the clothing show photos
A design from Flow Like Water
The Clothing Show
Hardcore frugalistas are poised to pounce on the deep deals peppered throughout the Clothing Show this weekend.
Do a little advance research and identify key fashion targets — the event’s website links to most of the participating vendors’ blogs and sites for previewing purposes.
Whether you lean on girly-girl stylings, urban-chic wearables, goth-industrial garb or anything in between, you can expect a heady mix of well-priced merchandise created by local indie designers, plus several sample sales by local retailers and an impressive index of quality vintage finds.
There are tons of über-creative fashion students, hobbyists, newbie designers, and fashion veterans selling off stock from past seasons for a song.
Make sure to get a map to easily track down booths from the sometimes overwhelming medley of more than 200 vendors booked for the two-day shopping bonanza.
Whether you’re looking for unusual jewelry, quirky hats, handbags, cute undies, sunglasses, recycled babydoll tops, summer dresses, hoodies, sneakers, flip-flops, vintage denim, silkscreened or retro tees, even hip baby wear, it’s all there, plus lots more cool stuff — most of it priced well under $100. And there’s also a good selection of tempting scores for men with a sense of individual style.
Promzillas with unconventional tastes hunting down the perfect one-of-a-kind dress, purse or choker might also unearth a fashion nugget or two.
Earrings from Cureous
FF’s top tips:
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Fans of local clothing labels Snoflake and Dagg And Stacey will want to get to their shared booth in a nanosecond, as these fab Toronto lines are once again selling off their goodies both old and new at lunatic-low prices ($30 and up).
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Seek out fashion-forward fresh new jewelry designs by Melissa Clemente, whose stunning pendants — many cleverly incorporating long dangling chains, charms and semi-precious stones, often placed asymmetrically — are accessibly tagged at $25-$60. Other notables include Cureous (love the earrings), PaperSnake and BJeweled Vintage, Kari Lynn Bianchi and White Lotus.
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Those searching for a dress will want to check out Passenger Pigeon, Embody, Lilikoi (from B.C.), Damzels and Flow Like Water.
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For fabulous beaded textile collage scarves, visit Flourish’s booth.
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Stylish boys sniffing out the next cool tee or top should pop by Hardboiled Ink, FBPBBP, The Ice Breaker and AKA Clothing.
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For kiddy tees with a smirk, check out Rock And Rattle.
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Cool east-end retailer Yoka offers up discounts galore on exclusive imports from Denmark and Montreal.
More info, as well as the vendors’ roster, is available at www.theclothingshow.com. Get on the mailing list to receive exclusive e-coupon deals.
The show runs Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Tickets are $8 in advance (online or via select retailers) or $10 at the door.
Shelter From The Storm T-shirt, $12.99 at Winners and HomeSense.
Shelter From The Storm
Once again, Winners stores across the country are partnering with the Canadian Women’s Foundation for the Shelter From The Storm campaign, which aims to stop violence against women and children.
Visit any Winners or HomeSense shop until May 13 and pick up a Shelter From The Storm T-shirt ($12.99) or teddy bear ($9.99), or make a $2 donation with your next purchase. Last year, more than $700,000 was raised via this worthwhile initiative — help them top that amount.
All funds raised are directed to emergency shelters for abused women and their kids, as well as community violence prevention programs.
For details or to make a secure and more substantial donation online, visit www.stopviolence.ca.
