Fade to black

My stack of jeans, nearly as tall as me, includes several pairs normally excluded from circulation for various reasons -mostly fit, but sometimes just due to the colour. I was ready to drop some old old pairs of hardly worn Paper Denims and skinny Sevens into the giveaway bag because their colour just didn’t end up jiving with reality. Getting rid of jeans merely because the colour isn’t right seemed kind of wasteful, so I thought I would try a little harder before giving up on them entirely. The result is something I thought I should share with those of you who also are on the brink of giving up on ill-coloured denim.

I decided to dye them black. The Sevens were a medium vintage wash blue, but the style (circa 2003, don’t remember the name) is great -a slim and straight cut and the back pocket design the best they’ve done to date. The Paper Denims were also a medium blue, the mod cut in blue fusion.

I bought three packets of wash and dye from the pharmacy and used two packets for the washing machine, but wasn’t satisfied that they were dark enough (they turned out a pretty nice grey, actually), but then hand dyed them in hot hot hot water and a bucket with a single pack to great results -scalding hot water is key, as are GLOVES. They aren’t an overdyed black but are a great midnight blue black. The stitching remained the same colour but slightly darked (most likely due to the synthetic content), but I was glad to have breathed new life into two good pairs of jeans for a mere $1.99 per dye pack.

In other (late-breaking) news:  Creatures of Comfort is offering a 15% discount on all purchases until Hallowe’en.   Also, Oak‘s got a dealing running where for every $100 spent, you’ll receive a $20 gift card for future purchases.  Definitely helpful.  Shop away.

The coat stands alone

That’s one fresh looking coat. It’s a really sweet warm beige tweed. Good call there.

Comme des babushkas

My aunt once went to Russia to study folk art with the Masters. When she returned with beautiful objects adorned with florals and high gloss varnishes, I was totally mesmerized; I fell in love with those florals -such deep and vibrant colours- and long since admired the craft and history behind them.

I’ve been obsessed with these scarves and am on a quest to find the perfect one. Pavlova Posad, the famed Russian scarf institution has a vast collection of prints that I have been admiring from afar. It seems as though all the prints are subject to the approval of a aesthetic governing council consisting of discerning artists from the the factory, reps from the Ministry of Culture, and Moscovite folk art experts. They really take this seriously. Amazing.

When winters are long, I need an occasional bright and pretty thing to cheer me up. A few years ago at Tout va bien in Shibuya, I bought a letterman jacket style sweatshirt covered with amazing florals in this folk art style and it has been like a trusted friend, a staple in the comfort side of my wardrobe. Big florals are rarely done well and these scarves are never seen around these parts. I really regret passing one up at a Polish church bazaar.

Until I find the one for me, I will keep dreaming in florals. Damn that old world charm.

I really like you.

While lollygagging after a drop off at the post office, I pass by my local Renaud Bray in search of Jalouse, alas these coveted few copies usually go the first week of the month. November’s Dazed and Confused has yet to arrive and I rifle past a charming cover that reads, “Lula girl of my dreams.” Oh? I pick it up and my fingers dance with delight flipping through the thick satin pages. At $13.95, it’s a bit steep seeing as I just dropped a small wad on Pop magazine, but Lula is dense with content -both amazing fashion stylings and interviews with intriguing personalities and virtually no advertising!!- and is well worth the price. Ultimately it was the interview with Natalie Press (who was extraordinary in My Summer of Love) that sent me scurrying to the cash register -I just had to learn more about a girl who can deliver like that.

Yes, it’s a charming and girly magazine, but not sickly sweet. There is just enough that is raw in there to prevent it from being overly polished or contrived. (And the typeface is beautiful too!) Lula, you have a fan in me; I’m sure others have said this, but you may just be the girl of my dreams.

Having just gotten Vitamin P and Art Now vol. II, Pop mag and now Lula, I must now convene with the books.

Kind design

Oh how I cooed when I saw this amazing set of plates from Dutch designer, Hella Jongerius. Deer, hippo, snail, rabbit and bird -she’s got her gentle animals covered. I think Mr. Hippo frolicking in a blue flowered sauce is my absolute favourite.

Practicality trumps

While I’m craving the beast above, I should rather go for something I would wear and not simply put on a pedestal to be looked at with deep longing.

And these boots are pretty sweet. They’re from twenty two shoes out of California but made in Italy and have a cork footbed similar to Birkenstocks. With a solid wooden 3″ heel, the cork would be beneficial if stomping around all day. A popular style, sizing is limited at every online boutique.

Something fun

If you’re in Montreal this weekend and haven’t already done so, Puces Pop at the Armoury on de l’esplanade and rachel is a neat place to visit. The Armoury is an amazing space for an event such as this, and what’s more having a bite upstairs in the regal lounge is an interesting experience in and of itself.

The fair is packed with Montreal’s craftiest scenesters and chock full of curiosities and goodies.  Personal highlights were some beautiful and intricate knitted/woven gold and silver chain necklace creations and some awesome recycled fur bonnets that have an amazing capacity for muffling out all sound.

It’s on again tomorrow from 12-7. I’ll be picking up a bonnet for the coming cold snaps.

One of the dream team

Viktor Horsting, I love thine shirt.

The times, they are a-changing

(necklace from Alex & Chloe)

Suzy says some pretty good stuff in her Herald Tribune article, “Who’s next in fashion? No one.”  It pretty much sums up the reasons behind the underlying uncertainty of the future of the fashion industry, and even my anti-fashion feelings of late.  The distrust of empires and growing homogeneity in fashion absolutely signal a shift in the trajectory of the fate of the designer.

The vision that Small is beautiful definitely holds.

Props to the designer

A very nice poster for the Liberal leadership campaign; quite a welcome breath of fresh air…