Taste of Fashion

Saturday, December 20, 2014

TRAVELLED...

December is here

A lot has happened in the last few weeks. Pretty tough I would say, where I really got attached to this country: Canada, Montreal.

Due to personnal reasons, I had to leave this place.

So I am finding myself again back in my hometown which is Switzerland.

4 years of not seeing this place, but most importantly my dad and brother.

Lots of plans ahead (as usual). Specially looking to upgrade my blog to a new possible design or turning it, into a professionnal website.

Lots of thinking and ideas. So I better get started A.S.A.P

In the meantime wishing you all the greatest time of all !

Tons of love.

-T.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Let's all hear about : FRIPE FABRIQUE

Hello everyone, here is another post about another great boutique, where I had the great pleasure to meet the owner but also to visit this place.

Have you ever wondered or even questioned yourself to see where you could find other

great pieces? Well here is your answer which one of them I am going to talk about today:

FRIPE FABRIQUE

Situated near station Beaubien, you can enjoy your little walk and see great cafés and some other stores. But hey let's keep the focus on the F.F store (short name for Fripe Fabrique).

So as I was saying meeting the owner herself, I fully received a warm welcome and felt like staying there longer, having the joy and fun to try out some of the accessories, was a great way to see how the pieces could fit on me, in order for me to describe the designs and the fittings. You will see in the upcoming pictures .

Not only it's a boutique but also a D.I.Y (do it yourself) atelier where there are sewing machines that can be rented by the hour. And you also have the occasion to attend workshops .

You can as well find different clothing from independent designers.
From Mix to vintages clothes.

NEXT WORKSHOP BY THIS WEDNESDAY ON OCTOBER 22ND AND ANOTHER ONE ON TUESDAY OCTOBER 28TH 2014

THE SEWING MACHINES AND PLACE WHERE THE WORKSHOPS TAKE PLACE

LOOKS LIKE A HAT AT FIRST BUT IT'S ACTUALLY A SCARF

ME TRYING ON THIS BEAUTIFUL BURGUNDY SCARF SUPER SOFT AND GOOD FOR FALL

GREAT JEANS FITTING, NOT AS STRETCHY AS YOU WOULD THINK BUT COMFORTABLE

It goes from clothing to accessories, women to men.
fell in love with a lot of the pieces!

The boutique holds a lot of the gold jewelries such as necklaces, rings , earrings, and more!
But without further due here is the interview with Michelle, the owner, to know more about her story.

INTERVIEW

How did the idea came about to open up this boutique ?

"At FF we really focus on providing a fun, creative solution to fast-fashion by sharing the stories behind the pieces you find here at FF. With mass fashion we lose something. We can shop anywhere in the world now and it will all feel almost the same. We become disconnected to the stories and the people behind the clothing we wear. I have always loved shopping in different cities and finding really unique pieces that would remind me of that time, place and people.

A few years back I was living in London and working for a sustainable fashion company called People Tree. After work, I started taking short workshops at tiny little studios and popup places to learn how to sew and make stuff. I really loved the idea of merging my affection for sustainable and unique fashion with DIY. After getting over some fears...I decided to just go for it and that was the start off FF".

Do you do any collaboration with designers and what are the products that can be found in your store ?

"We have done a couple of collaborations and look forward to more in the future. As you know, we mix independent designers with vintage for both men and women Some of the brands we have are Betina Lou, Komodo, PACT, Alternative Apparel, Goodone, Unbranded Brand, Rachel F, UNA Fashion, Meemoza, Monkey Genes, Josiane Perron, Gredin and we are always on the hunt for vintage. We like to really take time to hunt for bright unique pieces of vintage".

ONE OF THE BEST DRESSES

How would you describe your current clientele? Teens ? Women ? Men?

"We have a diverse group of young men and women who are smart, thrifty, creative and curious. When I say thrifty, I do not mean cheap...I mean that our clients take the time to consider the longevity, quality and true affection for the pieces they buy....Whether they are classic or crazy!"

How would you describe the clothing at FF?

"Well, I would use the same words that describe our clients to describe our products...We are a reflection of one another...smart, thrifty, creative and curious. We like to offer things that we know you will want to keep for a long time. FF is a good mix of classic, playful, never too serious with a good dose of color in some form another:)"

EAR MUFFS HEADWEAR , GREAT PIECE FOR FALL & WINTER

Any other location than Montreal?

"Not at the moment...we will see what happen in the future".

Any upcoming sales, events or workshops for this winter ?

"We have a great event coming up with ETSY at the end of November...so stay tuned for that. We also have some 'make & mend' workshops and an eco gift wrapping class coming in time for Christmas".

MEN'S SHOES

So here is a little more about the location & contact

METRO:

Metro Beaubien

ADRESS :

388 Rue Saint Zotique Est, Montréal, QC H2S 1L5

THEIR HOURS:

Monday: Closed
Tuesday-Friday: 11-19
Saturday: 12-17
Sunday: 12-17

THEIR WEBSITE:

http://fripefabrique.com/

Your dearest blogger
-T.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Store in the city: ANNEX VINTAGE

Well good afternoon everybody! Hope you all enjoying your current Saturday. Some of you may be busy with work or school, but don't we all need some little break? And take some fresh air outside with this beautiful fall and you know just walk some miles or simply go to some vintage stores? That wouldn't be a bad idea !

Lately I've decided to post something a little different. I like to talk about a variety of subjects such as: fashion trends, fashion week, fashion history etc. But what fashion stores who also have a lot to offer? Well I did find a couple here in Montreal. So here is the story...

Before heading to Annex Vintage , I first of all loved the neighborhood. A very pleasant area with lots of artsy and all smiley looking people with the sun that was up that day.

AS YOU CAN SEE THEY DO HAVE SALES PIECES !

I was recently online to look up for different vintage stores and this one popped up and for sure got my attention. So I decided to dig a little further to see what this place was all about and decided to go there myself.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE PIECE OF ACCESSORY UP RIGHT, ROUND SHAPED GLASSES

LEGGO's THEME RINGS PERFECT TO ACCESSORIZE SOME FUNKY LOOKS

"GUMMY BEARS" KIND OF LOOKS

PROJECT BIJOU EARRINGS

Didn't regret going there one bit , to finally see their products. Very well organized, you could see jackets near the entrance and all sweaters assembled together, skirts of all sorts on the "rounder" , pants and jeans , shirts and finally jewelries and accessories to complement the look.

JACKETS RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE ENTRANCE

ONE OF THE PIECES I WOULD BUY (IN BLACK)

FLOWER PRINTED SKIRTS FOR WHAT'S LEFT OF THE WARMTH FALL

INTERVIEW

How did the idea came to open up this vintage boutique?

"I was running two stores at the time: Friperie Local 23 and another store on St-Viateur which was a mix of designer/handmade and vintage. The vintage collection at the Saint-Viateur store was doing so well that it just made sense to give it it's own space and identity. I loved the idea of filling an entire shop with only the best pieces and making it exclusively vintage themed".

Do you do any collaboration with designers and what are the products that can be found in your store ?

"We work with Eugenia Levitt of Mile End Alternations (www.mileendalterations.com). She collaborates with us on our Annex DIY collection of reworked vintage. This fall, we produced a collection of customized trench coats and we will be once again making our ever-popular cropped sweaters and upcycled Annex DIY cashmere pull-overs which will be on the shelves by next week! "

"In addition to a large selection of vintage clothing and accessories, we are proud to work with local artists such as Dot & Lil, jewellers Angry Weather and Elaine Ho, and leather smith Corinne Wilde just to mention a few, who sell their wares with us. We also look to other cities for new talents (our latest find is Nature Days from LA who have amazing cards and printed silk and cashmere scarves that remind us of vintage geology textbooks!).

We are sock fanatics and have a range of knee highs, thigh highs, cozy wool socks, all made right here in North America at the few remaining domestic sock mills.

KNEE SOCKS IN WOOL FROM B.ELLA (USA MADE)

And there are sunglasses, our favourite In God We Trust potty mouth charm necklackes. And of course, tons and tons of great vintage (we pride ourselves in a VERY fast turnover)".

How would you describe your current clientele? Teens ? Women ? Men?

"Our clientele ranges greatly in age from young teens and university students, to families and golden era folks. Style is ageless!"

How would you describe the clothing in your store?

"Definitely we keep a close eye on vintage trend but we also love classic vintage and make sure there is a healthy mix of both".

"STAY HOME" TOTE BAGS

PROPER COLORS FOR FALL

Any other location than Montreal?

"We have two other stores in the neighbourhood but they have different specialties! The latest is Empire Exchange (51 Bernard O. www.empire-exchange-mtl.tumblr.com). It is Montreal's first buy-sell-trade clothing store where the stock is sourced directly from the public.

People can get either cash or trade for their stuff and it is alot of fun. Empire stock a mix of gently used on-trend clothing and vintage. And there is also Local 23 (23 Bernard Ouest). They carry a large variety of vintage clothes and accessories brought in by some of our favourite local vintage pickers and Etsy sellers".

Any upcoming sales or events for this winter ?

"We are having our first (hopefully annual) BOOT CAMP event next week (Thursday October 23rd 5-8pm). We have a huge collection of fall boots that we will be launching in style. There will be snacks and free drinks so come on by and get the pick of the litter! We are also working on an event in early November with the folks at Etsy. Check our blog for details: www.annexvintage.tumblr.com "

SCENTS FROM DOTANDLIL (LILAC, GRAPFRUIT, ROSE...)

(ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE MY PHOTOGRAPHS)

Believe me that store has it all and for affordable prices!

METRO:

Rosemont or metro Laurier, then to take the bus 80 (Ave du Parc) or 55 (St-Laurent/Clark)

ADRESS :

In the Miles End

56 St-Viateur Ouest

THEIR HOURS:

They are open 7 days a week

Monday: 12-6pm

Tuesday: 12-6pm

Wednesday: 12-6pm

Thursday: 12-7pm

Friday: 12-7pm

Saturday: 12-6pm

Sunday: 12-6pm

THEIR WEBSITE:

http://annexvintage.tumblr.com/

Your dearest blogger
-T.

Friday, October 10, 2014

TNT event Montreal

Good afternoon folks, hope you all having a great week , Friday is here already!

I missed out a lot on fashion events and being with one of my good friend reminded me that I needed to go back . Here is one that happened on October 2nd, Thursday

in Montreal, at 4100 St.Catherine Ouest.

(all photos taken by me)