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.

what i wore today: homage to teddy girls

consider this an homage to a jacket, to a season, and to a stylish group of badass ladies known as the teddy girls.

after a week of intense heat at the very end of august (very unusual and quite historic for québec city) we have finally been blessed with a cool autumn breeze in the air. as much as i love summer, i must say sartorially fall has always been my favourite. it's so much fun to play with colours, layers, textures... ah, tweed, plaid, how i missed thee.

today was one of those lovely early fall days, and so i dug deep in my closet to fully enjoy the autumn air while i ran some errands. here's what i came up with.

.the outfit.

(i feel like i look a wee bit... stoned in this photo)


it's moments like these where i love volunteering in a thrift store; that saddle bag and pair of high waisted pants are my rewards.

.the jacket.

the shoulders! they are just the perfect cut for me.


and even the namesake is perfection; jules was a nickname of mine when i was younger.

this is potentially one of the best items in my closet; it can make a dress more casual, a short and pants outfit fancier, and fits me perfectly. i used to think the sleeves were too short but now i understand. when i found it years ago, i really did not appreciate the treasure i had found. i think i paid $2 for it in a thrift store in trenton, or was it peterborough? by any means, it didn't really suit my style back in 2004, but now that i am a bit older and a little less afraid of looking "serious", every fall i look forward to pulling it out and pairing it with new things. the combinations are really endless. here are two ways i wore it back in the fall of 2008.

.the inspiration.

teddy girls:


Teddy Girl, 1955. by Ken Russell






all photos by filmmaker and photographer Ken Russell

how can you see these photos and NOT want to look exactly like them? they have so much attitude, yet at the same time so much joy. i especially love how in the first and last photos, the boys are almost jealous of all the attention the teddy girls are getting, as if they wish they could be in their "club." sorry boys.

here is part of the essay that accompanied the publication of these images in picture post magazine:

These photos were taken in January 1955 in Walthamstow, Poplar and North Kensington: solidly working class areas of London. The girls photographed embody three of the great issues of the time; class, gender and youth. They are rejecting the drab costumes of class conformity and post-war austerity. They are pioneers for women looking beyond home for a place to be valued. They are young girls blazing a trail that will be followed by youth cultures for decades to come. But somehow Teddy Girls as a group remain historically almost invisible.

how great is that! pretty amazing if you ask me. i wish i could have known some of those teddy girls... hell, maybe some one you brits might have had a relative who was a teddy girl! ask around.

clearly i am not the only person to have ever been inspired by the style of these ferocious femmes. back in 2006, bust magazine had a teddy girls themed photoshoot that i enjoyed so much i scanned to share with friends. here are two:

now if only i could get someone to do my hair, the look would be complete.