Magwood on Dundas West is offering luxury vintage pieces draped in history. Each piece, hand selected by owner Sarah Magwood, seems to tell a little story about where it came from and the time it was first made to be worn.

There's the Victorian petticoat ($285), probably made sometime in the late 1800s, detailed with eyelet lace and hand-stitched design. Fast forward, oh, 75 years or so, when it was all about freedom and love, embodied by an orange hand crocheted overlay ($135). Then, about 20 years after that, when love turned to punk and grunge, a soft-as-butter red leather jacket ($150) would've certainly made the scene.

Sarah opened Magwood just two weeks ago, unable to resist the hardwood floors and exposed brick walls she encountered when she first saw the space was available for lease. Since then, she's added little touches here and there to up the vintage feel, including a massive mirror salvaged from the original Creeds.

Sarah started a design series in 2009 called Make Sale, which ran for six months at the Drake Hotel . During that time, she kept making connections, growing her network, and--of course--visiting estate sales.

"I just couldn't help but buy the beautiful things I would find," she tells me when I drop by Magwood one afternoon. "Even if they weren't in my size, I would still buy them." So she new she needed to expand. Always comfortable in a retail environment, especially since her mom owns a décor shop in the city, Sarah began to create Magwood as a company, finally opening on March 30.

Magwood the store has a number of simply exquisite pieces. The jewelry (starts at $20), housed in a vintage case doubling as the cash, is chunky and gold, especially the earrings which all seem to hang and dangle. A sucker for boots, I'm drawn to a pair of black Versace cowboys, complete with a classic--almost gaudy--Medusa head front and centre (($395). And then there are the bags, each gracefully detailed, notably the 1940s beaded wicker purse ($85).

For now, Sarah is sticking with fashion and accessories, but she's considering opening up the basement to eventually sell antiques.

"I want to do everything," she says. "That's sort of my problem. I just love the pursuit of beautiful things."

Photos by Dennis Marciniak