Fall Style Inspiration

I don’t know about you, but one of my favourite parts about the changing seasons is refreshing my wardrobe and style – out with the old (and to CS to get re-homed), in with the new (again, mostly CS) and figuring out what pieces still speak to me. Pinterest and Intagram are my go-to’s each season when I’m looking for sartorial inspiration to get the ol’ brain ticking, so today we have pulled some looks from our Pinterest to show you what has been speaking to us for Fall 2018…which is tomorrow!

all images via Pinterest

Get This Look / 5

photo via The Zoe Report

We absolutely fell for this chic, relaxed, grunge-esque look, so of course we had to recreate it with pieces from the store. It calls to mind what someone might wear on a day at home and then elevated with a mix of statement and minimalist accessories . It’s a thoughtful look that gives the appearance of effortlessness.

Inside My Closet: Erin Hemmerling

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!!!

Get This Look / 3

Photo via Pinterest

The outfits that have been calling to us lately are the simple ones; ones that are undeniably cool by hitting that “effortless style” nail on the head. Fall is around the corner and we are constantly pinning looks that inspire us so that we may call to mind when picking pieces for the shop. For our next Get The Look, we pulled pieces from our shop to recreate this overall/trench coat look, one of the many looks that have been catching our eye lately.

2017/18 Fall-Winter Trends at Common Sort

We are coming into a new season, so our buyers are keeping their eyes peeled for any pieces coming into our shops that are on trend for this Fall/Winter. While being on trend isn’t everything, we like to make sure we have something for everyone when they walk into our stores, keeping in mind some people love to be trendy, while others seek something more eccentric or something timeless.

We have pulled 6 of our favourite Fall/Winter trends from around the web, and then pulled some pieces from our shops to help you find potential favourite looks for this coming season.

Personal Style: Inez Genereux

Next up on our personal style series, one of our buyers, perpetually colourful with a smile that could brighten anyone’s bad day, Inez. Tell us a bit about yourself.
An angel who lives for love and laughs.

How long have you worked for Common Sort and what’s your favourite part of the job?

I have worked at Common Sort for a collective time of about 2 and a half years. I took a break for a year to work on my art practise, styling and fashion presentation.

While I was away from Common Sort I found myself thinking about the communities that the stores are apart of more than any other part of the job. There are very few retail businesses where people of many different levels of economic status’ can enter and find clothing that suits all of their needs, aesthetically, functionally and financially. The price of new contemporary clothing that you buy in a mall is outrageous. Those prices are lies, and it isn’t fair that some folks have a more challenging time paying the price of those lies than others. The amount of times I have heard people exclaim while shopping at Common Sort  “this regularly retails for so much more“, is in the hundreds. The cost of living in Canada is so high, I feel that Common Sort offers a tiny bit of reprieve from the oppressiveness of consumerism.

As much as I truly love fashion, the nature of fast fashion is destructive to the planet. Even independent designers struggle with needing to make their clothing affordable enough for themselves to make small runs of garments, so most of all the clothing we see is made from synthetic materials and flown across the earth to be sold in North America. Common Sort buys directly from the general public, and we get so much clothing in every single day. It blows my mind to think that almost all of what we get in would end up in a landfill otherwise. Well! these are some of my politics in a nutshell, but I should say I also LOVE the thrill of finding a piece of clothing with a lot of character, especially vintage. Garments were made with more consideration towards fabric and wearability in the past. Things were made to last.

How would you describe your style?
A cartoon of Cameron Diaz playing a pop star who by night, is the secretary of a cult.

What’s your favourite piece you own?

ALL of my clothes are each my favourite pieces. I don’t buy clothing to have a cohesive wardrobe, I buy individual pieces that barely go with anything else lol. They all stand on their own. But honestly.. my favourite piece of clothing I have is a very very plain, boring ass mid calf length black cotton skirt with a thick elastic waist band. Originally from Forever21, I bought it because one summer I was very sick and it was all I could handle wearing on my lower half. It kind of looks perfect with everything and I also feel like I would have gone totally bonkers that summer without it. It’s kind of a horcrux for a part of my soul now.

Some tips on how to style an outfit.

Instead of styling tips I’m going to share the best advice I ever got on getting dressed. I used to feel soooooo stressed out about finding the perfect outfit for work, or a party or a date or something. I felt like if it was an important event then I had to have a new combination of clothing pieces so the memory would be preserved in that outfit. But it is so hard to put together a new look under pressure. Someone told me just to wear your favourite go-to outfit, the one you KNOW looks good, even if it isn’t very special anymore. The last thing you want is to be pulling on the hem of a dress or constantly checking your self out in a mirror every second you get because you feel uncomfortable. Put comfort first always, but consider expanding the boundaries of that comfort zone sometimes. Everyone has the capacity to push a little bit here and there. Go for it.

Favourite trend at the moment?

Literally I have no idea what is trending. I’m really into clogs and ska inspired outfits right now tho.

Favourite designer(s)?

ReBaie by Rebee,  Atelier Wonder and like Gucci lol.

Favourite season for dressing?

A few years ago I made a promise to myself I would NEVER wear an all black outfit in the winter, so I think it’s fun and challenging to come up with exciting looks throughout the darkest days of our year.

Think of your style 10 years ago…are you embarrassed by it now? 

My style when I was 16 was really similar to where I am at now *in theory*. I liked and wore vintage clothes, I have always been really inspired by the Fruits fashion blog, and I liked to make my own clothes sometimes. One thing I should note is that 10 years ago I was really into Happy Hardcore and raving. Just let that simmer in your imagination for a moment. I think I looked sick and I have so much respect for my younger self for absolutely not giving a heck about what other people thought about how I dressed. I still apply the PLUR vibe to my visual and empathetic self now.

WHAT SHE WORE// Shorts, Top and Shoes: CS, Sunglasses: vintage, Bag: Courage My Love

*photos by Alex Spence and mural by Caitlin Taguibao

Personal Style: Dan Tonner

Next up on our personal style feature is Dan Tonner. Let’s get to know this lil’ gem!

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m Dan. My favourite emojis are: diamond, cigarette, nails & the blue heart. I use they/them pronouns. I’m from the East Coast. I smoke like a chimney, drink too much coffee and comic books are my best friends. My elbows are dangerously pointy and I flail them when I dance, so be careful. It literally took me a week to answer this question.

How long have you worked for Common Sort and what’s your favourite part of the job?

I’ve been at Common Sort for about 8 months. I’ve gotta agree with Meg, the strong femme energy brings a magical touch to the business. It’s also lovely not having to work in soul-sucking corporate retail. Something I really appreciate as well is how accessible we make fashion. Being genderqueer, walking into a store and trying on “women’s” clothing is often a frustrating & discouraging experience. I’ve been able to explore my style and identity through being exposed to clothing from so many varying brands, decades and styles, and it creates a beautiful opportunity for self-expression. I think Common Sort extends those possibilities to everyone.

How would you describe your style?

Equal parts pleather daddy, self-proclaimed pastel princess, rave queen, boy next door, trailer trash, badass boxer & a little bit of Molson Canadian promoter girl, with just a touch of Jackie Kennedy on my classy days. 

Some tips on how to style an outfit.

My general rule is that you’re only well dressed if you’re embodying a minimum of two Spice Girls. My go to is Scary/Posh. Scary was the best… that NASA look she pulls in Spice World is lit.

What’s your favourite piece you own?

I have this crazy monogram denim zip-up Christian Dior hooded vest from some runway show in the 90’s. This adorable, little 82 year old Scottish woman who used to work for Vogue sold it to the store and I nearly wept when I saw it. Dior was my first love. I also have this ancient Roots knit turtleneck that used to belong to my brother. He and I had matching ones when I was 5 or so. Its been so worn that the threads around the neck are coming loose making this cool distressed look. I have to hand wash it because I’m afraid it will literally disintegrate if I put it in a machine at this point.

Favourite trend at the moment?

I’m trying to learn how to power pattern clash. People look so bold and colourful and I respect the sense of being able to find two things that shouldn’t go together but work together perfectly. I used to always wear simple strong colour palettes and never any patterns or prints, but now that I’m addicted to dying my hair weird colours my wardrobe is getting a little bolder. I love pulling big looks and I live for making the Judgemental Judy’s of the world uncomfortable and also when little kids think I’m cool.

Favourite designer(s)?

I love Thom Browne; his shows are always really compelling, conceptual, and weird. His most recent show was this crazy deconstruction of the idea of a grey suit which sounds boring now that I’m describing it, but I swear it’s great. I also have a weakness for Daizy Shely’s marabou feather jackets. Yves Saint Laurent goes without saying, he was a visionary & a progressive .

Favourite season for dressing?

Spring, minus the florals. You still get all the layering from Fall and Winter but with all the light and airiness of Summer. Plus, it’s exciting to slowly break out all the great pieces you’ve been dying to wear since Fall. Did I mention my fondness for pastels?Think of your style 10 years ago…are you embarrassed by it now? 

I would describe my style ten years ago as “I’m Here, I’m Queer and you don’t have to get used to it but PLEASE pay attention to me”. Picture a young awkward Danny, fresh out of the closet, braces, every possible colour paired with every possible pattern. I had these Converse shoes that were made out of the same material as tennis balls. Not cute. I try not to think about high school…

WHAT THEY WORE // vintage Everlast pants via CS, secondhand jacket via CS, Seductions fishnet bodysuit and Underground platform creepers via CS

*photos by Alex Spence

 

One Piece 4 Ways

It’s a common tip that when shopping for new clothes you should think of several different ways you could style the piece you are eyeing with what you already have in your wardrobe. This tip can be handy when you are trying to avoid adding pieces to your closet that just won’t really get worn. In this series we will be styling 1 piece and giving you a few ideas (4, to be exact) of how you could style it. First up, a pair of Ellen Tracy buttery yellow trousers.

MONOCHROME

Ellen Tracy trousers size S ($42), vintage top size S ($15), Ferragamos size 8 ($48) and Coach bag ($58)

Dressing in monochrome outfits has been around for quite awhile, but it seems to be a bit more popular of late. Here we styled the yellow trousers with a vintage knit yellow cami, white flats and a white bag to create a look that is interesting in it’s simplicity.

CASUAL

American Apparel white tee size XS ($10), Ellen Tracy trousers size S ($42), Keds size 6.5 ($20) and sling backpack ($24)

Trousers don’t always have to be worn dressed up. It’s easy to dress down a pair with a white tee, tennis style shoes and a backpack.

DRESSED UP

KIN button down size S ($44), corset size S ($19), Ellen Tracy trousers size S ($42), Prada heels size 37 ($68) and Mat & Nat bag ($21)

If you aren’t a fan of wearing dresses for a night out, try dressing up a pair of your favourite trousers with an interesting heel, simple clutch, corset style top over a button down to create a look that is femme meets masculine meets post-minimalist style.

COLOURFUL

vintage silk shirt size S ($22), Ellen Tracy trousers size S ($42), Chinese Laundry slides size 8 ($28) and shoulder bag ($18)

Why not stand out from the crowd? Here we found a colourful shirt that pairs well with the yellow trousers and a contrasting shoe to really punch up the look. Pattern mixing and colour contrasting can make a simple look really standout.

Get This Look

photo: Fashion Me Now

There is so much style inspiration floating around the internet. When I am feeling uninspired in the morning I’ll flip through my Pinterest and Instagram saves to help me come up with some outfit ideas. Because we have such a wide range of pieces in store, it’s very likely you could find every piece you needed to put together an entire outfit inspired by one of your favs from the web. Today we thought we’d recreate a street style look with pieces from the shop to show you how easy it can be.