the rhythm will take me back to the place where i belong

Coat: I.AM.GIA Blair Coat (similar, another similar one) | Sweater: Topshop (similar) | Plaid Pants: Brandy Melville | Purse: Saint Laurent West Hollywood Bag | Belt: Vintage (similar) | Boots: Doc Martens Quad Chelsea Boots 

Last weekend, Toronto was hit with probably the biggest snow storm we’ve seen all season yet. Granted, this winter has been surprisingly mild so I can’t complain for the most part. So when the snow hit last Saturday, I honestly didn’t even mind all that much. Hence the reason why my friend and I decided to still go out the next day, embrace the cold and snow, and shoot these pictures in the city!

For the occasion, I decided to keep it cozy (obviously) as we hit up some of our favourite spots in the city. What can be cozier than a big faux fur coat? The one I’m wearing is from I.AM.GIA that I purchased a few years ago (now sold out but I linked a few similar ones above). I love the colour and the large bell sleeves! It’s perfect for layering chunky sweaters underneath. I wanted to break up the fur and spice up the look some more so I opted for a vintage belt over the coat. I think this is such a fun way to change up your outerwear. In the winter it’s harder to experiment and have fun with fashion when you’re constantly throwing on the same few coats over all your outfits. So accessorizing is definitely the way to go! For the rest of the look, I decided to go with the whole streetwear style that I.AM.GIA is known for and paired it with these cool plaid pants. The pants are from Brandy Melville and are a fraction of the cost of the ones from I.AM.GIA that were huge a while back. And finally to finish off this cool girl look, I wore my trusty Doc Marten platform chelsea boots that are actually perfect for the snow (waterproof and durable) and my first designer bag purchase from a few years ago – my beloved YSL West Hollywood purse.

For our shoot in the city on this snowy day, we hit up one of our fave spots – Kensington Market.  Kensington Market is hands down THE place to go if you’re into unique vintage finds, cool little restaurants and cafes, graffiti art, coloured houses, and just all around good vibes. I prefer it in the summer when everyone is out in the streets doing their thing. They also have Pedestrian Sundays in the summer where the streets are closed off from cars and there’s art installations, little markets, street food, etc for everyone to enjoy. It’s a great place to be to experience all the different cultures in one place that Toronto is known for. So much fun! The rooftop photos were actually taken on top of a public parking garage in Kensington Market (a spot that my friend showed me for the first time and I will definitely be back!!). I’m obsessed with how these pictures turned out.

Keeping with the Toronto theme and also going off of my last blog post where I featured a song by a local band, this week’s song comes from MONOWHALES and it’s what I call Toronto – Home. A little backstory on the band, I actually went to high school with Sally, the singer of the band and am so proud to see how far her and her band have come! I always hear MONOWHALES on Indie88, the city’s indie radio station and I know they play tons of shows in the GTA as well.

Home is super fitting for this week’s post since it’s all about my home, my city. In the music video, they take you for a fun-filled day to some of the best spots in Toronto. One of them being Kensington Market of course. If you ever head to my home city (especially in the summer), use this music video as a reference! If you follow in the footsteps of this video, you’re guaranteed to have an amazing day in Toronto.

To breakdown the places in the music video in order of appearance:

• High Park (perfect in the Spring for cherry blossom season)
• Honest Eds (unfortunately no longer around but was one of the longest standing landmark discount stores in the city)
• Kensington Market
• Nathan Phillips Square (perfect for ice skating in the winter and home of the famous TORONTO sign)
• Sonic Boom (the largest record store in the city, I frequent this place for all my vinyl needs!)
• Yonge-Dundas Square (intersection for one of the city’s most popular malls – The Eaton’s Centre and there’s also tons of events and festivals at this sqaure in the summer)
• Union Station (just like every major city, Toronto’s Union station is also the major hub to most places you need to go)
• Toronto Ferry Dock to Toronto Islands!! (there are a few islands you can go to, Centre Island is fun for kids with amusement park rides and there’s also one with a nude beach if you’re into that kind of thing!)
• Sneaky Dee’s (one of the best and most famous dive bars in the city! Come here for a great selection of nachos, drinks and live music)
• The Horseshoe Tavern (famous bar and live music venue in the city! So many great bands have played here before)
• …and of course so many good eats all around the city!

That’s it for this week! Let me know in the comments below if you’ve ever been to Toronto (or if you’re from here!) and what your favourite thing about this city is!