Dapper Day in Toronto

Yesterday was a day to catch up with some friends and errands in Toronto.  Yes, I'm often cranky about the city and its inhabitants, but it also has its strong points.

Firstly, we stopped at the Melissa, a vintage store I wrote about in a post at the end of November.  It's still going strong, and Melissa herself pulled out this incredible white open work/lace 60's dress that I would never have chosen for myself, but after trying it on, it is mine.  I'll post a photo of it soon.  Who knew that I'd once again let the hemline stop at mid-thigh?  It's probably all that running.

While poking around the shop, this dapper fellow came in:

Meet Craig Renaud, a fledgling fashion designer.  I really liked the mix of elements in this outfit:  the lace at the cuffs, the buttoned and chained waistcoat, the walking stick, etc.  One thing you can't see is that his bag (the strap crosses his chest) had all these band names and patches on it.  I appreciated the creative anachronism displayed.  It made it quite modern.

After our errands, we headed to Fresh for dinner.  I was excited that we had the same waiter we'd had months earlier because I'd loved this tattoo:

How tough is that?  "Read More."  Again, it's a call to engage in a more traditional medium, and of course, as a writer, I'm all in favour of people reading more.