summer thunderstorms

The Greater Vancouver Area was slammed by a brief yet wicked little thundershower last night. Lightening had a starring role in several of my dreams. I guess I am easily influenced by exterior stimuli. 

BUT IT IS AUGUST. And Vancouver. Basically, I am wondering, "what in the sweet heck is going on?"

This week has been particularly manic-depressive with mostly grey and drizzly days being abruptly punctuated by an hour or so of lovely sunshine. I am irrationally confident, however, that September will be better. Nicer. Warmer. 

With that in mind, I have a brand of bikinis to present to you. It is late in the season, yes, but what if next month is a stunner? And, if it is not, these are suits you could plan a holiday around. 

ANI bikinis is a US brand that believes in craftmanship. Yes, of bikinis. The swimwear is 100% designed and manufactured in Southern California. The designer and founder of ANI bikinis is Ani Breslin is a world-traveling surfer chick. These suits are not for the faint of heart and they are intentionally designed to be so. 

All photos from ANI bikinis.

for pockets deeper than mine

Art Youth Society is a creative collective based out of New York, NY. A gold jewelery line was made by the founder, Ays Yuva, to celebrate the launch of Art Youth Society in December 2012. 

Yuva says the jewelry line was inspired by "street savvy women about town: creative, diverse, good-humored and whip-smart."

They sound like my kind of women. 

  
All photos from Art Youth Society. 

very exciting

I follow several vegan Instagram accounts for food inspiration and, through Nom Yourself, I found some very exciting shoe inspiration: Nicora Johns. 

Nicora Johns is an American brand founded by shoemaker Stephanie Fryslie. The brand is a reaction to two things: (i) unemployed American artisans who could be benefiting from having full-time fulfilling work as craftspeople making shoes yet are out of work while Americans spend billions of dollars annually on shoes, and (ii) between the chemicals required to treat leather or make synthetic materials, and the agricultural destruction caused by overgrazing livestock, shoe materials make the top ten list of the world's most polluting industries every year. 

Nicora Johns is a project that hopes to pave the way for an eco-consious and socially-conscious US shoe industry comeback. 

All the shoes are crafted from high quality man-made materials (i.e. they are vegan, people, no animals harmed). Since the shoes are handmade locally and the materials are bought from local suppliers, they are able to make custom sizes for little or no extra cost and the customer can choose custom materials and colours. To add good news to good news, the average price point is under $100.

All photos from Nicora Johns. Shoes can be purchased on Kickstarter.  

knapsacks

You may think February is the wrong time for a post about backpacks, but this is about the time when you find out whether that sweet little piece you bought back in the summer or autumn is actually able to hold up the wear and tear of student life/camp life/commuter life. 

A few weeks ago, Nikki was looking for a new backpack. She mentioned it to me and found one the next day but it got me wondering what is out there. I rock a MEC bag for its durability and waterproofing or a really beat up orange American Apparel backpack but there are definitely more stylish options out there. As per usual, I went with a masculine approach...

the field pack by Poler

 the kletter flip by kletterworks x mark mcnairy

  

shepard fairey campus pack by incase

brooks pickwick backpack

 

packable day pack by herschel

little america - studio by herschel

 

master piece x nowartt

 master piece potential

Images from Poler, Mark McNairy, Incase, Brooks England, Herschel, and Master Piece. 

neat

I know I promised Aletha that I would write a post on Internet shopping basics and I really thought this was going to be the week. 

BUT 

It is 11:17pm, I am full of delicious jamacian food, sleepy, and I need to do a bit more research on the subject so instead I am going to do something predictable and give you a link to something neat that you haven't heard of yet. LEIF. 

LEIF is based out of Brooklyn, New York (like some other things that I love) and is curated by Stacy Anne Longenecker. The objective is to "present the most special, beautiful things that add a unique touch to day-to-day living."

This shop is pretty neat. Very understated, it showcases a small collection of various items at a time with stock changing on a regular basis.

sea shark bottle opener

fiske tea towel

 

faceted boulder mug

elephant print wool scarf

All photos from LEIF.

xoxo

Connor's hip aunt Mary sent me a link a little while back for a fantastic new Canadian lingerie line named Fortnight. 

It is just a lovely line, manufactured in Canada, and both sexy and self-deprecating in a way that is typical of a sassy, young Canadian. 

Read more about the brand here. Check out their cheeky promotional videos here. 

I am giving you this information well in advance for Valentine's day but, really, this brand is life advice. 

Photos from Fortnight Lingerie Inc. 

sole searching

I have a lot of appreciation for masculine style. I often dress like a boy and sometimes, for a brief moment as I rifle through his dresser, I wish Connor was shorter just so I could borrow more items. 

What I have noticed in my constant observation of what the men are wearing theses days is that some of these boy-creatures do not understand how important their shoes are. Why are shoes important? Because the third thing I look at when checking out a man is his shoes. 

And one pair of shoes is not enough. Especially in Vancouver, how could you possibly think that a single pair of sneakers is going to get you through the wet weather?

Anyway, my friend Malcolm asked me to recommend some shoes so here we go, for the boys!

You need a pair of boots, nice boots. Maybe high lace-ups. 

Vintage Shoe Company, "Ian"

Maybe low. 

 Vintage Shoe Company, "Vaughn"

Dr Martens, "Wilson"

Or these. I cannot say enough good things about these.

Blundstones

You also need a pair of shoes. 

CLAE, "Jones"

Maybe even two. 

Gravis, "Quarters"

And if you are feeling adventurous, check out my favourite - solestruck. 

Zuriick, "Oscar"

The Damned, "Pyr St Man"

Generic Surplus, "Borstal Stripe Mens"

Disclaimer: This post assumes you are comfortable with internet shopping (which I hope you are as it is 2013). If you are not, check local stores to see if they carry the brands you are looking for. The stores that do will probably also have other stuff you will like. 
 

dibs

At the fabulous Eatery Christmas party this year I met a few new sassy bundles of joy that have joined the team, one of which is a fab lil aussie named Erin Neale. Erin makes wicked leather and cloth goods. Her brand is called The Undead Collection and you can check out her sweet swag here and here.

 
Photos from Erin Neale and The Undead Collection.