Mai Wornette

By: Mai Nguyen

By day, I’m a production editor who hustles people to meet deadlines. By night, I’m a freelance writer who muses mostly on feminist-y issues for various websites and magazines (shout-out to Shameless!). Before that, I took journalism at Ryerson University where I made up one half of the editors at the campus’s feminist magazine, McClung’s, which called for a diet of jelly beans and bad instant coffee.

Some of my greatest hits in fashion were when I was a kid. I rocked a pretty sweet romper that had a dizzying pattern of alphabet letters. I also donned some dangerously wide red bellbottoms that I paired with a matching nautical vest. Hot or what? Presently, most of my fashion cues come from the streets. In the web world, I’m particularly influenced by street style blogs, especially LookBook and Street Peeper. In the real world, I get inspired by staring at regular people’s attire behind my big dark sunglasses (I promise it’s not as creepy as it sounds).

I am overjoyed to be working for WORN in the editorial department because I believe in its core message that fashion shouldn’t be disposable.

Current Inspirations

xoJane.com
I was but a mere fetus when Sassy launched, but I always felt like I missed out on a revolutionary time for teens. Luckily, the defunct magazine lives on in the web, sort of. It features real, hilarious, and intelligent female writers (and a couple of boys, too) who candidly talk about everything from nail polish to sleeping with Terry Richardson.

Olaf Hajek
He’s a world-renowned illustrator from Berlin who happens to be incredibly handsome. I have one of his Flowerhead fashion paintings hanging on my wall. You can get lost in his paintings for hours; they are bizarrely gorgeous.

EcoSalon
I don’t know about you but when I hear words like green, sustainable, eco-friendly, natural, and organic, it sparks feelings of ooey-gooey goodness on the inside. Fuse those words with fashion, food, and culture and you get a guilt-free way to indulge in life while caring for the environment.

SF Girl By Bay
When I moved into my new apartment a month ago, this San Francisco girl was my ultimate décor mentor. Take that, Debbie Travis! She regularly posts stunning shots of stylish interiors. This post is the best of the bunch.

My Mom Is A Fob
Maybe it’s because my mom lives far away so I don’t get to see her often, but I turn to this blog a lot to remind myself of her cuteness. It is totally jokes!

photography by Brittany Lucas

Brittany Wornette

By: brittany

I started taking photos of my friends from high school, hanging out in mall parking lots. We would listen to Sonic Youth and eat Mac’s Milk food every day while sitting on the roof of my friend’s car. Not much has changed. I studied film production and cultural studies at York University, however, after discovering artists like Stephen Shore and Jeff Wall, my sights were set on working in photography. I work as a commercial photographer day to day, which is a bizarre yet rewarding job to have. My greatest influences are Tennessee in the ’50s, Paris in the ’60s, and New York & Los Angeles in the mid-’90s.

My style when I was younger was typically inspired by movies more then anything else. After watching Trainspotting, I bought a pair of incredibly tight skinny jeans that barely fit over my ankles. I loved Annie Hall so I decided to find oversized khakis at Value Village. I watched Kids on repeat, which inspired me to wear a raggedy Independent t-shirt from Black Market that my mom hated.

Today I’m typically inspired by the people I see on the street day to day. I think as long as you stay true to who you are, then you’ve got great style.

Current Inspirations

Chic Heroin
This is my friend Liz’s blog. Liz is a beautiful person, inside and out. She has clean yet unique style, mixing both vintage and new pieces. Also her hair is truly a work of art.

Tiny Vices
Tim Barber, the creator of this site, has had a huge influence on contemporary photography. His site features truly talented fine art photographers from around the globe.

Cooper Cole Gallery
Check out Cooper Cole Gallery Simon’s gallery featuring amazing contemporary artists who you will most likely hear about when you’re old.

Shop Spanish Moss
I’m addicted. If you want to look like you just walked out of a psychedelic desert, this is the place to shop.

Ffffound
This is the place to go if you’re bored or need inspiration.

photography // Serah-Marie McMahon

Jenna Wornette

By: Jenna Danchuk

I’m in my last semester of my degree at Ryerson University in Toronto, majoring in Culture Studies and minoring in English. It took me a brief interlude as a sorter in a thrift store and having an existential crisis to get here, but I somehow made it through. This fall, I’ll be attending York University to complete my Master’s Degree in Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies. Not only will I be a Master in all things feminist-y, but also the world’s leading expert in GB Jonesian aesthetics. Aside from being a critical thinking, jargon slinging academic in training, I make a nice espresso and buy too many tschockhes, which makes for a deadly combination.

My best pieces of clothing were thrown out by my mother. This list includes my ratty Sailor Moon night gown that I cut into a muscle tee and a pair of boy short underwear with an anatomical drawing of the female sexual organs on the back. Now that I’m an adult, I can pick things out of the garbage for my wardrobe and get away with it. My life long goal is to recover that muscle tee from the Windsor, Ontario dump, but I think I’m dreaming. I’m really excited to be working with WORN. Fashionable friends and a magazine with a high word count? What more could a gal ask for? Also, working on my writing and researching skills and considering the political implications of my wardrobe sounds pretty fun, too.

Current Inspirations:

Second Hand Smut
My Retro Porno Tumblr. I “curate” (does that make it sound more professional?) a tumblr page full of retro pornography images. Yes, I said porn three ways. You have been warned.

Ken Russell’s “The Last of the Teddy Girls” photos
These photos by the late and great director Ken Russell document working class girls in neo-Edwardian dress, and an important and early part of British youth culture. The teddy girls were rebellious before there were rebel grrrls.

The Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives
I started volunteering at the “CLGA” almost two years ago, and it was love from the start. The CLGA collects and preserves LGBTQ historical materials from Canada and around the world, and their treasure chest is always growing. My favourites? Queer zines, the amazing vinyl collection, and matchbooks from gay bars and elsewhere. They inspire my perspective on style and design, as well as my personal politics.

Cathy of California
Cathy of California is who I want to be when I grow up. She draws inspiration for her craft projects directly from vintage craft documents, and has even written a fantastic book on the topic, Vintage Craft Workshop. She’s a feminist historian in my eyes.

John Waters (on fashion and in general)
I am a loyal snub-ject of the king of trash. Words to live by.

photography by Brittany Lucas

Rachel Wornette

By: Casie Brown

I’m Rachel and I’m tall. I love to eat food and listen to country music. I always laugh at my own jokes and I love cats—even though I don’t have one. I study fashion at Ryerson and love every second of it. Normally, I live my life flying by the seat of my pants (or skirt) and make decisions at the drop of a hat (or cute scarf). I love to learn and am always on the hunt for new information and ideas. I am finding that at this point I am in a state of change, and my sense of style is growing and morphing. I like excitement, but hate loud noises.

It all started when I was about 12 years old. I was a lanky, quiet, awkward child and I found escape in my mothers Chatelaines. The women on those pages were graceful, put together, chic, and elegant. The obsession grew, and I began tearing out pages, which is when my mom got me my first subscription—so I could tear up my own magazines. I am now an organized hoarder of publications and keep every magazine I buy. Basically, working here at WORN is a way to satisfy my obsession, and allow myself to be around more magazines.

Current Inspirations:

Plaid Magazine
This magazine is a small publication that comes out of Toronto. It is put out twice a year, and features awesome photos and local designers. They also profile bigger designers, giving the readers an inside scoop. It also has a few opinion columns, music, and gallery reviews. I mainly love this magazine for the gorgeous photos that are inside. I definitely rip out a lot of pages from this one.

Pretty Dresses in the Laundry
This Tumblr, which is now its own website, is a photo-blog that I am infatuated with. They choose dreamy photos that have a sense of whimsy. Just like in the title, the photos feature gorgeous and girly dresses and girls that are young and free. I mainly like this blog because it transports me to another place, where girls can run free through fields in beautiful ball-gowns. ‘Cause that never happens in real life.

Man Repeller
The Man Repeller is a woman who writes a blog about fashion. Not the typical style blog, she is hilarious about what she wears and takes a great approach to high fashion trends. She created the term “Man Repeller” which basically means dressing in a way that repels men with its obscurity and general weirdness. Her sense of humor is spot-on, and she gets front row access to some pretty big shows—so you get both!

Value Village
I am not sure if this counts as inspiration… but I’m in love with Value Village. I go there to run my fingers through rows and rows of preloved cotton button-up shirts and soft leather balmorals. I think about who owned the old prom dresses and wedding gowns, and about how someone loved them. I like to feel like my wardrobe has a story behind it. And I also go there to people watch, because Value Village shoppers are great.

photography by Casie Brown