victorian – Killer Kitsch Designs

Why do I love vintage clothing, purses, jewelry, and movies so much? I think I have always been in love with everything vintage. When I was a little girl, I would beg my mother to dress me up as a flapper. My earlier teen years I was obsessed with dressing in a 1950s style and later teens and early twenties, I was a blend of goth, Edwardian and the 1920s. These days it is a mix from the 1920s to the 1950s. I don’t recall a time when I wasn’t dressing or in love with vintage.

Over the years I have been influenced by many and lately, it has been Miss Lemon, Miss Fisher, Clara Bow and every single movie from the 1930s I’ve been watching. I adore the 1930s and every single year of that decade.

When I was a teenager and growing up in a small town, it was hard to find vintage clothing, so I made my own and I even learned to sew on a Treadle sewing machine. Between that and learning to knit, I didn’t have to rely on stores or mail order catalogues. My mother even relented at one point and gave me her purses from the sixties. Purses I sadly don’t have any longer as I wore them out. Having those skills today is also a benefit. As a curvy girl, it is harder to find sizes in a lot of vintage clothing. I tend to lean towards vintage reproduction or making my own using and resizing vintage patterns. At the moment I have a growing pile of fabric that needs my attention. I have patterns from the 1930s to the 1950s ready to be drafted and my knitting WIP includes sweaters from the 1930s and 1940s. I recently also started making my own hat pins.

1940s-shoes I am always on the hunt for vintage clothing and antique stores, diners, events, and music. I often envy places like England, where there is a wealth of vintage everything and wish that Toronto had more vintage events. As our own vintage community grows, I hope events and flea markets do as well. I have decided to start a list of what we currently have in Toronto and by no means is this list complete. These are places I’ve been to, shopped at, eaten at, events I’ve attended or generally know about. I also have had input from friends as well. If you see something that needs to be added, please let me know. I would love to keep this list up to date. 🙂

Neighbourhoods great for vintage and antique stores
Roncesvalles Avenue
The Junction
Parkdale (Queen Street — Roncesvalles to Dufferin)
Liberty Village
The Annex (Spadina to Christie)
Bloordale (Dufferin to Landsdowne)
Bloorcourt (Christie to Dufferin)
Ossington Avenue (College to Queen)
Kensington Market
Leslieville

Stores — Vintage and Antique
Dufferin/Dupont area
Vintage Studio 342 — 342 Westmoreland Avenue

Roncesvalles
Mrs. Huizenga — 28 Roncesvalles Avenue

Queen Street
Kind Exchange – 611 Queen Street West
Pearls and Pockets — 672 Queen Street West
House of Vintage — 1239 Queen Street West
Three Fates — 1394 Queen Street West
In Vintage We Trust — 1580 Queen Street West
Frou Frou Vintage — 1616 Queen Street West

Dundas West
Penny Arcade 1177 Dundas Avenue West
Door Number 2 — 2792 Dundas West
Smash Vintage — 2880 Dundas West

College Street and area
Print Vintage — 834A College Street
Arts Market – Dufferin Grove, 846 College Street
I Miss You Vintage — 63 Ossington Avenue

Kensington Market
Breathless Vintage — 9 Kensington Avenue
Courage my Love – 14 Kensington Avenue
Space Vintage — 34 Kensington Avenue
Exile Vintage — 60 Kensington Avenue
Vintage Depot — 70 Kensington Avenue
Winsome Vintage — 146 Augusta and 4 Kensington Avenue
Bungalow Vintage – Kensington Market, 273 Augusta Avenue

Bloor Street and The Annex
Monarch Vintage —897 Bloor Street West
Siberia Vintage — 955 Bloor Street West
Ransack the Universe — 1207 Bloor Street West
Puddin’ and Pie Vintage — 1248A Bloor Street West
Jellyfish Emporium — 1586 Dupont Street
Gadabout Vintage — 1300 Queen Street East
Rewind — 577 Mount Pleasant Avenue

Blackbird Vintage Finds — 11 Trinity Street
Gypsy Found Objects — 762 St Clair Avenue West

Thrifter Sisters, Aurora — https://www.facebook.com/thriftersisterscanada/

Stores — Vintage Reproduction
Black Daffodil — 3097 Dundas Street West
Doll Factory by Damzels — 394 Roncesvalles Avenue
Rosie the Rebel — 604 Queen Street West

Vintage Markets, Flea Markets, Fairs — Toronto
Arts Market at 846 College St — https://www.vintageb.com/
Geary Avenue Flea —www.gearyaveflea
St. Lawrence Market Antique Market —http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/pages/about_the_market_gallery_and_antique_market
Vintage Clothing Show and Sale (Exhibition Place) — http://www.torontovintageclothingshow.ca/
Wychwood Vintage Clothing Show and Sale — https://www.facebook.com/VintageShowTO/
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Vintage Markets, Flea Markets, Fairs — Close to Toronto
Freelton — http://freeltonantiquemall.com/
Pickering Flea — http://www.pickeringmarkets.com/

Vintage Collections/Collectors (online or at shows)
Union Label Vintage — @unionlabelvintage (instagram)

Events — Regular
Lindy Hop — http://www.torontolindyhop.com/
New Orleans Connection Allstars at Grossman’s Tavern (Every Sunday)
Spadina Museum — https://www.facebook.com/spadinamuseum/
Toronto Burlesque Festival — http://torontoburlesquefestival.com/
Toronto Silent Film Festival – http://www.torontosilentfilmfestival.com/
Toronto Vintage Crawl — http://www.vintagecrawltoronto.com/
Vintage Prom — https://www.facebook.com/VintagePromToronto/

Bars and Restaurants

Restaurants
Apache Burger — 5236 Dundas Street West
Aunties & Uncles — 74 Lippincott Street
Bloor Jane Restaurant — 2434 Bloor Street West
Bus Terminal Diner — 1606 Danforth Avenue
Cardinal Rule — 5 Roncesvalles Avenue
MARS FOOD — 432 College Street
Skyline Restaurant — 1426 Queen Street West
The Ace — 231A Roncesvalles Avenue
The Lakeview Restaurant — 1132 Dundas Street West
The Senator Restaurant — 249 Victoria Street

Vintage Toronto Diners — https://www.facebook.com/Vintage-Toronto-Diners-1384779678460763/?fref=ts

tiki Tikibars
Bill Hicks Bar – 946 Queen Street East
Bovine Sex Club – 542 Queen Street West
Miss Thing – 1279 Queen Street West
Shameful Tiki Room — 1378 Queen Street West
The Shore Leave -1175 Danforth Avenue

Bars
Cadillac Lounge – 1296 Queen Street West
Cherry Cola’s Rock n’ Rolla Cabaret Lounge — 200 Bathurst Street
Disgraceland (Bar and Grill) – Dovercourt, 965 Bloor Street West
Gun, Rod and Barbers — 2877 Dundas Street West
Reservoir Lounge (Jazz + Swing) – 52 Wellington Street East
Swan Dive — 1631 Dundas Street West
The Black Dice — 1574 Dundas Street West
The Hole in the Wall — 2867 Dundas Street West
The Local — 396 Roncesvalles Avenue
The Rex Hotel (Jazz + Swing) – 194 Queen Street West

Websites and Blogs
Cabaret Vintage — www.CabaretVintage.com
Chronically Vintage — http://www.chronicallyvintage.com/
Fashion in Motion — http://fashioninmotion.wordpress.com/
Leslieville Flea Blog – Mod Mad — http://leslievilleflea.com/mod-mad-party-madcap-recap/
Petite Plus, Meow! Blog — http://petiteplusmeow.wordpress.com/
Suzanne Carillow — www.suzannecarillo.com
Swing Toronto — http://swingtoronto.com/
The Vintage Inn — http://www.vintageinn.ca/toronto-vintage-society-events/
Toronto Vintage Society — http://www.torontovintagesociety.ca/
Yesterday’s Prints — http://yesterdays-print.com/search/canada

Instagram Accounts To Follow
@bellafloravintage
@Retrouverbiz
@victoryvintagegirl
@Wildthingvintage

Musicians (not a complete list, some of my favourites — this list will grow)
Alistair Christl — http://www.alistairchristl.ca/
Christian D — https://christiand.ca/
Ginger St. James —http://www.gingerstjames.com/
Luau of Die — http://www.luauordie.com/
New Orleans Connection Allstars — http://torontojazz.com/artist/new-orleans-connection-all-stars
The Royal Crowns — http://www.theroyalcrowns.ca/

Artists (not a complete list, some of my favourites — this list will grow)
CheapTrills Co. — https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/CheapThrillsCompany
Vintage Love (light switches) —http://www.vintagelove.ca/

Events near Toronto
Elvis Festival — Collingwood — https://collingwoodelvisfestival.com/
Vintage Car Show — Wasaga — https://www.wasagabeachcruisers.org/
Vintage Film Festival — Port Hope — https://www.vintagefilmfestival.ca/

You can flirt with a fan in your hand. You can flirt holding a cigarette, too. But a woman can really flirt with a hat. (Dolores Foster)
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I love hats. I especially love vintage hats. You would never know this by looking at my vintage accessory collection. Scarves, gloves, purses and jewelry oh my — and a sparse few hats and no vintage shoes. In the case of shoes, most are made with leather and I won’t buy items made with leather or any other animal part/product. Recently, I have found a couple companies that don’t use leather and I’m sure that my closet will be filled with many pairs of vintage inspired shoes soon. But hats you ask, why so few. Why? Oh, Why? Oh, my.

A couple years ago, my fella bought me a stunning winter hat and though not vintage, it was fashioned after a 1930s brimmed hat. I had only worn it a few times, sadly, winters are blustery here and I could never keep the hat on my head. In the summer it is also an issue with my big floppy, Miss Fisheresque straw hats. Then, my good friend gave me two stunning 1950s, black velvet hats. The kind you wear to the side of your head. I had a small and growing collection, which I found surprising considering I rarely look at hats when thrifting or at vintages shows. Why? Along with the beautiful hat, my fella bought me, I could never get them to stay put.

The solution is very simple. Very simple indeed. Keep your hat in place with either a hatpin, hat elastic, a comb or bobby pins. (If you want to watch a tutorial on how to use all of these, check out Evelyn Woods tutorial) I tried sewing combs into my hats, but that didn’t feel right for me. I have tried bobby pins for the straw hats but found them too short and the hat elastics bug me and are uncomfortable. This, of course, leaves hatpins.

I love hatpins and have alway found them to be the most beautiful pieces of art one can wear. I may also be a little bit in love with the fact that they can be used as a weapon. Did you know that in 1908, laws were passed in America that limited the length of hatpins? There was a concern they might be used by suffragettes as weapons. In 1910 laws were also passed, requiring hatpin tips to be covered to prevent injuring people accidentally.

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I have been on the search for hatpins for a while now and I will be completely honest, still, couldn’t find ones that I liked or in many cases, could afford. If you have a vintage hat, you want a vintage hat pin. I have completely abandoned my search. I still want to find vintage hatpins, I also want to keep my hat on my head and because of this, decided, why not make your own vintage inspired hatpins. So I am or rather have.

Living in an urban centre I have lots of access to jewelry making supplies such as beads, sequins, a variety of stones, wires, clasps, earring posts, pendant frames, glue… everything except for the shaft needed to make a hatpin. I searched many brick and mortar, eventually giving up and looking on line. I found a few online stores that have the hatpin shaft, but nothing that was within Canada. It was back to pavement pounding for me. Eventually, I found some, however, the store only had a few left and likely won’t be ordering any more. They aren’t a popular item. If this has been 1917 instead of 2017 then I’m sure there would have been an over abundance of them. I’m considering selling them in my Etsy store, stay tuned for that.

I had a lot of fun making the hatpins. Some will be given as gifts and the others are for me. I am already dreaming up many designs for the hatpins and am going to take inspiration from other vintage hatpins as I design my own. The more I am reading about them, the more excited I am getting about making other Victorian inspired jewelry.

Category: victorian

Living Vintage in Toronto

Hatpins: The Ultimate Vintage Accessory