Queen of Kensington

I’ve been going to Kensington Market — Toronto’s enclave of vintage shops and multicultural boutiques and restaurants, since I was a teen. I still find myself visiting at least once a month, but I haven’t really had a good, hours long hunt in a long time.

Until last week.

I hit up all my favourite haunts. I came up empty at Courage My Love, but I got some crazy red velvet slides (pictured up top) and minimalist black suede mules (above) at SASmart (an odd little department store that is like Honest Ed’s without the food). The slides were like $4, the made-in-Italy orthopaedic shoes were an investment at $29.

I always stop by Shoney’s on Augusta. There are certain things they always have, like curling sweaters and wool blankets. They also have a 99 cent barrel to dig through. It’s usually more miss than hit, but this time I came away with a St. Louis Cardinals jersey and a pale blue guyabara. I picture myself wearing them with my white jeans this summer.

And finally, something truly frivolous: a weird half tiger hand puppet dressed in a French worker’s jacket. I found him in a shop on Spadina for $8. I spent a half hour just vacillating about whether I needed a puppet or not. I figured that even at minimum wage, I had already invested that much time, so I might as well make him mine. Worth every penny.