Toronto Vintage Society Archives

Well it’s officially..summer is over here in North America and I just heard on the radio that I’m in for a cold cold winter. Wonderful. So before this hits I wanted to look back and remember all the fun times I had before I’m crying in my bed to make the cold and snow disappear (I’m becoming a wimpy Canadian).

My summer started off with my big trip to Glasgow, Scotland, UK to visit my husband’s family and then London,UK to visit friends and do some site-seeing (I have never been). It was a fantastic trip and I’m eager to go back and see all the things I missed (In both cities).

Glasgow & Loch Lomond (area)

Vintage Inn Travels to Scotland — Highlights of Scotland

London

Hats and Horseshoes at Woodbine Racetrack for the Queens Plate.

Hats and Horseshoes at Woodbine Racetrack 2015 — Some of the Ladies of the Toronto Vintage Society in our Best Hats.

Me and the Parents! Don’t they clean up nice? My mom is wearing Stop Staring and my Dad is wearing a vintage jacket he purchased at VIVA.

I attended a full weekend of German Heritage fun at Germanfest in Milwaukee where I was in my glory. Beers, German Bands and Beers 🙂

Toronto Vintage Society held our annual Pinup Picnic in the Park.

(Note: I was kind of obsessed with my new Vivien of Holloway dress and you will see it again in this post..sorry! lol)

I spent a weekend with a bunch of Swing Dancers in cabins up north called ‘Lindystock’ run by Toronto Lindy Hop (that I do the Social Media for). I had so much fun! We swam, we played games, we did a bit of drinking, had campfires and just hung out. I wore no makeup all weekend, did not do my hair and I was super happy.

Toronto was lucky this year to play host to the Pan Am Games and Parapan Am Games. My husband and I saw Squash at the Pan Am and took my nephew to see Wheelchair Basketball at the Parapan am. Coolest experience ever!

Toronto Vintage Society along with the Gladstone Hotel held a “Vintage Night Market”.

Toronto Vintage society at the Gladstone — Some of the TVS Ladies with our wears we were selling

Even though we could not attend the Rosie the Riveter Guinness Book of World Records Event in California, we held our own mini version right here in Toronto.

For the first time ever I finally got to visit the East Coast of Canada-Nova Scotia to be exact. It was a short trip for a wedding (and I will be back) but it was so much fun!

Peggy Cove Nova Scotia and around — Some of the highlights of my visit.

Lastly the summer ended with the Toronto Vintage Society Annual Tiki Party. I played host again at the event of the summer and it was simply..awesome. Such good memories.

Tiki Lani Lanai Toronto Vintage society party — Some highlights of the night.

And here is a mishmash of all the other events I attended.

Toronto Vintage society summer highlights — Blue Jays Game, Hotel Event, Wedding Photo Booth

Did you have a good summer?

Happy Fall!

Liz 🙂

Recently I received a comment on my blog from Jessica from Chronically Vintage and she brought up the statement about the movie “League of their Own” being a big vintage influence in her life. Then when I returned her response, I had to think for a moment who MY vintage influences were that helped shape the vintage gal I am today.

Well I have given it some thought and now I would like to share them with you and then maybe you can share yours with me?

Further Reading: Check my ‘ABOUT ME‘ page.

1940s vintage image of two women with 1940s Hairstyles and 1940s Jewelry talking.

I was a late bloomer when it came to my transformation into the clothing side of the vintage world. It was not really until that I moved to Toronto for Fashion school in 1999 that I started to stumble upon vintage items that were hard to come by in my home town (thank you Kensington market!) which then helped start my vintage clothing obsession.

BUT I was exposed to many vintage “things” growing up before this time. Here are some of the things that influenced me in my early days:

My Grandfathers Big Band Collection of Music– I remember spending what felt like hours sifting thru his collections and asking to borrow one or 2 CD’s to take home and listen too each visit. He is the reason I fell so deeply in love with the early sounds of the Big Bands.

Glenn Miller Record — Source: Flickeriver

Sunday Afternoons watching MGM Musicals with my mom-It was a tradition for my mom and I too sit down and watch one of those amazing Technicolor fantasies together. I loved escaping from the world around me for 2 hours as I was serenaded by Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced across my screen in one stunning outfit after another.

meet me in st louis Trolly Song — Meet Me in St. Louis with Judy Garland

Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain" — Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly in “Singin’ in the Rain”

Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea– I adore all of Lucy Maud Montgomery books and so when they were turned into a TV mini series (Anne) and a TV series (Road) I was even more hooked. Hooked on the stunning outfits from the early 20th century (1903–1912) to be even more exact.

Anne of Green Gables TV Show Anne from 1980s — Anne of Green Gables

I feel so in love with the show Road to Avonlea that I wanted to create my own clothing for the characters, so sketching of my own designs became my new hobby. And eventually was the reason I entered Fashion marketing school in Toronto (and forever changing my life).

Road to Avonlea Clothing — Costume from Road To Avonlea-Sullivan Entertainment

Swing Kids the movie-I must have watched this movie 10 million times and vowed to one day learn how to dance like that.

Enter the..Swing Revival in the 90s which lead to my ongoing love of Lindy Hop.

Johnny Favorite Swing Orchestra-First Neo Swing Band I ever saw that visited Sarnia

The famous Gap commercial from 1998 that helped bring swing music back into mainstream: a real swing revival in the US.

Here are my more recent influences:

Vintage bloggers (thank you internet)-My first vintage blogger I ever found was Retro Chick and she ended up sending me down a rabbit hole of awesomeness that I have never been able to get back out of (or want to).

Toronto Vintage Society-Being part of this group and their awesome knowledge of all things vintage has really pushed my passion to the next level. Thanks everyone!

Flickr and Pinterest-These 2 sites are every vintage lovers dream. The image below I found on Pinterest but was originally seen on Flickr. Seeing real-life images of ladies in gents from your favorite era is a great way to perfect your vintage look.

1930's vintage wedding photo featuring a bride in an elegant long train 1930s wedding gown with veil. — Source: Flickr-PROprofkaren

Etsy &, eBay-What I don’t have to leave the comforts of my home to pour over tons of vintage dresses and accessories in a store but can instead buy them online? Yes Please! And boy have I ever used these sites (Etsy more than Ebay) to push my style to the next level.

1950s vintage dress with plaid top and black skirt. — Source: Etsy-TheVintageMistress

1940s vintage dresses lot — Source: eBay

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Vintage Events–VIVA Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend, All the vintage events being held in Toronto, Lindy Hop weekends and so many others. You can’t help but be inspired after leaving these events.

Toronto Vintage Events past — Source: Toronto Vintage Society

Mad Men-I don’t think I have to say much about this show as this show is pretty much everyone’s modern vintage inspiration. Hello..Joan!

2019 Update: Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is my new TV Show Fashion Inspiration. Those clothes…drool.

Okay I have so many more but I think I will stop here for now. It’s your turn… What are YOUR Vintage Influences?

Liz 🙂

Tag: Toronto Vintage Society

Bye Bye Summer-Highlights Of My Summer Adventures

What Are Your Vintage Influences?