Most of us who actually went to our high school proms remember it as a mess of broken hearts and failed expectations. Luckily, Secondhand Prom, WORN’s issue 16 launch party, was a lot more fun. On June 8th, Toronto Wornettes came out in their pouffiest dresses and handmade corsages to drink spiked punch, dance to Cyndi Lauper and, of course, pose for our photo booth. There are more photos on our Facebook page.
photography // Claire Ward-Beveridge, Josh Allsopp and Laura Tuttle
Growing up in the suburbs of Ottawa, I used to ride my bike to the Quickie Mart and the video store to buy Bop and Teen Beat and rent Clueless. I loved Cher’s plaid mini-skirts and knee-high socks but felt most at home in the baggy jeans and flannel shirts of my ’90s generation. I’ve felt torn between contrasting styles ever since. From preppy to bohemian, punk, and vintage, I’ve experimented with many looks but rarely felt confident enough to pull them off. Instead, I’ve settled on a wardrobe of neutral basics in which I always feel at ease.
Reconciling my casual personal style with the more adventurous fashion items I admire is where my love of fashion media comes in. Magazines, blogs, memoirs, and friends allow me to explore my love of bolder pieces vicariously. As someone who works out the world through writing, telling stories about fashion has given me an outlet for working through my bold vs. basic conflict. Every once in a while, it has even pushed me out of my comfort zone and into the beautifully tailored studded-shoulder romper that sits in my closet far too many days of the year. I can’t think of anywhere better than WORN to (ever-so-gently) push me even further.
Current Inspirations
Menswear Dog
Usually I don’t condone exploiting your pet for the sake of entertainment, but this website combines two of my favourite things (dogs and fashion) impeccably. Funny as it may sound, the outfits are a great starting point for a menswear-inspired look, and Bodhi’s re-creation of outfits from Ryan Gosling’s leading movie rolls are eerily on point.
Anthology Magazine
This quarterly home décor and entertaining magazine embraces the fact that people still appreciate a physical print publication and, like WORN, its beautifully decorated and photographed editorials are timeless. As someone whose love of design goes far beyond fashion, I find Anthology’s coverage of creativity in all facets of living inspiring, and reading it has encouraged me to take more pleasure out of everyday activities like cooking dinner and organizing my work space.
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts
Over the past year I’ve found myself drawn more and more to public broadcasters and the unique stories they bring to us. I also love intimate concert sessions à la Black Cab Sessions and La Blogotheque, and this set from NPR is just as addictive. All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen’s desk is the perfect venue to showcase the voices of musicians like First Aid Kit, and the shows are the perfect soundtrack for a lazy summer afternoon.
National Geographic Found Tumblr
Pulling from 125 years of archived National Geographic photographs, this Tumblr includes everything from portraits to travel photography and key moments in history. In doing so, it manages to document fashion from all around the world over the past century without even trying.
Cupcakes and Cashmere
This blog has been around for ages but it never stops putting a smile on my face. Emily is like the cool older sister I never had, and starting my day off with her newest post just feels right. Her style is casual and accessible and her posts about food, fashion, and her home inspire me to appreciate the everyday.
text // Eva Voinigescu
photography // Paige Sabourin
I’ve spent the past four years of my life immersed in the Human Ecology degree program at the University of Alberta. As a Clothing, Textiles, and Material Culture major, I’ve taken courses that consider the cultural, economic, social, and personal contexts that impact the ways in which we adorn our bodies and present ourselves to the world. When I discovered that WORN publishes creative, intelligent content about fashion’s many facets, I decided to move to Toronto for a couple months to complete my practicum… and become a wornette!
My relationship with clothing tends toward the historical, yet remains grounded in what’s practical. When I do have time to sew (I wish I could find more), I get on my mom’s sewing machine from the ’80s and stitch together vintage-inspired projects. Mostly, though, I mend the garments that I’ve worn through. My mom’s cousin gave me a floral dress that she wore to parties in the ’70s, and that I would wear on my first day of grade 12. I tore the armhole seams as I kept the dress in heavy rotation, and I ended up sewing and re-sewing the same curved lines. The thread unraveled and the fabric tore away, but that’s what happens to clothing when it’s worn—it’s not so terrible.
Working at WORN will bring me closer to the personal histories of dress that I so dearly enjoy. Through reading (WORN has a stunning collection of books on dress and culture/subculture), interviewing a few local artists and designers, and writing about “clothes” encounters, I’ll be able to further explore our dressed selves in context. To get my daily inspiration of personal interpretations on fashion, I’ll need to look no further than the decidedly individual wornettes.
Current Inspirations
Are Clothes Modern? Or, What We Talk About When We Talk About “Dress”
Swedish costume historian A. E. Funk documents what she’s been reading in books and around the net in a Tumblr-like format, only she appears to find her captions first and then adds the eye-catching images.
Brain Pickings
If you don’t have time to read all those books on your list, click over here for a well-curated selection of quotes from interesting authors and cultural icons on writing, reading, and the creative life, among other things.
Obakki’s Treana Peake speaks at Vancouver’s Creative Mornings
A designer with a conscience, Peake is refreshingly open about her internal struggle over her work in an industry that requires human hands to create the garments, but rarely pays attention to documenting their stories.
Nardwuar
I recently re-discovered this Toronto-based master of the quirky interview. After watching him on MuchMusic growing up, I’ve enjoyed keeping up with him as he researches like mad and then surprises musical artists of all genres with his obscure questions and gifts.
Vogue Archive
An absolute must when doing fashion photographic research, this collection of Vogue from 1892 to the present has some real gems, including Anjelica Huston shot by Richard Avedon for a 1969 issue.
photography // Stephanie Chunoo and Tabitha Poeze
What inspired this outfit?
The flowers blooming all around the city. Every time I walk out my front door the sweet smell of lilacs and dogwood floating through the air pumps me up with glittery spring energy. I’ve also been working in my garden nonstop, and the tiny green leaves sprouting and forming into beautiful blooms is almost enough to burst my still-thawing-from-winter heart.
Tell me about one of the items you’re wearing.
Well my dog Honey is… just kidding I don’t consider her an accessory, just my bestie. I’m really very excited about my new Karen Walker sunglasses. I’ve had the same dark Ray-ban wayfarers since I turned sixteen, and although I still agree they’re a classic, I got to a point where I needed a little more glamour. I quit my job to indulge in my fantasy of writing for a living, and splurged on these big tortoiseshell babies. They make every outfit feel a little more important.
What’s the best book to read in this outfit?
I’d have to say In the Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (NOT the same as Karen Walker). Only the hardcover though: it’s covered with a floral print very similar to my dress and matching is very important, wouldn’t you say? On a deeper level though, this novel talks a lot about the loss of seasons, of fresh fruit and flowers diminishing as the world decays sometime in the not-so-far off future. It reminded me not to take these simple pleasures for granted when I read it about a month ago, and since I’ve felt like the details of the world are a little more vivid and exciting than they used to be.
What style icon would wear this outfit?
Oh maybe Alice in Wonderland if she was trying to pass as a flower instead of a weed in the garden of discriminatory blooms. Or a grown up, modern mini-moon? OH, I KNOW! Princess Bubblegum of the Candy Kingdom from Adventure Time. I think she loves pink and sweets almost as much as me. Almost.
outfit credits //
Dress by Topshop, jacket from Levis, sandals by a store in Scotland I can’t quite remember, tote bag made by Caitlin Shearer, glasses by Karen Walker, and Honey the dog from a Kentucky shelter.
photography // Stephanie Chunoo