I love this sweet little time of the year, where I can get away with wearing a nice coat and cute shoes and a bag and not really worry about what I’m wearing underneath. It’s a delicate period of the year that precedes a depressive many months of thermal layers and bitter windchills. So. Indulge me while I take advantage in this brief, elegant moment in style.
AGENDA: October 22 - 29
October 22: Caudalie dinner to celebrate founder Mathilde Thomas visiting Toronto
October 23: Microneedling
October 24: Naghedi x Holt Renfrew launch, Absolutely Fabrics Vintage sip/shop (missed)
October 25: visit the AGO, lymphatic drainage at Trove
I hopped off the dreadeye from LA to Toronto at 6am, slept for 3 hours, then promptly went to meet Mathilde Thomas, founder of Caudalie skincare, at One Restaurant in Yorkville. She’s a magnetic and captivating woman who I truly admire. Like some of the best skincare and beauty brands I believe in, Caudalie remains privately owned (which I personally believe to be better from all fronts for a brand to maintain integrity). I’ve been a longtime user of the brand, especially the Vinoperfect serum (it seriously helped with my acne scarring in 2020!).
Unrelated to Caudalie, but I used this face mask after my redeye and before my evening event and it cured me. No one could tell I’d basically pulled an all-nighter.
I went for my third session of Microneedling at Park medical on Ossington! I’ve so enjoyed seeing the benefits of microneedling with my skin texture (so smooth!) and will likely do maintenance treatments once a year from now on. The healing process this third time around was very minimal, and I attribute that to the recent incorporation of Paula’s Choice BHA toner twice a week.
Naghedi is the gentlewoman’s utilitarian dream. Combining intrecciatto details reminiscent of vintage Bottega and the practicality of neoprene and recycled textiles, I throw anything and everything into my giant Naghedi St. Barth’s tote and go about my day. They recently launched a Waste Not capsule at Holt Renfrew, which takes all the material from past collections and repurposes them into something fresh and vibrant. My personal favourites are this burgundy pouch (the perfect shade of dried blood red!) and mini St. Barth’s tote.
I missed the launch of Absolutely Fabrics’ latest vintage capsule, but popped in the next day to sift through all of the pieces and they are good. They have that Paco Rabanne dress that Kate Moss wore amongst other treasures. The collection isn’t available online, but it’s worth a visit to the boutique to play dress up!
ETC.
I secretly love Halloween. I love to be a little scared. I rewatch The Haunting of Hill House every year and find it more and more beautiful and haunting each time. But mostly, I yearn for the witchiness of it all. Long skirts, black velvet and leather, every outfit in Practical Magic. You can see the influence permeating my screenshots folder:
This is just a fraction. I’ve seen whispers of “Frazzled English Woman Fall”, but I personally prefer to adopt Bitchy Witch Q4. Forego your conditioner! Smudge your eyeliner! Drape yourself in sumptuous fabrics! Wear a mysterious talisman around your neck! Carry gemstones in your pocket! Embrace how pale you’ve become! Allow the power and groundedness you feel to extend beyond October 31, and well into November. Although it is not the ninth month, November - stemming from the Latin word novem, meaning “nine” - summons the idea of completion, though not necessarily finality. I like to think of it as a coming into yourself. How witchy is that?
Some of my favourite witchy essentials lately:
This amethyst mascara, appropriately named if you ask me. The mascara is a part of Chanel Beauty’s Comètes Collective initiative, and the collection draws upon Mademoiselle Chanel’s love for numerology and the spiritual realm. So witchy!
Michelle Del Rio’s Collection 1: I’ve been preaching Del Rio since I started this Substack, and I’m so excited to see her first complete RTW collection launch. Everything is perfect, but the Lucia dress (which I preordered) and hooded blouse strike me as the witchiest.
A fur coat I found at VSP: Roald Dahl’s The Witches is, undoubtedly, one of the scariest things ever. It’s so creepy. The fact that it’s a children’s novel makes it all the more spooky. I might totally be making this up, but I have a visceral image in my head of the scene where the witches all congregate, and they’re most definitely wearing fur coats. I will firmly only purchase vintage or repurposed fur - it’s more ethical and, since I live in Canada, it’s warmer - and I’ve noticed that because fur is so controversial, vintage fur coats go for relatively cheap. I prefer a chocolate brown or cream fur, simply because the material is so dramatic that black can feel too harsh. Some of my favourites that I’ve sourced online: 1, 2, and 3.
And finally, to celebrate the season, a playlist for all your bitchy, witchy whims.