Dresses, skirts and t-shirts...oh my!

Today was unseasonably warm...oh, I’m sooo not complaining!  I enjoyed every minute of the delightful weather by hanging with one of my besties grabbing lunch and doing a little window shopping.

We wandered down Queen and Bathurst and found a barrage of quirky clothing shops.  We are both girly girls and adore wearing dresses, so we ran into one of the stores that seemed to have our name written all over it.

Fresh Collective

Fresh Collective is a designer run boutique.  They display the work of local designers who create unique pieces for the person with anything but boring fashion sense.

We were greeted by probably one of the friendliest people on earth—soo refreshing. She told us about the designers that created the items for the boutique and encouraged us to take our time and take a look.  She didn’t pressure us at all, so we were able to spend a looong time in the shop playing dress up!

I fell in love with the dresses, but I really, really wanted one of Yasmine Louis’ t-shirts.  They are beyond cool.  She is an artist that takes pics around Toronto, makes silk screens and prints the images on t-shirts, pillows, and other clothing items.

It wasn’t necessarily what the t-shirt looked like that got me; it was what was written on the t-shirts.  Whatever Yasmine is thinking  is inevitably written on the t-shirt.  It’s like her own stream of consciousness captured on a t-shirt.  I looove it!

We didn’t get a chance to buy anything this time around, so we’re already planning our next trip in the very near future.  Check it out if you can!

Fresh Collective

692 Queen Street West

416-594-1313

www.freshcollective.com

Michelle

Song of the Moment: Take Care - Drake f/ Rihanna

It’s usually quite easy for me to pick the Song of the Moment.  I first hear a song.  It moves me to my core.  I download it and sing it relentlessly.  And eventually my love for the song will wind up on the infamous happygrrls blog.

This time around, I have been geeking over two songs.  I pitted them against each other to see which one would come out victorious.  After many rounds, there was a clear winner. 

Take Care- Drake f/ Rihanna

I loooved Drake and Rihanna’s first collabo - Say My Name. It was a super sexy flirtatious song and video, and dammit they made the perfect esthetic pairing - they are both stunningly attractive!

Their second collabo, Take Care, is completely different.  It’s probably one of the most morose love songs I’ve ever heard, and bizarrely, I looooove it.  (pssst...this song is a semi-remake of Gil Scott-Heron’s original version, as well as a retooling of British music producer, Jamie XX’s remix of Gil Scott-Heron's version of "I'll Take Care of You").

The tone of the song feels so tragic and gloomy, but when you listen to the lyrics, it tells a different story.  It’s obvious that they both like each other (not Rihanna and Drake, the characters in the song), but they are taking baby steps back into the love game.  They’ve been previously scarred by love, so they’re a little apprehensive about being vulnerable again.

Rihanna uses a deep, breathy voice to convey her pain. 

Know you’ve been hurt by someone else
I can tell by the way you carry yourself
If you let me, here’s what I’ll do
I’ll take care of you
I’ve loved and I’ve lost

 Just like Rihanna, Drake is brooding and waiting for the green light from his crush. 

Cause you don’t say you love me
To your friend when they ask you
Even though we both know that you do (you do!)

With one minute left in the song, there’s a break in the song and Gil Scott-Heron’s vocals kick in.  At first listen I was completely freaked out. I thought that the song was over and a bizarre new song began.  After a few listens it grew on me and made sense with the rest of the song.

I’m sooo in love with this song right now.  It may turn out to be one of my all time fave love songs.  Check it here and let me know what you think.

Michelle