More mirrors, no smoke

I'm still on my mirror theme today. They add glitz and glam and light to any space and, well, they're shiny and I'm attracted to them like a kid to a lollipop.

This uber heavy gilt mirror suits my rough-and-tumble chic look. It has an old flaky gold leaf look to it that speaks of age and a certain amount of decrepitude.

It was sitting in the basement of a dingy second-hand store in the west end of Toronto (that didn't stay open for long, alas) for $3.99. Natch I snapped it up.

I love the way it pops against the deep blue.

I've already shown you my little beauty nook in a tiny hallway, where a heavy second-hand mirror (about $30, pricey for the Grunge Queen) hangs over a gilt shelf ($2 at a garage sale in Ottawa when I went on vacation last year!).

I recently jazzed up the hallway by hanging a print under the gilt shelf. It extends the space and makes the ensemble look like an entire unit.

If you look behind it to the left you'll see a smaller version of the lacquer mirror I showed you yesterday, hanging over an empty frame I found at a garage sale (3 of them for $2).

This is the smallest decor mirror I've ever bought. It was about $6.99 at my local east-end Toronto thrift store, Stretch Thrift.

I use it to check my butt out in my oblong mirror when I'm getting dressed in the morning.

I love the rustic, semi scraggy look. It provides an interesting contrast to all my pretty shiny perfume bottles.

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Mirror, mirror - not on the wall

I'm feeling a bit betwixt and between in terms of new decor ideas. It's finally summer in Toronto yet despite the warm temps and some humidity it feels more like fall ... except it doesn't yet feel like fall, if you catch my drift.

My point? It seems too late to keep streamlining my pad, as I naturally seem to do in the summer, yet it's way too early to haul out the velvet drapes and go to town with cozy winter decor.

One feature that stays the same in my space no matter what the season: mirrors. Lots of them.

I'm not a narcissist, really. It's just that mirrors reflect light and make a room look bigger, and whatever the season, that's a good thing in my humble opinion.

So how many mirrors do I have? Seven, I think, not including a small funky one on a stand that I'll show you tomorrow (thrifted, of course).


The cool thing about the larger ones you see here is they're so versatile. I don't even hang 'em; I just prop 'em.

They can be turned sideways to create a different shape.

This gold mirror was $14.99 marked down from $19.99 at Value Village.

I like that it's a bit of an oxymoron: it gestures towards glitziness with the gold, yet the gold is painted over a rustic wood frame.




And it's no secret that mirrors just look so glam.

This (very heavy) wood lacquered one was on major special, over $200 regular price but if memory serves about $60 at my fave mirror and framing shop in Toronto, Syllogy at 217 Danforth Ave.

They have regular screamin' deals, cash only, on their huge wall mirrors, which they make themselves.

Heck you can even plop 'em on the floor, and balance a painting on top as I did here.


Lesson: you can move mirrors around your space just as you'd juggle pillows or candlesticks.

And they don't just have to hang on the wall.

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Shoe boo

Here's my beautifully tanned foot - see post below - wearing ... ta da: my new sandals!

I had a good response to the Which is Thrift? post on new and used shoes.

Many people thought both pair of shoes looked new, but Style Symmetry and Smartchic (whose link I can't get to work, sorry) guessed right.

The sandal to the left was bought new for about $69.99 - not cheap for the Grunge Queen - while the shoe that was beside it by Geox was $6.99 for the pair at the Goodwill.

Here are my white feet from a few weeks ago, wearing my new silver Kenneth Cole ballet flat to the left (around $50 as part of a 2 for 1 sale), and on the right a used pair of Kenneth Cole flats bought at the same Goodwill for $6.99!

Both are in mint condition.

Kudos to your thrifty reasoning for those who guessed right and thanks to all who posted comments!

Just goes to show that it is possible to find new shoes at the thrift shops - it's not easy but sometimes you can score big. I look for shoes that don't have a worn look or stink too much. A current style always helps but sometimes you can find some fab 1980s heels that could be spruced up with a visit to the shoe repair doctor.

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Brown and white versions of moi

There are certain things in life I don't like cheaping out on.

I'm paler than pale and have tried numerous tinted moisterizers and self-tanners from over the counter, all with the same depressing and orangy streaked results.

So when The Forest Hill Spa announced it had just introduced the St. Tropez method of airbrush tanning, I figure I'd give it a whirl.

It's only $65 for a full-body spray that takes about 20 minutes, then maybe another 25 or so to try.


Here I am in front of the booth, with legs whiter than the underbelly of a fish.


This is me after, looking hopefully like a bronzed beach babe.

I've never been this dark before, and it feels good. Having a tan - even a "fake" one, just makes you look healthier.

And there's no exposure to UV rays with this method.

What do you think? Shall I drop large hints to the man about getting me a package of 3 or 6 more treatments? (Hey, the Grunge Queen can maybe do $65, but not several hundred smackeroos).

This will wear off in a week or two, so if I don't keep it up I'll be white again in no time.

But for now it's nice to try out a different look, and it's definitley nice not to wear cover-up on my face! We'll see how the man - and men? - reacts.

P.S. I'm writing this the next day and I have the answer: men go bananas over tans. On my way home after work yesterday a man FOLLOWED ME ONTO THE BUS after I told him I wouldn't go out with him. He said I was "the most elegant woman" he's ever seen!

Mmm, this could be an interesting social experiment. Maybe I should dye my hair blond too!

BY THE WAY that dark blue dress I'm wearing is new, though it was $4.99 at an end-of-the-line shop I discovered across fromt he Value Village on the Danforth in Toronto.

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Deco Nostalgia: a look back

As you can maybe guess by new new banner up top, I'm feeling nostalgic tonight for some looks I've created in the past.

I normally don't mourn what's done on the decor front; I just move on to the next look as I'm constantly craving change in my space.

But as you know, nostalgia plays a huge role in my Grunge Queen philosophy. It's only by exploring where you've been and what moors you to this earth that you can begin to express yourself and your style through your decor.

Looking back and revisiting ideas or looks isn't unimaginative; it's celebrating the essential 'you' and can lead to a more refined style.

On the subject of looking back, I'm wondering if the impulse to collect a particular item - like I collect jewellery or head vases - isn't on some level a re-living of that initial moment of love-dom.

It paints a rather compulsive picture of collecting, but there ya go: my deep thought for the eve.

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Movie star looks a la thrift

Dah-ling.

Ever since finding my $3 retro purple sunglasses
I've been slightly obsessed with ... you guessd it, large purple retro shades!

These purply pink retro shades called "Comet by Newtrend" were only 99 cents at my local thrift shop.

The person who wore them had a small head as the arms have been bent super short. But my optician can heat them and adjust them to fit me - remember that when you're scouting for retro shades!

I found another goodie yesterday while doing a shopping column in North Toronto. In one of my fave consignment shops, Around the Block I found this wonderful piece of costume jewellery for $10.

As you'll see with my other thrift jewellery posts, costume necklaces with multi-tiers are a particular obsession of mine. Pearls and chains are classy yet can be funked up, and they can solve various style woes.

I'm wearing them here with a jersey wrap-inspired dress by Bionic Woman by Toronto designer Mark Foreman, which has a long V-neck that shows my scar and makes me look even more flat-chested than I am.

A tangle of pearls and chains like this remedies those problems and makes me look like a rich beetch to boot.

Tip: always look for costume jewellery with some weight. It tends to look more classy and substantial. I can always tell it's retro by looking at the clasp, which always has cool and very ancient looking hardware.

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Layway art

What do you think?

This is a beautiful painting by Toronto artist Julie Glick Julie Glick. I found it at the Red Sable
gallery in Toronto while doing a recent Shopping Column.

Let's just say I fell in love with it.

Now reader, you know I normally get my art from the thrift store.

But Julie, also the curator at Red Sable, was flexible and let me do layaway.

I love that. Who does layaway anymore? It makes sense for big purchases like art, which will never go out of style, but not for things like fast fashion, which'll be outta style by the time you end up paying for them!

So in a few months, this lovely oil painting - here's a pic of it I snapped in the gallery with the frame - will be mine.

It's a nice feeling to have something to work towards. I love the feeling of anticipation. And every time I put some cash on it I'll get the same thrill I do when I'm in the thrift shop. It'll feel so good to finally bring it home, like I've worked so hard to get it - boy this feels kinda old-fashioned doesn't it?

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