We are excited to be starting a new series where we visit the homes and closets of some seriously stylish and interesting people. Erin has been one of our beloved sales associates for a few years now, and just by looking at her you can tell she’s a cool and noteworthy gal. She let me snap some pictures of her bedroom and told me a bit about her favourite clothing pieces she has found over the years.
Tell us about your style.
Having literally just thought about it, my style is basically an accumulation of influences from all the female figures I’ve looked up to in life. My mom, my Barbies, the early 2000’s pop divas who’d make me late to school cuz I’d be waiting for their videos to come up on the Countdown, and my younger, purer self who dreamed someday of being a fashion designer (my million dollar design was a ¾ length baseball shirt with a heart in the middle) AND a DJ (I’m selling my DJ controller if anyone’s interested!!!)
My truest self comes out when the sun goes down – something feels weird about taking the TTC in broad daylight wearing my rainbow jumpsuit and 5-inch platforms, I guess. I’m a huge clothing collector and I’m not crazy about wearing the same thing twice which is why I’m so lucky to be a part of Common Sort. The funny thing is, a bunch of us CS gals live together and we NEVER share our wardrobes. I often end up coming home with Amalia or Meghan’s old clothes which had been sitting in their closets the night before. It’ll always comes back to the ladies in my life.
This is the dress I’m being buried in. It’s also one of the first pieces I ever collected when I started working in second-hand clothing. Missoni is one of my favourite brands, but you gotta admit they’re kinda hit-or-miss. Obviously the story of this dress had to do with a fancy grandma passing it down a few generations. I’ve only ever worn it once when working the Vintage Crawl and I distinctly remember wearing nothing underneath (Ou La La!) and later finding out from my co-worker that it was completely see-through (C’est La Vie!)
I am OBSESSED with hoops earrings. I have a monthly allowance for at least 2 multi-packs from Claire’s. They just compliment every outfit I own. I got my Erin earrings custom-made at the CNE on my birthday, cuz how could I not?
I attach memories to EVERYTHING I wear, and the last time I wore this cloud print shirt in 2015 I knocked over a lava lamp on stage at Double Double Land deeming myself “The Girl Who Broke The Lava Lamp On Stage At Double Double Land”. I am still not proud of this moment and I haven’t been able to wear this shirt since, but it’s still the best shirt I own and it’ll forever have a special spot in my second drawer.
I made these 8 ball earrings out of keychains. I have a growing keychain AND earring collection so it made sense to combine them. I think jewellery design is my next pursuit in life – but don’t hold me to it!!! 
I don’t shop fast fashion stores often, but If I do, I’ll check out the sale section. The crazy thing about this two-piece is I found the top at Forever 21 and the bottoms at Zara. This has happened to me on a few occasions working in second-hand where I’ll buy something one season and have a totally matching piece come in the next, and every time it feels like it was meant to be. I once called this outfit “I just auditioned for ABBA Mania” and it makes its way out on special occasions. I’ll NEVER get over the fact that it cost me less than $20.
Ok, these are a story. Whatever the internet says – listen to it. There is NO way to successfully apply glitter to Crocs.
I love to add a comedic element to my outfits when I can, and my friends know this. When my best friend Ashlyn got married this past May, she let us choose our own shoes to wear with our bridesmaid dresses. She was apparently going to let us choose our own bridesmaid dresses until she remembered she’d picked me to be in her wedding party.
I spent 3 nights decking out these Dollarama Crocs in $40 of fine glitter. I thought cheap foam would work better than the special plastic. We all grew up in small towns where Crocs became classic but I’d also had a weird feeling that they were about to make a comeback. There’s still glitter on our kitchen floor and apparently it’s forever embedded in Ash’s living room carpet.
As I was walking down the aisle, I felt the layer of glitter snag on the bottom of my dress and COMPLETELY lift up from the shoe. I thought I was going to trip up the altar and I think my heart sank further than hers. Luckily, I was holding her brother’s arm and made it up alive, but obviously my shoes did not. The photographer was just as sad as I was, but hey, at least my feet were comfortable!!!
My method of thrifting has always been this: I walk into the store and pick up whatever (literally) catches my eye first. I’ve always been attracted to bright colours and crazy patterns, and this Custo Barcelona jacket was sticking out like a sore thumb – I HAD to take it home – so badly that I think I still owe my friend shopping with me $100 for buying it… (Sorry Pete)
This jacket was the first thing I ever bought at Common Sort! Straight off of the repairs rack! I still haven’t fixed the giant hole in the shoulder but WHO CARES when you have an Ace Of Spades as a zipper pull. I dress thematically whenever I can and one of my biggest style regrets was not wearing this to the casino in Niagara Falls – my friends and I dressed up in wigs and fur coats instead. It probably wouldn’t have been worth it anyways considering we almost got kicked out for taking a picture of the Britney Spears slot machine.
This is one of the first things I bought at our Common Sort in the Annex. I’d been feeling really down on myself for most of the summer, and when I found this jacket embroidered with “One Of The Elite” on the back, I couldn’t help but cheer up. I never thought a children’s dance jacket could make me feel such a cute confidence!!!
commonsortblog.wordpress.com 