Field Trip 2016

i don’t know about you but my summer is off to a GREAT start. typing this for you on the road in the maritimes (more on that later) but just spent this past weekend in one of my favourite cities, toronto, together with gap, taking in a local music festival, field trip. as far as music festivals go i still feel like a total rookie. you wouldn’t know it, though, because i put on a [very] brave face, add a bounce to my step and always try to get the most out of our time there. this means eating all of the food, listening to all of the acts, even if i haven’t heard of them before (because how else do you discover new bands to love?) and putting up (and even entertaining) all the photobombs. it’s summer after all and i’m just going to let the sun take over.

field trip, it turns out, is put on by arts & cratfs, the people behind candian favorites like broken social scene, reuben and the dark, darcys, timber timbre and many many more. preety amazing, i think, for what started as a small canadian label, and what a great way to support local music and bring in amazing artists from outside canada. this year we got to experience santigold, of montreal, the national and of course, robyn, among many others, right in the heart of toronto. dear rouge was supposed to play but sadly we all got evacuated off the grounds due to some severe storm warnings and missed these alberta natives once again (they played a show at holts calgary before the junos a few months ago, and we were, as always, somewhere other than home). we will hopefully catch these guys at one of the many festivals still ahead this summer.

we got set up with a great corner room at the thompson, which was so conveniently close to the festival grounds we couldn’t have planned it better, a second by bike (rent yours from bateman’s bike co.) and a short walk across the bridge it was the perfect location. oh and did i mention the rooftop pool?! as for food i really love having things conveniently close, all the food trucks at the festival offered satisfyingly delicious (and greasy) eats, all the way to gourmet popsicles and, my personal favourite, fresh fruit.

as for my festival looks, of course i went for what made the most sense, comfort and style. shorts were a must because, undeniably summer is here to stay, and a few minutes out in the sun was sure to leave a nice golden tan. i really love wearing whites to outdoor events, even though it’s risky business with all that finger food and grass it’s one sure way to stay cool for the duration of the day, plus it looks very chic. going for affordable is your best bet (hello gap)! hats are always a good idea of course and this years go-to accessory, the bandana, which really serves no real purpose other than being aesthetically pleasing of course, aka. good enough for me! gap has a great selection of super cute shorts right now but what really stole my heart were their espadrilles. colors to go with every outfit you can think of this summer AND people kept mistaking them for valentinos… i’ll take it, thank you very much! in fact a lot of the pieces i was wearing this weekend were getting designer love all around. remember my striped top from just the day before? someone mistook it for a tanya taylor, a great compliment!

this was my first urban festival experience. not having to commit yourself to a few days in a remote place and the ease of walking out to bustling nightlife of a city made this a really chill weekend. i loved having the ability to run to our hotel room to change if the weather took a turn, or running out to do some errands between shows (never not working after all). i loved being with all my friends and catching up with all of you at the instameet just a few days prior. i realized very quickly that we should have booked a few extra days in toronto because i always hate leaving. but then again, the more reason to come back! thanks to the whole gap team for having us and letting me play with the cutest summer collection yet! make sure to visit your local gap or shop online (all links in this post are shoppable!) and don’t let these looks pass you by (ps. lots of things are currently on sale!). xoxo

wearing: gap white eyelet top, eyelet summer shorts, lace up espadrilles, trench vest, tencel denim tank, emroidered daisy shorts, bandana