Spring In, Strut Out
A Summer’s night in Summerhill
Photos courtesy of The Hauteur Hatter, Green Beauty Salon and Narces
TORONTO - On Wednesday June 18th, a Summerhill crowd amassed at Green Beauty Salon for a night of leisure in fashion and beauty hosted by the lovely Suzanne Tallevi and Naomi Anderson Wong. Vendors aligned the walls of this quaint and well lit space to showcase their colourful range of goods, an array of which was plenty for everyone’s palate.
Tashi Apparel, a newbie to the retail landscape, came to be after owner Khin made the executive life decision to leave her job at Canada Goose and forge something uniquely her own. She schlepped from her Yonge & Lawrence store a collection of apparel - one part her own designs, one part fashion purchases mostly from the fashion centrals across the pond - and of course accessories to compliment any look.
Photo by Lynda Castonguay
Take two steps to the right and the ladies from Flair Trade Consignments, another Yonge & Lawrence staple, coloured a table top and racks with a little bit of this and a little bit of that - the this and that being brand name and designer duds at a fraction of the price. Anyone that knows me well enough knows that consignment is my preferred method of shopping. Dare I say I’m in heaven?
Photo by Lynda Castonguay
Mozi on down and jewelry line Trinkets by Taz awaited your perusal and so were Twiga’s personalized leggings. Chuck Beatty, designer of these dance studio staples, was once a Lululemon employee. Leaving those design and manufacturing secrets behind, he nestled comfortably in his own niche because as he put it “you can buy plain black leggings just about anywhere”.
Narces is a staple to Toronto Fashion Week and I interviewed the designer after her Fall Winter Collection this past March, so my enthusiasm over her being at this event was kind of at a fever pitch. While the designer herself was not available for the evening, being able to ogle her designs up close was a pretty fair trade and the other women would agree. Their many trips to the change room to slip into something Narces was a sure indicator of her popularity over and above my own fondness of her.
Photo by Lynda Castonguay
In an effort to find something to feed her soul, Lori Lavers turned away from her corporate job and returned to her first love - hats. When on a mission, study the best and so she did. Under David Dunkley’s guiding knowledge, this country’s finest millinery as asserted by Lori, she studied the trade, and so, The Hauteur Hatter was born - a line of exquisite hats and head pieces some akin to the fascinators we see on those polished Royals, and others more whimsical for the dreamer in all of us.
Photo by Lynda Castonguay
Photo by Lynda Castonguay
In between my sips of wine - which was exquisitely delivered by one half of The Wine Sisters - my many trips to the bowl of deep fried pita chips, and my minute long poses in front of the air conditioner, I was able to truly acquaint myself with the vendors. Their commonality was not that they were all part of this event. It was their calling to be creative and how they each listened to that inner voice. Garments, clutches, cupcakes, wine and swag bag aside, figuring this out and witnessing their enthusiasm was the highlight of my evening.
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Lynda, thanks so much for mentioning us!
ReplyDeleteYou're always welcome to browse Flair Trade for unusual consignment treasures whenever you're around Yonge & Lawrence. :)
Thank you! :)
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