Un-Domesticated

A friend of mine has been packing up her house as she prepares to join her husband on a year's Sabbatical in France.  She discovered this dress, which she purchased in a vintage store in Toronto in the 1980's, and added it to a pile of things she was getting rid of.  My friend Lili and I were asked if there was anything we wanted and although I didn't think it would fit, I took this dress home.  To my surprise, it fit perfectly!  The shoulder pads are in bad shape and need replacing, but otherwise it's in great condition.  It has a 50's housewife vibe to it, but not in a bad way.

I bet I could even bake a pie wearing this dress

 I'd rather just wear it to the office and enjoy it's full-skirted fabulousness.  I have never been, nor will I ever be, a woman who is at home in the kitchen, as the only talents I display there are in the areas of "mess-making" and "dirty-dish piling"

The skirt was given extra "oomph" by the addition of a crinoline that had belonged the same friend's daughter.

I'm wearing:   50's dress and crinoline - gift from a friend
ballet flats - Ecco (retail)
belt - Lovesick Vintage
lion head bracelet - Reflections of Tyme booth at the Toronto Vintage Clothing Show

The Travelling Yellow Skirt Freak Show

For those of you who don't know the story of the Travelling Yellow Skirt Freak Show,  last fall, Melanie, of Bag and a Beret, found a marvelous lemon yellow long full skirt at a thrift store, and after posting a photo of herself wearing it on her blog, she received a comment from a friend(?!) who noted that she "looked really ugly in those clothes".  Well, the challenge was on!  After some discussion in the blogosphere about personal style and the reaction one has to criticism like that and whether we should let it affect our ability to experiment and play with our clothes, it was suggested by Sarah Misfit that the skirt go on a journey and visit other bloggers to see what fun they could have with its retina-burning fabulousness.

The skirt had already made its way from Vancouver to Australia, New Zealand, Italy, California, when it finally arrived in Ontario, first to Amber of Butane Anvil, and then to me. 

Most of the bloggers who have had the skirt have taken it out into nature -  the beach, a field, or the forest.  I was determined to urbanize it, and when I found this graffiti in my neighbourhood (O.E.V stands for Old East Village, which is what my neighbourhood is called) I knew I'd found the perfect backdrop.

I saw the skirt as a cocoon, so a few strategically placed thrifted belts were employed to rein in its voluminous-ness

The skirt inspired some clowning around

...and then it was time for the metamorphosis.  Released from its restraints, the skirt spread out like the wings of a butterfly in the sunshine

which lead to a twirl...

and one good twirl deserves another!

I'm wearing:
The Travelling Yellow Skirt
sleeveless turtleneck and red belts - thrifted
awesome hat - gift from The Style Crone
magical shoes - Doc Marten store Toronto
arm warmers - London Rock Shop
Ray Ban Wayfarers - courtesy of Smartbuyglasses
 Thanks a million times over to my photographer extraordinaire, Heather!

If we choose, we can add something to the yellow skirt before we send it off to the next blogger

  I drew a pair of red glasses, but of course didn't plan my letter spacing very well. 

The Travelling Yellow Skirt will be hand-delivered to its next recipient, Megan of The Fashionable Bureaucrat, this weekend

A Grand Day Out*

*an affectionate homage to Wallace and Gromit (but without the cheese)

This weekend was the start of what we in London have come to refer to as "Fest" season.  The London Fringe Theatre Festival kicks it off, and over the next two months we have Sunfest, Festa Italiana, Rib Fest, Home County Music and Arts Festival, etc.  Saturday also featured what used to be called "Car Free Festival", now referred to as "Our Street" festival.  First step - pick the appropriate "Festing outfit"...

I'm not sure what I'm doing with my face, but I'm rather pleased with my outfit, all acquired secondhand, except for the shoes

ruffle-skirted dress - thrifted from a store in my neighbourhood for $4
T-shirt - Talize
jacket - purchased from The Style Crone
ceramic necklace - The Sentimentalist
 magical shoes - Doc Marten Store
hair flower - some cheap accessories store going out of business

It is a rule that when you wear a ruffled skirt, you must do a little closed-eye shimmy

Before hitting the street festival, there was some business to attend to...

After the regular Saturday morning visit to the Western Fair Farmers' Market, a road trip was in order.  A friend and I had arranged to take over a friend's vegetable share from a co-op farm while she was away at a conference, and not only did the farm have veggies, it had a gorgeous dog. 

The road trip was followed by a photo shoot for the Travelling Yellow Skirt Freak Show (results of which will appear later this week), and then it was off to the Our Street Festival.  The purpose of the festival, formerly known as Car Free Festival, is to inspire Londoners to lead healthier, more eco-friendly lives by walking, cycling, taking public transit, composting, supporting local artisans and independent businesses, etc.  Dundas Street was closed to traffic between Wellington and Talbot Streets, and for 5 hours, was crowded with vendor booths, activities, musicians, information tables and lots of pedestrians and cyclists enjoying the atmosphere.

Candice Sheriff, who sells her line of jewellery at Jackpot Vintage, demonstrated her skills with the hula hoop

You could draw on the street...

show off your strength....

create your own button/badge....

....and jump rope!  I was rather shocked to learn that some elementary schools have actually banned skipping ropes because of the possible chance of injury.  Skipping rope culture (rhymes, jumping patterns, etc.) was a large part of my childhood -  how did those of us who grew up in the 60's and 70's ever survive?

Some of the performers in the Theatre Fringe Festival took advantage of the crowds to advertise their shows.  Jamesy, one of the characters in 2 For Tea, carried a banner advertising his Fringe show. I saw the show that afternoon, which is silly and loads of fun.  The actors who play James and Jamesy are talented physical comedians, and there is a great deal of audience participation (don't say I didn't warn you).  I made my Fringe Festival debut as Jamesy's Mum.

There were lots of fun items for sale made by local artisans as part of the Rag Bag Bazaar.  I was crushing on these adorable crocheted creatures by Fred and Lila, especially the submarine, the sardines in a can, and...

..the most adorable squirrel!

Gord Moon and his wife make these super cool pillows, printed with movie magazine covers

The Sentimentalist cuddled with The Beatles

Rachel, from the Women's Community House store, Mine 101, had some pretty upcycled scarves at her table.  Women's Community House is celebrating its 35th anniversary and Rachel was handing out coupons that offered 35% off your next purchase at Mine 101

One of The Paper Girls with a display of their handmade cards

 I practiced excellent restraint - the only thing I purchased was these beaded ring from Vanessa Garcia

There were lots of information booths promoting organic gardening, composting, community car-sharing, and other ecologically-friendly activities 

The festival was an opportunity for bike enthusiasts to show off their cool wheels (literally)

There was some very cool personal style on display...

Melanie and Jagoda from Salon Cyan 

Jagoda was wearing super stylin' boots that she found on Ebay

cute guys in bow ties

 

Elzbieta Kurowska is an artist, photographer and biochemist, and uses her multiple talents to create abstract compositions that resemble primitive life forms.  We seem to run into each other at arts-related events and she and her husband were behind me in line to get our photos taken for Edward Jackman's Red Couch Diaries at Nuit Blanche last year.

Words fail me

Knitted mask head-piece thing, made by his friend.  Good thing for him the temperature was more spring-like than summer

I see this young woman everywhere, and she always looks adorable.  

MEEEOW!  I love the pattern on her caftan and how the cat makes a great accessory.  Seeing that toy gave me a weird flashback, as I had a cat toy like that when I was a child, only it was sitting on its hind legs, without the colours, but exactly the same face (with eyes that open and close), same material, with a squeaker inside. 

All in all, it was truly a Grand Day Out.  The Fringe Festival continues until June 16th.

Breaking News...

This just in....

The Latest Edition of Vogoff is Here!!

and to my shock, awe, and complete delight, I'm the cover girl (many thanks to my amazing photographer, Heather).  I could die a happy woman, right now.....except that there are too many outfits to wear, inspiring people to meet, and fun projects to work on.

 

Go here to see the rest of the magazine, created by Melanie Kobayashi (and Mizz Bagg, editor extraordinaire), which is life-changingly brilliant.  You've never seen such a bunch of 40+ women behaving so badly, and enjoying it so much.

Homegrown Creations Delight at Dollirium

The latest show at London's Art Doll Gallery, Dollirium, is titled "The Home Grown Doll Show" and features work by artists from London, Toronto, Stratford and St. Thomas.  As with all shows at the gallery, there was an eye-catching mix of the creepy and the beautiful.

 The Dollirium Studio hung with the latest show

Tattoo artist Deb Mellor's work has a delightful whimsical spirit.  The piece above is titled "Come closer, I will listen"

Another of Mellor's pieces, titled "Wheeeeeee!"

A completely different vibe is had from Michelle Di Pinto's work, particularly the one above, titled "Edwina".

Di Pinto sculpted each feather individually from clay

"Undertaker", by Jacqui Gallant (whose photo appears in my previous post) has cool little skull-shaped buttons on his jacket

Many of the dolls created by tattoo artist Lana Hicks, including the one in the photo above, are incredibly beautiful, with gorgeous costumes and accessories. 

Hicks also creates dolls with a dark side, like the one above, titled "Sughare"

With each new show at Dollirium, I have become a bigger fan of the work of London artist Sarah Legault, who created "The Lovers" in the photo above.  The fabrics she chooses for her dolls' clothing is always richly elegant, contrasting with the oddly macabre faces

Another of Legault's creations, "Echo, The Bunnyman"

One of my favourite Sarah Legault dolls is "Vlada, The Impaler", pictured above, which was exhibited in a previous show, and is on display in Gallant's studio. 

Sara Deck, the creator of "Viv", above, is a visual artist and new to doll-making.  Deck's character description for this particular doll is as follows:  "Viv is not adept at verbal rebuttal.  Her revenge is exacted in ways not so subtle".

 Karen Waschinski showed some of her soft sculpture animals in this show.  Rats are her specialty, and hers are much more fierce-looking than my little girl!

The Home Grown Doll Show continues at Dollirium until July 5th