What I wore for, and bought during, a lovely day of antique shopping in Vernon

    Outfit details

1950s Calgary Stampede souvenir scarf: eBay
Faux pearl stud earrings: Claire's
Cherry print sleeveless shirt: Liz Clairborne
Red cardigan: Gap
Vintage (c. 1950s) cherry brooch: eBay
Reddish-brown plastic bangle bracelets: Gift from a dear online friend ♥
Vintage bangle bracelets: Assorted sources
Green skinny belt: eBay
Denim capri pants: Nine West
Vintage woven handbag with bamboo handles: Yard sale find
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red


Photography by Antonio Cangiano (taken using our Canon 30D,  before we purchased the Canon 6D in September) 

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In the midst of gearing up for our awesome trip to Calgary earlier this year Tony and I zipped over to the town of Vernon one afternoon (we always seem to go to Vernon in the afternoon or evening, which leaves little time for shopping - we need to head out there at the crack of dawn next time!), where we enjoyed a spot of antique shopping. While I was sorting through some of this year's photos recently, it struck me that I hadn't blogged about this fun day yet, so before the year ticks over to 2014, it seems like high time that I just did.

Perhaps more than any other spot in the Okanagan, Vernon is well populated with antique and collectible shops (though, much to my chagrin, no actual vintage clothing stores these days), several of which are located within a short walking distance of each other in the downtown business core. Just off the top of my head these include (please note, this is likely not a complete list of all current antique and vintage collectible shops in Vernon):


-Antique Ally: 2901 - 31st Street

-Antique Imports: 3021 - 29th Avenue

-Blast From The Past Antiques: 3100 - 32nd Street

-City Center Antiques & Craft Mall: 3124 - 30th Avenue

-Dodd's Auctions and Appraisals: 3311 - 28th Avenue

-Heirloom Antiques: 3011B - 28th Street


Each time I'm in Vernon (which isn't that often by any means, maybe once every four to six months, as it's located an hour and half away from us), I try to get to at least one, but hopefully several of the town's antique stores, which often sell not only items that fall into the textbook definition of an antique camp (that is to say, which are are at least 100 years old), but also plenty of vintage items, spanning everything from advertising sings to kitchen furniture, books to costume jewelry, household items, Canadiana, clocks, furniture, art, military collectibles (Vernon has a rich military history), and myriad other things, just depending on which shop(s) you decide to hit up.

Though most places have prices that I'd put on the moderate to verge of high end of the spectrum, bargains can certainly be had, especially at times on mid-century pieces, which are sometimes, I've long come to realize (and be grateful for!) not seen as being as highly sought after in the realm of antiques as older pieces. This isn't to say that there aren't some wildly pricy 1930s-50s pieces in Vernon, there definitely are, but rather that with a bit of diligence, once can usually ferret out at least a few wonderful vintage items at fairly decent to excellent prices.

The following items are the highlights of my antique store shopping trip that day (it wasn't a big haul, but I absolutely adore those pieces that I did find).



{Cute vintage rhinoceros figurine | $4.00 | I have quite the thing for adorable vintage figurines, be they of humans or animals, and if they should happen to be particularly unique, I usually adore them all the more. I can't recall ever seeing a vintage rhino like this before, so the moment I spotted her, I knew she was coming straight home with me.}

{1950s British Columbia history book | $4.99 | Vintage + Canadian history equals love in my book. In this case, quite literally! :)}



{Vintage plastic - possibly celluloid - floral carved cinnabar style bracelet | $19.99 | Sturdy, beautiful, and in great shape, this bracelet caught captured my attention, amongst a sea of bangles dating from the 30s to the present day, and kept it there, earning it a place in my shopping bag.}



{Vintage pink plastic bangle bracelet with white and black speckling | $10.00 | I love the colours in this bracelet, which sing out spring and summer to me. It partners wonderfully with black and white, and also looks great along side denim, brown, and aqua. }



{Set of three vintage (c. 1950s) maple leaf scatter pins | $15.00 | I love maple vintage brooches, both for their own beauty and because I can never get enough of anything with a sense of Canadiana about it and few things are more quintessentially canuck than the very leaf that adores our nation's flag.}



{Vintage (c. 1960s) pink gloves with decorative stitching detailing | $10 or $12 (I can't remember which) | Even finding vintage gloves around these parts is getting harder and harder nowadays, so when I come across a pretty pair like this that aren't too similar to any that I own already, are in good shape, and which are reasonably priced, I always try to nab while I can, because I never know when or where the next pair might come along.}







{Two 1940s Foncie Pulice photographs | $0.50 each | Mere weeks prior to finding this lovely pair of vintage images, I had blogged about the very man who took them - along with thousands upon thousands of others photos akin to them - famed Vancouver street photographer, Foncie Pulice, and his vast body of work, which The Knowledge Network is cataloging as part of an online project and website called Foncie's Corner.

At the time of that post, I'd hoped secretly to myself that maybe, just maybe, I'd chance upon a Foncie photo one day, but to suddenly find two - in a shoe box of different 40s, 50s and 60s photos selling for half a dollar each - so quickly afterwards almost seemed surreal. Without a doubt, this pair of images was the best, and most meaningful, find of the day for me and I'm going to be scanning and submitting them to Foncie's Corner for sure.}

{Vintage item photos taken by me}

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Every time I set foot in an antique store, be it in Vernon or elsewhere, I ask if they happen to have any mid-century ladies clothing (and leave my business card with the owner, if I haven't already done so before, so that they can contact me anytime if they do come across some). Save for jewelry and a few accessories (at Blast From The Past, for example, I once saw a pair of metal frame 1950s cat's eye glasses and a circa 1950s umbrella), I've not encountered any such pieces yet, but I continue to hold out hope that one day I will.

Surely, I tell myself, if so many people are finding enough merchandise to stock their antique store shelves with, they must come across at least a small bit of vintage clothing in their travels (and I really hope they're keep me in mind when the do).

When we took these shots (on parents deck) it was probably in the 30s (Celsius). Today we're well into the return of winter weather and it seems like a very, very long time to go before my beloved denim capri pants come out of hibernation again. I adore the vibrancy of this outfit, the cute cherries on the shirt and brooch, and the awesome 1950s Calgary print scarf (my nod, at the time, to our then upcoming trip) which I bought on eBay two or three years ago and would say is favourite vintage scarf I own.

Much as with a day of yard saling, antique store shopping can, at times, involving a lot of walking, dust, forging for vintage finds, and sweltering temps, so one needs a look that isn't going to wilt at the drop of the hat, and this is the kind I reach for - with jeans or a long skirt subbed in for the capris and heavy duty coat added in the fall and winter - all year long, when I head out to see what kind of wonderful vintage treasures I can find throughout the Okanagan.

Who knows, perhaps my next trip will yield more Foncie images - a vintage photography loving gal can always hope! :)

A real mixed bag kind of day

Outfit details

Navy blue 1940s feather adorned felt hat: Gift from Tony ♥

Pearl stud earrings: Claire's

Pearl necklace: Birthday gift from Tony ♥

1980s does 1940s dolman sleeve floral print rayon dress: etsy seller Dear Golden

Pink plastic rose stretch bracelet: Wal-Mart

Light blue 1940s gloves: Flea market in Vernon

Vintage navy blue purse: Thrifted

Nude on nude seamed stockings: eBay

White pumps: Payless

Lip colour: MAC Diva

Photography by Antonio Cangiano

{I had no idea a whisp of bang hair had gone astray in these shots. Oh well!}

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A few days ago, after more than six weeks of bed rest (initially from a flare-up with one of my conditions, then following my recent surgery on April 16th), I finally felt well enough to head out of the house for a little while. Cabin fever had set in something fierce, so a bit of a drive - and a change of scenery from our bedroom walls, lovely as they are - was in order.

Recently, Target stores have started setting up shop in parts of British Columbia. To date, the closest one to us in in the town of Vernon, which is located about an hour and a half away from Penticton (another Target is slated to open in Kelowna this summer, though Penticton itself doesn't have plans for one yet).

I'd always been intrigued by Target stores - or at least by tales of their wondrous offerings that I had heard from various friends in the States and those Canadians I'd known who had visited a Target while south of the 49th - and had been giddy with excitement and anticipation for Target to open up here in British Columbia at long last (they'd already launched locations in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada last year), so that's where we made a beeline for.

Tony and my mum had already been there once and were both woefully underwhelmed by the Canadian version of Target. Though this was sad to hear for sure, and I though completely believed their reviews, I wanted to see (and access) it myself in person. Well, let me just tell you, they were right and then some!

It’s not that the store itself isn't fairly big or decently stocked, it's just that their offerings scarcely differ from what you could find (often at much lower price points) elsewhere. The store itself was not overly well laid out in my opinion, nor was it bursting with merchandise (unless it was so small I accidentally missed it, they didn't even have a craft section), and there was nothing special or unique about their shopping experience.

Many of these newly founded Targets replace Zellers stores, most of which have shut their doors across Canada in recent years, and I think that like most people, I expected Target to smoke Zellers old offerings out the water. Far from doing so, for the most part I found myself thinking, "Hey, I actually liked Zellers way more!" (just as my mom did, too).

In my mind I'd dreamed about Target opening up and bringing with it oodles of US products that are hard, if not impossible, to find in Canada, at bargain prices. No dice. The items stocked on its shelves were akin to those one can find at other large Canadian retailers such as Winner, Sears, The Bay, Canadian Tire, and Real Canadian Superstore – often at better prices.

Target failed to bring its iconic Target-ness – the great deals and wide selection it’s well known for – up to these Canadian parts, and I believe that (especially outside large urban areas such as Toronto or Calgary) they will struggle to stay afloat in the long run because of it. As we were leaving the store, I heard an elderly chap remark to his wife that he'd "rather go to Wal-Mart any day”, a sentiment which Tony and I both feel perfectly sums up our take on Target, too.

The dreams I'd had for years of a Target shopping spree jam packed with awesome US items that were new to Canada, has been completely dashed – but at least there are still the good ol’ Targets in the States, and I like to think that I'll make it to one of those someday, red plastic cart bursting at the gills as I exist.

So while that was a bust for sure, the rest of our time in Vernon wasn't, I'm delighted to say. We hit a small flea market down by the railroad tracks that run near Swan Lake (yes, it really is called that), at which I bought the pair of vintage gloves seen in the outfit photos here today for just three dollars.

They're in great shape, and the seller could have easily asked more for them, but it was my luck that she didn't. I was already wearing a pair of white gloves which worked well with this dress, but I liked the look of these blue ones with it even more, so they were swapped in instead.

We also visited an indoor garage sale that was being held in a hotel ballroom (that was a definite first for me), but it was mostly just 1980s-present day children's toys, clothes, and household items - no vintage pieces or anything else that caught our eye.

Before calling it a day, we hit an antiques shop that I'd never been to before, but eagerly longed to for ages, called Blast From The Past Antiques. It proved to be, hands down, the best antique store I've visited to date anywhere in the Okanagan - so much so in fact, that I'm hoping to devote a post just to my trip there in the not-too-distant future.

Even though they don't sell usually vintage clothing (save, by and large, for some military uniforms, a little bit of jewelry and the occasional accessory - there was a fab pair of 1950s metal cat eye sunglasses there, which if it wasn't for my nickel allergy, I likely would have snapped up right away), this well curated shop is still a major winner in my books and I look forward to chatting more about it here soon.

We'd hoped to grab some outfit photos while in Vernon, but it was raining and that didn't happen, so we made our way back to Penticton and snapped a few on a charming little bridge down at Okanagan Lake, as the sun went back and forth from sunny to overcast and everything in between (as you can see from the variety of lighting in these shots).

l'm not going to lie to you, I'm not overly happy about how I look in these photos. I’ve far from recovered (from surgery) completely yet, and my face and body both look bloated/puffy, and riddled with pain (admittedly, this may be something I read in my own face more than others can see, knowing my good day faces from my bad day ones all too well).

My weight is also a tick higher than I'd like (the result of almost no physical activity for more than six weeks), but I've already altered my diet to try and shed a couple pounds, and hope that getting out more in the coming weeks will help in that regard, too.

No matter though, one isn't always able to bring their a-game all the time, and there are days when documenting the memories trump looking your thinnest, healthiest, or most awake, and this was certainly one of them for me.

So while Target was a letdown and I sure wish I looked better in these snaps, everything else about the day was awesome! Just getting to spend time in store that's jam-packed with vintage and antique collectibles, books, furniture, decor items, and myriad other collectibles put me in a flat out jubilant mood and was precisely what I needed after another long spell of constant bed rest.

It will still be a while more before I've recouped to my pre-surgery health levels, but a day out like this clearly shows I'm well on that path, which I'm thrilled about. All the more so because we're nearing ever closer to summer and I want to get out and enjoy as much of the gorgeous Okanagan summer weather as I possibly can - hopefully with another trip or two here and there to Vernon so that I can spend some time at Blast From The Past again!