My Tattered Life

 

It was 1998 and I was right in the middle of running my 3 year old (romantic) Western store (Way Out West), where there was men's and women's clothing that leaned heavily on the western vibe: Beaded leather jackets with fringe, long skirts that flared out at the hemline, fitted wool jackets and coats, military inspired jackets, broomstick skirts, frock coats for both men and women, suspenders and old west shirts for the men, etc. 

Even though there was a lot of western, country girl in me, my taste in clothing was more closely aligned with the romance of the past. The 1910's to 1930's in particular, held a large part of my interest in clothing from the past.

Other factors at the time also contributed to my desire to have a shop that was more in tune with who I was as a woman who loved clothing since childhood. I didn't really dress "western", except for certain days that were aimed at promoting my western shop (Way Out West)

No, my taste in clothing was more aligned with the Victorian, Edwardian, and 1930's. I was also intrigued with antique clothing that was perhaps once grand and opulent but now had developed some tatters and fading. These clothes made me swoon!

And so, in 1999, the first Tattered Rose store opened it's doors in the same building as my western store, namely the Johnston Terminal in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  I loved having both stores because they each provided different outlets for the eclectic styles I wanted to offer.

Anyway, all of this preamble was to say that since 1999, the name "Tattered Rose" has stood the test of time. To this day, we offer a very eclectic selection of women's clothing, which always includes a lot of tattered, urban romantic styles. I have always said that the name I chose for my store was directly influenced by both of my parents: "Rose" for my Mom who loved roses and "Tattered" for my Dad, who had grown up during the Depression and was used to wearing old, mended, sometimes tattered clothing. He didn't believe in throwing away clothing that had holes, when they could easily be mended.

I closed my Way Out West store in 2001. Life had changed but Tattered Rose remained with me. If you look closely, though, you can still see ghosts of the western shop where all this began.

♥

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:

Welcome Back!

 "We" are not very good about keeping up to date on this blog, especially since Instagram is where we usually hang out our shingle....it's where we show the new items in the shop and tell stories about life, cats and clothing. Please click on the Instagram link and follow us there, if you would like to stay in touch with what's happening at Tattered Rose  

On that note, have you been to our new location in St. Albert yet? If not, it would be so wonderful if you would come for a visit.

Tattered Rose is located about 2 minutes north of The Enjoy Centre. Our address is 33 Rayborn Crescent in Riel Business Park of St. Albert.

Our hours are still short and sweet: Wed-Sat 11 am to 3 pm (or by appointment)

We currently have a lot of beautiful clothing and jewellery. For you Magnolia Pearl fans, another shipment has just arrived....so exciting, every time an MP box arrives!

For the season that comes after summer, we are looking at shades of dark....from deep green to black and a few colours in between. Lots of dark romance, for those of us who love wearing dark colours. My favourites are grey & black, of course.

But for right now, light and colourful clothing abounds.

New items arriving soon....please stay tuned.

Oh, and we are starting up a NEW newsletter soon. During the move, we lost all of our old contacts and had to start over.

Please contact us at tatteredrose13@gmail.com to have your name added to our newsletter list.

Enjoy your summer....see you soon!

La Vie en Noir

 

Tattered Rose (the shop) has many facets to it. This dark, moody, Gothic vibe is just one of them.

My personal preference in the clothing I wear is dark grey and black.

However, we also have a tons of colourful and neutral shades for those who prefer to wear something else.

Happy Easter

 Wishing all of our customers (who celebrate) a Happy Easter weekend.

Please follow us on Instagram for up to date news:

Instagram

Easter Weekend

 

Wishing all of our customers who celebrate Easter, a good and peaceful weekend.

We are not usually open on Good Friday, but we thought we should give a chance for our customers who normally work during weekdays a chance to come for a visit.

We will be open Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 3 pm.

Our Neglected Blog.....and Other Stuff

 

(above is a screenshot of our Tattered Rose Instagram page)

There was a time that this blog was our only source of Tattered Rose news...and then we started our monthly newsletter so our time was split between those two things.

Then, social media took off and we joined in where we could...namely Facebook and Instagram.

With all of that to upkeep of the online websites and platforms, something had to give.....after all, there is still a bricks and mortar store to run and our designing to do. Which means that this blog has been sadly neglected.

Then, sometime during the move last year, "we" forgot to renew our newsletter provider and lost all of our email contacts.....that was sad because it was a way for us to keep our customers updated on new things in the shop.

And so, we have relied mostly on Instagram to keep our customers and friends informed of our goings on.

Below, we will list most of the places you will find us and be able to stay informed:

Instagram: Instagram

Tattered Rose Facebook page: Tattered Rose on Facebook

Support St. Albert Group: Support St. Albert

Shops of St. Albert website: Shops of St. Albert

Note: We will be starting a new newsletter soon. You can stop by the store to sign up or send a brief email to:  tatteredrose13@gmail.com

Tattered Rose: Romantic

 

We have settled in to our new location in St. Albert. Even though our location has changed, we still have a romantic atmosphere where you can find the most romantic clothing, jewellery and home decor around.

New clothing and jewellery will be arriving for the next few months and we already have a nice collection to get you ready for Spring.

Our hours are the same:

Wed to Sat 11 to 3 or by appointment.

A Short Story About Jeans

 

Living in the country as a teenager, I was a bit out of the loop as to what was "in" as far as clothing...I just did my own thing, which, many years later (early 90's) was known as Grunge.....my Dad's old shirts worn with skirts and work boots, that kind of thing.

Anyway, by the time I got to High School, I became aware of a brand of jeans that the really cool kids were wearing. I really liked how they looked and wanted my own but I didn't have a clue what brand they were.

Then one day, a snooty fellow female student told me that they were the ONLY jeans to own and all the cool & rich kids were wearing them, both boys & girls. So I went out and bought a pair of men's unwashed, stiff Levi jeans and proceeded to wear them to the point of they were going to walk away by themselves (yuck!).  This was the way to embed your jeans with wear marks so that they would eventually become faded and worn in all the right places, with a nice contrast between dark indigo and worn spots and creases.

See, if you washed them too often the dark indigo dye would fade too evenly and the desired marks of wear and tear wouldn't be as visible. There were no prewashed and distressed jeans then...you had to distress them yourself through patience and diligence and wearing the heck out of them.

Over the years, I have bought and worn a million pair of jeans and I still prefer men's jeans because, although they are too large at the waist for a woman's body, they are cut straighter through the hip and thighs without that curvy shaped look they give a lot of women's jeans.

Fast forward to having a shop of my own, where we don't sell jeans but we sure do sell a LOT of romantic and beautiful clothing that can be worn with your favourite pair of nicely worn and tattered jeans.

For the longest time, I have loved wearing jeans with unexpected tops....romantic ruffled blouses or dresses...long duster coats....even Sympli jersey jackets with mesh layering tunics. That is part of the Tattered Rose look that we impart to our customers.

Closed Today!

 

Due to the extreme cold weather, Tattered Rose will once again be closed today.

We truly apologize for any inconvenience if anyone was planning on coming in.

See you next week...new arrivals for Spring!!

We're Gonna do the Opposite.....

 

We at Tattered Rose, don't follow the trends, nor do we want to be like every other store. Funny how, even though we don't follow the trends, it seems that our style is usually quite in line with what's happening in fashion.

This year, Pantone has named "Peach" as the colour for 2024. Peach Fuzz, they are calling it:

We have VERY little peach coloured clothing in the shop because, frankly, it is not one of our favourites. It is a colour that cannot be worn by a lot of people, especially "Winters". 

So, we will not be adhering to this colour theme for Spring 2024. Instead, we are steering more towards BLUES (the opposite colour to peach on the colour wheel) PINK, RED, TAUPE, CREAM ,WHITE and as always, BLACK and GREY.

New arrivals have already started...a little early for us this year.

Hope to see you soon!

A New Year....2024

 

With the close of 2023, I am grateful for the chance to begin a new year. Tattered Rose is closed from December 30th to January 9th for a much needed break. We will be back in the shop on Jan. 10th.

Last year was like a roller coaster for me, as I had a huge task to accomplish:  the move of Tattered Rose from Edmonton, where it was for 16 years to St. Albert. That was no easy feat, but here we are, on the other side of it and enjoying the smaller, more charming shop in one of the best little cities in Canada. We are meeting new people as well as welcoming our longtime customers from Edmonton and other places.

The second last day of the year brought heartache for me, as I said goodbye to my oldest cat, Duster...he's the one on the left. This photo was taken 6 years ago...he didn't look like this when I let him go. Luna, the black beauty on the right left me in 2018. I will love them and miss them both forever....more than words can say. I am thankful to have this time to grieve my Duster. 

With all of that behind me, I am hopeful for the next phase of Tattered Rose. New items arriving this month and regularly after that. A quiet environment to shop and more personal service to offer our customers.

With gratitude for the support of our customers, we look forward to this new year...to see new things and meet new friends.

Thank you♥

Romanticize

 Ro*man*ti*cize:

The art of adding something romantic to your outfit such as ruffles, lace, corsets, etc. to take it from ordinary to dreamy.

Just a reminder that Tattered Rose is now located in St. Albert

...........................................the beautiful city.

Location: 33 Rayborn Crescent (just off Riel Drive)

Hours:  Wed to Sat 11 am to 3 pm or by appointment