WHOWHATWEAR
Teacher developed her look by seeking out local shop owners, designers, vintage collectors and sellers
When Seema Narula moved to Hamilton nine years ago, she did what any true adventurer does: explored her surroundings.
First, she delved into the neighbourhoods this native Burlingtonian used to visit as a teenager — long before moving to Japan to teach English, and later resettling in Toronto for several more years. And as Narula, a high school teacher with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, moved through the city, widening her circle and taking note of the beauty in what once was and what will be, she blogged.
“I didn’t want to show this glossy portrayal of Hamilton,” says Narula, former author of “This Must Be the Place” and current founder/writer at The Inlet. “I wanted to show the realness of what it was and the beauty in the contradictions of these things and … document the change and lament the loss of some things and kind of celebrate the birth of new things.”
So it makes sense that as she immersed herself in all things Hamiltonia, Narula, 39, would meet local shop owners, designers, vintage collectors and sellers. And soon her wardrobe would reflect her eclectic style along with her sense of place. Because almost every piece of clothing, every item she owns, speaks to Narula’s connection to her community. And she likes to keep her look unconventional, which makes it easy to transition from her day job, teaching, to her occasional night job as a local DJ.
“I’ll buy something as a joke or buy something for an ugly sweater party and then the next thing you know, I’m wearing that every day,” she says. “And so I like that pieces that I think I normally won’t wear, I often do and that’s the weird element.”
Pieces like a fuzzy brown sweater she describes as having a mothlike appearance, that she did indeed buy for an ugly sweater party and now wears regularly. Or a cobalt blue jumpsuit with gold shoulder lapels she scored for $5 from the Mermaid’s Purse vintage seller that she planned to wear only on Halloween and has since worn to several DJ gigs. Or the Sailor Moon sweatshirt she found through Hoot Furnishings Instagram sellers, to the delight of some of her students.
“I don’t have my work clothes separate — they all kind of blend together,” says Narula, adding that she goes for a relaxed look where comfort is king. “You wouldn’t see me at work and be like, ‘oh Seema you look so worklike.’ I feel there’s a continuum of the style that I just have that would carry through.”
Here she wears an Ursa Minor Genny Dress in Baltic Green from White Elephant in Hamilton over Levi’s skinny jeans from Girl on the Wing with red Art sandals from The Shoe Factory in Burlington. Her gold bangle from India was a gift from her late aunt; her ’80s-style earrings are from a clothing swap.
Most eye catching piece:
My most eye-catching piece is the shirt that I have from Batik Boutik. It’s colourful, patterned, and a patchwork of cotton batiked fabric with a rounded collar and boxy fit. It’s a men’s shirt but I like the looser fit. I sometimes wear it tucked into a pair of Iris Denim high-waisted, wide-legged jeans (and) buttoned up to the top with a pair of my leather boots from @theladyinapt302. Or unbuttoned partially with a pair of crêpe navy blue shorts and (these) red sandals ... I always get a lot of compliments with the shirt.
Quirkiest wardrobe item:
“My bracelet is from India,” says Seema Narula. “It was present from my late aunt and I have another matching one that I normally wear together but in India bracelets are so small you have to like, squeeze your wrists … and I just can’t get it on anymore.”
The one-piece jumpsuit that I bought at Mermaid’s Purse that I was going to use as a Halloween costume but that I wear all the time. It’s a cobalt blue … and I may have even removed shoulder pads so it’s a very broad-shouldered outfit with a gold lapel with buttons (at the shoulder). And then there’s a belt with a gold buckle. And it’s like a K-Way type of fabric.
Wardrobe must have:
A good pair of jeans. The Levi’s that I always get — sometimes I get them in black or in dark blue. Recently I’ve varied to a lighter colour. But then I’ve also discovered Iris Denim ... White Elephant carries them. They’re really expensive for a pair of jeans but they last ... I have two pairs of them: one wide-legged black pair and a skinny (black) pair. And I wear them multiple times a week and wash them regularly and it’s been over a year and they still are holding up with no real signs of deteriorating.
Best purchase:
The Mondrian-style wool jacket from the @GardinerGirls. I wasn’t sure about it but … I wear it all the time. It’s great for fall and spring. It’s essentially a sweater. It’s a wool jacket that goes to my knees but there’s no lining. So I can wear a sweater underneath. It’s quite oversized so it’s comfortable and has deep pockets. And it’s bright. In November when everyone is wearing dark colours and black and everything’s brown everywhere, it’s just nice to have something that’s bright and vibrant … it’s got dark navy blue piping and trim, but then it’s blocked in large geometric rectangles (in) bright primary colours: red, a yellowy-orange and the bright cobalt or vibrant blue.
Regrets buying:
I regret buying things that I don’t love ... sometimes I buy because something’s on sale and you think that it’s a good idea to buy it just because it is on sale — it was a good deal. And then I just don’t end up wearing it, so those things kind of sit in my closet. If I love something and I try it on and I think about it for days afterwards, it’s one of those things that I need to buy. But if I don’t love it, I should not convince myself that I do. I have a few — I bought some kind of sweater jacket and it just didn’t feel right and it functions but I just don’t enjoy wearing it.
Loves to shop at:
There are specific places I go to for certain things. If I am looking for a cosy sweater then I’ll probably go to Out of the Past or most recently I found a great sweater at Vintage Soul Geek. But I feel like I get my staples typically from O’s (Clothes), Girl on the Wing or White Elephant. And then recently I bought a pair of shoes from @theladyinapt302 — it’s on Instagram as well. And she started to post a lot of really great vintage finds. So, I guess besides those stores, then it’s via Instagram through the vintage community.
Ridding your closet of:
I am ridding my closet of things that are polyester. I have always been a lover of vintage clothes, even when I was in high school. I used to come to Hamilton to Déjà Vu and shop all the time, so there’s a big polyester phase. Lots of dresses. And then I realized that it’s not fun to wear in the summertime. And I also went through a phase of owning a lot of silk things which also are not great in the summertime. I’m getting rid of silk, getting rid of polyester and then I have a lot of clothing that is pre/post maternity, that as my body is transitioning through these ebbs and flows of change with having kids and not having kids, those are clothes that I’m purging.
Splurges on:
This dress was a definite splurge. I splurge on clothes that are comfortable and feel good and that I know will last.
Beauty item you can’t live without:
One is Kat Von D liquid eyeliner and then Dana Lee lipstick (in Flambe) … the thing that I love about her lipstick is that it moisturizes and so it’s almost like I’m putting on a chapstick or a balm … and then Flynn & Sage, they’re a local Hamilton company, too, and I always use their lip gloss.