instant gratification

I celebrated my birthday last week (and somehow got away with celebrating it for a whole week ending last night with a candle lit chocolate torte at Vinegar Hill House) and Landon, as he's done for birthdays and anniversaries before, gave me a camera. The most recent addition to our camera family is a fuji instax after I expressed a renewed interest in the instant variety when taking pictures with Kimi. A fitting present as his first gift to me was a polaroid camera back in 2004. Below are a few of the old shots I dug up from the internet graveyard that is livejournal.

The fuzzy shoes (still getting acquainted with this camera, hehe) in the final photo are the TLO x Jacques Levine shoes I wrote about so long ago. They have at last been manufactured and will be available for purchase within this month!

Playing fancy dress in our Vancouver bedroom.

Sewing up Landon's pants at my Grandma's house.

First snowball fight with the Arizona boy.

Landon in flares somewhere in Oregon. 

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Frances Baker & Samantha Pleet

My adult baby brother, Liam, snapped these shots in our courtyard today before we dodged out to pick up Thanksgiving treats for our, now traditional, Thanksgiving parade and potluck. He's not a bad photographer! I'll be sharing soon a collection of breathtaking photos he took while on his two month solo trek across the US.

Not long ago I received the above dress as a gift from Josephine, the talented designer behind Frances Baker. We (The Loved One) began carrying a select number of pieces from her collection earlier this season (including the above dress) and I'm so pleased for it. This summer I spent quite a bit of time in this dress from her s/s collection and have been wearing the fall counterpart with equal enthusiasm. Again, she has managed to pick out the softest and most comfortable fabric to sew her meticulously crafted design. I've paired her dress here with boots made by another exceptionally talented designer, and pal, Samantha Pleet. I've sung the praises of these boots here before but wanted again to say that they are, simply put, the best. So comfortable and so beautiful and also they are red. To top off this all new, all independent outfit (alright, not all, the hat is from my favourite Ottawa vintage shop, Ragtime) is a ring that I tried and failed to photograph (another time). The cat shaped ring was a gift from Calourette via Landon upon returning home from his Paris trip. I don't wear much jewelry apart from my wedding ring but I, like the rest of the internet right now, would happily adorn myself with as much pussy as possible (can't wait for the google searches to bring folks in with that one). Needless to say, this ring is also, simply put, the best. Thank you Calourette, Frances Baker and Samantha Pleet for making me feel so fancy! Friends I implore you, support small this holiday season!

Hat - Ragtime
Dress - c/o Frances Baker
Brooch - The Loved One
Shoes - c/o Samantha Pleet
Ring  - c/o Calourette

Happy Thanksgiving to my American pals, enjoy your friends and family and full bellies!

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This Is Our Youth

A few shots from last Friday when I met up with photographer, Kimi Selfridge. I very much recommend taking a peek at her ongoing project "This Is Our Youth" here!

This is going to be one of my less rambling on like a grandpa posts. Quickly, before I run out of the house to meet up with friends for a chilly night's stew,  I wanted to mention the top in the second photo here. That magnificent lilac hued, bound and be-tasseled thing is now over one hundred years old and I know it is a shame to some people to wear such antiquities but I am not of that party (having taken part in the destruction of many an Edwardian blouse and bedclothes). My gracious Aunt Dot, who boasts a collection so breathtaking it is all on display as though she lives in a (rather condensed) museum, gave me the blouse last Christmas. If you are cringing at my wearing it I will say now that it has not made it out of the house and is kept safe and worn with great care. I realize this is something a mite more special then 100 year old underpants and oh my gosh look at this, a ramble.

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lines on lines on lines

A few cat clothed drawings from the summer.

Hope my fellow east coasters are warm with friends and family. We've had a full house the last few days and were fortunate enough to keep power throughout. If you'd like to lend a helping hand during this time there are many different ways to do so from little things like donating books and dvds to shelters to working full shifts. Here is a helpful directory for locals who'd like to help. Have a safe and happy Halloween!

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Space Age Santa

Hand painted photos by the talented Shae Acopian Detar.

Shae is on the lookout for new faces to shoot in Los Angeles. She's currently casting for a shoot in collaboration with The Loved One. It will be a full day with some travel time (provided, along with food and fun)! I'm envious of the lucky lady who gets to adventure with this one.

Email photos and or blog address if interested to Shae@shaedetar.com.

Thanks!

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Gatineau Part One

Photos from our trip up to Chelsea last week with Samantha and Patrick.

The red boots pictured are from Samantha's latest collaboration with Wolverine. Comfortable, practical and beautiful, I went for a hike in them and no ankle twisted and all four cheeks of mine remained off of the ground. These are boots much like their creators, full of adventure and beauty (a million heart emojis). You can see the full collection of shoes here.

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The Loved One and Yudi Ela

Last month, after England and a short visit to Vancouver, I met up with my baby brother in Northern California and together along with his best pal and my best pal we drove the scenic route down to Los Angeles. Upon our LA arrival we shot over to my partner's house, stuffed the already busting at the seams car with as many vintage velvet, taffeta and silk dresses as we could and headed over to photographer Yudi Ela's house. Yudi Ela is a marvelously talented Los Angles based photographer who I cannot recommend enough for those of you in need! She greeted us in the three digit weather with cool water, a fan and all my favourite nibbly bits. All of the dresses in the above shots are available now in our Pasadena shop and will soon be available online for purchase along with many, many more.  You can see the full collection of photos here!

All photos by Yudi Ela, please credit this lovely lady should you repost them. Thanks! 

The Chloé Alphabet: M is for Music

Chloé is celebrating their 60th anniversary by sharing a letter by letter retrospective. They've chosen 26 bloggers to present a letter each and I've been so generously included in the batch.

I was assigned the letter M for Music which has served as an inspiration for the brand since it's inception. Gaby Aghion, Chloé's founder, named her designs after favourite musicians from Debussy to Dylan and garments have featured musical instruments and notes throughout the years.

Take a peek at the remaining letters for a look at Chloé's playful past here. I especially enjoyed watching the video about Gaby Aghion which you can watch here. For Parisian pals, check out the exhibition celebrating Chloé's 60 years at Palais de Tokyo.

Chloé was one of the first names I could rattle off as one I liked when I was wee one first discovering an interest in fashion. Their brand has always appeared youthful and sweet without being patronizingly so and their current collection is a perfect balance of elegance and playfulness, something I hope to capture in my own dressing. It was neat to discover a little more about the brand through this project!

Below you can watch a video of John Gosling and Seb Chew discuss their selection of music for Chloé's shows and hear a mix of their runway favourites here!

A favourite Chloé campaign. Those dresses, that hair!