i would drape myself in velvet if it were socially acceptable

So I've been battling this lingering head cold for two weeks now. I was sick for the entire cruise, but I think that just made me get used to dressing up while feeling blah. There's no time for bed-sick when you're supposed to be having a good time... so I faked it. I've been faking it since I got home. Well, I guess I'm technically not that sick anymore...

These are a couple of cozy, layered, autumny outfits from this week (when I was still faking it):


brown velvet blazer: I procured it from my auntie's closet way back in the early 90s
faux ivory horse brooch: dress sew
brown silk slouchy kimono jacket: thrifted
grey and gold tent dress: bedo
black full slip: thrifted
camel tights: sockdreams
granny oxfords: etsy


fur collar: thrifted (tied with grosgrain ribbon)
navy blue velvet blazer: thrifted
navy windowpane plaid shirt: thrifted
jeans: cheap monday (borrowed from shane)
granny oxfords: etsy

soft shoe

I guess I've fallen victim to all that 1930s tap dance chorus imagery that's floating around the internets these days, because all I could think of was that I needed to do a little soft shoe routine set to some swingin' variation of tea for two in this little get-up. I think it was the ribbon necktie that threw me over the deep end into tap territory. It just added that little bit of nautical jazz to a dress that usually looks far more ballet than anything. I can't help but feel like Degas' Little Dancer Aged Fourteen when I'm wearing this soft and drapey peach thing. I was once serenaded with a drunken frat-boy rendition of tiny dancer when I was out in this outfit. Classic!


Yesterday I came across these heart shaped sunglasses for cheap, so I bought two pairs to relive my youth! I had a red pair when I was ten that were my pride and joy... until I lost them. Now I can be as stylish as I was at ten years old! All I need now is a pair of roller skates!



dress: industry (I added a navy satin ribbon)
linen shorts: bedo
lacy socks: I've had them since the 1990s (I think they're either DKNY or CK)
shoes: thrifted
heart shaped glasses: urban planet
original intent earings #81: sulu designs on etsy


(these are both Susan's photos)
I don't think I've ever raved about Susan's Original Intent series here before (but she knows how much I love her creations). I just think that it is the most brilliant idea ever! Susan takes gorgeous photos of ordinary things and turns them into the most extraordinary earrings! All earrings in the Original Intent series are based on a photograph of some colour combination or texture that has inspired her. I wish she included a copy of the photograph that inspired the earrings! I've been trying to convince her, but she remains skeptical! It's art! Of course people would appreciate seeing what inspired their new jewels. I think that in the context of art the photograph elevates an already gorgeous pair of earrings to a whole other level! She has a few Original Intent earrings in her shop right now, amongst some other beauties! Susan has such a talent for beautiful, modern jewelry and I am constantly talking myself out of buying her entire stock!

en pointe

I'm a part-time lady and a part-time tomboy. On my work days I'm in grubby jeans and some sort of top that I don't care about getting dirty, but is still somehow work-appropriate for retail. The glamourous life of a cleaning lady... er, um... I mean, retail merchandiser. Well, whatever you want to call it; stacking housewares is a dirty job!

On my days off, you can often find me dressed up in some girly costume or some nerdtastic ensemble. Today I decided to merge the tomboy with the lady, and this is what I came up with.

ballerina print skirt: anna sui
men's suit vest: thrifted and altered
kids' undershirt: thrifted
40s hat with bow: etsy
cutout oxfords: made by elves

on the boardwalk

I am completely afraid of the sun! I do my best to avoid it at all costs. I have a few awesome sunbrellas that I picked up in Chinatown, and this little paper number is one of them. Shane found his long lost sunglasses collection the other day and these little blue tinted cat eye frames are one of the pairs! So cute! I wish I knew Shane when we were younger. He was even cuter as a skinny little indie rocker teen!

dress: thrifted
mini boater: etsy
sandals: ebay
sunglasses: stolen from Shane!
paper parasol: chinatown

vanilla ice cream

I've been away from the wardrobe remix pool for months now! For some reason, today of all days (the hottest of days, when I'm wearing what could be classified as pajamas by some), I felt inspired to take some outfit photos and post them on the internets. Go figure!

Thank god for SPF 60! It protects my milky-white complexion as I scurry about on the shady side of the street running errands and treating myself to some pralines and caramel-toffee swirl ice cream (because it matched my outfit best, of course). Where does the skin end and the fabric begin? It's a subtle difference in texture... the colour is the same!


ivory cotton camisole: I've had it since the 1990s! it's a summer staple
chambray shorts with weird scratchy metallic thread in the weave: thrifted
polka dot socks: the bay
amazing oxfords: etsy
pocket watch necklace: triggerhappy on etsy REMIXED

stay gold

jeans: cheap monday (stolen from shane)
linen button up: thrifted
belt: thrifted
oxfords: thrifted
argyle socks: really old
cocktail hat: etsy


It's funny how things get stuck in your head sometimes and seem to influence every aesthetic choice that you make. The other day Shane and I visited an antique shop that for some reason neither of us had gone into before, even though it's just up the street from our place. I was drawn in by the Easter window display with the taxidermy rabbit wearing glasses and complete with bunny-sized extra-mini gladstone bag!


Inside were three rooms filled to the rafters with treasures new and old!



I photographed most of the taxidermy to add to my files, and admired all the weird little things that were piled all over the place.


On the way out I spotted a huge lion's head placed atop a small loft area looking out onto the store, keeping watch. It wasn't taxidermy, but some sort of faux taxidermy or just giant puppet of some sort. I was smitten! I would love to have him watch over my home, but I know he would cost way too much! I am content to have the memory of him inspire my outfits for the next few days at least.

splish splash

I was takin' a bath... oh, hello there. Welcome to my bathroom tour.


Our apartment is basically a long rectangle that consists mainly of hallway. On one end of our long hallway is the living room, on the other is the bathroom. Off of the main hallway, there's a funny little mini hallway leading into the bathroom. Being a maximalist, I have used this space to it's full advantage! On one side is a collection of things with a mostly nautical theme, including some old ships placed on limited edition 1974 reissue Koziol shelves, a velvet painting of a ship, a Justin Richel print and a Julie Knoblock print. On the other is the requisite "for like ever" poster from village.



Once over the threshold of the bathroom, there is still more hallway! This is a photograph of some garden gnomes by my friend Todd Duym. It was love at first sight for me and this photograph! Todd's pretty easy on the eyes too.


More Tord Boontje! This time shiny silvery metal garland goodness! That man can do no wrong!




The bathroom is small (which I think is ideal), and our windows are very large, so essentially one wall IS a window! I dressed this one up in Emma Jeffs' Otto window film. My dear friend Alice brought this for me from England last year! I still have my Amy Earles Valentines lady up, and I think she's staying up forever!



This series of photos was taken by my friend Randy Kramer. We liked them so much that we used them for the love and mathematics ep artwork. I did some illustrations that continued the narrative of the photo series for the inside sleeve and cd artwork.




I need my bathrooms to be clean and fresh. This is always the first room that I paint. It's the room that starts your day and ends your day, everyday, so I like for it to be calming and inspiring. I almost always use mistints and sometimes mix several together to get a specific colour. I mixed white and ivory to get a nice warm white for the walls, and painted the ceiling in a colour that I like to call "electric mint"! I have a very organic way of decorating. I usually use some element of the room as a jumping off point, and in this case it was the tiles in the tub surround!




1950s shift dress: thrifted 12 years ago!
tights: store in fan tan alley
boots: browns
1960s enamel brooch: thrifted

come into my parlor

Every time I do a wardrobe remix post, I have to rearrange my furniture so I can get a head to toe shot with an uncluttered background. Megan and Ambika have expressed their curiosity regarding my home decor, so I decided that the best way for me to show off my cluttered little apartment would be to revisit the Hinterland Who's Who idea and camouflage myself in my natural habitat. One. Room. At. A. Time.



The green and yellow floral cluster hanging from the ceiling is Tord Boontje's Midsummer Light. I adore this design and own several! The velvet victorian style love seat and chair came out west with me from Ontario six years ago. The brocade victorian chair was found a few years back at the Salvation Army near my work; it's such a perfect match with the velvet chair. One of Dawn's Jack Rabbit Love Creatures lives on the brocade chair. He occasionally hops to another chair, but he's mostly here. I found the coffee table at the Salvation Army near my work for fifteen dollars! It has tiny brass claw feet! The book case is from the late 1800s, and we're babysitting it for Shane's sister while she's in Toronto... oh wait! She came back almost two years ago... and we still have it. I guess it belongs to us now!


The landscape, that you're all familiar with, was found in the scary basement of my neighborhood Salvation Army. When I bought it there was a hole in it, the stretcher was broken in two places and someone had drawn a UFO in the top left corner (I still had to talk them down to a reasonable price). I fixed it up and found a frame that fit it perfectly the next day!



More old furniture! The chairs used to be that hideous brown with speckles that was popular in the late 1970s before I redid them... oh wait! There's some right there, under the TV! I'll probably end up painting the end tables at some point. We even have a matching coffee table that I am dying to repurpose! Right now it's just taking up space. I don't know if you noticed the sponge painting behind the TV. It came with the apartment. We were told that we were not allowed to paint, but I cannot live in a space with "apartment beige" walls so I painted the one wall and hoped for the best. Luckily we didn't get in trouble for it (it's a heritage colour!)... I'm still hiding the bedroom paint! Anyhow, I bought wallpaper for that wall, but then couldn't figure out how to make it temporary. They need to make post-it glue for apartment wallpaper! I will eventually get around to doing this, but until then it's little sponge painted clouds.




I collect many things, including animal theme ceramics (mostly Japanese from the 1950s) and they're scattered around the apartment, but most reside here.


This is how small my living room is. I can fit the entire thing in one photograph. I'm not using any trick photography or wide angle lenses here. It is THAT small. It's cozy and perfect, but I think we could use a bit more storage for our books and stacks of dvds... the piles are kind of ridiculous at this point! I'm waiting for the perfect shelf to come along.


sweater: thrifted
sleeveless blouse: thrifted
skirt: thrifted
black tights: the bay
turquoise over the knee fishnets: I'm not sure
shoes: camper

sheriff harry s. truman

One of the girls at work has been geeking out with me about Twin Peaks. I love her for it, but I think she and her brother have gotten a wee bit psycho-obsessed with it. They're making charts and eating nothing but donuts and coffee... damn fine coffee! They've even gone so far as to stack the donuts on the table Twin Peaks style! She introduced me to Twin Bricks, the all lego version of Twin Peaks; which is hilarious because the voices are just so accurate in a really caricaturized and unflattering way. Every day that I work with her there is another Twin Peaks discussion, and yesterday's was about how Sheriff Harry S. Truman is such a putz! This is my homage to Harry.

swiss dot shirt: the gap circa 2000 dyed by me
cardigan: thrifted
skinny jeans: seduction
plaid jacket: thrifted
hot pink plaid socks: I don't know; maybe a gift?
doc martens: etsy
fedora: stolen from Shane

the greatest show on earth

That is if you call sleepwalking through household chores "the greatest show on earth"... yeah. I didn't think so.


I couldn't sleep a wink last night. I'm not really sure what it was. I couldn't shut my brain off, but I was so tired! So I kind of half slept from around 8:30 until 11:00 this morning. I finally decided to get dressed at 2:30! I used to do that kind of thing when I was a kid, but I haven't lazed around like this for years! I'm having a half-casual day. I'm obsessed with all of my new acoutrements! The tights the shoes, the rabbit brooch, the hat that I picked up at the post office after work on Wednesday! It's kind of a ringmaster hat, so I mean, what else was I going to wear it with? Honestly, I didn't wear the hat to scrub the bathtub, but I had to show it off!


Pretty velvety cashmere felt! From Dewberry Vintage on etsy.


My new favourite shoes (for now) from the Camper twins line. Each shoe is different, yet complimentary. One of the girls that I work with said they were ugly. I decided that she was insane.

red tee: urban planet
striped tank: the gap circa 2002
sheer cardigan: thrifted
shorts: thrifted
tights: e.g. smith
oxfords: camper
creepy bunny brooch: etsy
derby: etsy