car.ous.ill: Rac Boutique a Bazaar Pop-Up Shop Experience

On April 5th through the 7th Rac Boutique hosted a four-day shopping extravaganza titled The Bazaar Pop up shop. As I entered through the doors of the top floor of the Century Room located in the heart of King West I felt an adrenaline rush. The kind of high one gets when you know you’re about to make a one of a kind purchase, the kind your friends are going to envy and ask “where did you get that?”

The buildup to the event itself garnered a social buzz with Brendan Canning from one of Canada’s prestigious indie bands Broken Social Scene Dj-ing the launch party and the advertised free cocktails are enough to win anyone over. The atmosphere was light and vibrant, the open concept of the room was filled with racks among racks of clothing and tables filled with unique jewelry and designer goodies from various local vintage & consignment boutiques throughout Toronto showcasing their best varieties in the limited space. The vibe of the launch party was fresh due to this being Rac Boutiques first ever pop up shop event and it was definitely luxurious from the cranberry cocktails to the free vitamin water coolers in each corner of the room.

The music was just right with the eclectic mix of tunes that was reminiscent to the crowd was not too loud for a conversation. There was a definite sense of comradery as well community in the room everyone somehow knew each other or was socially networking with the local shop owners tending to their racks. The conversation topics of the evening were of continuous raves of Fashion Week. There was a bustle movement from the crowds to get to one boutique rack to the other and of course the personal fashion I observed did not disappoint. Everyone was dressed in his or hers casual best, a reoccurring trend I noticed throughout the evening was denim from shirts to jackets, a mix and match of unique pieces that gave off an aura that can only be described as effortless cool.

Being in the same room with such a diverse mix of creative people simply felt like looking through pages of a modern zine. The night was filled with familiar faces one of them being Sebastian Grainger who is one half of Death From Above 1979, a local Toronto band that has played in such festivals as Coachella, lollapalooza was amongst the crowd. The clothing variety spanned from new local limited goods to unique vintage finds. The jewelry was lavish from vintage Chanel Earrings displayed by Fashionably Yours boutique, to the one of a kind dresses from the Racks of Dalston Grey. Rac Boutique hosted a successful pop up shop event that gathered the finest local treasures, it was every vintage connoisseur’s dream and I’m already looking forward to next year’s event!