The Fate of Ophelia...a story about our window display.

 

Stuff like this blows my mind, and it happens to me quite often.

Yesterday, I wanted to do a window display at my store that was inspired by Taylor Swift's song "The Fate of Ophelia". I had only learned of this song's existence the day before because 4 of the actresses from The Young & the Restless put out a short video of them dancing to "The Fate of Ophelia".

Until then, I had never even heard the song at all. I was so intrigued by it, I had to search for the the origin of this song. It was by Taylor Swift! What?! I always thought of her of as the bubble gum princess of pop but I couldn't be any more wrong. She is one very talented lady and she has gained a new fan (me)

Back to the story of my window display....

I placed a long narrow table in the window display. Then I dressed one of the mannequins that has a head and arms and legs, in a vintage style lacey frock. Placed a blonde wig on her head as she lay their on the table (in honour of Ms. Swift) and a bouquet of white silk flowers upon her chest.

I went outside to check on it and realized that it looked like she was dead, laying their straight on the table with flowers on her chest. Yikes!

I removed the flowers and then proceeded to look around my store for a book to place on her chest instead, so that it would like like she had fallen asleep reading. Found one, placed it on her chest, open to about the middle of the book. 

Yes, that was better. To some it might still evoke the initial impression that this person had left this earth, but surely with the book there, it could be that she was just lying their still, listening to the sounds of nature. 

It wasn't until I did the video for my Instagram reel that I saw the page of the book was open to a chapter titled "Elizabeth Taylor" as I zoomed in on the book in the video (to make it last longer so that I could use Taylor's song about Ophelia as the background music)

OK. Here is the creepy part: I watched Taylor Swift's music video of "The Fate of Ophelia" on YouTube again this morning because it is my latest obsession. You know how when the one song is ending, they show the next video to play? The next video to play was a song by Taylor Swift called "Elizabeth Taylor"!!!!!! 

I had absolutely no idea she had a song out by that name. And yesterday, the book I had chosen had opened to the chapter called "Elizabeth Taylor"!! What the heck kind of coincidence is that.....or is it a coincidence?

I know this was a long-winded story but I had to share with y'all and maybe get your thoughts on it.

P.S. If you want to check out the Ophelia video I did yesterday, here is the link to my Instagram:

www.instagram.com/tattered_rose/

Tattered Rose

Oh my goodness!

It must be the shabby princess in me.....influenced forever by my Dad, who grew up during the depression.

He had mended work clothes instead of buying new. He always bought used vehicles. He was frugal and careful with his money all his life.

He taught us to not buy anything we didn't need or have the cash for (that one I only learned later in life, after I was done rebelling this way of living)

For the longest time, he didn't allow store bought baked goods or other junk food in the house.

All of that about him sunk into my heart and mind.

So, if I show pictures of shabby, tattered things, this is where it comes from.

And now that I think of it, even the name of my shop, Tattered Rose, is a combination of my Dad (tattered) and my Mom (rose).  

Isn't it Romantic?

 

Spring 2025 promises to be another one steeped in romance. There will be soft fabrics and colours alongside the darker romantic colours (like black) that many of us like to wear.

It is nice to have something to look forward to when the world around us seems to be so chaotic. We can control our own little corner of the world and that can include bringing beauty into it.

New items and new ways of putting outfits together will be evident at Tattered Rose soon.........stay tuned.

♥

Welcome 2025

 

Welcome 2025. 

I personally do not believe in making "resolutions", as such because they are too easily broken.

This new year, I decided to quietly, without announcing anything, make a few casual promises to myself. These promises are at the forefront of my mind and are easy to remember because they are simple and flexible. In other words, if I don't manage to keep them 100% I will just quietly keep trying to abide by the changes I wish to see for myself and for Tattered Rose.

It is a new year, full of promise and possibilities. I intend to make the most of it and I invite you to do the same.....if you wish. You might have your own ideas and that is OK too.

Happy New Year to all of my customers and friends. It's going to be a great year!

Tattered Rose: A story about romantic clothing and being a middle child.

 

It comes up every now and then....the fact that Tattered Rose is unlike most other stores and boutiques that sell clothing & jewellery for women....this is not about vanity on my part...it is merely the way things are because it is the way I wanted it to be if I owned a shop...it had to be different.

Being a middle child in a family of 5 children sometimes means that you are lost in the shuffle, and so you find ways to be noticed. Some middle children will do bad things because any kind of attention is better than no attention.

For me, it was about seeking admiration from others, usually my parents or big sister, of what I created...whether it was a drawing or a piece of clothing or the way I displayed the items on my Mom's dresser.  I needed to have someone I cared about tell me "that is great, dear" because it meant I was more than just the 3rd child, lost somewhere in the middle.

The other thing for me, was of course making people laugh.  I was a goofball before I even knew what it meant to be a goofball. I just knew that if people were laughing at my antics, I was getting attention and perhaps making someone else happy for a moment...not that I needed or wanted to be the centre of attention all the time, in fact far from it.  

Most of the time, I quietly went about my day of finding things to do....like drawing new clothing designs for my paper dolls (do they still have those cut out paper dolls?) or making something, even if it was a mud pie...yes, literally mud...all dressed up with rocks and cattails...or taking photographs of anything that wasn't moving too much (dolls, cats, horses, my little brother)or it could be a dress I hand sewed for one of my dolls.

So, many years later, when it came time for me to have my own store, it had to be different and it had to be part of me and what I loved.  Tattered Rose IS me...it is the things I love to own, the clothing I love to wear and it is about helping other women find themselves in the clothing sold in my shop....and I am there to help them with that mission to the best of my ability. If you share part of your own story during that time...well, that's part of it too.

Therefore, next time you visit Tattered Rose, please know that it is not only about making money....it is much more personal than that.  I want to share my knowledge and sense of style with my wonderful customers and have you walk away owning the type of clothing that makes YOU look your best....from colour to silhouette to style.

So, yeah....Tattered Rose is about a lifestyle...most of our clothing never goes out of style....it becomes YOUR style.

♥

Charming Collections Available at Tattered Rose in St. Albert

 

Tattered Rose is a charming boutique that is hidden in plain sight, if you drive along Riel Drive. Located at 33 Rayborn Crescent, it is more of a destination shop but sometimes, serendipity brings in new customers.

This week, we had 3 different and separate groups of 4 women come in because they were either driving by and saw our (rather huge) store sign or they were from out of town and had Googled women's clothing shops in St. Albert.

I wondered if it meant anything that there were 4 women in each group......

We love our loyal and longtime customers, many who still live in Edmonton since that is where the shop was for 16 years! But we never get tired of welcoming new customers to our special little boutique.

We carry a very eclectic array of clothing, jewellery and home decor, including some of our own one-of-a-kind designs.

Our hours are short and sweet: Wed to Sat 11 to 3, or by appointment. (587) 290-1357

Please follow us on Instagram, where we do our best to post things regularly:

www.instagram.com/tattered_rose/

The More Things Change......the Better!

Our Instagram page gets most of the attention these days...and so, this blog must feel awfully neglected.

I'm not even sure if anyone reads blogs anymore, since Instagram and other media sharing sites came along. I still read the occasional blog but more often than not, I see the posts on Instagram and Facebook. I know there are many others but I do try to have balance in my life, which means limiting my time spent online and spending more of it in real life.

We have been in our new location in St. Albert for just over one year now. It has been an awesome year and the shop has been "found" by many new people. With only a 10 minute drive to and from the shop, I definitely have more time to spend at home with my cats. They are pretty happy with that.

Anyway, we have been busy curating beautiful, new things for the shop, including our own designs. Here is a glimpse into some of the collections at Tattered Rose: