what i wore: leaves know they're ending, celebrate their end

ah, the fall! so beautiful, and quickly coming to an end. i must post these pictures before the snow starts to fall! i don't know about where you guys are, but almost all of our leaves have fallen now here in beautiful québec city. early october is always peak season in ontario and quebec, and i had the chance to enjoy the beautiful colours when visiting my family for thanksgiving/indigenous day of resistance weekend at the beginning of the month.






this is my younger sister's wonderful dog, aspen. she is potentially my favourite four-legged creature on the entire planet, not gonna lie. look at my big goofy smile! how can you not love this dog?


and how can you not love the beautiful fall leaves?




if you're interested in that kind of thing...
dress: 1950s cotton day dress, vintage clothing fair in ottawa circa 2007 i believe?
crinoline underskirt: thrifted
necklace: key from the ste. foy flea market, 2$, chain thrifted ages ago
belt: from le vestiaire, free
oxblood heels: gift from my mother, naturalizer
goofy smile: thanks to my awesome sisters and an adorable puppy.

so with that out of the way, we can talk about more interesting things.

the folk festival de québec is in full swing as of tuesday and i am filled with musical love and lust. anne-marie, simon and i went to see ferriswheel and timber timbre, which was so lovely. timber timbre's music is always so perfect around this time of year, and it's always a treat to hear it live. there are so many shows i'd love to have time to check out, but my time and my pocketbook unfortunately will not permit such things. i do think i'll have to go see lisa bozikovic, though.

this beautiful song, no denial, is about the death of her mother, and features some of the most beautiful lyrics.

brilliant gold, crimson red/ the leaves know they're ending/and celebrate their end

i don't think i've ever heard a more beautiful metaphor for death.

hiatus: on the road

as you may have noticed, i have been away from the internet for the past little while and will have sporadic access for another week or two. i miss you guys, but it's been a good break. the more time i spend away from the internet, the more i think about what i love about social media and, let's be honest, what i hate about it. remembering what is so great about dis/re/connecting...

but to be brief: i've been having some really amazing experiences here in mexico and i can't wait to write about them and share them with family and friends. i've been listening to (and trying to understand) a lot of spanish, learning how to use an SLR, taking many rolls of film, and traveling all over the place with strangers, lovers, and best friends. writing, thinking, singing, and laughing. i lost my moleskin in estacion de catorze, sadly, but i'm telling myself it is probably the world's way of telling me i may need a fresh start. july has been all about renewal.

to tide you over until i provide you with some more cultural criticism and fashion discussions, here is a mix i made for our nine day road trip through distrio federal, san luis potosi, queretaro, and veracruz. it starts off dancy and ends mellow and slow, with a lot of simon's favourites scattered throughout (i thought i should cater to his tastes seeing as he did all of the driving over the course of nine days). enjoy!

1. a sweet summer's night on hammer hill - jens lekman
2. down in mexico - the coasters
3. swimming - martha & the muffins
4. on vacation - the robot ate me
5. odessa - caribou
6. 16th & valencia, roxy music - devendra banhart
7. timebomb - beck
8. IRM - charlotte gainsbourg
9. desert eagle - ratatat
10. texico bitches - broken social scene
11. you're the one - the black keys
12. drivin' on 9 - the black keys
13. summer light - the cave singers
14. you're dead - richard laviolette
15. game shows - plants and animals
16. wet road - scout niblett
17. jesus loves me - cocorosie
18. chocolate jesus - tom waits

download here

as always, if you like the songs, support the artists by buying their cds
at your local record store and going to their shows!

a short film inspired by literature, set to music

The Women from jamieson on Vimeo.

a friend of mine shared this with me and i am simply blown away. it is incredibly beautiful and i thought my readers might enjoy it as well.

aside from the staggering beauty of this short film, i'm very intrigued by the marriage of mediums going on here. think about it: a filmmaker makes a short film to promote a book, and uses a song as the soundtrack. if it works well, you want to know more about all three at the end of the three minutes and thirteen seconds.

after watching this (three times now) i want to read the book, listen to the album, and see what other work the filmmaker has done. i wouldn't be surprised to see more people doing these sorts of things, a very creative promoting machine.

dead man's bones

still trying to finish up my "best of" the year/decade lists, and stumbled upon this video i hadn't watched since the spring. love it even more now than i did the first time i watched it.

also: style motto for 2010? more drag, more often.

the new cackle sisters

the new cackle sisters are a great musical/theatrical performance group based in québec city who revist the music made famous by the cackle sisters in the 1930s. they are really amazing and incorporate all different kinds of creative musical and theatrical tricks. like nothing i've ever seen! it combines so many of my loves, using old radios, clocks, speakers, gramophones, bicycles, and good old fashioned creativity to put on one of the best shows i've ever seen. and lucky for me, they play relatively often in québec city! this past thursday, they put on a lovely show at le cercle and i took a few videos and pictures to show you.






this was probably my favourite number of the night! should have recorded it as well.






the whole gang in action, and here we see the wonderful combination of new and old technologies to make a really fucking good show!



there are a few more videos posted on my youtube channel if you would like to hear more.


what i wore to go see them
dress: jacob dress i bought for my sister two years ago but she never wears it so i borrowed it, you know how that goes with siblings
tweed "jules" jacket: one of my all-time best thrifts! 6 years and going strong. can't remember where i bought it or how much i paid, though.
wool thigh high socks: i see france, 15$
brogue heels: naturalizer, birthday present 2008
jewelry: antique key, from a flea market, worn as a necklace and little fleur de lys earrings, thrifted. and to top it off i wore my fancy schmancy feather hat that i didn't get a good picture of.


outfit + trusty trenchcoat, feather hat, scarf and purse to enjoy the cold walk there.


also, a super creepy photo i took of a girl whose style i really, really enjoyed. in fact, i tried that dress on at the (only) vintage store in québec city but it did not fit, nor do i currently have the funds, or the need, for another dress. anyway, she paired it with great 80s patterned tights, an alice dellal style haircut and i wish i had gotten a better picture... or perhaps even less creepier had asked her for a photo. anyway, i really love the idea of pairing classy vintage dresses with things with a more punk edge and i think her outfit is a great example of it done justice!

but back to the music! here is a photo of the original cackle sisters:



here is a great radio broadcast about the cackle sisters (also known as the dezurik sisters) and of course you can read about them on wikipedia if you want to know more.