Lydia Okello’s wardrobe is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you’re going to get. Her ability to perfectly mis-match colours and garments never ceases to amaze me. The 21-year-old fashion merchandising student’s blog, Style Is Style, is a mix of personal style shots with inspirational editorial shoots. She’s quite sweet herself.

What was your first favourite outfit as a kid?
My mom sewed a lot of my clothing as a kid, and I remember having a large floral print dress with matching hair piece (either a scrunchy or hat) that I couldn’t wait to wear on Sundays to church when I was four. I think I loved it so much because a) it was matching and b) it was very, very girly. I think all of the pieces have been donated by now, so somewhere there is a kid wearing a 90’s dress that used to be mine!

Do you have similar taste in clothing now?
I actually find my self reverting back to my early childhood wardrobe. I had many dresses, and lots of girly, frilly things. Nowadays I look for the same elements in pieces for my wardrobe. You will very seldom see me in pants, I am hopelessly devoted to being pantless for eternity.

Tell us a story about the garment or accessory you love most.
One of my very favourite pieces (and it’s very hard to choose) is a floral print, scalloped neckline 80’s dress that I thrifted back in Grade 10. At the time, I was just beginning to sort of develop my style, and I was always on the lookout for 50’s inspired pieces at the local thrift store. I found this dress and I nearly had a heart attack! The print, the shape, the fact that it had a tulle underskirt… It seemed like a dream dress come true! I think at the time it didn’t actually completely fit properly, but I bought it anyway. I had debated converting it into a strapless dress, but luckily I was too lazy to actually do it. The scalloped details are actually my favorite part of the dress now! One of the reasons I love this particular dress so much is that I always feel good in it. When I went on a whirlwind trip to New York Fashion Week in the spring of 2010, I wore it, so now it also has really amazing memories attached to it too. It’s my “happy” dress!

Lydia’s favourite dress.

How do you think your style has changed since you started blogging in 2008?
I feel like since I started blogging I have a more defined sense of my personal style. When I started, there were a lot of bloggers who I admired, but I felt like I wasn’t “cool” enough to dress as uniquely as they did. Over time, I’ve started taking risks and dressing for myself, instead of dressing to blend in or fulfill some sort of prescribed mode of what I’m “supposed” to wear. I think I have more fun getting dressed now! Every day is a chance to play a different character or escape to another time.

Your outfits are always colourful and poppy, even in the winter.
I have always, always loved color. I think I like color so much because I feel it contrasts nicely with my skin tone and it’s just so happy! I love sunshine and warmth, so color helps to bring some of that in the wintertime. Also, I have a bit of a theatrical personality, so over-the-top brightness feels more like me than a very neutral palette. My favourite colour is lapis or royal blue. I wish more things came in this color! I can’t explain it, but that shade of blue makes me feel very joyous. It’s rich, vibrant, and a feast for the eyes. I also really love rich shades of yellow and I’m currently having a fling with rust and pumpkin orange.

A dress in Lydia’s favourite colour, royal blue.

What’s a “style rule” you disagree with?
A style rule I disagree with is: people who are curvy shouldn’t wear horizontal stripes. Stripes are very dependent on size, so I feel like banning curvier people from ever wearing stripes is actually kind of silly. The right silhouette with the right width of stripes can still be flattering, despite this “rule.”

Where are your favourite places to shop in Vancouver?
H&M: Fast fashion at it’s best. The quality is pretty decent here, and when they have sales things are super cheap. Front & Company: A consignment and retail store on Main. They have both vintage and new clothes for women and men, alongside housewares, accessories and books. It’s immaculately curated, and they have some of the most beautiful window displays I’ve ever seen! I’m always inspired when I visit Front & Co. Used Clothing: A vintage shop on Granville Street. They have a chill atmosphere and decent pricing. They have really great selection too; I just bought a leopard-print faux fur collar that makes me looks like a nouveau riche grandma.

Who are your top ten style icons?

1. Chloe Sevigny: She is always eclectic, stylish and daring. I hope that as I get a little older, I can manage to look as youthful (but not trashy) as Chloe does. She seems to have no fear when getting dressed, which I admire.

2. Alexa Chung: Purveyor of British witty street style, her high/low mixes are both effortless and inspiring. She always looks comfortable, too. I wish I had her wardrobe!

3. The cast of 42nd Street, my favorite old musical: The wardrobe in this movie made me almost weep. There are so many rompers!!! Collared blouses, and old school glamour. Gorgeous!

4. Marchesa Casati: Another fearless dresser. The Marchesa did many a crazy thing for fashion (I think she wore an electric dress to dinner once, and was known to have live animals as part of her outfits). She was definitely on the wild side, but her devotion to creating and living her fantasies is incredibly inspiring. It reminds me to be more fearless and dramatic.

5. Vintage Pinups: I love the sauciness of the girls in the painting of Elvgren and Vargas. They are sexy but not vulgar, something that I think is missing from modern day starlets. I like cheekiness, and pinups always have it in spades!

6. Louise Brooks: Her bob and thick eyeliner are makeup and beauty inspirations of me. I even had a bob like hers for a bit.

7. Marilyn Monroe: Another sexy lady with a delightfully womanly figure. She is impossibly intriguing, and the original Sex Icon. I think the fact that she was a platinum blonde makes me love her even more. I’ve always had a thing for blondes.

8. Calivintage: My first real blog crush, Erin is one the most stylish girls I know! Vintage inspired, I love every outfit. She can even rock a pair of trousers like no one’s business. I love that she rocks short hair and still looks uber-feminine, too. I was lucky enough to meet her, and she’s just as cool and sweet in real life as she is on her blog.

9. Hannah Metz: Hannah is basically a dream woman! Scarlet-haired and possessing perhaps the largest and most coveted vintage wardrobe, her blog is fodder for inspiration. Her photos make me wish I lived in New York so I could have lovely tea dates with her.

10. MitziCocoa: I heart MitziCocoa! She is my blogger bestie. We were roommates in New York, and I was happy to discover she lives close to me, on Vancouver Island. Not only is she stylish (think pinup mixed with 1960’s babes), she is the perfect shopping/hanging out/life buddy. I am so glad to have her in my life.

interview by Stephanie Fereiro
photography from Style Is Style

Tucked behind Nathan Phillips Square and city hall, the Textile Museum of Canada (TMC) is an oft-overlooked institution in Toronto that has been compellingly connecting cloth, culture and art for the last 35 years. Sarah Quinton, the Curatorial Director of the TMC, tackles, and overcomes, this challenge season after season, researching, importing and sharing with us textiles from every corner of the earth — from shawls from Afghanistan to mola blouses from Panama.

How did you get into the study of textiles?
I grew up sewing my own clothes, taught by my mother and older sister. In the late 70s I was looking for a subject to study in college and felt myself drawn to the craft’s resurgence; particularly weaving. And so I became a weaver and made a few articles of lumpy, ill-fitting clothing. Soon afterward, I studied textiles in a fine arts context and have continued that line of interest.

One of your latest exhibitions, “Skin and Bone” by David R. Harper, features embroidered portraits of people on animal skin. Is the future of textiles in “multimedia?”
Not only the future, no. It’s the present. We see textiles everywhere, intentionally and unintentionally. If you look in art galleries, you see textiles in Will Munro’s underpant collages at the Art Gallery of Ontario; artists such as Allyson Mitchell, Grace Ndiritu and Jeremy Bailey explore textile patterns, colour and politics in their videos; and there is an ever-increasing interest in Do-it-Yourself activities with personal and political actions at their core: craftivism, recycling, new feminisms… and still the role of the independent merchant in the craft market is going strong.

From Drawing with Scissors: Molas from Kuna Yala

What is the narrative potential of textiles? Can textiles tell a story?
That’s what textiles do best! All objects tell stories if you listen even a little bit. Objects are living things. We make them, we use them, we wear them, we choose them. We change them by wearing them out, by recontextualizing them, and we are shaped by them as much as we shape them.

What are your favourite textiles, pieces or artists?
Well, like anyone else, I’m most in love with the people and things I’m currently working with. You mentioned David Harper’s exhibition “Skin and Bone.” Along with David, Stephen Schofield is showing “Stumble,” a series of extraordinary textile sculptures. Kai Chan is a Toronto artist whose work is the subject of a 35-year retrospective, “A Spider’s Logic,” that opens at the Textile Museum of Canada on November 7, 2010. His work might be considered “multimedia!” When I was traveling in the Yucatan in the early 80s, I bought a string bag that I still covet. Its structure is incomprehensible to me, and I don’t even want to know how it was made. And who can resist Junichi Arai’s textiles?

interview by Lydia Guo
photography by Rachel Wine

Nikkie To is the kind of girl who steals flowers from a stranger’s garden on late night walks. Her dreamy and fantastical personality not only manifests itself in stealing flowers in the most charming of ways – but also in her clothing and photography. She dresses in a minimal, modern, fairy tale kind of way and her stolen flowers are her most common accessories. Singing, drawing, painting, and photography are all things Nikkie has a talent for. Both of us are proud Hamiltonians and while I moved away for school, she stayed in town and is currently in the fine arts program at McMaster University.

What is your earliest memory of getting dressed?

I can still remember immigrating to Canada and wearing the “I Leaf Canada” sweatshirts. For me, the 1990’s was all about tucking your shirt in and brown corduroy pants. It was never very glamorous on the days I went to school because I was a messy child, but from time to time, I would go full out in buckled shoes, knit stockings, a floral dress and a large bow to top it all off. My older sister also had a big impression on my style while I was growing up. She was the one who pushed me to be daring and to wear lace and sequence and here I am now… pulling off multicoloured feathers in my hair.

Are there any new directions you want to take your style in?

My style often hits a phase and becomes static for a while before changing again. I don’t mean to allude that it is boring in any way, but that if I’m flashy, I’ll be really into it and be flashy for a while. After that I’ll go into a bohemian-naturey phase and play within those confines. When I get bored of that I’ll move on to a playful and professional look. I draw inspiration for fashion through the simple things in my life and I feel my style now turning again toward a more masculine aesthetic because of the work boots that are mandatory for one of my university courses. There are so many wonderful possibilities out there, so why shouldn’t I try them all?

Are you planning on dressing up for Halloween? Why or why not? And if you are what are you planning on dressing up as?

I love Halloween! I think it’s a great way to show your creativity and become someone you would normally be too embarrassed to be. This year I’m going to be Russell from Pixar’s Up because it is hands down my favourite movie of all time. I plan to hand craft all of my Wilderness Explorer badges and hold my Explorer GPS tight in my hands so I’ll never get lost!

You and I are both Hamiltonians & have both noticed changes in our city. If Hamilton was a person (s)he was a blue collar middle class factory worker. But old Hamilton has died; what’s her daughter (new Hamilton) like?

A “New Hamilton” is definitely immerging out of all the steel and smoke. The inexpensive cost of living in the downtown area (not to be stereotypical) is attracting a swarm of artists whose style radiates into people’s closets. If I were to take a stroll one day sometime in the afternoon, I might catch “New Hamilton” in a pair of tight matte blue jeans, bright autumn cardigan and some sort of perfectly combed (but I didn’t spend too much time on it) hair carrying a purse from the 50’s. The general check list would probably be something comfy, something vintage, a splash of colour or intricate accessory to complete the outfit.

How do you think you’ll dress when you’re an old & fabulous lady in your 80’s?

I think of fashion as a way of expression, so I hope I will still be as colourful as I am now and not become faded frump sweater. I cannot predict exactly how I will be dressed, but I am sure it will be something I can call my own.

5 Inspiring Photographers according to Nikkie

Ye Rin Mok is a beautiful photographer who’s work is able to capture the complex life in people, even in the most mundane places.

Opposites or compliments? Either way, Tierney Gearson is always forcing us to realize the things that are not always seen, but still exist.

There is something about Deborah Turbeville’s photographs that whisper erotic crime. Her focus on romanticism as grungy and real leave us with a feeling of unease.
(this is the only website she has and it’s pretty crap)

Valeria Lazareva has saturation in colour and saturation in content. Her portraits and landscapes are actively telling one story after another.

Sometimes the most precious things in life are the things, people, and places that are breathing and existing around you. Sally Mann’s photography finds beauty in the daily life of her own family.

interview by Valentina RossMottley
photography by Annie Chan

Sibling duo Mike and Angie Dalla-Giustina have turned their lifelong passion for thrifting into a well-loved business; the two collectively own Upside Dive, a hidden East-end gem in the Toronto vintage scene. Mike and Angie share their tales of rural Toronto, their childhood idols, and their love affair with well-crafted clothing.

How did you two dress in elementary school? How has your look changed?

Angie: When we moved from Toronto to a small rural community (in the 80s) I dressed in stacked bangles and dolman sleeve tops. Let’s just say it wasn’t well received.

Mike: I remember being briefly obsessed with Chucks, peace signs, and vests. I think both of us have forgotten a lot from those early years, probably due to living in a little town and never really feeling like we fit in.

From an early age we were thrifting, usually out of necessity, as money was tight for a single mother with four children. Most of all we never felt parental pressure to dress a certain way, so we experimented when we wanted to. We’ve become more comfortable with who we are (could be that age thing) and we’re less concerned with defining gender roles. We have more of an appreciation of the piece in its form - material, cut, shape, quality - while setting aside who the design was intended for. That said, the shop takes priority so we often wear practical, comfortable clothing, saving the exciting fashion for our customers.

Being siblings, do you often disagree when it comes to the business? How about clothes? Do you ever share clothes?

Mike: Actually, all the Dalla-Giustina siblings get along. An important part to the business succeeding is our shared mentality and keeping it all level. We occasionally butt heads over ideas, but it definitely helps to flesh out ideas with one another. We also discuss with Elisa and Natasha, who act as great exterior moderators. Sometimes Ang and I can get so focused we get a bit blind-sided.

We don’t often share clothes, maybe a scarf or two. We definitely share a love for well-crafted pieces, and a good backstory is an added delight.

How do you think the rise of vintage inspiration in the fashion world over the past decade has affected sales at vintage stores? Does it make selling real vintage easier or more difficult?

Vintage and second-hand clothing has definitely become a major commodity in the last 20-30 years, and with its rise in the mainstream once again it perpetuates more vintage sellers, more vintage buyers, more creative minds musing on it, and an established business format. I think the real issue lies with the lack of value put on vintage and second-hand clothing. Fast fashion has offered an alternative to buying vintage by creating newly made vintage-inspired pieces, but the real power lies in the hands of the consumer. It would be one thing if corporate clothing manufacturers were responsibly producing well-made pieces that would retain value, but they don’t. The bottom line for them is money, and the consumer is happy to have the 15-minute look. We have faith that there will continue to be customers who value vintage, but fear that well-kept vintage will become scarce and deplete cherished vintage shops.

What fictional character has the best personal style?

Mike: Alex Owens from Flashdance. She looks good in every scene, and though she feels uncertain of her future as a dancer, I got the feeling she always knew who she wanted to be. Man, did I ever idolized her as a kid.

Would you argue vintage is better than new?

We prefer shopping vintage. There are enough people supporting mall mentalities that we feel compelled to support a vintage lifestyle, and that it indeed is worthy of more support. We don’t feel that we miss out on anything buying second-hand. Vintage can be more demanding as it requires more attention but the payoff is far more rewarding.

What TV show’s costumes outdo its plot?

Emma Peel looked amazing on The Avengers but the plot was fairly flat.

If you could own any piece of clothing from any era what would it be and why?

Angie: I would covet the late ’70s green and white mermaid ruffle bathing suit when I was three.

Mike: My late uncle Peter had a pair of flat, wood-sole, Dr. Scholl-style sandals from the ’70s that I continue to search for in my size.

Name your favorite pair of shoes of all time, when you owned them, and why they were so fantastic.

Mike: I couldn’t possibly name one pair as a favourite, seeing as I adore shoes, but I do remember the ones that sparked it all; a pair of patent point-toe, steel tipped oxfords that I wore to Ang’s elementary school graduation. I was seven and I had never loved a piece of attire as whole-heartedly as those shoes.

Oscar Wilde said, “Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.” How would you interpret this?

Angie: I can agree, if indeed the ugliness is a reference to our own boredom and uneasiness with ourselves, that we must constantly create and reinvent the image we see in the mirror. Fashion is one outlet in creation - eventually it outgrows itself.

Mike and Angie’s Top Ten Style Influences (both in their lives and for the store):

Strangers
Archie comics
Wary Meyers
Pre’80s vintage photos of our mum
1980s Barbie
John Hughes films starring Molly Ringwald (Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club…)
We grew up in the bush country so colours and texture in nature play a big part in our lives
Almodóvar films
Fables and fairytales
Peter Max

interview by Alyssa Garrison
photography by Rachel Wine