something to look forward to

here's just a taste of the new spring stock we've been getting in over the past few weeks. we have styles from allison wonderland, dace, lily & jae, LNE, cici and a ton of great shoes. make sure you come out to our party tomorrow night to take advantage of our one-night-only discount on all these beautiful goodies--you can't lose!

It's party time!

We'd like to invite you to our Nokomis Spring Launch Party this Thursday, February 26 from 4 - 10 pm. We'll be holding the event at our store, 10318-82 avenue and would love to see you there!

We also have a very special surprise.....we're launching Noko Vintage! We've been collecting vintage shoes for awhile now and want to share some of our favorites with you. Prices will start at just $25 which makes for a great and economical way to complete that perfect outfit.

Come out and enjoy treats to eat and drink, music and fun times galore. We're also happy to give you 10% off all new spring stock for the evening as well as 20% off all new nokomis stock (that includes our vintage shoes!).

We really hope to see you there.

xo, nokomis

check it out!

take a look a this beautiful new nokomis 'gillespie' bag in black lambskin, $330. it's a totally practical and stylish vintage-inspired carryall made of lovely soft new leather. i've been carrying around the prototype for weeks now (i kindof "adopted" it, heh-heh) and just love the shape, size and look of this bag. can't get enough!

we finally have non-prototype versions in store, both in shiny patent and non-patent leather. come on down and check them out.

oh, and in case you're wondering i'm also wearing bodybag's bat top, $105, and our nokomis sarsparilla pants, $149, myrtle and pearls earrings, $30 and miju necklace, $32.

we feel dancey

i'm a nerd and i'll prove it. when i was a kid i totally used to draw fairies, like, all the time. like...when i was 17, ahem, and had dreadlocks, ahem, to my waist.

i totally tried to emulate brian froud, aubrey beardsley and arthur rackham.

i loved this rackham poster that belonged to my mom entitled 'we feel dancey'. i loved that fairies never say 'we feel happy' what they say is 'we feel dancey'. i still like that, i'm not afraid to admit it. see? still nerdy.

well i'm older now, i cut my hair years ago and i mostly draw things like sandwiches or my cat. sometimes though i still need an outfit to feel dancey in, old-fashioned eliz dancey--drapey and fluttery and full of wonder and enough love to break your heart. this one will do just fine.


toss on a breezy nokomis 'thistle dress', $135


belt it up with a nokomis 'lizzy' belt, $65 and add a beautiful mono 'lace vest', $279




top it off with a mono 'knotted scarf', $69 and voila! instant future-fairy (to adapt the concept of "future-hippy" as invented by regine and katie)

we got mono

everyone at nokomis gets mono, if you don't believe me consider that we're on our third case in a year, it's like a nokomis rite of passage. it seems like everyone's having so much fun, getting mono together and, i don't know, resting and talking about swollen glands or something, you know, mono stuff, and here i am NEVER GETTING MONO!! it's totally frustrating, i feel so left out. i never get to be the one with mono. well, until today.

you see i stopped by the store this morning and was so! excited to see brand new styles from a brand new line we're carrying called...wait for it...mono!

mono is a vancouver line designed by heather martin which, in her own words, explores the spaces between art, craft, design & fashion aiming to redefine the categorical convention of these genres as well as their ideals, content, norms & expectations. we're really excited to be carrying the line this spring. the clothes are starkly elegant, fashion forward and highly conceptual. heather's definitely a designer to watch and we're lucky to have her as part of the noko family.

and here's my little fashion show just to prove that i (and you!) too can join the mono club. *update* i forgot to mention that this dress is called the "tucked shift" and retails for $309 *end update*. oh, and this beautiful bag i'm holding? it's the new nokomis 'gillespie' bag in grey patent leather, lovingly handmade by genevieve just last week.

be your own valentine!

happy valentines day! we wanted to let you know that we heart you! thanks so much for your support, we are grateful for it. stop by the store between friday february 13 to monday february 16 and receive either 15%/30%/50% off your regular priced purchase (aka, brand new spring stock!). when you bring your purchases to the counter you'll get to draw for your discount, which will be a minimum of 15% off.

we have received new styles from Sessa, Pyrrha, Bodybag and more. new Lily & Jae will be arriving shortly (hopefully before the weekend!).

and if you don't live in town, don't worry, we haven't forgotten about you! you can shop online, and enter the discount code 'love' to receive 20% off any purchase.

twisted sisters!

this weekend we got to meet two of the lovely ladies from twisted sisters, jillian and angela! they were both in town for a poly-sci conference at the university of alberta (q-ute!) and they stopped by the shop for a little shopping and a gab-session. tara and i made sure to snap a quick photo of all of us in photobooth (we threw the mannequin in there as a prop, so we didn't feel like such dorks (régine's advice)).

it was so nice to meet the two of them face to face, after hearing jaclyn and tennille talk all about their lovely staff at the shop. hopefully one day i'll be able to come by st. john's and actually see the shop!

p.s. congrats on the baby jaclyn, we can't wait to meet the little guy!

miju & you

a new jewelery line which i've been really excited about carrying for spring has just arrived in store. miju, a collection of etched acrylic pendants and earrings from montreal, is just the sort of pretty/casual accessory i'm in the mood for as we transition into spring. started in late summer 2008 miju is the brainchild of furni owner mike giles and his lovely ladyfriend and design champion judy lawrence. their aim is and always will be to create aesthetically pleasing, thoughtful designed jewels and other magical items.

i've already bought three necklaces myself and at just $32 each (!!) i may just pick up a few more. have a friend or lover you need a quick and knockout gift for? (like, i dunno, for valentine's day or something?) you can't go wrong with one of these striking pieces. send us an email if you're interested.

what makes us happy?

we just got tagged by our favorite girls at victoire to list 6 things that make us happy. lately it's the simple things. in return we're tagging twisted sisters, anemone honey, katie, jessica rae and tala (time to make a new post tala!). here goes:

1) watching a new nokomis collection come together. we've been madly working on fall 09 and shoot our catalogue this coming monday. nothing makes us feel better than seeing months of work reach sweet completion.


2) having a pain-in-the-a** silkscreen rinse out perfectly, especially when you have no materials to re-do it. i know this makes laurel very happy and when laurel's happy, i'm happy.


3) dreams of summer. we've been enjoying some really beautiful winter weather here in edmonton; yesterday felt positively tropical and we opened the windows to let the world in. just a few short months till the trees blossom, the nights crash with prairie thunder and our feet never touch the ground cause we're too busy biking around.


4) miss marple. that jane marple knew what she was doing! english country cottage...check. tea with gin...check. soft cardigans, tea dresses and periwinkle felt hats...check, check, check. subtle wit and endless brilliance...check. also she reminds us of genevieve who's away and who we dearly miss.


5) kittens. self-explanatory i should think. and puppies, for those who are of a doggy persuasion. and the bunny that lives in my backyard which we've named 'beauty'.




6) new shipments! who loves clothes? we love clothes, duh!! we love our 'moth dress' which arrived in store last week and comes in two combinations, the one pictured here and another with a pink-y shortcake bodice and a browny-sage skirt. come try it on!

the 5th quarterly royal bison

yay! the royal bison, which was once semi-annually is now quarterly! so after you hit up the farmers market saturday morning, stop by 8426 gateway boulevard and a twoonie will get you in. unfortunately elizabeth won't be working the door this time around, she'll be at the studio all weekend putting the finishing touches on our fall 2009 collection. we're shooting the catalogue on monday morning! we'll make sure to give you a sneak peek next week.

bodybag spring 2009

new spring stock keeps rolling in at the store. our latest shipment is from the fashion house of Bodybag. designed by Judith Desjardins, this label is well established within the canadian fashion scene. we've carried her for many years now, and love the clothes for their fun silhouettes, bright colour palette, and consistent fit.

one of her ventures in recent years is opening up her own boutique in montreal, just off st. laurent on bernard street, which happens to be next door to one of our favorite montreal vintage stores, Local 23.

we just received a few different styles from bodybag, including dresses, tops, and jeans. we loved the marine dress from this collection so much, that we got it in two colours!





which colour do you like better? right now i'm leaning towards the red. i could see myself wearing it with black tights, some boots, and a vintage cardigan. but once the summer sun rolls around the blue and white one would be so adorable with some little slip on shoes. ack, i dunno.

more shipments will be arriving each week, so be sure to stop by while we still have lots of sizes available.