You Me and Dupuis

My heart skipped a beat when I found this coat for 29 dollars at a second hand store...when I brought it home I researched the tag on the inside. Turns out I'm wearing a little piece of Montreal history.



The Dupuis Freres opened as a small family run clothing store in 1870. It quickly grew into one of Canadas largest department stores, with the help of a branding strategy that appealed to Francophones in Canada and due to the growth of their mail order catalogues - in the 1930's the Dupuis Freres recieved up to 10, 000 catalogue orders a day. The company closed in 1978 due to bankruptcy and company strikes.




It makes me wonder how old my coat is, and who wore it! My dad told me that my Bubbie wore a coat just like this when she was younger. It makes me feel very close to her whenever I put it on! I was sitting on the bus and an old lady was studying my coat carefully...and then she smiled, all lost in thought. She could have been thinking about her grocery list, but I'd like to think the coat brought her back to a happy time :) I guess we will never know!



Dupuis pictures from here and here. The rest are mine, all mine.

And now to make this the longest post I've ever written...


If you are in Montreal this weekend, check out blizzarts bar at 3956a St Laurent for vintage clothes, beer, performances and art! Just don't buy a brown or black fur hat! I want one for my new coat :)

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Hipster Potter

Image found on this tumblr

Ron is so hot.

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Moi?

Helen from Bits and Bobs sweetly tagged me to share seven things about myself that you may not already know. So here goes!



1. my first kiss happened in las vegas, of all places! I was sixteen, on a bus teen tour across the states and wonderwall was playing in the background. our teeth clanked relentlessly!

2. i’m graduating university in may with a minor is gender studies and a major in creative writing.

3. career ambition: to take Jeanne Bekers job from under her and be a writer/blogger till the end of my days!

4. fond childhood memory: my parents wouldn't buy me an easy bake oven when I was little. one morning, after desperately crying and begging for one, my dad decided to take me out for a professional bread maker instead.

5. some simple goals for the next year are to: bring that bread maker out of the garage and use it (!) get a video camera, learn to shoot manual, apply for an internship at WORN, learn the Harmonica and continue building up my blog!

6. at least once a week, i have dreams that I'm buffy and have to save the world. its fucked up!

7. i'm beginning to realize that i love vintage clothing possibly more than anything in the world.

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Mister Postman

Mat lent me his camel sweater for the week and I've been living in it. I promised I'd give it back today (and I'm a girl who likes to stick to her word!) So sad as it is, I thought I'd do a little outfit post to commemorate all the great times we've shared together this week. Sigh.





Shorts: Lois Second Hand
Cardigan: Vintage
Scarf: Burberry
Black bodysuit: American Apparel
Fur Hat: Thrifted
Shoes: Pierre Hardy for GAP

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Twenty One Candles

On Saturday night we celebrated my birthday with cheap champagne, pizza, and lots of drunken singing to the Supremes. We went out later and I lost my phone! A sign that the birthday girl was drunk enough! In the pictures below I'm wearing a new vintage bathing suit that Jenni gave me...it's got a fierce low back that makes the boys swoon (and we know they're suckers for that..MWAHAHAHAHA).

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Manifesto

Here's my submission to the new magazine for teen girls...A little video to prompt you first on the sentiment I'd like to capture! 5 minutes in!




We need a new magazine for girls…

BECAUSE it’s time to show that feminism, fashion and girlhood can exist together and be representative of our lives and the change we want to see in the world.

BECAUSE being political and critical can be fun and silly and sexy and powerful when we do it OUR way.

BECAUSE we want FASHION not trends.

BECAUSE we’re sick of magazines that perpetuate beauty ideals that are impossible and damaging to our self esteem.

BECAUSE we hate being told how to flirt, how to make our lips kissable and how to read his body language when some of us girls love other girls, and for the girls who like guys - we’re smarter than that.

BECAUSE if we’re going to apply lipstick and play with style, it’s gonna be for OURSELVES as a fun and creative outlet for personal expression.

BECAUSE we need a magazine that represents girls of color, women of different sizes and abilities and queer ladies, to help demonstrate that you don’t have to be white, straight, able bodied and thin to be represented in a magazine.

BECAUSE we want to challenge and play with the fashion industry and expose the social, historical, economic and political forces behind the industry.

BECAUSE its cool if we want to have sex and its cool if we don't. Our bodies are our own and no one has the authority to make decisions about our bodies but ourselves.

BECAUSE we are sick of magazines that are constantly trying to sell us things.

BECAUSE we are sick and tired of hearing the statement: “The number one goal of girls is to lose weight” when we know a lot of girls with bigger dreams than that.

BECAUSE these dishonest messages about ourselves are not going to change unless we create our OWN meanings in a magazine that reflects our lives and choices.

It’s time, for a real girl magazine revolution now.

-Jenny

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Sassy Magazine: Fighting the Big Bad

"In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer."
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer

We may not have demons and vampires (I wish!) but there is a force of darkness, a big bad - magazines that tell us we aren't and never will be enough. Magazines that promise that if we buy the shit their advertisers are pushing, we might come close to being happy, beautiful, empowered, enlightened. I would like to see this message staked in my time, and I want it to reach girls most of all. Watch the video below to hear Tavi talk about Sassy and her vision for a contemporary take on the magazine today...

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Girlhood

Since hearing about Tavi and Jane's magazine on The Style Rookie, I've been thinking a lot about my girlhood. I was 16 in the picture above, spending the summer at a youth leadership camp in British Columbia. It was the summer before I switched to alternative school for grade 12, the summer I started seeking messages of resistance outside my little suburban life.


Hmm I'm beginning to sound like Baby in the beginning of Dirty Dancing when she's all, "That was the summer we went to Kellermans. When everyone called me Baby and it didn't occur to me to mind". But regardless, my world was starting to open up! Here's a collage of the major things that ignited my passion for seeking empowered girlhood heroines, movements and ideas.

I'm curious...What were some of yours???



Resources:

TV: My so called life, Freaks and Geeks, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Books: The Fat Girls Guide To Life, How Sassy Changed My Life, She's Shameless: She Writing. Girls write about growing up, rocking out and fighting back, The Vagina Monologues (Cliche but true!) and The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Videos online:

1.Tavi Gevinson's speech about Sassy Magazine. HERE ,

2. Girls Rock! The Movie - a documentary about Rock Camp. Read my experience volunteering at Rock Camp on my blog HERE and HERE.

3. Margaret Cho's political comedy performances (HERE)

4. Kathleen Hanna talks about Riot Grrrl and feminist leadership today on GritTV HERE. Read the Riot Grrrl Manifesto HERE

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Expozine!

At this years zine festival in Montreal, I tabled for Lickety Split, a sex positive smut zine that I'm involved in. We were placed beside WORN Fashion Journal and I got the chance to check out the new issue (which is AMAZING!), make some friends, chat with old ones and people watch everyone packed into the basement of a church, wide eyed, overwhelmed and buzzing at all the amazing zines and artwork on display.

ALSO: wish me luck, I'm submitting to Tavi and Jane Pratts new magazine! You can read the submission call HERE on The Style Rookie.

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Montreal Music

I wore this to a show last week to see Sean Savage and the Silly Kissers. Below is a little playlist of some of my favorite songs from Montreal musicians (including the two bands I saw last week). I would love to hear your thoughts on these tracks! I'm dedicating this mix of happy pop songs to Tara-Lynn, in anticipation of her move to this lovely city.



Create a MySpace Music Playlist at MixPod.com

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Poutine and Polka Dots

I'm in a food coma today after yesterday but it was worth it!! It all began when a girl at school noticed me ogling her box of gourmet cupcakes and offered me one! I ate it on the way to Moe's Diner, a downtown greasy spoon from heaven, where I met my friend Becky and knocked back the best plate of poutine I've ever had in Montreal. My junk food fair ended at Fats Billiard, the sleaziest bar known to student, where we polished off a couple buckets of free popcorn and one (or was it three?) pitchers of beer.



To see a little movie about Moe's click HERE



Bits and Bobs from the UK asked me what poutine is. Good Question! Its french fries, gravy, and cheese curds melted in, a specialty of Quebec! Yum.



Poutine picture found on Psycho Lady Hockey. I'm wearing a second hand skirt, American Apparel body suit, vintage jacket, and second hand black velvet heels.

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Good Eats in Montreal

If you ever find yourself hungry in Montreal's Mile End, I would highly recommend Milani, a small Vietnamese restaurant that serves the most delicious soup I have ever tasted to date! (Another specialty would be their subs to-go for three dollars). Today was a perfectly indulgent day spent thrift shopping, enjoying the beautiful weather, eating soup with Scarlett, and admittedly, starting, but failing to finish Sex and the City 2. That movie is racist!









First Image from Food Porn Daily. All the other images are taken by Scarlett. I'm wearing all secondhand. The dress is a purchase from today and reminds me of a Chloe commercial. WIN!

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Daily Affirmation

Awwwww! I love Jessica and her daily affirmation!



Here are some of mine on this rainy Monday in Montreal

I Like...

- that its still mild enough to bike to school
- eating maple donuts with ginger tea (in class, so satisfying!)
- this tater tot recipe
- having clean floors, hair and underwear haha
- going out for pints
- getting excited about food
- particularly vietnamese soup (new post tomorrow)
- lying beside a hot water bottle at bedtime! (Yes, I'm 80 years old)
- and finally, reminding myself that life doesn't have to be a big rush

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Nooks and Crannies

These pictures make me want to fill the nooks and crannies of my new place with some retro wallpaper and cat chutchkas. My next project is going to be modeled after the the picture above! Putting up the wallpaper will be a pinch, as I've got the exact same wall moldings in my living room.









The 2nd and 3rd pictures are from one of my favorite Canadian bloggers Fieldguided who profiled this bloggers lovely home. The 4th is from White Lightning, (I think) I forget all the rest.

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The Dainty Details

Tonight I'm excited to curl up on the couch and drink tea with some pastries (Rugelach, my favorite!) Here are a few new items that make me look very elegant and put together, even when I'm feeling the complete opposite of these things! Midterms and head-colds make me all awkward inside, but its nice to throw on some gaudy pearls, a polished coat, and my new prissy purse and fucking fake it!





I'm also on the look out for a vintage wool cloak...these jackets by Nadinoo are perfection.


Nadinoo cloaks found on Sarah-Wynnes blog Not a hair outta place! Coat: Salvation Army (When I got to the cash I learned it was 50% off day! Say what!?) Pearls: vintage store in little italy Purse: A gift from Shauna! Shoes: Buy the Pound (a second hand warehouse) and the Pants: are Americal Apapapapa

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