Vintage Loves You

The one thing that Jane and I were really excited about when we moved into our bigger space across the street was the huge back room that came along with it. We had just launched our vintage clothing line Ainslie Wood Co. online in December 2009, and every week I would lug home our dress form ("Judy") and bags of clothing and shoot them in the natural light of my bedroom. When finished, I'd lug it all right back to the store.

It was exhausting.

Naturally, one of our first plans was to convert the back room into an office/studio where all the clothing could stay and be photographed when we moved in June of 2010. Then, life happened. And all we could focus on was the bricks and mortar shop. Keeping up with the online world is hard, man.

Bit by bit we chipped away on preparing it. We got ourselves more help in the form of our lovely interns Lindsay, Krysten and Carly. We organized the cuss out of our stock and our office supplies. We painted the back wall the same gray as my bedroom. We uncovered a previously boarded up window for more natural light. It's finally finally finally at the point of being a functional workspace.

The next step was collecting enough beautiful clothing for an amazing relaunch. Which is happening Monday, October 3rd. Mark it on your calendar now.

Jane and I aren't typically hoarders. Besides the fleeting "oh my god, I never want to sell this, it's just too GOOD" feelings that we always experience when coming across an incredible new piece, we almost always try to get it in the shop right away. I won't lie, it's hard. Combined with the anxiety that there is a finite supply of exquisite vintage in the world, I sometimes want to take everything home for myself. But there is something so seriously satisfying about seeing a vintage piece go home with the right person. It fits them perfectly and there's not another piece like it around and it's just meant to be, you know?

But we collected pieces slowly and kept them aside for our relaunch. We were drawn to a muted palette, reminiscent of autumn colours. Rust, gold, cognac, cream, sage. Chunky knit sweaters, velvet, brocade, tartan, capes, fur stoles, wiggle dresses, maxi skirts, leather riding boots. Pieces you can layer with ease. I'm so excited for you guys to see the full collection. It's so much better than this sneak peek. Monday, Monday, Monday.

On top of the clothing that we've been saving for our fall relaunch, we've also got a whole other secret stockpile dedicated entirely for the You Love Vintage and Vintage Loves You event that we'll be attending in Ottawa on October 22nd. It's hosted by our sister souls Regine and Katie from our sister shop Victoire. We have been looking forward to this for MONTHS. For this event we collected strictly party dresses. Tulle, silk, satin, crinoline, bows, and sheen. Although we didn't have a colour scheme in mind, one kind of developed in itself of soft blues, silver, white and rose. It's magical when that happens. This event is going to be bananas. Some of these dresses make me want to cry tears of joy, no joke. If you're in Ottawa, you should definitely check it out. And if you're in Hamilton, maybe you should consider making the trip to our beautiful capital city that weekend.


Looking over this post makes me realize the insane luck we've had lately in sourcing all these pieces. Collecting vintage is how White Elephant was started, and it's definitely both Jane and I's favourite aspect of the job. And, I think we're pretty good at it too. Eventually, we'd like to get our vintage decor back online. Baby steps for now.

Monday, October 3rd. Ainslie Wood Co. is back. We'll probably remind you like a hundred more times before then.