Real people: May at the market

Finally time to people-watch at the market, and I'm glad you have time to come along.

This is full spring, but we see two camps: the black-forever women who are adding some seasonal touches to their usual look, and others, dressed in the colours of the flower stalls.

This couple caught my eye for their all-black attire, and their pleasure as they bought apples.  The woman at the right, waiting her turn, wore a classic brown wool overcoat over straight-leg jeans and a high-buttoned charcoal shirt. Her black rolled-brim hat and silver hoops added polish. I realized I had not a duo, but trio of shoppers in simple but striking clothes.

At the other end of the spring colour continuum,  we spot two women who definitively chose pale palettes:

Left: The hyacinth blue charms; the floral scarf, with pink and green, so pretty. Good local asparagus, let's get some! 

Right: In her off-white shacket over a white shirt, with wide-legged black jeans and white sneakers, she takes a neutral route to her seasonal shift.

"Is the ecru jacket a thing?" we wonder, seeing another woman in a similar one just a moment later. Oh, look at her beautiful brogues! We remember what Iris Apfel said: "If your hair is done properly and you're wearing good shoes, you can get away with anything!"

I like how her oversized scarf stands in for a jacket. The plaid is fresh, and she has draped the rectangular piece so it glides gracefully over her long-sleeved grey tunic. 

Sometimes, something looks simple but there is real thought behind it. 

Left: What an unusual combination, black with celadon—not an easy colour to work with, yet she owns this! The blacks are a slightly cropped cotton cardigan and knit skirt to the knee; she has bare legs and Blundstones.  

Right: The topknot, the exuberant print over a white mockneck, and if you look closely, an elegant, milky manicure, all put together with an individual sensibility that we admire greatly.

Let's have a coffee! We are stopped in our tracks by this exuberant sun hat, and of course this woman and her friend, enjoying an espresso at San Gennaro, see our smiles. She says the hat was made by "an Australian" (Lorna Murray), and bought from Montréal's wonderful Heirloom Hats, which just converted to an online shop only. 

Again, there's that black-but-springlike trick: pale green trousers, a light yellow shirt, a leather jacket, and quirky hat. Chapeau!