Spotlight local store: Good Neighbour

June 14, 2020 by Yateh Larchie in style

Today’s local store spotlight is Good Neighbour!

Location: 935 Queen St E, Toronto and online @ https://goodnbr.com
Price: $$ - $$$
Clothing types: looks for the whole family (Women, Men, Children/Babies)
They also sell home decor, accessories, and stationary
Style type: casual and everyday wear

I was introduced to Good Neighbour by my friend Molly almost 3 years ago and I was never so happy to stumble upon a local store (as a east end resident). It’s the perfect blend for me: clothing, shoes, home decor and paper craft I was in heaven! Over the years I’ve bought some lovely fortnight lingerie, some tops, candles and gifts for other people. They carry many brands including - @fortnightlabel @itsmaryyoung @levis @frame @tigerofswedenofficial @drakegeneralstore, @malinandgoetz and many more!

Parisian attitude and a look

October 17, 2018 by Yateh Larchie in style

I’m so excited it’s finally Fall! I won’t lie I was over the summer humidity but not sunshine and being able to go outside with wet hair and flip flops. Now that Fall is finally here we get to have Fall fashion - lots of layering, cozy sweaters, and tights.

To kick off the new season, I’ve put together the cutest outfit that is perfect for work and after hours.

I’m giving you Parisian swag and european lewks (half of this outfit was bought in Europe - but can easily be replicated without a eurotrip price tag).

I bought this lovely V-neck Wool dress with a ruffled hem in London at Oliver and Bonas. I knew as soon as I saw it that I needed to add to my wardrobe. The dress is a great length, an a-line cut, and it’s sleeveless so it’s great for layering.

The dress shirt is from Pink Tartan a Canadian brand. This is one of my favourite shirts - it was a splurge purchase from a couple years ago but totally worth it. The cut and fit are perfect and it has some really nice details like the grosgrain trim around the cuffs and collar, and the pink stitching in the buttonhole on the cuffs. The yellow belt was a pop of colour that I bought from Uniqlo - if thrifting is up your alley then you could definitely thrift a colourful belt.

“Raspberry Beret,the kind you buy at a second hand store” - lyric by Prince. This beret isn’t raspberry but a lovely mustard I picked up at the Notting Hill market for £8. It’s super cute but also something you can buy anywhere. It was my first purchase on my London trip this fall so it’s a special mustard beret.

I’m also wearing tights which I have a love and hate relationship with. Either I’m super irritated or slightly annoyed while wearing them. Last year I bought Wolford tights in 20 denier and honestly they are the most comfortable tights I’ve ever had. My shoes are super old as I don’t remember where or when I bought them but the best thing about this outfit is you can wear whatever shoes you like; flats, oxfords, heels, booties etc.

Finally, I got my yellow coat on my first Euro trip in 2015. Boo (my husband) and I left warm Barcelona for cool and wet Amsterdam. With the change in temperature I got a cold and didn’t have a coat. I spent the next day searching for a coat and stumbled upon a random boutique downtown and when I saw the colour and the lining I was sold!

What do you think? I’m pretty sure anyone can pull off this look. I think the hardest part about pulling this look together is finding the dress for layering so, I’ve found 3 alternative options below to the Oliver Bonas dress I bought.

Happy Layering!

Looking for a dress for yet another Wedding? Try Renting

June 17, 2018 by Yateh Larchie in style

Most of us love dressing up once in awhile, but there are several constraints that have developed in our lives that has made this a little bit more of a challenge - social media. Social media has made it almost impossible to wear the same outfit twice. Now that isn’t to say that you can’t put your styling skills to use but if you’re like me who likes to buy things that are bright and colourful maybe you’ll get two wears out of that fabulous dress you bought. Cost is another factor that has been a stumbling block from time immemorial, can I just say that the prices for clothing have gone up across the board. Zara, H&M, Aritzia, Club Monaco they have lovely things but it's getting to the point that buying certain items for one wear isn’t cost effective. Also the time old situation of someone showing up to the same event wearing the same dress (and looking better than you *shock and horror*)

In comes dress rentals. I have heard about renting clothes before but didn’t really know if it was something that I could access. A lot of dress rental websites are based in the US and as a Canadian that is really annoying for obvious reasons - shipping and duties. Enter Fitzroy Boutique, I have been a loyal follower of their store for the last couple of years. They’ve always sold some amazing clothes and accessories so when they decided to start dress rentals I was excited. I recently had need for an outfit as I have a wedding I’m attending last November. It was a great experience!

How does it work? Well you have two options you can check out their website and order your outfit on their or go in store. I use the website to check out if there were any outfits that I was intrigued to try on. I headed to their boutique 1227 Dundas Street West, 2nd Floor, no appointment is necessary. They carry numerous outfits in XS - L and some plus sizes, you can go through the racks organized by size and grab whatever you like and head to the change rooms. Can I say that I loved their change rooms! They are bright and well lit thanks to some large windows and the lighting fixtures in the space. They have heels that you can use while trying on clothes and you can buy some accessories as well. You get to play dress up, if you find a outfit you’d like to rent the rental price is on the tag attached to the outfit. You can rent items for 4 or 8 days. The time for rental includes the day you pick up and return the dress. In this case I needed the jumpsuit for Saturday November 18th, so I picked up the dress on Friday and returned it on Monday. I believe there is a $20/day late fee for every day the dress is late. As well there is a $5 insurance fee that you can choose to pay for. This covers any reasonable damage that may occur on the outfit. I got the insurance because I would rather not worry about it. They dry-clean all of the outfits before and after use. If you have any questions please call the boutique Julie was a great help to me while there trying on clothes and getting me through the process.

My verdict, I have another wedding to attend this July and I’ll definitely be heading back to the boutique to find an outfit. While you could be spending up to $100 on a rental in my mind it's still a great deal, you get a new outfit and you don't have to worry about it gathering dust in your closet when you realize you can’t wear it again for whatever reason. Another plus is you can spend your time on buying some cute accessories (shoes, bag, jewellery, etc.)

Update: They now have bag rentals, so you can find a matching clutch as well!

*Reposted from November last fall