New Store: Sylvie and Shimmy

In need of one of a kind fashion, shoes, or accessories? Enjoy supporting small and local businesses? Look no further than Sylvie and Shimmy in Toronto's equally as unique and antique hunter friendly Parkdale Village. Styleground was lucky enough to attend the grand opening on June 1st 2013 and boy were we blown away.

Their website states that they attempt to create "...an atmosphere of ones dream closet... transcend a comfortable and cozy shop where patrons will hang out and provide an interactive environment", and boy do they hit the nail right on the head. Their decor is mainly a collection of thrifted gold and genuine antiques from Caroline Sylvester (Sylvie)'s very own grandmother.
From the moment you walk in, you're enveloped in floral, lace, and you'll exclaim "cute!!" more than you ever have before, I guarantee it!

The items they carry are a combination of handpicked items from local designers, and shipments from Korea. The prices are all very affordable and absolutely worth supporting young creative talent. One of the great things about this store is that they also turn you onto other local businesses' (who's products they carry), such as the trendy MoonRox for jewelry, and the adorable graphic tees from Crywolf. Both very unique, both home grown, and both just a taste of what Sylvie and Shimmy have to offer.

And have we mentioned how ridiculously cute the tags are??

We've visited Sylvie & Shimmy on numerous occasions and will show our purchases on a separate post. Stay tuned! :)

Sylvie and Shimmy

1640 Queen St W

Toronto, Ontario

(647) 348-3332

xx
Raghda & Mila
Styleground

Topshop Hits Canada!!

Today at 11am, Canada's first Topshop and Topman opened its doors in Toronto's Yorkdale Mall!!!! Ahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey guys, it's Raghda and I'm beyond excited, so please excuse the plethora of exclamation marks! :P I have been a fan of Topshop for many years, and the moment the online store began to ship in Canada, I had a small panic attack of glee. When I vacationed in Abu Dhabi last winter, I was completely euphoric once the big block letters of the store were in sight. The sales people had NO IDEA how lucky they were to work there!

A few months ago a huge chain retail store in Toronto began to carry a small collection from Topshop and a friend and I would visit it often. Now, the moment has come. Talk of it opening its own store has been in the air for quite a while, and today was the day. Well lemme just quickly go back to last week when a friend and I were stopped by a woman who asked if we knew what Topshop was.

 Me: YES O_O

And she told us about the grand opening on Oct 5th, 10am and gave us Topshop mags. The first 10 people to arrive in the lineup got $200 gift certificates for the store, and unfortunately we weren't as early as we'd hoped so we weren't as lucky. ):

I believe it was supposed to start at 10am, but there were a few delays and Sarah Taylor (TV personality/former MuchMusic VJ, in pic above) let us know that it would all start soon and that UK band Friendly Fires would play later in the day. When it was finally time to open, owner Phillip Green and supermodel Coco Rocha cut the ribbon and in we went! 

I was surprised by the amount and variety Topshop made available to us. Everything from outerwear, accessories, makeup, lingerie and a wall of shoes that could rival Aldo's newest collection! Naturally, as my newest obsession is faux fur, I was drawn to the fur collars. The ones I've been eyeing at H&M would just lay over your shoulder unless you clasped it with something like a brooch, whereas one side of the Topshop collar had an extra bit of fur that you could loop the other side through. 

Well at this point, one of the members of the camera crew (they were around earlier interviewing people in the lineup) was behind me as I was trying on the collar in front of a mirror. I didn't acknowledge it because my mind was on the collar and talking to my friend about it, until I turn and notice the rest of the crew filming me on my right! lol I had the shock of my life and couldn't help but laugh and awkwardly put the collar back, until a gentleman asked if they could film me putting on the collar. Why not!? So they wanted it to look like I was looking in the mirror (looking right into the camera) as I put it on, and I walk away at the end. I'm not quite sure what it was for, but as soon as I find it I'll link it here. :)

Anyways, the place is connected to the department store The Bay, and downstairs is Topman while upstairs is Topshop. The men's section was pretty straightforward, and nearly empty of customers compared to Topshop.

Once we had our fill, my friend and I went to Starbucks (the salted caramel mocha's are insanely good!) and I updated my fb status as "Coco Rocha is here at Topshop". I then had an eerie feeling and quickly closed the page when I felt someone over my shoulder. A few moments later the gentleman sitting next to me mentioned taking Coco to the airport. Okay, okay, be cool. stay calm. I didn't want to be really obvious and look over, but I knew Coco was sitting on his right. It's an understatement to say that I love Coco, because I LOVE Coco. I'll never know if she saw me updating my facebook, but the fact that its a possibility makes me giggle.

Ah so that was my day. Sitting next to Coco at Starbucks almost made it okay that I wasn't amongst the first 10 to win a gift certificate, but the fact that a beautiful Topshop is finally here in Canada makes us all winners in the end.

xoxoxox

-Raghda

The Clothing Show

Hey, it's Raghda! So starting today and continuing throughout the weekend in Toronto is The Clothing Show! As the website states, "Celebrating its 34th year, The Clothing Show has been a draw for local Toronto shoppers for generations. For those in search of independent, original and unusual designs, it has become a seasonal resource. Runway fashion shows add to the mix.". It's a great event that fills your day with vintage shopping, one of a kind finds, and fashion shows, all while supporting independent designers and your local industry.

Personally, my favourite way to approach any fashion event for the first time is to volunteer for it. This way when you actually attend it, you'll know all the ins-and-outs. So a few years ago I had my first encounter with The Clothing Show. I was a general volunteer that ended up doing everything from ticket handling to working at the fashion show in one weekend. When the event came around again, I promptly volunteered for specifically the fashion show. Working in a fashion show is a rush that I cannot even begin to describe. Maybe it's feeding into the part of me that loved stage crew in high school, or maybe just the part that enjoys the fact that the show cannot go smoothly without your 100%. Anyways, ego aside, let me tell you about the event this past spring when I attended solely as a consumer.

Once you pay your $10 (unless you're a smart cookie that paid the $8 online), you're greeted with a tote usually filled with information and samples (though they ran out when we arrived), your hand is stamped, and you're off! It's still great for "window" shopping if you're not set on spending money, and when you're ready to rest your feet, you can grab a seat for the multiple fashion shows scheduled throughout the day. That day in particular there was a vendor selling vintage hats and accessories that I kept returning to. Some of the hats were a bit extravagant, in the style of big old church hats, sun hats and pillbox hats with attached veils, but the luggage really caught my eye. One case in particular, actually. It was powder blue with golden yellow stitching and key locks on either side of the latches. The inside was a beautiful powder pink with a mirror on the inside lid and quilted stitching pattern in the bottom with pouches on the side. It was only around $20, it wasn't even a question, it was mine. I'd like to believe that it belonged to a fashion savvy woman in the 60's who flew Pan Am frequently (the great thing about vintage pieces is that you can dream up story lines of previous owners). But I digress..Once I purchased the case, I continued "window" shopping, only to be stopped by another vendor who stated that she and her friend bought cases from the same woman to store their makeup. It was obviously a popular item at such a great deal and the vendor was almost sold out within the day! This is the sort of reason you go to The Clothing Show. Currently that case sits on my bookcase holds my illustration supplies, it's easily the cutest thing in my room.

On previous trips to the clothing show, I've purchased a pair of striped high waisted Cheap Monday skinny jeans, a bunch of vintage stuff (I will write a post on vintage items soon!), even a great headband for my high school prom oh so many years ago. :P


So get out there and find something adorable to tide you over until the next show! For more information, check out the site http://www.theclothingshow.com/


<333
-Raghda


Tip: If you arrive on the last day, sometimes vendors will give you amazing deals because they dont want to haul a ton of merchandise back. ;)