Like most people, I’ve had no reason to get dressed up for anything over the course of the last year. I’ve been living in a uniform of leggings and jumpers for months and months now.
While this means my ’80s vintage jumper collection is seeing a lot of wear – and that I’ve recently amassed a fairly considerable quantity of brightly coloured modern-day leggings – there are other parts of my wardrobe that must be feeling a bit neglected at the moment. I put all of my jeans in a storage box the other day because I’ve simply not worn them since last March. As for my ’80s vintage dresses… well…
They’re nothing if not patient!
I love these dresses but I’ve probably not worn them since summer 2019. They belong to a world where summer events regularly take place, and at the moment that world might as well be a fantasy.
It’ll come true again some day, though, and the nice thing about wearing vintage is that it doesn’t go out of style (because technically it already has been out of style for decades), so I know that when those summer barbecues and weddings and the like return, this part of my wardrobe will see the light of day again.
As I may have mentioned once or twice this week, today I was able to go to a vintage fair for the first time since February! It was nice to walk through the doors of the Civic Centre again, hear the ’50s pastiche performers singing and look wistfully at all the delicious cake that I never have enough syns left over for.
I just bought one piece today, as I’m still sticking to my clothes shopping limit for 2019 after the post-weight-loss-free-for-all that was 2018. It’s something I’ve been looking for at the last few fairs but not managed to find until now – a comfy casual ’80s day dress. This one is perfect for winter as it’s made out of wool and sequins and looks like an ’80s jumper…except it’s a dress!
All the sequins!
(The lady at the stall asked if I was going to take the shoulder pads out. Uh, NO.)
I also priced the denim jackets that were available, as that’s going to be my purchase at the next vintage fair – I’m looking for a good quality vintage jacket (preferably in stonewashed denim for that late ’80s vibe). The stalls today had all sorts available – some repurposed with designs on the back, some sold as original – so I expect there’ll be a similarly good selection at the next fair. Which is next weekend! I’m excited already.
Vintage fairs are back for the autumn/winter! There’s another one I’m planning to go to next month, by which point I may no longer be strong/warm enough to resist the lure of vintage ’80s jumpers. I have plenty. I still want more.
I was sensible today, though, and didn’t buy any jumpers for now. Instead, I picked up two things I’d actually been visualising: a red blouse to go with one of this year’s Christmas outfits, and a jersey dress that will be nice and comfortable for ’round the house’ days, which, for a work-from-home type like me, is most days.
The red material looks shiny here but it’s actually more kind of sheer.
It’s very satisfying to be able to add a piece here and there to my vintage collection. Looking forward to wearing both of these!
On the Monday, which was my last full day in Toronto, Geth and I decided to go and visit the Royal Ontario Museum. Before that, however, we headed to Carlton Street for a quick look round the Maple Leaf Gardens, which is next door to the Holiday Inn where Mum and Dad were staying.
The exterior of the building, including the front signage, has stayed the same since it was built in the 1930s. It was originally the tallest structure in the vicinity, but is now dwarfed by its neighbours!
The Maple Leaf Gardens is currently used for sports by Ryerson University (the same uni that was hosting the conference Geth was attending while we were in Toronto). They took it over and massively refurbished the interior in the early ’10s. In the ’00s, it lay empty and deserted, but up until 1999, it was a thriving venue for political events and music concerts and was the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey team (hence the name of the venue).
(Incidentally, it’s always really annoyed me that the team are called the Maple Leafs rather than the grammatically-correct Maple Leaves. This is why I will never get into watching ice hockey. #proofreaderproblems)
As a concert venue, the Maple Leaf Gardens hosted Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and pretty much everyone else who was big in the 20th century. In 1984, Duran Duran filmed the video for The Reflex there, which was one of my main reasons for wanting to go and have a nosey around.
Inside the building, there are lots of boards on the walls telling you about the history of the venue. The number of famous sayings that were apparently coined there is difficult to believe!
‘Elvis has left the building’.
‘Elvis has left the building’ – apparently said for the first time at the Maple Leaf Gardens! Wikipedia claims differently.
‘He shoots, he scores’.
‘He shoots, he scores’ – apparently said for the first time at the Maple Leaf Gardens! Wiktionary and Urban Dictionary do back this one up.
‘Hat-trick’.
‘Hat-trick’ – apparently originated at the Maple Leaf Gardens! Geth didn’t believe this one for a second, and again Wikipedia claims differently – cricket players were using the term almost a century earlier.
Still, I guess one out of three turning out to be true is not bad going.
After a pleasant wander around the venue, we headed over to the Royal Ontario Museum. Geth just wanted to have a look around the main museum, but I was more interested in one of the exhibitions they had on – a collection of work by fashion designer Iris van Herpen and her interesting collaborations with architect Philip Beesley. The creative and design process behind making the pieces was fascinating – there was a short film all about it that was being shown in the exhibition hall – but it was the beautiful dresses being shown in the hall that were the best thing:
Perhaps a little impractical for the supermarket, but it’s very pretty.
The shiny installations dangling from the ceiling were nice as well!
I wouldn’t mind some of these for the house, though sadly I don’t think our ceilings are high enough.
After I’d finished looking around the exhibition, I met back up with Geth and we took a quick trip to the dinosaur floor. They had some good skeletons, both real and replica, but it was a bit too full of kids having pictures taken with the T-Rex, so we eventually decamped to the Museum Tavern nearby, which is one of our favourite pubs in Toronto, for a couple of pints and a good chat with the barman.
In the evening, we met up with Mum, Dad, Malcolm and Steff for our last meal in Toronto, at Scaddabush. This involved more pizza (which was served on a board with SPECIAL PIZZA SCISSORS for cutting it up! They were amazing and I want a pair!), more cheesecake, and more crayons for scribbling on the table:
Message from Steff on our last family dinner table!
After the meal, we said goodbye to Steff – she was working and wouldn’t be able to see us off the next day – and Geth and I headed back to our suite at the Grand for one last sleep in the city (for me, anyway).
I’ve been back from Canada for a week now, and I’m still struggling a little with my sleeping pattern, although at least this morning I was only an hour late forcing myself awake. It really is worse going eastwards.
Another day mostly spent getting on with work and cleaning the house, although I did also try on my bridesmaid dress for Lisa and Kieran’s wedding. Good thing I did, as it’s a bit too long and I’m going to have to take it in to be hemmed – luckily Geth has already booked an alterations appointment as he needs his suit taken in, so we’ll get that done together.
Second SP day went well – I made an awesome salad, which Geth says he wants to eat more often. Recipe coming soon!
OOTD: another sundress day. Dress Matalan (2001), shoes Zara (2018).
I spent today getting on with my wardrobe cull. I got rid of a lot of dresses, underwear, scarves and hats, and a lot more shoes – I’ve now got the previous total down to 59 pairs. That’s a pretty big drop, and it means my new shoe shelves will look really neat and uncluttered.
Well, at least until I replace all the thrown-out pairs with new ones!
No, I’m kidding. Like with everything else in the house, I’ll be instituting a one-in one-out rule once my shelves are full, in order to avoid things getting back into the chaotic hoarding state that has made this house move so stressful. Neither Geth nor I have ever been in the habit of throwing things away, but that has to change from now on, for my own sanity.
I’m quite looking forward to seeing what it’s like to live without mounds of stuff everywhere!
Another weekend, another vintage fair! Today I went to the Biscuit Factory, Newcastle, for the fair put on by Britain Does Vintage, and added a few more pieces to my collection…
Today’s additions to The Shiny.
From left to right, the black material is a wool-blend bolero jacket, the silver floral material is a dress, and the shiny matching things are clip-on earrings. Very pleased with today’s haul!
