Westend vs. Eastend: Tabula Rasa wipes the slate clean

Fashion sleuths who have vowed to never venture east of Yonge Street for style finds will have to think again. Tabula Rasa (Latin for “blank slate”) is the newest vintage hub to dazzle Eastenders and Westenders alike. Jennifer Park, a former design dame at Le Chateau, took off her pattern cutting smock and threw caution to the wind, opening her very own store a few weeks ago in Toronto. With an ample stock of berry-garnished champagne and savoury snacks at her launch party and more than enough time to personally tour tipsy fashion writers through her wares (moi, ahem), Park is an excellent host. She also wonderfully pulls a calculated cache of covetable finds,  culling staple separates from Ports, Ralph Lauren and Wayne Clark. Tabula Rasa also sells vintage labels—the kind you scour your mother’s closet for—but with the original tags removed and replaced with Park’s own Tabula stamp. She alters each item to give each reborn oldie but goodie a bespoke touch. Tabula’s shelves and garment racks also boast new items from cool Aussie line Something Else, buttery leather messenger bags and hide accessories that look like Balmain (but at $20 a pop, are surely not), and striped silk-lined and double-breasted academy blazers. Now, West-end vintage diehards and East-end fashion patriots can finally agree on something–sheesh.

See my additional coverage on TorontoLife.com here.