My Current Favourite Jewelry

November 28, 20164 Comments

a girls best friend, or whatever

For the past several years I’ve had no real interest in jewelry. I have always worn a few fairly subtle rings that were, of course, for aesthetic purposes, but mostly for sentimental reasons. In the last year, and probably even more so in the last few months, I’ve really liked adding a simple necklace to an otherwise uncomplicated outfit, or something a bit more eye catching to really pull a look together, and pretty much always beautiful crafted, generally dainty (but sometimes not) rings. I thought I’d share some of the pieces I have been wearing the most with you guys today.
OKAY ANDIE | My Current Favourite Jewelry Bolo by WellDunn

I’ve been looking for a really great bolo for some time now, so when Well Dunn contacted me to see if I would like something from their store I was pretty excited to see they have a plethora of bolo necklaces, all unique in their own right. I wouldn’t really consider myself very boho, I can get down with it from time to time, but not on a regular basis, so this bolo felt like the perfect fit for me; slightly boho but still very chic depending on how you style it. Plus, the black and tan leather mix makes it a bit more fun than your average bolo, but still, really simple. OKAY ANDIE | My Current Favourite Jewelry Stone Ring from Common Sort, Petal Vintage Ring and Aelia Hammered Ring by Eclectic Eccentricty

I have always worn rings. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t. Unfortunately, I have lost a lot of rings that meant quite a lot to me over the years. The ring department has started to dwindle, to put it lightly, so I’m always looking for new rings to add. These three here I have been wearing quite a lot lately, although I usually don’t wear them all together. The aqua stone ring is from Common Sort, unfortunately I don’t know the maker of the ring and the two bands are from Eclectic Eccentricity, of which they carry a lot of really interesting and beautiful rings. OKAY ANDIE | My Current Favourite Jewelry V intage Glass Leave Necklace by Eclectic Eccentricity

Adding simple, dainty necklaces to my outfits has been something I’ve been doing a lot lately. It is pretty certain I won’t leave (see what I did there) the house without one on. This leave necklace from EE is one I pretty much always have on. I love the subtle bit of colour it adds to my sometimes colourless outfits and after shooting these, I realized it matches m’eyeballs, sooooo, bonus points. If I’m being honest though, when I ordered this necklace, I was quite prepared for the chain on it to be much longer than I wanted. I don’t really like necklaces that dangle down my chest, and I have been unpleasantly surprised many times, receiving jewelry that didn’t quite look like it did online, so I was really happy to see this necklace was the perfect length and did actually look like the images I ordered from.

*some or all of the products featured were given to me by the brand, but my choosing to share them is due to my v real love of them.

All Things

November 25, 20169 Comments

come full circle

I really don’t wear skirts and dresses as much as I used to. I have become a full fledged pants and trouser lover which is something I thought I would never say again. I have this theory, I guess you could call it, that we always revert back to our former selves when it comes to fashion and aesthetics, like a circle of style, if you will. That something you once loved as a kid will be something you begin to love again one day. As a young child I really loved skirts, dresses, all things feminine and the colour pink (I named all of my stuffed animals “Pinky”…), as I got a bit older I shed those things for tomboy looks and then black eventually became my colour of choice in my teens (goth lyyyyyfe). If you know anything about me from visiting this space over the last several years, my girlish self was in full force – cutesy looks, the colour pink, again, as my favourite. But within this year I’ve become more accustomed to masculine looks and styles, the less frilly, and clearly I am no enemy to black. I guess it’s not so far off from styles of decades past recycling themselves in current fashion trends. There are little cycles within littles cycles, within littler cycles going on all the time in life, and that goes beyond fashion and exist witinh ethics and even societal issues. “History repeats itself” has always felt like one of the truest statements, to me. I have always wondered why that is. Does nostalgia drive us more than we think it does? I often feel nostalgic for times I didn’t even exist in, which seems absolutely absurd, but it’s a feeling I know doesn’t just exist for me. Who knows why these things happen, who knows why I have what seems like two different people that exist inside me, one trumping the other at certain times in my life. It’s something I have come to learn and love about myself, though, and it’s something that has become of great interest to me.

Do you guys notice these things about yourself as well? It’s a topic I’ve never really discussed with anyone. Let me know in the comments below.

-WHAT I WORE-
Jacket: Ruby Leather via CS | Dress: Vintage | Shirt & Bag: Zara | Shoes: Dr. Martens

Photo Diary: High Park in Autumn

November 23, 2016November 23, 20165 Comments

Orange and yellow and green, oh my!

A few week’s back – before it really started to feel like winter – Zach, Gus and I headed to High Park for a weekend walkabout. Since the beautiful warm summer days are well behind us now, I was beginning to feel like I really hadn’t been out much, hiking, exploring and breathing in fresh air. It’s not always reasonable or convenient for us to head out of the city, and while Toronto may be a “concrete jungle”, there are many beautiful oasis’ throughout, that for a moment, can make you forget you live in the big 6ix. High Park is a massive one of those oasis’ and I’m lucky to live pretty close to it. It’s the type of park you want to avoid on beautiful weekends because everyone will be there. That was sort of the case the day we went, but it was well worth baring the crowds to be able to see the changing autumn leaves, cover Gus in them, as you do, and watch Gussy get – usually – ignored by all the dogs at the dog park.

OKAY ANDIE | Photo Diary: High Park in Autumn

A New Name

November 21, 20168 Comments

SAY HELLO TO OKAY ANDIE

Well, if you are here (and not completely new) then you have noticed a “rebrand”, if you will. Yes, Larkspur Vintage is no more. It was bloody time, if I’m being honest. I have disliked that name for a few years now, and the longer I’ve had this space the less like me that name felt. I am still influenced by vintage fashion, I think I always will be, but I just don’t live and breathe it the way I used to. Vintage started to feel too much like something everyone expected of me (which was absolutely my doing…duh, the name!), and if I had any interest in a different style, it seemed like I wasn’t allowed near it. It still feels like that sometimes. After awhile, you do start to notice what people take to, what does better with your audience, what doesn’t…my cutesy vintage looks were always a hit. But, what to do when those looks just don’t feel like you anymore? Do you just do it because it’s on “brand”, even though your “brand” is really just being yourself, or do you just say a proverbial “fuck it!” and do whatever you please. I chose being my whole self, I guess, which is to say, wearing kind of whatever the hell I want. I have noticed a change in my followers, the rate in which it goes up, the rate in which it goes down. To say I didn’t care about that would be a total lie, but I try to remind myself that being wholly me – not the version that people have come to expect, or want me to be – is far more important than gaining 1000 followers a week. All that to say, the name change was necessary.

So, the name. What does it mean? Who is Andie? Well, I’m Andie, actually, to a couple handfuls of people in this world. My family, extended family and my oldest friend Upjeet call me Andie. It was a name given to me by my older brother when I was first born, when he couldn’t quite pronounce – to be fair, the difficult and long-winded name – Alexandra. It just stuck, really. It’s a name I have always loved, a name that never really made it outside my family, but it’s a name I feel a very deep connection to. When I think of it, it feels like my soft and playful side. It reminds me of my young self, in my Elmo t-shirt, wooden spoons for microphones, socks for gloves, and Madonna. Andie is a performer, a creator and a genuine soul. So, that’s the Andie side. Now, what’s Okay? Well, it’s kind of simple, I like the word, really. I like that it can be a word people absolutely loathe (the dreaded “okay.” repsonse text), a word to describe how you’re feeling, a word of understanding, a word of confusion, a word of anger, a word of exasperation, a word of comfort…its ever changing, it’s a chameleon and yet it’s so damn simple, and it felt perfect for this space.

So there you have it, a bit of an explanation for it all. I’m hoping you guys are feeling the change. The page itself is still pretty much the same, and my content is going to stay the same as well. I just really needed this rebrand and I’m pretty happy with it so far. Thanks to any of you that have been around for years now and have followed me along with this thing. Thanks to those of you that are more recently here, I hope you stay awhile. Love you all so fricken much!

This Is Halloween

October 31, 2016October 31, 20164 Comments

Happy Halloween Guys and Ghouls!

Since the day I found this Halloween vest, I’ve been pretty darn excited to wear it. It’s the type of thing that can only be worn this time of year (without looking insane), so certainly not practical, but I just could not pass it up when I found it. It reminds me of something an enthusiastic grade school teacher would wear, which I imagine is probably exactly where it originated. But now it’s mine, certainly not a grade school teacher, but definitely enthusiastic, and I hope to be able to enjoy it each Halloween for years to come.

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As for tonight’s Halloween festivities, I may stay in with a friend, watch scary movies and eat snacks, but there is the option of a Halloween party, which is generally always a good time, but I did however already go to one on Saturday, where I dressed up as Steve Jobs (lol) and that may have fulfilled my Halloween costume party quota for the year. Either way, it will be a fun night, I’m sure.

What are you guys getting up to? Dressing up? Don’t like Halloween? Let me know in the comments below.