Notes 01
on anxiety, multiple truths, and a whole lot of outfits
I was texting a friend of mine about some big feelings and she responded, “I totally get that, when I’m anxious I think in absolutes.”
This struck a particular chord deep within the pits of my stomach. Mostly because it rang so true.
When I’m deep in my most ruminative thoughts (which I have been as of late, can you tell?) and I can’t seem to get out, there’s no room for nuance, no room for explanation or anything outside of that which pertains to “I”. The immediate desire and thought is individualist and exists in a silo. Everything is or it isn’t. You do or you don’t. There’s no yet, no maybe, no patience, no process. I truly don’t remember the last time life was really an [absolute] except when it was a [number] [in] [these] [brackets], but when I’m in my biggest of feelings, it’s near impossible to step outside of this [mindset]. Just some things I’m noticing and working on.
The weekend before last was the Toronto Vintage show, something I’m ashamed to say I didn’t know about until this past year. The haul was excellent.
Key vendors included:
Samantha Howard Vintage, who sources beautiful midcentury Scandinavian designers. I got this rose quartz loop bracelet from her.
Nouveau Riche Vintage, one of my favourite vintage shops in Toronto. Andrea sources incredible pieces and is so knowledgable about every decade of fashion. I recommend booking an appointment to visit the studio and just letting them dress you up! I bought this gorgeous Edwardian lace dress, to be worn alone with ballet flats or over denim for a more Euro-girl look.
Eyeing and Buying
This outfit is on serial repeat this transitional season: Sessei shirt, St. Agni bag (a viable alternative to The Row’s raffia collection), Mango jeans from a few seasons ago
This dreamy milk textured set (top and bottom) from Zulu & Zephyr is an angelic dream, and the top is reversible.
I haven’t been this excited about straight legged jeans since the Aritzia Marlo. This pair from AG has a bit more of a tapered ankle (here I’m wearing size 26), which makes them perfect for a heeled Chelsea boot (I find that with tapered jeans, unless you’re tall and lanky, a heel is necessary). Pair with this adorable striped (and supremely soft) tank, and cotton cardigan, which is the perfect layer for spring/summer.
I found the perfect striped linen pants for summer and they’re from Reformation. Size down in these - I’m wearing an XS. Baggy and superb in drape, these also bear an elasticated waist for maximum ice cream consumption. Which is a very important criterium.
I’m simply dyingggg over this red Cos Atelier pouch (though it is basically an exact, albeit supersized, Bottega lookalike). Sadly the collection doesn’t look like it will be in stores in Canada, but will be in the US (and hopefully online!). As for the trench, I unfortunately can’t help much there as it’s Remain Birger Christensen from days of yore, but they did release a yellow version in a more recent collection and it’s on sale.
Count on COS (fondly dubbed the People’s Princess by Laura Reilly) for the perfect white summer pants - first the aforementioned red pouch, and now and these elasticated barrel leg pants. I ordered a US size 6 (I usually get a 4, though for this SKU a US6 equates to EU36, my usual size), and they fit exactly how I want them to. This striped olive shirt from T.Line is the perfect pairing - its boxier shape compliments the barrel leg perfectly. I distinctly remember an episode of Articles of Interest that classifies olive green as a very expensive colour to produce, hence why it so often imbues a luxurious quality to one’s wardrobe.
Not photographed as of yet, but not to be dismissed is my tardy arrival to the Posse party. My weekender look comprises this honeycomb knit vest and some form of white linen skirt. I was concerned that, with a name like Posse, we’d have another Verge Girl brand on our hands (remember those days?), but this aligns with the likes of St. Agni, Deiji Studios, etc.