I'm dreaming of a white christmas (and lots of gifts)

UPDATE: SHOCKING REMINDER

This is seriously an important announcement... TOMORROW IS DECEMBER 1st! That means, you have exactly 24 days until Ol'Saint Nick is barrelling down your chimney. This also means that you have less than 24 days to finish Christmas shopping for all those special someones (I don't just mean your grandmother or BF). This also means we all maybe have 2 more pay cheques before the big day. Yikes.


Have no fear! Even more importantly, it is Victoire Shopping Night at Dalhousie this Thursday, December 2nd! There will be treats and raffle prizes. Mind-blowingly more wicked is the fact that there will be DISCOUNTS! Don't fret about those pay cheques because us ladies at Victoire have you in mind.

sweet nothings necklace by In God We Trust, $ 49

So get that special someone (Best friend, Mother, Aunt, Grandmother, Sister-in-law, etc) an uber cute In God We Trust necklace or a sweet pair of Pre-loved slippers to keep their tiny toes warm over the holidays. We are oozing with goodies!

Catzilla..

I love cats. You love cats. We all love cats.

BUT... No one loves cats as much as my mother. To prove this point I decided to go around my family home and take pictures of SOME (because I honestly think I missed a lot) of the ridiculous trinkets that hang on the walls, rest on the mantel, stare at me while I snooze on the couch, so on and so on. They are everywhere.

Lovely and very cheesy signs hang off door handles and are nailed to the wall. Just to designate their permanence.

Delicate but obviously "expensive" cat plates (which she refuses to take down "because they cost her an arm and a leg"..I said I would get prosthetics).

There are no words for this one. There are two in one photo. Now catch my drift? So I know there are many cat lovers out there (please, you know who you are). On that note, I would like to add that along with the cat paraphernalia all over the place..... She has four cats.

Two of those kittys maaayyy have been my doing :)

The cats run the show. Total domination. For the most part though, anyone who owns a cat can understand that they really do run the show. They own us. Oh, and by the way, there are many more pictures to come of these lovely little finds my mother has....

Steel Magnolias in Montreal this weekend!

Ever wonder what we do with all the vintage dresses we have between our biannual vintage sales? Well we mostly just stare at them and gloat to each other about how fantastic our collection is (honestly about 1 hour of our office days spent together Regine and I talk about how much we love our vintage collection).

But this weekend, for the first time ever we are gonna take our collection on the road and sell it at Smart Design Mart. We are super excited to get to spend the weekend with many of the designers we showcase at Victoire. It will also be a great opportunity to get to show off our vintage collection to a new crowd!


If you are in Montreal this weekend stop by and say hi. And maybe pick up something special! Besides having clothes, we are also bringing: jewelry, pictures, figurines and purses!

Smart Design Mart:

160 rue st-viateur est, 2nd floor

friday december 3, 6-9pm

saturday december 4, 11-6pm

sunday december 5, 11-6pm

Let it snow!

I got so excited about winter kicking in last night that I started working on putting together our Holiday window displays. Using twigs, acorns, ribbons, roses, popcorn and cranberries our West Wellington window looks right out of a scene from Road to Avonlea!


The snow is making me excited for comfy-cozy holiday chilling! My auntie made my favorite pineapple squares this week, oh lord my pants are gonna be tight by the end of the month. Can't wait!

Preloved, $138
Maison, $150
Mink Pink, $115

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'...

Hot Girls! Roller Skates!

Have I grabbed your attention yet? I hope so. Mine has been transfixed on the new 2011 Rideau Valley Roller Girls Calendar. These girls are nothing far from fierce. The pictures in the calendar are to die for. Literally. There may be a theme of bad-ass zombies, jail scenes and 50's pin-up girls. Who could ask for more?
The calendars are $15.00 each and help support an all-girls, flat-track and not-for-profit Roller Girls team here in Ottawa! Have a heart people. I have my copy in my purse already! We have these hotcakes at both locations but come and get 'em because they are a wicked find for those who like to stay organized..or atleast are trying to keep track of (important) things.

With names like Screaming Meanie Massacre, Margaret Choke, Surgical Strike and ASSASSINista, I feel as though my birthname AND nickname just aren't good enough to speak anymore.

PS. Maybe someone should mention to Katie and Regine that they should do a Victoire Calendar? hmmmmm.. anyone?

It's that time again!

Mark your calenders: December 2nd from 6pm to 9pm Victoire is having a shopping party along with the other shops of North Dalhousie! The perfect time to treat yourself with all the wonderful things you totally deserve and definitely need to get through the holiday season. And maybe (MAYBE) spend a tiny little bit on those friends/sisters/mothers/girlfriends in your life.

But honestly we will not judge you for only thinking of yourself!

Suzabelle

It's really amazing how well Suzabelle fits our customers time and time again. If you want to look cute, and sophisticated, but also professional and sleek, this is the brand for you.
Here is the rest of of our fall/winter delivery from her.

Glenmorris $108

Cassadia Dress $172

Charleston dress $174

Old World Charm

If you are looking for some vintage inspired jewelery for a very special holiday outfit or possible gifting, we've got quite the selection here at the West Wellington location.

Steel Magnolia rose necklace ($29)

Salvage Design necklace ($59)

And this Erica Weiner/DS Durga collaboration locket ($139) as described below:

"Our friends at DS and Durga Perfumes have developed two custom scented oils for our updated version of a Victorian "vinaigrette." Vinaigrettes are perforated lockets with aromatic smelling salts or vinegar inside. A lady could sniff these to mask the unpleasant aromas of 18th-19th century cities. Possibly the oldest and most common type of vinaigrette involves a square of linen soaked in an aromatic liquid. Included in this package are: - One 1/2 dram bottle of FOXHUNT: Country herbs, wild flowers, deep leather-patchouli. - One 1/2 dram bottle of EMPRESS JINGU: Hinoki wood, cypress forests, violet fields. - A gunmetal-plated perforated locket on a 25" vintage stainless steel chain. Locket measures 1 1/4" tall. - Five pieces of linen - DS and Durga's card with scent descriptions and directions for use The heat of your skin will warm the metal, activating the oil and causing the scent to waft through the tiny openings in the face of the locket. Disclaimer: These are concentrated perfume oils intended for the fabrics in this product. They are not meant for use on the skin. "

Such a wonderful gift idea. This is just a taste of the great selection we've got available at both stores.

The Space Race

After spending a night with my pals ula and megan making our very own homemade cinnamon buns (mm), Megan gave me an amazing review of IMAX's Hubble 3D which she watched with her roommate earlier that day. I'm going to go see it on Tuesday and I'm so excited I can barely BREATHE. So I decided to make today's blog post about things in the store that I would wear on my (imminent) future travels to space.

This Mink Pink Grid Iron strapless dress ($125) would work, I think. It looks kind of like armor, so that aliens and the like would know that I was TOUGH but also sweet and peaceful. The Staple Wrapjacket ($89) makes it just slighly more modern and is so versatile that I could wear it many different ways while I cruise along at warp speeds. And the Steel Mag stone necklace ($39) could easily pass as a lunar stone, which i can only assume would have pretty high space-cred.

And how about some Phoenix Nebula action around your neck?

Or, even some spaceship inspired shapes to wear around your neck? The first one kind of reminds me of some unknown space currency. Both Steel Mag (small: $29/ large: $35).

keep warm

This winter headband is just another reason why Audrey Cantwell rules. The headband keeps my ears warm without sacrificing the volume of my 80's metal hairdo's. I can also shove it under my helmet when I'm biking and I think it looks rad. Win. Win. Win.

Black wool blend headband $28

Friends Helping Friends

Magpie and Victoire collaborate for the sake of good blogging and fun times.

This weekend was probably one of the busiest weekends of the season for us gals here at the store. We were back at Dave's place with Arden shooting for the web store and on Sunday we were filming all day (Victoire is going viral, stay tuned!). Usually it's just a few of us lugging everything into a car or two but this time we had extra hands because our girlfriends from Magpie Jewellery came along. This was our first collaboration with them and it totally proved true the saying of the more the merrier! The jewellery they brought from the Magpie store to feature on their blog complimented our designers beautifully and it was great to have company while we shot in Chelsea on one day and at Town Restaurant on Elgin another day (photos to come from that one too...). We are all waiting anxiously as we always do to see Arden's photos but luckily the Magpie ladies brought a camera to document the action behind the scenes.

You should have heard Arden tripping over how beautiful the lighting was in this spot, golden and magical is how she may have put it. Of course she was right, she always is...that's why we love 'er jeez!

Something fun about these shoots is making up a scenario for each set. In this one I'm waiting for my trolley while I run away from the homestead...

I know we say this ALL the time but can you believe this is someone's backyard?! We keep talking about how perfect Dave's property would be for outdoor concerts and camping. We could call them Dave's Raves.

It's a trick of the light but in this photo it kinda looks warm enough for me to just turn around and dive right in...i wish.

All in all right now we are still recovering from the snacks and the chilly wind but our sore stomachs and runny noses are consoled by the idea of Arden sending us a package of beautiful, magnificent, truly unbeatable photos for us to share with y'all. And also by the friends we made this weekend. And also by the fact that I can't wait to go eat dinner at Town on Tuesday night!

Baby, it's cold outside!

We have been spoiled with this long lovely fall, but let's not fool ourselves. Winter is a-coming! And for all of you needing some new threads to stay warm and stylish, we have marked down our Valerie Dumaine coats! A mid-season sale is so not like us but we are just so excited for winter (well honestly I am, Regine is fleeing to Jamaica next week!).


Magella, on sale for $220 (org.$275)


Pason, on sale for $223 (org. $279)

And for all those needing some cute overload, Loulou and Rocco chilling. Does the day ever seem long when you know you've got such cutie-pies waiting to cuddle and play!

Just another day in paradise!

We had a fantastic weekend of photoshoots for the webstore this weekend. Oh gosh it felt so good to spend the day outside in our favorite spot on the planet (we sure are lucky that it is so close in Chelsea!). This time along with the wonderful Erin, Sage and Arden, we also had along our friend from Magpie.



For the first time ever we got to have a sampling of gorgeous jewelery along side the clothing. Very very exciting, and dangerous for Santa Claus 'cause we made a lot of adjustments to our wish list after seeing the jewels!!

Velvet, if you please.

If you don`t already have a holiday party to attend, you better start planning one! Velvet, in my opinion, is the ultimate holiday dress fabric and these dresses are just waiting to be adopted and worn to the family dinner or the new years party.

The Adulteress $145

(I'm really, really into this one) The Little Queen $155

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"During the war, most women didn´t have enough money for tights so they took eyeliner to paint a seam on the back of their legs. This way it seemed like they wore thights under their skirts which became shorter. Sometimes they took teabags to colour the legs."

True Blue

Feelin' Blue? Us too, or at least lethargic. Today's Blog Post is inspired by the lovely hue that is Blue. xo


Petit Chapeau Fascinators $45 each. Factory by Natalie Mittens $49 a pair


Frug Earrings $31, Locket $36. Edmoure Ralph Cameo necklace $88


Preloved: Scarf $35, Shawl $36, Mittens $20. M35: Knit Necklace $38, Scarf $48


Betina Lou "Alice" Blouse $110. Allison Wonderland "Navy Rose" Skirt $138


Sessun "Swing Low" Dress $200. Steal Magnolia Vintage Belt $12


Mink Pink "Jesse James" Blouse $95. Lily and Jae "Boy Blazer" Jacket $294