny jokes!  (Ha!  See what I did there…yup! I’m hilarious!)

Shameful, but true.  Those “dad jokes” that most groan at…. I love-love-love oh-so-very much!  Dunno what it is….but puns are great!  Not sure when I became so nerdy with my love of corny jokes.  I blame my day job.  As a corporate trainer, I’ve got to build and keep rapport quickly and throughout the day, usually with a bunch of strangers I’ll only ever engage with during said training session.  Sometimes I’m soooooo engaging as a facilitator that participants choose NOT to leave the room at designated breaks and lunchtime, leaving me to make chitchat conversation for a full 30-mins+.  Talk about pressure!  But with an arsenal of clean, cheesy, PUNNY jokes up my sleeve…I manage to fill the void of silence and get a chuckle or two out of nearly everyone.  Pitty laughs totally count! After all, it’s all in the delivery – and yes, I’m well aware of the fact that there’s more to being funny than just funny looking.  BA-DUM-BUMP!  I’m here all week folks! Try the veal! Tip your servers! 🙂
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FACT #5:  Toastmasters

Believe it or not, I was shy.  Shocking, I know 🙂  Standing in front of people to give a presentation made me sick to my stomach in grade school.  Public speaking was still very difficult for me in high school, and in college my courage to present in front of groups of people only increased slightly.  I remember asking my then boyfriend to leave the classroom, so that I wouldn’t have to look out and see him among the faces in the room staring back.  In hindsight, having a smiling, supportive face there would have totally been a comfort … but what did I know, I was young and dumb.  It wasn’t until I left school and began working full-time where I really began to be comfortable and confident in front of my peers and colleagues.  I was an Executive Assistant reporting to a boss who gave me the opportunity to be seen and heard from more, I decided to needed to beef up my comfort level with public speaking. That’s when I joined Ryerson’s Toastmasters.
Toastmasters is a learn-by-doing workshop in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a no-pressure atmosphere.  There is no instructor in a Toastmasters meeting. Instead, members evaluate one another’s presentations. This feedback process is a key part of the program’s success.  Meeting participants also give impromptu talks on assigned topics, conduct meetings and develop skills related to timekeeping and avoiding filler-words like “ummm”.  I highly recommend finding a Toastmaster chapter that works for you, if you’re looking to build your self confidence and/or to get more comfortable speaking to groups of strangers –  I am proof it works!  And now speaking to groups of strangers regularly is what I do for a living.   Cra-cra huh? 🙂
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FACT #6:  Sunflowers scare me!

There it is folks.  I have an irrational fear of Sunflowers.  I’ve been known to cross over to the other side of the street if I see a patch of these freighting blooms in someones yard all bunched creepily together.  Even worse – are those SINGLE GIANT BLOOMS.  eeeep!!!  Particularly those ones with the dark centres and the pointy petals. {shiver}
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FACT #7: Perfect 4.0 GPA

Remember those purple “Participation” ribbons they would give  out during track and field?  Yup … those were the ONLY ones I’d ever win, ever.  All those school achievements – I never won a damn thing.  I wasn’t particularly athletic and I wasn’t a ‘gifted’ student, so the typical awards to be won just weren’t in the cards for me.  I’d have to bust my ass twice as hard as everyone else, it seemed, to even make it on the honour roll.  The highest I ever got was 3rd on that list one semester in high school. Certainly not award worthy.  Sigh…
Since my folks didn’t have the money to send me to university, instead of staying for OAC (grade 13), I found myself the only 17-year old sitting in my college classes. I completed that 3-year program top of my class, winning the scholarship award for being able to maintain a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout the program.  That was the first award I’ve ever won!  Seems not being able to join all my friends in the pub, as I was just wee… wasn’t all that bad a thing after all. 😉
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 ~~~~~~~~~
Ok.  There you have it friends.  7 random facts about moi.
It’s time for me to pay-it-forward.  As its name implies, this particular blog award is intended to be passed along to individuals and their blogs who inspire you in some capacity time and time again.   Since this describes every last one of the blogs I follow (I likely wouldn’t be following them in the first place if they didn’t!), I’m nominating the following:
Should blog awards not exactly be your favourite thing, not to worry, you are under zero obligation to play along. These kinds of posts are intended to be nothing but lighthearted fun, and should they not feel that way to you, by all means bow out of taking part in this one. I adore blog awards, but fully understand that not everyone does.
If you would like to take part, then here are the rules:
  1. Whip up a post of your own about receiving The Very Inspiring Blogger Award in which you link back to this post, thanking the lovely someone for nominating you (aka…MOI) and then
  2. Share seven random facts about yourself, and lastly…
  3. Bestow the award on a few whose sites you find to be a continual source of inspiration.
Happy blogging. xo

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Tiki Lani Lanai with TVS and Ginger

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Bands.  Vinal.  Videos.  Burlesque.  Hula Dancers.  Signature Cocktails.  Door Prizes.  The Limbo. Swimsuit Contest.  What more could you ask for at Toronto Vintage Society‘s 2nd annual sensational-end-of-summer tiki party.

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I got there early to help my TVS Sistas set up the Cadillac Lounge into a Heavenly Tiki Patio…then I ran home to change before the could fun begin…

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Me along side a few of the lovelies of the TVS Events Team

Me in my tiki-taskti dress, my wicker aqua clutch (Aldo), simple brown ankle-strap sandals (Payless), aqua drop earrings (Reitmans) and my  too-tiny-to-notice hair flower (Forever21)…..

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Y’all know I’m not a big make-up wearer …. but I tried my hand at bright eyes and loud lips with Almay’s intense-i-colour trio for greens and Rimmel’s In Vouge lipstick

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Clearly a dress like this needed a much more substantial hair flower!  Lucky for me the lovely and talented Shermy of Shermette was on hand selling her Fruits of Bali.

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You can follow Shermy and her lovely hair flowers on Instagram: @miss_shermette

She’s got an etsy shop:   Frutis of Bali by Shermette   … just sayin’ 😉

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Want more pictures of the TVS Tiki Party … click here

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Now….let’s talk about MY DRESS!!!!  🙂

I was introduced to world of Cherry Velvet last year via Damzels store on Roncy in Toronto…and since have picked up two lovely dresses that fit my measurements (size 0X) like a glove flattering my curves with different, unique necklines.  And best of all: your bra straps will always be covered and your hands, phone and lipgloss will always have a home in the convenient pockets in ALL of their dresses!

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Click here and here for details on the above Cherry Velvet Dresses.

I’ve been coveting this tropical number for months….drooling over their Instagram post this amazing Tropical Taupe number that would be PERFECT Tiki Party attire for Toronto Vintage Society’s TIKI LANI LANANI.

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Sadly I never found this in store…so it seemed this frock was only going to become a apart of my life and wardrobe if I bought it online. Now, I’m not 100% comfortable buying something I’ve not tried on before, especially when it comes to spending at these particular price points ($100+ per dress).  Sigh…

But, since I own two already I felt fairly confident that my measurements and their sizing chart would make any online purchases a ‘success story’ 🙂

Truth be told that, outside of a German Beer Girl halloween costume (stay tuned for a reappearance of this getup as I just bought tickets to Toronto’s Oktoberfest – woot! woot!)   I have never purchased clothing online before.  My biggest concern or deterrent from online shopping:  Returns and Exchanges if something doesn’t fit right —- aka “The Shipping-Back Hassle”.

I tried to push Ginger (the name of the dress) outta my mind and continue living my life…to find an alternative Tiki outfit for this event.  But I just couldn’t.  I was in love!  Upon revisiting their site last week, turns out Ginger was on sale, a clear signs from the shopping-gods…and the ADD TO CART button was clicked and she was on her way to me 🙂

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I ordered via http://www.cherryvelvet.com on August 1st and by August 8th a Canada Post deliver arrived with my name on it!!!!!  Clearly I was excited as you can see from my Facebook post below…

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Seemingly in my zeal to bring Ginger home to me, I ordered a size 1X, instead of  the needed 0X…and instantly my “Shipping-Back-Hassle” fears were realized.  Lesson Learned folks:  double check, and triple check sizes you selcted and return/exchange policies before clicking ‘checkout’ … le sigh.

Lucky for me, minor alterations were needed to make this dress wearable for the big event were made,  without having to send this beauty back to Vancouver (that’s where Cherry Velvet is based), allowing Ginger & I to have a fabulous time at TVS’s TIKI LANI LANANI Party!

Are you thinking to yourself…. “But Irene, there are TWO lovely new dresses that hang in your closet… tell me more about the other cutie-pie frock?”

Stay tuned for that friends, in an upcoming blogpost 😉  xoxo

 

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Vintage Gypsy Cabaret?

I was at it again, representing with the Toronto Vintage Society at last weekend’s Electro Swing night-o-fun … looking for Best Dressed guy and gal.   This time the theme was: Vintage Gypsy Cabaret.    My immediate reaction was…..Whaaat!?!  This made me dig deep when coming up with an appropriate look to match my TVS Sistas.

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Outfit planning has been tricky to say the least….what the heck is Vintage-Gypsy-Cabaret anyway?!  Google’s answer was the following…

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….and from which inspired my overall outfit of excessive accessories (Thank You Jacquie, Founder of TVS) and giant hair inspiration of Kate Moss Biba.

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I’ve been dying to somehow create a look with these fabulous silky Ali-Baba/Harem Pants I picked up on my trip to the Motherland a few years ago … just never really found an occasion where they would really fit.  But they totally worked to help create that Gypsy feeling for this fantastic themed event!!!!

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The evening began with pre-drinking at Erin’s … followed by excessive photo-taking of our outfits:

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The Event & Best Dressed Winners:

10372023_1417699938513079_3269260952603268638_nMe and my TVS Sistas on stage….asking the audience to determine who BEST DRESSED was for the night.

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Final Three for “Dapper Dude”: Alex, Patrick and Daniel
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Final Three for “Darling Dame”: Sam, Foxy and Clair
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Moi …. introducing TVS and the Best Dressed Contest. Clearly I enjoy having the mic in my hand
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TVS selected these three for Best Dressed ‘Dapper Dude’

The ladies really stepped it up tonight….It was uber difficult to pick ‘Darling Dame’ based on these three finalists.  Check out their costumes up close – all three were fantastic!

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10455390_809591812385043_3285205773006176795_n   10464368_809591639051727_2202255012207624312_nBest dressed guy and gal went to:  Daniel and Sam – winners of gift certificates from Gaddabout Vintage Clothing –  congratulations you two!!!

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TVS with the Winners of the Best Dressed Contest!

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10469488_809589305718627_8987115282781696494_nWith Taste of Little Italy happening that night just outside of Revival’s Electro Swing — the TVS Sistas took to the street to dance along side this One-Man-Band!

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Other shenanigans of the evening included….

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Photo Credit: David Tom — for the full album of photos taken from Electro Swing’s Vintage-Gypsy-Cabaret night click here

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How I got the Look:

Black crochet tank from Forever21+; Black lace bra from Lane Bryant; Golden-green Harem/Ali-Baba pants  from my travels in Jaipur, India; excessive accessories, plus turban and feathers courtesy of Jacquie of TVS; sandals from Payless

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Stay tuned to the Toronto Vintage Society and Electro Swing Facebook pages for the next speakeasy event!

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The TVS Pin Up Picnic

The Toronto Vintage Society hosted a lovely Pin Up Picnic at Trinity Bellwoods Park a few weekends ago…. A simple social gathering to celebrate the amazing whether, show off our summer vintage gear and meet new people in our vintage community.   Celebrating Sun, Fun and Vintage!

The Admin & Events Teams met up earlier in the afternoon for photo ops, to set up and to pow-wow about the various other exciting events TVS is planning for the upcoming months (stay tuned to the TVS FB Page and new blog site so you don’t miss a thing friends!)

Outfit planning was done with careful colour consideration, with special instructions and effort to keeping the ‘patterns’ to a minimum of 10-25% of the look.  Our team photo was going for a more monochromatic look. I was to wear RED!  I used the following image as my inspiration…..

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Here’s what I wore:

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Click here to see this dress in a ‘wintery’ look 🙂

I studied the following Hair Tutorial to get my hair into Pin Up perfection:

…But ended up cheating by creating a faux bang with half a foam hair donut instead  🙂

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The TVS Admin & Events Team took some long awaited shots for the website – along with some fun candid ones too.  Take a look at all the shenanigans that took place that afternoon amongst Vintage Pin Ups, Greasers, Teddy Boys, Retro Divas and Rockers:

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TVS Admin & Events Team! Photo taken by Shermette
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TVS Admin Team – photo taken by Shermette

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A few snaps taken by Bianca Baumann Photography ‘behind the scenes’ as we got ourselves organized for the group pic:

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Photo Credits: Shermy Freeman of Shermette and Bianca Baumann of Bianca Baumann Photography

How I got the Look:

Red Swing Dress from Collectif + white short-crinoline from Rosie The Rebel; White crop sweater from Old Navy (was wayyyy too hot to actually wear during the day tho); Vintage wicker purse earrings and bangles; Zebra stripped head tie & wedges from Payless

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The Toronto Vintage Society did a great blogpost of their own….check it out for more Pin Up Picnic pics and fun, complete with other picnic-ers and favourite pin-up poses 🙂

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#TVS: Mad Men Season Premier Party

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Let me start by saying thank you Netflix for introducing me to the oh-so handsome Donald Draper, and his world of Mad Men.  And a thank you to RogersOnDemand, for letting me get all caught-up with all of the 6th season’s episodes so that I’d be ready to attend alongside fellow TVS-ers and Mad Men fanatics at the Cadillac Lounge for a fab night of 1960s fun!

When it comes to vintage style, are you a Joan? A Peggy? A Betty? Or a Meghan?

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My Outfit:

I decided to go with my PEGGY DRESS complete with white gloves and all — couldn’t find a pill hat this she’s wearing below sadly.

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My entire outfit was picked up a few weeks at the Toronto Vintage Clothing Show (minus the white gloves, they were bought recently from 69Vintage and the shoes are oldies from beige closed-toed T-straped heels from Le Chateau)

 

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Found this easy-peasy hair tutorial … that doesn’t look too “done”.

Unfortunately, I was recovering from my first migraine ever, and was struggling to make it out to this event at all —  frankly getting dolled up with hair did, just wasn’t happening.  So my apologies if I’m not my usual smiley self in photos friends 🙂

 

The Event:

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I missed last year’s Mad Men shindig thrown by the Toronto Vintage Society (at the same locale)…and now that I’m apart of the admin team, I had been looking forward to this for a month!  It was all-hands-on-deck with only 1-hour to set up our section complete with Mad Men inspired vintage cocktail menus, fancy up the  prizes from Exile Vintage and Ethel’s, setting up a vintage backdrop photo booth complete with authentic vintage props, getting our signage up and our vintage commercials up and running.  We really did transform the space – it all looked fantastic.

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The party started at 8pm where we had a sassy 60s music dance party with DJ NICO (With It! and CIUT) plus GAMES like: “Name the Slogan” and “Pitch us your Best Ad”  that kept us busy before the Cadi transformed their stage by dropping down a large screen for us all to watch the Season Premiere of Mad Men (7th and final season….*sniff sniff*) 😦

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It was a fantastically fun night (as soon as I downed some extra strength Tylenol – thank you Monika!) Sunday night on West Queen West with Mad Men vintage loving folks was a HUGE success!

If you were there – be sure to check out Toronto Vintage Society’s Facebook page to tag yourself in the photos we took.

In the meantime….have you Mad Men’d Yourself yet?  You should!  It’s a hoot!

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Swing Fever!

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Thursday is the NEW Friday after all….sooooo when this invite popped up on #TVS calendar and then again on Facebook, it was clear that I needed to be in attendance.

Swing Fever! is an authentic 1940’s themed dance party that will transport you back in time to a defining decade in history. This epic evening of entertainment  featured a stellar live band, dance performances, classic cocktails, delicious war-time grub and more.   It is a non-profit event, where all of the proceeds raised from Swing Fever!  went directly to the Royal Canadian Legion and the Humber Business School.

The Great Hall apparently is where many of the scenes from the earlier season’s of Bomb Girls was filmed.  It really is a beautiful venue!

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Now, I’m still a total novice/beginner and don’t really know HOW to swing dance (only been to TWO officially lessons so far).  Lucky for me there were complimentary lessons from the Toronto Swing Dance Society.  Plus, a ton of strong Leads on the floor who patiently taught you steps and made you look good on the dance floor (special thanks to David and Joy for twirling and dipping me!) 🙂

The Pickup Swing Ensemble, featuring Toronto’s most talented musicians, performed classic tunes of Glenn Miller, Count Basie and more!

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There was a specific Dress Code for the evening: Vintage! 1940’s glam, tea dresses, stockings, victory curls, allied uniforms and utility clothing.

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I had my heart set on wearing my recently purchased hi-waisted polka-dot pin-up skirt (that I was yet to remove tags from) and since I finally got a pedicure to show-off my pink toes, my navy & white peep toed heels.  This was sort of pushing the specific time period a bit, so I was determined to study YouTube and get my hair into proper Victory Rolls if it killed me!

 

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These were taken AFTER I got home from the event… I was dead tired and sore from all the dancing. Notice, my faux bangs stayed intact! What a fab night!

 

For 1940s Hair & Makeup …. I checked out this YouTube vid to help me create a more authentic look for the night.

 

Then I realized, I should probably look for some makeup tutorials for BROWN SKINNED faces 🙂

 

Buuuuut since this was a Thursday night… it meant that I was rushing after work to get to LHRevolution Swing Lesson, then walked home to shower and change for this party.   I ended up having limited time to really apply the teachings in these vids.  (I sadly, also forgot to put a flower in my hair for the evening and pearls around my neck too…sigh) 😦

 

I did however, use Pin-Up Look #4 from this Beginner’s Quick & Easy Vintage vid instead!

 

The hair results below – Faux Vintage Bangs:

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Overall, it was a fantastic night of dancing and fun!  My feet, legs and hips are all so sore this morning, but I’m still smiling – totally worth it! 🙂

Here’s a few shots with some TVS-ers and fun-new people I met last night:

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How I Got The Look:

High-waisted polka-dot pin-up skirt from Your Big Sister’s Closet

Navy & white peep-toed heels,  from Naturalizer

Giant pearl earrings, vintage (gifted to me); Extra long pearl necklace from Toronto Vintage Clothing Show (forget which booth)

Yellow cotton tee from Reitmans

 

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#OOTD: April Showers

I just realized that I haven’t actually blogged about this particular outfit that I posted to Instagram a few weeks ago.  Figured I’d do a ‘rainy-day’ outfit post seeing as we’re in April….and you know what they say, “April showers, bring May flowers”…

Toronto sure could use some springtime flowers already!  Sigh…

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I have the best pair of galoshes!!!  These pink paisley rubber boots basically screamed “Irene” when I scored them a million years ago from Wal-Mart.  They are still in great shape and continue to keep their waterproofy-ness…although I have noticed that I can’t wear them for too long, as they make my feet extremely warm.  These boots have been my go-to for those early morning and last evening Dog-Walks, but I’ve worn them as part of an all-day outfit occasionally.

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These pics were taken as I was getting ready to see a Saturday Mirvish matinée performance – fashionable & functional seeing as it was raining cats & dogs that afternoon.  So I went for light, bright colours like this Robin’s egg blue card with this ‘hello yellow’ tank with solid navy w/Tuxedo stripe pants.  The look was very plain, so I added this amazing springtime scarf I picked up at Winner’s to really tie everything together…in a bow 🙂

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Did you like my rainy day look?

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What looks to you find challenging to put together?  What would you to read about on PetitePlus, Meow?

Use the comments section and let me know 🙂

How I Got The Look:

Springtime colourful scarf from Winners; Yellow tank from Reitmans

Robin’s egg blue cardi + Navy Diva pants from Old Navy

Paisley galoshes from Wal-Mart and vintage yellow swirl earrings from a #tvs friend

Herringbone jacket from Forever21+, seen here

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