Fashion Files

Topshop coming to Toronto's Ossington St!

2010-05-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

My love of Topshop is no secret. Here on this blog, there are plenty of posts about this hallowed merchant of cheep n' cheery fashion. Indeed, my wedding dress, a white cotton lace wrap-style dress with a black sash, was from Topshop.

So today I sent up a cheer when I found out, courtesy of the Toronto Star, that Topshop will be testing the market in Toronto by opening a boutique-within-a-boutique on Ossington's Jonathan + Olivia. And who says no one reads newspapers anymore?

This is pretty thrilling news. The only probs is, I think I'm too old for Topshop now. I would really argue it's for twentysomethings. And now that I'm thirtysomething (oh tears, tears), well, let's just say that open-back tops and sparkly minis just aren't my thing.

I'm still going to check it out though. Topshop launches June 19, 2010 in Toronto.

GQ (and other magazine) word overuse alert: Sartorial

2010-05-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

The Sartorialist. Sartorial. Sartorially speaking.

Please, can we stop the mad overuse of this word? I think I read it in editorial about four times as relates to the upcoming Sex and the City 2. Just saw it about twice in one back issue of GQ (Johnny Depp on the cover).

I'm all about punching up boring text with a well-placed $5 word, but really, the use of "sartorial" is getting out of hand. It's catching me unawares everywhere. In a gossip blog, in women's mags, in men's mags. It's not even a nice word. It's got slithery, sarcastic cadence. It doesn't look nice either...all those squiggly S's.

Sartorial. Just say no.

Lindsay Lohan to "work" at Ungaro. Are you kidding me?

2009-09-11T04:04:00.000-07:00

Has April Fool's come early? Why is Lindsay Lohan, of all half-dressed badly dressed orange people now an artistic advisor for the once-esteemed house of Emanuel Ungaro?

I haven't blogged in a long time, but this news item was just baiting me.

Surely, Lindsay Lohan loves fashion. But she also loves wearing leggings nonstop, and using Twitter as a forum for airing her dirty laundry with sometime girlfriend Sam Ronson.
She is not fashiony. She has ceased to be fashiony for a long, long time. Girlfriend is a hot mess.

Ugh. I feel nauseous. Poor old Esteban Cortazar, he either booted it or quit when this trainwreck came aboard.

My glam life as a mom

2009-04-20T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'm a mom now. That's why I haven't blogged in what seems, to me anyway, like a lifetime. I'm sitting here with hair in a lopsided unkempt ponytail in mismatched pyjamas hoping my six-month old, who has commandeered about half of my king-size bed greedily sucking on a pacifier, doesn't wake up. This is glamour, people.

Any new discussion about fashion right now necessitates some mention of the recession, doesn't it? An era of frivolity has passed, and in many ways, I can't say I mourn it.

I'm not sure if this coincides with my new status as a parent, but it seems like everyone can breathe a little now. That latest, greatest purchase you were itching to buy can wait a bit. Those cute shoes, that new jacket beckoning...well, it just seems like good fiscal sense to hold off.

So, in a recession, is fashion dead?

Never.

Classics. Less is more. Work what you already have.

Or just sit around all day in old sweatpants, like moi.

Karlo...you so crazy!

2008-08-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I read something so crazy it makes me cackle out loud, using my cackle-laugh, not my giggling or somewhat-amused laugh. The cackle laugh is ugly.

I will not pretend to have dug up this little nugget myself...I found it on the (in my opinion) bestest gossip blog around, laineygossip.com, that is. These little diamonds are outta the mouth of none other than Karl Lagerfeld himself, in an interview tih the Sunday Times:

“They sent a private jet. I said, ‘It’s too small. I need a bigger plane.’ It’s fun, no?”

“I buy my shoes a size too small. I like the way it feels.”

“I have no problem with journalists – many are friends. Only if they are really stupid, or if they’ve got bad breath, or if they smell. Yesterday [after the Chanel couture show] I had a problem. I said, ‘I’m sorry, you’ve got to tell this woman that she needs to be taken away. Her smell is not possible.’ ”

"I don’t need meetings. I’m only interested in my own opinion anyway."

Gems! Gems! These are all gems!

He buys his shoes small cause he likes the way it feels. It's so masochistic, so insane, so, so, so...Karl!

I worship Karl Lagerfeld, he is too brilliant for words.

Christian Bale in Armani PLUS his hot wheels

2008-07-16T06:25:00.000-07:00

Scottie N. sent this image to my inbox this morning (a huge thank you for that!). How did he know I was scouring the internet yesterday for quite such a thing?

All I have to say about it is:

OMG. OMG. Oh. My. God.

Words. Words. I have no words.

I need to sit and be quiet for a while.

Christian Bale in Armani

2008-07-15T18:19:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited! The sublime Christian Bale is decked out in hand-tailored Giorgio Armani gear in the latest Batman flick, due out this weekend.

Just for the record, I will faithfully battle the weekend summer blockbuster crowds and line up to see this movie, 6 months pregnant and all, because I want to see him in his Armani suits.

And I don't even give a rat's fanny about Batman.

Would write more, friends, but my mind is too addled with thoughts of Christian Bale dressed to the nines as billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne.

Hubba!!!!

From here to maternity

2008-05-28T17:50:00.001-07:00

Imagine wearing this crazy getup during your pregnancy? I don't flippin think so.

Thank heavens the floaty silhouette is in this summer, or else I'd be up fatso creek without a paddle.

I am "in the family way" (isn't that the dumbest expression ever?) and let me tell you, finding cute clothes that fit isn't so easy.

Sure, you hear that it's easy, and in theory, you think, why yes, I can be a fashionable pregnant lady.

Um, no you can't.

Because:
1) Maternity pants fall down and make your ass look saggy
2) You can't wear really flat shoes or really high heels. In fact, experts recommend a two-inch broad-soled shoe. Right. Did you read that? Have you even seen a pair of shoes that match that description other than in an old-lady shoe shop?
3) All those well-shod pregnant celebrities are buying clothes at boutiques you can't possibly afford
4) Gap is closing down it's maternity sections in Canada. So you're stuck with Old Navy instead. I can wear Gap, I can't wear Old Navy. You can try. More power to you.

Luckily I'm still able to fit some of my sundresses and blouses from last summer, and the few things I did buy at regular stores are billlowy.

Is this the world's cheapest dress?

2008-05-07T06:43:00.000-07:00

This dress costs $8.98 at Steve & Barry's, the chain store that Sarah Jessica Parker designed her line "Bitten" for.

I read this story yesterday in the New York Times. How do Steve & Barry's do it? Nothing in the store costs more than $9, and we're talking jeans and shoes here, peeps.

I once bought a dress from Canadian discount clothes retailer Joe Fresh, regular retail price, $12. It had dainty working covered buttons on the side, adjustable spaghetti straps, and a considerable amount of pintucking below the bust. While I was paying for it, the dress boggled my mind. How could it only be $12? I decided it must be a loss-leader....like those sale-type items that stores promote just to get folks in the door, even though they don't make any profit, they get you buying other incidental goodies at full price.

But perhaps not. Steve & Barry's owners (it's a private company) say that they have slim margins and do everything budget-style, and use cheap labour (no kidding on that one).

SJP wore this dress out recently.

But the question is, should you?

Jelly shoes are back. You likey?

2008-04-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

Jelly shoes! Remember the 80s? Stirrup pants (wasn't allowed to have them) and jelly shoes (also wasn't allowed to have them) and jelly bracelets (thankfully was allowed to have those) were big.

So...do you like these?

I flippin hate them.

Givenchy jelly shoes in baby pink, featured prominently on Style.com. Marc Jacobs did a version of them last year.

Jelly shoes are bad, people. Don't go there. They make your feet all sweaty and blister-prone. Sweaty feet means smelly feet.

And I'm not just saying that cause I wasn't allowed to have them.

Although that might play a small part in it.

Anna Wintour made the Rodarte sisters lose weight

2008-04-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

If you've read this month's issue of Vogue, the one with the controversial Gisele/LeBron James cover, you'll find a particularly salacious article on how a Vogue editor approached the Rodarte sisters to "get healthy".

Of course, this is Anna Wintour's magazine, and you realize "get healthy" is really code for "lose weight, fatso."

She made Oprah lose weight to be on the cover of Vogue some years back. Yes. Oprah. Yes, that Oprah. Oprah. Yes. Holier-than-thou, beatified, sainted Oprah.

So, anyhow, the Rodarte girls are a bit chubby. I'd say voluptuous, but that would make them sound sexier than they are. So let's just stick with chubby. Why are they chubby? They sew lots of details on their sometimes kooky, sometimes beautiful dresses by hand. A lot of details. They're inside. A lot. They eat a lot of candy. They live in southern California. They drive everywhere and they don't get lots of exercise.

But now they're thinner, and they had to chronicle their "getting healther"/losing weight for Vogue. By their account, it sounded pretty miserable. Daily visits to a trainer, delivered meals (that part didn't sound so bad). And no candy.

Isn't Anna Wintour outrageous! She's great. She thinks people are too fat and she makes them diet.

Tom Ford in L.A.

2008-04-07T10:42:00.001-07:00

Tom Ford is just impeccable. I love him.

Never much cared for his minimalist Gucci collections probably because I am not much into minimalism. I have too much untameable hair for minimalism. Though I very much respect how he turned that wrinkled, fusty Italian fashion house into something fabulous in the 90s.

LaineyGossip.com's been on a mini Tom Ford kick as of late. Here he is, snapped on a plane.

She says:

"While everyone else travels for comfort, Tom Ford gets on a plane in a 3 piece suit.

Do you love it, or do you LOVE it? "

Yes, I love it. Look at his shoes. Look at his pocket square. I love pocket squares. It's very hubba.

She also says some other hilarious, lascivious things, things that I can't repeat because unlike her Chinese mom, my Chinese mom/censor actually reads my blog (Hi Mom! Stop reading my blog now, ok?!)

You'll just have to read her post to see what she says.

Lainey that is. Not my mom.

Guess what! Another actress with a clothing line

2008-01-09T16:32:00.000-08:00

I know. I know. I haven't blogged since, like, forever (months). I've been hibernating. It's been cold. What can I say.

Well, I can say this...

Another actress has...guess what. Guess what. Can you guess? Why, another actress has launched a clothing line, you silly goose!

This time it's fashion walking-disaster/visionary Chloe Sevigny. I can't even get into all the outfits she's foisted on us as I don't want you to have a nervous breakdown, but let it suffice to say that she once wore a pair of too-big heels, and secured them to her feet using big rubber bands.

She's released a whole lot of calico ugliness for Opening Ceremony in NYC.

(By the way...Opening Ceremony...most brilliant idea for a shop ever. Every year they carry one brand, culled from anywhere, recently UK's Topshop)

Anyhow, the whole thing is a big Who Cares, but if you want a laugh check out the catfight among commenters on nymag.com regarding their Chloe story: http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2007/09/chloe_sevigny_designs_the_clot_1.html

Over and out, y'all.

Lululemon togs NOT made of seaweed...oh WOW!

2007-11-15T17:02:00.000-08:00

In the last couple days, the big word on the street is that Lululemon's clothing doesn't contain seaweed.

So what.

Is that really any surprise? Do people believe everything they read? And who cares? It's not such a big deal, is it?

OK--let's look at this logically--even if it did contain seaweed, which supposed reacts with moisture to "release amino acids, minerals and vitamins" what would happen if you washed it with detergent? What, the seaweed would still be as intact as a fresh maki roll?

I don't think so. Skepticism, people, skepticism. Along with accessories, honey, it's the only thing that separates us from the animals.

Who the f*ck are these models, anyway

2007-10-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the foul mood has been triggered by arriving at the office at an eye-scorching 7:15 this morning. Anyhoo, I clicked over to style.com just now, home of my beloved Vogue, for a look at what's cooking in the Model Diaries (http://www.style.com/vogue/modeldiaries/080807 if you care enough to cut and paste. I'm guessing you don't.)

Who the fug is this Coco Rocha model they're profiling anyway? This is Vogue. Vogue. Don't they have some damn clout? Can't they get anyone better than Natalia Vodianova? Other that the unillustrious Coco who may or may not be a full-blooded Irish lass, they've got some waif called Raquel Zimmerman from Brazil. I mean, come on. We all know that real supermodels come from Canada. Where's Daria Werbowy, Irina Lazareanu. Oh yeah, they do have a profile on Shalom, but who the hell cares about her anyway.

Ohh, big early 90s flashback. Remember Montreal Yasmeen Ghauri back in the Naomi Campbell/Christy Turlington/Claudia Schiffer heyday? She had big (for a supermodel) rounded shoulders. Of course, that probably means that they were 12 inches across.

Canadian dollar worth more than US buck – that means I can buy more clothes online!

2007-10-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

Happy times.

I'm going to scour Bluefly.com, Anthropolgie.com and feel all superior now that our lowly Loonie (that's a one-dollar coin) is finally flying high.

Can you believe it?

I never thought I'd see the day the Canadian dollar was worth more than the Greenback.

Ok, sorry, gotta go shopping now....

Chloe Sevigny, Anna Wintour, Roger Federer

2007-09-14T17:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a fortnight since I've blogged, and longer (gulp) since I've been to the gym. My paunch is growing. I've noticed all it takes is a few resto meals and a couple weeks away from the gym and presto, flab city. But hey, I moved to a new house and we're relaunching the website I'm the editor of. I been busy.

But you didn't visit me here to read about my visceral fat, you want to know about fashion.

Fashion week is over in NYC. I grieve that I don't live there, really I do. (Minus the bedbugs. I hear Manhattan has a raging bedbug problem).

Anna Wintour, that delicious diva of Vogue, and Roger Federer, the tennis superstar with the floppy hair and impeccable clothing are total BFFs (that's best friends forever, you knob).

Hmm. What else?

Oh, guess what, guess what.

Sometime actress/weird-clothes wearer Chloé Sevigny has, can you guess? Can you guess?

Launched her own fashion collection.

Quelle surprise.

Actually I think she has an individual, quirky, truly fashiony style and so I am interested in seeing what her collection looks like. Em. Sort of.

Fashion is timeless

2007-08-31T19:06:00.001-07:00

Supposedly you can wear white pants all year round.

Um, yeah, sure, if you're Victoria Gotti, maybe.

This is what the Wall Street Journal reports.

What the fug do they know about fashion over anyway?

Read the whole story here, if you can be bothered:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118843034338212804.html?mod=home_personal_journal_left

Celebrity style

2007-08-28T19:31:00.001-07:00

Because this is my blog and I can write what I want and I'm lazy as all get-out today, I'm just going to write about celebs and their "style". Here we go:

Lindsay Lohan--she just hones in on the couture, I hear. Don't like her style, she's trampy.

Gwen Stefani--an icon. Glamourous. Oddball. Looks scary as hell though on the current cover of In Style Magazine. Harajuku meets Chola meets Prepster.

Jennifer Aniston--boring as hell, no style, she's admitted as much on Oprah or Letterman or something.

Angelina Jolie (come on, had to put them back to back! It's like boring Debbie Reynolds versus smokin' hot Liz Taylor vying over Eddie Fisher)--yeah, she's got a modicum of it.

SJP--you know what I think of her. Totally useless in the fashion department.

Reese Witherspoon--I dunno.

Scarlett Johansson--very New York casual.

Rosario Dawson--she's awesome, she's a true New York hipster and dresses the part.

The Olsen Twins--no comment.

Victoria Beckham--She looked pretty good a few years ago when she had long hair and was rocking a kind of Spanish Soccer Wife look. Not digging the new frosty, hard edged look. It's just too contrived, circa Fall '06.

Those crazy boobs of hers freak me out, too.

Check out this photo and tell me, how does she (far left) tuck her nipples so deep inside her top? I'm confused.

And on that note, how the hell did Sporty Spice, next to her, become the total hottie of the group?

Why I think men should dress like cowboys

2007-08-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

I like my men in suits. Don't blame me. I grew up in the inner city in the 80s. I don't like weird suits, either. I like nice dark suits, maybe with a little pinstripe but nothing too dandified.

However, I am a convert to cowboy style.

Dusty, rough and unique to the American lexicon...it's the cowboy. The Marlboro man. He smells like tobacco and leather. Of course, having grown up in Toronto I have never actually laid eyes let alone smelled a real cowboy. That's ok. My imagination is fertile.

Today I'm am particularly partial to an extremely attractive Welsh man dressed up like a cowboy.

Saliva, saliva, saliva.

Who is it?

Why, it's Christian Bale of course!

Scroll down and tell me, just tell me this isn't the most delicious sight ever.

He's starring in some shoot'em up film called 3:20 to Yuma with talented, telephone throwing bad boy Russell Crowe.

It's cowboy chic.

Eat it up, ladies.

I'm all over it.

I'm going to see if Niall, aka the husband, aka "Herself" aka the ghetto girl's version of Christian Bale, will dress up like this. Wish me luck!

Fashion is going in all directions this fall

2007-08-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

I'm waiting for a clear directive to materialize. Last year it was straightforward. Out with the pointy stillettos, the tapered silhouette, in with voluminous tops, chunky rounded toe platform heels. At the time, I thought it was very glam. I still do.

But flipping through the September issue of fashion magazines, I'm a bit confused.

I feel like not much has changed. There are lots of grays and blacks (I seem to recall that from last year, too). Same-ish strange new silhouettes.

On that note: bracelet length jackets and coats.

One word: Why?

Actually, they are exceedingly chic, and very flattering. It's a lovely length, especially if you don't have long arms (guilty). However, they are just as impractical as they are fashion-worthy for us folks in cold climates. In other words, everywhere you'd actually wear a bracelet length jacket, your wrists will freeze.

You do have to suffer to look hot. I'm convinced this is fashion karma kicking us for getting away with flats for the last year.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Teri purse in Stone

2007-08-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

You lika thisa bag?

I like it too. It's from Marc by Marc Jacobs (not to be confused with the more expensive Marc Jacobs line).

I liked it so much, I bought it on the weekend.

Then I suffered major, gutwrenching buyer's remorse. I mean--really bad. I'm moving, in theory, I can't afford it. My heart says yes. My credit card says, Bitch, put me back in the wallet and stop abusing me.

I took it home. Then I didn't take it out of it's glossy big shopping bag for a day. Very unlike me. I'm of the use-it-the-next-day ilk.

Today, I wore it to work. And I loves loves loves it.

It's so big and roomy.

It's the Teri purse from Marc by Marc Jacobs. Love the feel, love the heft. Did not love the pricetag, but hey, life's short.

Karl Lagerfeld to launch accessory line that's affordable(ish)

2007-08-20T16:39:00.000-07:00

Oh Karl. How I love me some Karl.

WWD.com is reporting that he's got a new license to produce a line of accessories. Moreover, it'll be affordable.

Oh yay. Something from Carlo that I can actually afford. There will be handbags, small leather goods and luggage. I hate small leather goods and am paranoid a cracked out baggage handler would steal my luggage, but the handbags....mmm, I could go for that.

Jessica Simpson's new clothing line

2007-08-17T17:36:00.001-07:00

Jessica Simpson (also known as "Jugs" over at perezhilton.com) has...guess what? Guess what? Can you guess???

She has...wait for it...launched a new clothing line.

Holla to MyItThings.com for breaking this news. Or at least, breaking this news to me.

What is wrong with these celebs? Hmm? Ok, mind you, she's barely even a celeb, her marriage was the most famous thing about her. Next to the jugs, that is, and her pervy "She's got DDs!" dad, Joe Simpson.

So now this. A clothing collection.

You like it? You be the judge.

Me, I'm tired of commenting on celebs' inane lines of clothing. Ohh sooo tired. So tired. Fingers can barely type out the words.

Can't they just stick to wearing fancy dresses that the studio seamstresses made them, like in ye golden era? What the hell.

Barney's Warehouse Sale: oh sigh, why don't I live in New York?

2007-08-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

Y'all know how I constanly bemoan the lack of certain much-loved shops in these here parts.
Well, this just in from fashionista.com. And sidenote: why oh why oh why don't I live in New York City?

"It's crazy, it's overwhelming, it makes you want to scream...

It's the Barneys Warehouse Sale.

But is it worth braving the insanity?

We did this morning, and you should too, if:

-You really wanted a pair of those satin cap-toe platforms Lindsay wore in the Miu Miu ads. There are lots, and they're marked down to $235.

-You need a pair of pants for work. There are piles of basic black, white, and tan slacks from Jil Sander and Balenciaga in the $130-300 range...
There's also the usual clutch of DVF dresses (some nice Vena Cava, too), mountains of Loomstate hoodies, a lonely feathered Giles gown, tons of Rick Owens tube tops ($50), and lots of great stuff from Balenciaga's capsule collections (Knits, Silk, Pants).

I picked up a Balenciaga shell ($99) and pants ($138)..."

LIKE, WHAT???? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I'M DYING INSIDE. I'M DYING. EVERY MOLECULE INSIDE ME IS VIBRATING WITH JEALOUSY.

Maybe I can run away to New York and no one will notice.

Christian Louboutin interview gone wrong

2007-08-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

Christian Louboutin makes some durned purty shoes. I read once that he made the soles of his shoes red (all of them are red soled...pay attention next time you're in a crowd of well-heeled ladies) because he wanted to be able to recognize his shoes whenever women wore them.

Snagged this awesome screen grab from http://www.christianlouboutin.fr/

Anyhow, listen to this:

A lifestyle journalist friend of mine once interviewed Louboutin, in person. She showed up, and she says he's a small, nonattractive little dude. She shook his hand. And then, and then....

He wiped his hand off.

I'm not sure if it was on his pants or his shirt, but he wiped his hand off like she was pond scum or something.

That's crazy!

He wasn't that nice either. And after the interview, when the factchecker called to verify all the factoids, the story got all watered-down and I-didn't-say-that (yep, in Canadian print magazines all facts are verified by a fact-checker who will call the contacts back after the fact to ensure a story's accuracy).

Isn't that annoying? I'd still wear his shoes though. They're awesome.

Tory Burch ugly shoes

2007-08-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

Oh Tory Burch, Tory Burch.

I've commented on your hideous new collection for old Republican robowives elsewhere, but these shoes take it to another level.

Tory, what the fug were you thinking?

You had the Tory Burch flats, just on the cusp of when flats where becoming fashionable again. Very cute. Saw them on a superstylish woman in Halifax. They were young and fun and I wanted a pair, but I didnt' like how the back was all elasticized. I don't like any elastic in my flats.

But these?

These are just dumb. Obviously you're just phoning it in. You couldn't even be bothered to design a cool shoe, you just smacked your initials on a pair of heels.

No.

Ralph Lauren in Vanity Fair

2007-08-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

Ralph Lauren appears in the latest issue of Vanity Fair, in a marginally interesting article.

The thesis: Ralph Lauren has created an unassailable world of WASP, and the America he's selling will never go out of fashion. It's timeless, it's beloved, it's quintessential prep. It's never really in style, so it's never really out of style.

Is it?

I don't flippin' think so.

This meticulously constructed world, where, it's reported in Vanity Fair, the artfully dishevelled in-store displays (of course there are no Ralph Lauren stores in Canada, but I digress) are actually perfectly, one might say evilly calculated.

And I say, how boring.

Style.com's Candy Talker

2007-08-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Fashionistas, this is so crazy you've really got to check this out. It's the fashion director editrix Candy Pratts Price on Style.com

Or rather, it's an animated version of her, gesticulating with fashion-thin arms, narrating a slideshow of all the must-haves for fall.

Loving the clench-jaw Upper East Side voice! It's just beyond the beyond.

(And a thanks to Jessy Ungerman, one of the fashion editors at Canadian Living magazine for bringing this to my attention. It's crazy campy!)

Net-a-porter

2007-08-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

I quite adore this kicky little e-tailer. Though I shouldn't say little. Net-a-porter has become a force in the world of fashion etail, mostly because you can buy practically anything designer-y, anywhere in the world. How about that. Anywhere. In. The. World.

This is a big stretch from the days where nothing could be shipped to Canada...which is still a fact of many American retailers. Just try buying something online from:

Nordstrom.com
Saksfifthavenue.com
Barneys.com
Bananarepublic.com
eLuxury.com
Target.com

I could go on and on and bore the living shite out of you with all the places that do not ship to Canada, even though we are on the border and in many cases, closer than Hillbilly USA that can get a shipment overnight for shipping prices that start usually at either FREE or $7.95. But I won't do that.

Instead, a reckoning of who does it right, etail-wise
Jcrew.com
Bluefly.com

Even our Canadian high-fashion institution Holt Renfrew doesn't do e-tail across Canada. Shame!

Fashion is a bitchy, bitchy world

2007-08-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

That's why I love it so.

It's got everything: sexiness, campiness, skinny women, gay men, beautiful fabrics, high-concept, low-concept, aspiration, inspiration, no sense of irony, trends, classics, haughty editrixes, wannabe bloggers (gulp)...crap grammar aside, it's a world of evil geniuses.

And that's all I have to say about it.

If you don't believe me, read some of this:

"As MySpace will attest Fashionista blogger Faran Krentcil has many friends, one of whom works at a magazine and has an assistant they like to laugh at behind her back because she wears totally hideous outfits all the time, and sometimes they pay her false compliments just so they can get a closer look at her insane ensembles, and today she decided to post a blog entry about this fact, and I think you can see where this is going i.e. commenter MUTINY. Wrote one:

"everyone always laughs at you faran when you go out. trust me on this"...

Read the rest here:

http://jezebel.com/gossip/unpretty/fashionistas-bffs-assistants-ugly-headband--omg-internet-war-287048.php

Oxford shoes--will we all be wearing this come Fall?

2007-08-03T07:54:00.001-07:00

These are the Oxford shoes that we've been seeing just tons of in the fashion rags. Not necessarily in this combo, but the wing tips and laces seem to be a common factor.

I find them a bit jolie-laide but they have a certain boyish charm. I think I would wear them. Granny chic has never been my thing, but it is an enduring style that makes the rounds every decade or so.

You like?

I'm obsessed with models' lives

2007-08-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

Surely I am.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but I'm fascinated by these twiglike beings. Natalia Vodianova...know anything about her? Got knocked up really young by some hot Brit aristocrat, had a baby, they got married, Vogue did a lifestyle spread on their utter fabulousness...it's just too much.

Now Vogues' website does a new column called Model Diaries, where supermodels tell the story of how they got superfamous. The Q and As of Natalia Vodianova and Doutzen Kroes (I know--who the hell is that??) are up, and I quite sadly am looking forward to reading more.

On the streetcar home I was deeply engrossed in Vogue's excerpt of Alek Wek's new memoir. That is one interesting lass.

Winona "Sticky Fingers" Ryder is on that cover. She is lovely to look at, and I've always adored the unusual quality of her voice. Remember her in "Heathers." Oh, I would have killed to be Winona Ryder back in ye day. Back when Christian Slater was still cute.

And that was a long time ago.

Update: I just remembered another reason I'd kill to be Wino. In the movie Little Women, she had a major kiss with none other than Christian Bale. Aka CB aka The finest man on earth. Yum.

If you watch the scene where they kiss, you even see a long string of saliva when their mouths separate. And that never even grossed me out, not even after pausing and rewinding many a time. Such is my devotion.

Sienna Miller and Savannah Miller

2007-07-31T17:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I watched Factory Girl and I really enjoyed it. I was a bit weirded out by Hayden Christensen's very long and dirty fingernails, but I got over it. Sienna Miller surprisingly didn't stink! Poor old Edie Sedgwick, sad ole gal. Used up by Andy Warhol and kicked down by Diana Vreeland at her lowest.

On a slightly brighter note, the Miller sisters (aren't their names idiotically peppy? Sienna and Savannah? It's so U.K.-petit bourgeousie) have joined forces to...guess what??? Launch a collection called Twenty8Twelve.

Now excuse me while I go barf.

The Gap, Lululemon

2007-07-30T12:48:00.000-07:00

The Gap's been suffering for a long time. Sure, you can go in and get little bits and bobs, the odd pair of pants or a halfway wearable coat, but in terms of really stocking up there...I don't think so. They haven't had a must-have item in ages. Plus, they haven't changed with the times. Plus, the store never has enough merch or people in it...it looks dead. It's got a new CEO, the ex-head of Shoppers Drug Mart, a Canadian drugstore for those of you not familiar with it. Shoppers Drug Mart ain't no super store either, if you ask me...it's just a necessary evil. He doesn't know fashion, is what I'm reading. What's there to know? You dont' have to know fashion, you just need to hire people that no fashion. Like, duh.

Lululemon offered it's IPO, and it's doing quite well. Lululemon is a Canadian success story. Athleisure wear at a just-high-enough-to-be-aspirational price point.

Personally, I've tried to like Lululemon and I just don't. I like Stella McCartney for Adidas.

Stella!!

Kate Spade is a stepping down as desgner

2007-07-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

Kate Spade and her hubby, Mr. Kate Spade are stepping down from their posts as Designer and CEO, in a breaking news report from WWD.

Just as well.

I never liked her stuff even though I tried to...I just...I don't. Her designs...they're boxy. Predictable. Boring. Clench-jaw Upper East Side prep school girls. Not a fan. I'm speaking about her clothes and shoes, though. No comment on her housewares, her dishes and such. They are ok, I suppose. Inoffensive, anyway.

Of course like all designers these days, she doesn't own her own company, the company Liz Claiborne Inc does. She just works for them. It's kinda messed up when you think about it. It's your name. It's you. It's built around you. But you don't own it anymore. You sold it and now you're an employee. Weird.

Tracy Reese is totally underexposed

2007-07-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

This American designer whips up, season after season, dresses that are flirty and pretty and feminine and classy. Oooh, I'm in love.

Tracy Reese, people!

She's awesome, she needs to be discovered in a major way. She's more talented than many, many designers out there, no names mentioned. I can't wait to go to NYC and check out her new store.

And guess where a line of her dresses is carried? Anthropologie. Of course.

Why isn't she a household name? It's just wrong.

Trend watch...or not

2007-07-24T16:18:00.000-07:00

This is admittedly very inward looking, and even a bit perverse to admit, but here goes:

I never personally care about upcoming trends until they've arrived. Is that wrong?

It's just that they don't mean anything to me until I covet them deeply.

I can't be bothered to figure out what might be hot next season. I don't even know what to wear to work tomorrow, let alone whether bracelet length jackets will be hot for Christmastime.

Though, I do get excited when totally hot collections come out (see under my Dior tag), or when I see specific ads for specific goods, like a new bag or shoes.

Anyhow, who cares about all that. Have you read Lainegossip.com today? I love her more and more each day. She's so lecherous.

Penelope Cruz' line for Mango

2007-07-23T18:18:00.000-07:00

So...

Penelope Cruz and her sister Monica (not pictured here...but what is there to see, really? They're virtually identical) have launched a line for Mango. Gawd, I'm getting tired of writing those words. "Such-and-such just launched a line for such-and-such."

Of course, this line is all sultry and sexy just like la Cruz herself. I always thought she was a bit dopey looking, but she's aged for the better, and now she's all siren-like. Isn't Tom Cruise dumb? They split up just when she was starting to look good. Same with Nicole Kidman, eh? He dumped her for Penelope and then she got really hot. But now she's got a bad case of the Frozen Face.

Major digression. Sorry.

Did Penelope design any of this line, or was it her sister Monica? Who knows. Who cares.

I guess the pieces are nice. I don't know. I don't care. I can't think about faux fur just yet. Fall clothes, yes, faux fur, not yet.

Mango just confuses me. Is it better than Zara? Worse than Zara? Is it Zara?

All I know is that Spanish fast-fashion labels have clothes that are true sizing and I feel like a giantess when I try their stuff on.

Digging Penelope's Brigitte Bardot 'do.

Fashionista.com: style like you mean it

2007-07-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

Late post today. Was busy practicing my woeful Daisy Buchanan driving skills with my poor, steel-stomached cousin.

Anyhoo, on with it.

Loving fashionista.com, with their talk about Blackle, the black-screened version of Google, and all the luverly things it matches, like vampy Chanel nail polish and Chloe shoes and all that jazz. They are not that mean though (the "mean" is highlighted in red on the site, see above).

They need to be meaner.

Phillip Lim, Thomas Pink open stores in NYC

2007-07-19T07:33:00.001-07:00

Phillip Lim makes such cute clothes. I read somewhere that Anna Wintour gave him a major boost at the beginning of his career. Here he is at his brand new store on Mercer street in SoHo, with Debra Messing, who looks like a hag in this dress. Sorry dress, no offense to you.

Thomas Pink makes all kinds of fancy shirts for erstwhile playboys and wannabe Gordon Geckos, one presumes, and it has just opened an NYC shop, too, on -- where else -- Wall Street.

Libertine for Target

2007-07-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

Check this out:

It's kind of Mayflower Pilgrim-y, but I like it!

Only available at Target. Of course. Add that to my ever-growing list of stores I'd love to see in Canada. I wish Target would replace all the Wal-Marts in Canada, I really do.

When I was in Tarjay in Boston, I saw a really really really cute Isaac Mizrahi blouse with pintucking , in cream. Alas it was not my size and there was only one left.

Of course you'll note, this fondness for Target's apparel offerings is in direct opposition to my usual stance that there is far too much throwaway clothing in the world.

I am nothing if not a hypocrite.

Tory Burch

2007-07-17T06:07:00.000-07:00

Forgive the non-blog yesterday. I was without my beloved body appendage: my laptop. Sans iBook lappy, I am a mess, lost, just utterly lost. So lost in fact, that I watched the whole Victoria Beckham Coming To America 1 hour special that was on. Awesome. Not. That's one hour of my life I won't be getting back.

Let's talk about Tory Burch. Who is she? A socialite I think. And a designer.

What is she known for? Really cute flats, I must admit, and a strangely bewildering lineup of beachy California Republican daywear. Like tunics, tops, etc.

Her first season was really cute. Now, not so much. I mean, look at this ugly boatneck top. Looks like something from Old Navy circa 1997.

Ick.

Where have the days of cherishing your clothes gone?

2007-07-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

And I'm an offender, too. You know, buy it today, wear it one season, chuck it? Buy so many things you never get to wearing half of them?

Whatever happened to saving your money for a special dress or pair of pants or shoes you really had to have? And when you bought it, you adored it and wore it again and again, and you wouldn't buy anything else for a long time. Where have those days gone?

I remember being a teenager and visiting Italy and being surprised at how little the gals there have in their closets. Maybe 3 outfits at most per season, but every piece was exquisite, coveted, cherished, impressive. They had one winter coat. Not 4. And that winter coat would be a Fendissima or a MaxMara, not some junky buttons-falling-off one season knockoff.

I'm just sayin'.

NYTimes Style Tag Cloud

2007-07-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

I love tag clouds. Look at this one, which you'll find next to Cathy Horyn's blog today on http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com

The best thing about tag clouds in my opinion is that they summarize what people are talking about in the (fashion) world today, a glimpse of what's hot and what's merely simmering. As I understand, the bigger the word, the more popular it is.

Tangentially, Cathy Horyn is a pretty good fashion writer, not always compelling but certainly with an encyclopedic knowledge of the industry. As Ali G would say, Respeck.

As a blogger she is kinda weak, but that's understandable I suppose, give that her primary occupation is writing copy on tight deadlines for the Times.

She has even narrated slideshows for the web in the past. She has this unintentionally hilariously droll, deep-pitched voice.

Lazarus in a Ted Baker suit

2007-07-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

To begin this fashion story, my friends, I need to meander off the path of strictly fashion for a bit, if you'll bear with me.

Last winter, an early morning phone call. Niall was off reporting in Kitchener. Early morning phone calls rarely deliver good news. This was no exception. On the line: Kalle Karkas of Finland, Niall's close pal (and my friend, too, and a rather dapper fellow, I might add--think Prada-meets-futuristic-Scandinavian). Bad news, their good friend Ivan was stricken with a brain tumour, and the prognosis was not good. I was shaken. I told Niall when he got home. He was glum. He called Francesca, Ivan's wife at their London home, the next day. It wasn't good. He was in the hospital. We pondered our mortality. I told Niall to call again after a few weeks had passed. He didn't call. He wanted to call, but I don't think he could bring himself to, just in case bad news awaited on the other end.

Months passed. I nagged, he ignored. What else is new.

Today, news.

Looks like our friend Detective Ivan McNally is alive and blogging. And he's a blogger after my very own heart. He writes about his daughter Camilla's christening:

"Sunday is a success, especially for me. I don't know if it was the Ted Baker linen suit, Nicole Farhi shirt and Patrick Cox loafers, the English accent or a combination of both, but I ended up fighting the wife's mother's mates off with a proverbial stick."

So here are Niall and I all this time convinced that he is dead, and the fecker is blogging about his Patrick Cox shoes and fending off a bunch of his mother-in-law's horny cougar chums in Rome.

I love it.

Fashion. It's the only thing that separates us from the animals.

BTW, his blog is really good, he is a gifted and heartfelt writer: http://thebastardchildofgenehunt.blogspot.com.
BTW part II, how awesome is our friend Francesca's outfit? Digging the flirtily ruffled top and chicly effortless floral-overlay skirt? She is gorgessity epitomized, as ever.

Oh how I want this Chanel watch

2007-07-10T07:05:00.000-07:00

If I start saving my pennies now, maybe I can afford it someday.

It's over $3,000, which isn't completely insane, considering the price of Rolex watches.

It's made of ceramic, ain't that cool? I saw it years ago and liked it so much I ripped out the ad from a magazine and affixed it to my bulletin board at home. I loves it.

More recently, I saw it on the arm of some celeb in a magazine cover, which reminded me how much I adore it. Was it Jessica Alba on Self? I can't remember.

Is it time for Fall yet?

2007-07-09T07:26:00.000-07:00

It's July 9th.

It's hot outside.

I'm so over summer clothes, and I'm into the Fall season.

Yesterday I was at my favourite Canadian department store (Holt Renfrew) looking at all the pretty garments on sale, all flossy, pretty bits with strings and bows and sheerness and all that fluffiness that I adore. But I barely picked up a single sale item for a second look.

(Except for a cute silk Marc Jacobs top I've been eyeing up for months but have nixed because I'm too sweaty to wear silk. The only one left was not my size. But anyhow, I digress.)

I have been gravitating to the fall items. A coat in dark green corduroy. Sweaters.

What's wrong with me?

Oh, and Holt's does carry Free People, where I bought a cardigan with a chinoiserie style frog clasp in Boston. It's a stand-alone store there. It's got cute little cap sleeves, and though I'm not a cap sleeve person, I couldn't pass it up.

style.com

2007-07-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

I'm majorly loving Vogue and W magazines site.

And, I'm rather bowled over and frankly, intimidated by writer/blogger Sarah Mower's quick-as-can-be blogs that, yes, while poncey in typical Vogue fashion, are nonetheless totally spot on, insightful and written by someone with a long fashion memory.

Sigh. I'm jealous.
Is she gorgeous and skinny too, like other Vogue writers?

Cause that would be just wrong.

It's Fashion Week in Paris

2007-07-05T09:27:00.001-07:00

Not that I ever paid much attention to the fashion shows before. Until this week, that is.

I think, and this is tentative because I'm certainly not a fashion oracle, but I think, from what I've been seeing in the French collections, Lacroix, Dior and Givenchy , is that Fall 07 will be about detail, richness....clothes that look like they cost the (exorbitant) amounts that they do. Lots of ruffles, embroidery, top-notch tailoring (ok, it's always about top-notch tailoring) but I mean, the type of tailoring that takes it up another level.

How will H and M and Forever 21 crib these looks? I look forward to seeing their spin.

Dior part II

2007-07-04T08:40:00.001-07:00

Sorry, but just one post was not enough to do Dior's fabulousness justice.

Apparently I wasn't alone in being gobsmacked in the best way about this collection.
Even the gossipistas were all over it...
Perezhilton.com posted about it (and he doesn't do fashion posts normally)
Laineygossip.com posted about it (neither does she)

I am in love.

Galliano for Christian Dior

2007-07-03T07:01:00.000-07:00

I'm breathless.

I mean, look at this.

The beauty.

This is all over the fashion news today. The show was yesterday.

Oh Galliano for Dior, I love you this season!

I've always loved Galliano, even at his most ridiculously flamboyant. Even when he dropped a pile of weight and had a rippled stomach which he would flash on the runway. Even through the minimalist Calvin Klein 90s. I've always hated minimalist clothes. Give me rococco anyday.

Anyhow, this collection isn't so much rococco as it is Dior's New Look mixed with romantic costume drama.

Gorgessity. I'm without words.

Sarah Mower for Style.com writes:
"Those color effects were ravishing. Running from the palest pinks through mauve, ice blue, crimson, orange, and emerald, they often appeared to shade from one hue to another in the rich folds of duchesse satin skirts and the tiny-bodiced jackets sitting above them."

OK, I have a few words.

For my part, I think these looks are imminently wearable (pared down, of course) and I can't wait for them to trickle down into the fashion vernacular.

Shoshanna

2007-07-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

A long long time ago (back when I was a teenager), there was a story in The Star or The Enquirer (doesn't really matter) about how Jerry Seinfeld had just started dating a 17-year old girl, and how he was even going to take her to the prom. Isn't that gross?

Her name was Shoshanna Lonstein.

Ring any bells?

She also reportedly dated Fabio. Yep, that Fabio.

Anyhoo, I believe that they split up after she finished university, and in short order he married Jessica Sklar.

I have no idea how I remember this when I can barely remember family members' birthdays, but so it is.

OK, so, back to the fashion angle....Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss (she got married, not to Jerry, obviously) has her own line of clothing for years now, called Shoshanna. Lots of sundresses and swimwear for buxom gals that aren't fat, such as herself (and myself, too).

And now, really cute blazers too, as seen in this NYTimes photo.

Read the accompanying article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/06/29/fashion/20070701_PULSE_SLIDESHOW_1.html

Herself

2007-06-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

Because Niall the husband is obsessed with clothes and thus, with shopping, I call him herself. Honestly. I had one bag today after a morning of shopping, herself was trotting around with at least 4.

We went to Neiman Marcus (he bought Prada jeans for $120), Saks Fifth Avenue (he bought some sweat pants, I didn't even bother to look at what they were) and we went to Barneys. Neither of us got anything, but he wanted to get a pair of Prada shoes. Another pair. Except they didn't have his size.

On that topic, how terrific is Barneys? I love it. It's so well "curated," I guess you would call it. I just love the buyers' taste, and not just cause it's similar to my own. Simply marvelous, beautiful clothes, the best and most interesting of the lot, and not over-crowded (that means you, Saks).

Free People

2007-06-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

I'm in love with a store called Free People. The cutest clothes channelling all the trends I've been loving (chinoiserie, fluted sleeves, mixed patterns, fine-gauge knitwear) are all here!

And by here I mean in Boston, which is where I am right now.

I bought a cute little cardie with a frog closure.

I think free people is made by the same company as Anthropologie (oh, btw, I was there yesterday and just as enamoured as ever).

In Canada, you can find Free People at Aritizia, and also a little bit at Holts, too.

View From the Fourth Row

2007-06-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

Perusing gawker.com yesterday, I came across this totally bitchy blog, View from the Fourth Row. Want to be a fashion editor? Read this first, it's anonymously written by a fashion mag insider. Gawker says it's Alice Kim, formerly of In Style magazine.

Hipster watch: Owls, sparrows out, squid, marine life in

2007-06-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

So says the NYTimes style section. Toodleloo cutie pie owls and sparrows. Hello ugly squid.

Last week I read an article about the hipster-central crafts fair that takes place in Brooklyn each year. Apparently our birdie friends are on the way out.

Of course, because I am not a hipster, a few months ago I bought a sweet zipped hoodie with owls all over it and one giant owl applique, which I promised the gals at work I wouldn't wear to the office but then I did.. Then on Friday I visited my friend in Hamilton and bought, what, you might ask? A sparrow cast iron door knocker. Which is wicked by the way. But not hip, apparently.

Forever XXI

2007-06-25T09:47:00.001-07:00

They should call it Forever Insane.

Went to Toronto's only Forever21 down at Yonge and Dundas streets and the place was a madhouse of flailing teenage arms and weary moms following them around.

What's awesome: super-cheap accessories, and I mean tonnes of stuff under $10 that is surprisingly not cheapo looking; groovy but cheapie looking sundresses.

What's not worth a second glance: possibly the ugliest coloured denim (reds, yellows) I have ever seen.

Forever 21, to my recollection, is a U.S.-based cheap-n-chic fashion store along the lines of H and M. Apparently owned by a Korean-American family.

The only other Forever 21 Canada-side is in the West Edmonton mall, I believe. And that one is huge, much bigger than the Toronto store.

Cute stuff but it really, and I mean really looks like it will fall apart after one wear.

Pocket squares

2007-06-22T06:21:00.000-07:00

I love me a nice pocket square. In the pocket of a man's suit, that is.

A rerun of Ugly Betty was on yesterday and the characters Daniel and his father sported pocket squares. I think they're so sharp. (The pocket squares, I mean, though Daniel is pretty sharp, too. Hubba hubba.)

Since the show started in the fall I've been bugging Niall to get a pocket square. He won't budge. Here's a sampling of our convo:

"You should really get a pocket square."
"No, I don't want one."
"Why not. It's so crisp looking"
"No. It's just another thing to worry about."
"Whuh? Why not? They're hot. Look at Daniel on Ugly Betty. It looks hot. Don't you want to be hot?"
"No."

End of story.

Anthropologie's Antwerp chair

2007-06-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

If I could be a chair, this is the chair I would be.

This isn't technically about fashion, y'all, but I'm so in love with this chair I don't know what else to do about it. I certainly can't buy it, it's $1,500.

I love it. I love the pattern of the fabric, the generousness of the seat. It's just...it's just hot. I'm actually beyond words.

And...it's from Anthropologie, of course. Not only does its clothes rock, its furniture is superhot, too.

And you can't get it in Canada.

Sigh.

Roberto Cavalli at H and M

2007-06-20T12:21:00.000-07:00

Today a PR release landed in my inbox from Jane Gill PR, who does the publicity for H and M. in Canada. It seems the Swedish clothing purveyor is launching a Roberto Cavalli line.

Hmm.

The Madonna line was really and truly nothing special. Lots of black and champagne colours. And satin.
And it was overpriced.

The Stella McCartney line, which I never actually got to see in person cause it was all snapped up before I could even make it to H and M was supposedly quite nice.

Viktor and Rolf--some of the stuff was nice , I tried on wool pants and thought they fit me rather well I can't wear wool pants cause they make me scratch like a mofo.

Cavalli? I'm intrigued. I'm thinking borderline tarty cuts and wild prints.

The Sartorialist

2007-06-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

Cheers to my Montreal-based pal Piaras for thie heads up: The Sartorialist is quite possibly the perfect fashion blog...one I wish I thought of myself.

Photos of real fashion from the streets--in particular, NYC.

And you know how I love NYC.

The Sartorialist's bio says:
"I started The Sartorialist simply to share photos of people that I saw on the streets of New York that I thought looked great. When I worked in the fashion industry (15 years), I always felt that there was a disconnect between what I was selling in the showroom and what I was seeing real people (really cool people) wearing in real life."

Tell me about it. I remember my first trip to Manhattan and being on the subway and seeing this hipsterette wearing slouchy boots and tights and a vintagey dress and a soft suede bag and a indo-influenced scarf draped nonchalantly around her neck, really boho...and this was years before boho took off. I was never big on boho but I thought she looked awesome.

The NYTimes does something a little similar in that they publish a collage of real people wearing a certain trend, but that column doesn't have the artfulness of this blog. I love the photos.

The Karl Lagerfeld Diet

2007-06-18T07:59:00.001-07:00

Oh Carlo, you so crazy.

Remember what Karl used to look like? Bloated, always fanning himself. Well, he got himself skinny and now he wears Hedi Slimane Dior and weird finger gloves and othy jewelry.

Yesterday I was in Club Monaco waiting for Niall to try something on, I can't remember what, and I picked up Karl's book, which is for sale there and started reading it and it was utterly utterly compelling.

I only read a couple paragraphs but I loved the anecdote about how when he was a young man in Paris and his parents would visit, they stayed at a really fancy-pants hotel and they wouldn't let him visit them there, they didn't want him to think the world was too easy a place and such luxuries came easily, anyhow I digress. It was freezing cold and Karl had no winter coat cause he gave all his away and all he really wanted was this beautiful coat from a certain shop and he would rather freeze rather than wear any other coat. How eccentric.

I think I'll buy the book, even though I don't want to lose like 100 pounds in under a year like he did.
A few pounds would be nice, but that's another story.

Eve revives Fetish, Kate Moss to launch perfume

2007-06-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

Eve, the fabulousness rapper and actor with the claw tats on her breasts, is reportedly having another go at her fashion brand, Fetish. I didn't know it was ever shelved, but apparently it was. All I remember about the clothes was that they were kind of skanky-athleisurewear, and that I saw them at Winners. On clearance.

Kate Moss is lending Coty her name to launch a perfume. Coty perfumes are crap, y'all.

Kate Moss' line for Topshop is also crap. Shorty shorts, stupid shiny vests, the dowdiest floral dress I've ever seen. Long skirts. I mean c'mon.

Lacoste

2007-06-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

Kudos to Lacoste for reviving the brand with consistently cool collections. Loved their blazers last fall (I even bought one), and loved their 07 summer shoe collection. Those adorable, almost nautical shoes have been ripped off left right and centre. Of course making the real thing that much more covetable. More details in this Ellecanada.com article.

I miss my Citizens

2007-06-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

I miss my jeans, my Citizens of Humanity. The weather's been hot for the last week so I've been in dresses, looking at my pairs of jeans just hanging in the closet. I love jeans and I really really love Citizens of Humanity. If you have no bum, like me, they're the best pocket going. And it's all about the pocket. If you have a bum, they still look good.

Victoria Beckham

2007-06-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

Posh spice. All I have to say is, why she getting so much coverage? Who cares? I think it's just cause she's scary skinny. Or just scary. For a short time, I thought she was stylish. Now I just think she's skanky. That weird Chanel outfit she was recently spotten in, with fingerless gloves was just whack. Sorry, Karl.

Karl Lagerfeld and Hadid, Nike in Soho and Tom Ford goes global

2007-06-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

Kind of a quiet fashion day today, all told.

Women's Wear reports that Karl Lagerfield is working with Zaha Hadid on some sort of art project.

Nike is opening a Soho store.

Tom Ford is taking his new-ish brand global.

Yawn.

Let's talk about my DVF dress instead. Did I mention it before? Oh yes, I did. It's sublime. It's the Adelaide ginko pattern dress. Well, I'm not going to buy it. Why? It's too short. My legs are not up to short dresses. End of story. Sigh.
Someone was quoted in Vogue as saying you shouldn't wear short skirts after 30. Sad but true.

Dior's Victoire de Castellane

2007-06-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

I'm watching a repeat of CBC show Fashion File right now. It's a bit meta.

The couture jewelry designer for Christian Dior, Victoire de Castellane, is brilliant. Painted gold, rings with delicate petals, tiny intricate details. So exquisite I'm holding my breath watching the images flash on the TV screen. She's very pop-roccoco. Delish.

Fashiontribes has a nice post on her work:
http://fashiontribes.typepad.com/main/2005/10/victoire_de_cas.html

I miss old FF host Tim Blanks. I miss his comforting posher-than-you accent and his smart stay-out-of-the way comments about the runways.

Now on the telly, JP Gaultier is the designer of Hermes? When did this happen? I really have to start reading Women's Wear Daily more often.

Bitten by SJP

2007-06-09T05:10:00.000-07:00

Not to get all on-the-bandwagoney, but Sarah Jessica Parker's new line of cheapo clothing, Bitten, certainly doesn't have me biting. Regurgitating, maybe, but biting...not so much. The line was finally released yesterday at Steve & Barry stores. I've never heard of these stores.

Her manifesto, as spelled out on Bitten's website:
"It is every woman's inalienable right to have a pulled-together stylish, confident wardrobe with money left over to live."

Um, are you kidding me?
I'm sure that's exactly what my immigrant grandmother was thinking when she fled rural China in the 50's and escaped poverty and food shortages..."oh please, I hope my daughter and granddaughters have the right to buy styleless clothing at the low, low price of under $20 per item." Right.

The blandness of Bitten's style aside, is there any real need for another cheap (and in this case, not even chic) collection of throwaway clothing?

Look at her shirt: "Fashion is not a luxury...it's a right"

I'm barfing. If fashion is not a luxury, what the hell is?

(Also, on a side note: why is anyone surprised that SJP's line lacks style, a certain quirky je-ne-sais-quoi? SJP herself is not a real fashion maven, it's Patricia Field that was the mastermind behind her Sex in the City fashionista persona.)

Why do designer purses cost so much?

2007-06-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

"Oh, you're just paying for the name."

I've heard this a ton of times, usually about pricey handbags and clothes.

But is it true? In a way yes, and no. Here's a good layshopper's guide as to what goes into designer handbag costs, from CanadianLiving.com:
Why do designer purses cost so much?

My opinion? Yes, they seem (and let's face it, are) ridiculously expensive, but oh, the fine details, the sturdiness, the gorgessity of them (thanks LaineyGossip.com, for coining that marvellous term). I love that they have dustbags tucked inside, I love that the hardware never falls off, I love that they wear to a beautiful patina instead of looking like ragged crap after half a year.

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Miss Selfridge + Topshop

2007-06-07T08:08:00.000-07:00

Yep, still love it. Miss Selfridge is my fave UK store, hands down. In Ireland I made 2 pilgrimages. One to the shop in Derry (in Northern Ireland), where I picked up a very cute floaty cotton summer top with puffed sleeves and a notched collar and a darling apple dangling from a silver chain. The second pilgrimage involved going out of my way, dragging my sis-in-law, to a plaza in Galway City when the family took a little road trip there from my husband's hometown of Donegal. There, I bought a pair of turquoise perforated-leather round-toe flats with dainty little bows on the top. Very adorable. Also, a silver cuff.

I also popped into a Topshop, where I picked up a funky 60s-ish printed dress.

A Model Summer

2007-06-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

On my flight back from Ireland, I read A Model Summer by former superduper ubermodel Paulina Porizkova. It kept me steadily turning the pages. The gist of it: a Swedish girl goes to Paris for the summer to model and is thrown into a world of sex, drugs and judgement. The fashion aspect doesn't play very much into it, except for notable mentions of Fiorucci.

Do you remember Paulina from the 80s Cars video, where she's scribbling on the wall behind her like a lunatic? I remember her from Cosmo and other such mag covers.

The blog Conversations with Famous Writers posted:

"Of course as I was reading, I wondered how much of this book Paulina experienced herself as a young model in Europe. I recall Paulina never smiling in her pictures because she had bad teeth, just like the character of Jirina. A Model Summer is worth your time to read, scooping you up into the world of modeling and shocking you with the seedy details and gritty experiences of a young fashion model." Couldn't agree more. Read the rest of the post here.

Karl Lagerfeld

2007-06-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

Read a story about him in the New Yorker's fashion issue, and he's brilliant.

Check it out, on the New Yorker's website:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/03/19/070319fa_fact_colapinto

Marc Jacobs

2007-06-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

Quick one today:

Marc Jacobs. Have you seen him lately? Totally hot, and I'm not just talking about his handbags (though they are particularly smokin' this season). He looks awesome, really toned and tan and slim! Good for him.

Bag, borrow or steal

2007-06-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

Yep, there are websites out there for those of us who want to rent (seriously) a designer bag for a week or a month. Perhaps the best known one is
bagborroworsteal.com.

It's selection is comprehensive, I must say. I've never rented from them, but it so happens the only two designer purses I own (thus far), they have on offer.

The obscure Micheal Kors I scored at Century21? It's there, for the low, low rental price of $13 a week:

Except mine is silver.

My one and only, first and last Louis? Also there:

My friend's superawesome, superpricey, superhot Chloe Bay Bag? Also there:

Hers rents for $80 a week. My Kors rents for $13. Needless to say, she ponied up some big cash for that big, gorgeous baby.

Anthropologie

2007-05-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

We need to get Anthropologie here in Canada. This store is so lovely, the dresses are adorable, the clothing on-trend but not striver-ish, chic but unstudied...oh, I just love it. But I have to go Stateside to shop there.

It is expensive considering the quality, that I concede.

As far as I can tell, and I haven't heavily researched this or anything, Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters are run by the same company. This is just judging by the store set up and the fact that the price tags look identical (you know, like how Gap and Banana Republic have similar looking price tags). Urban Outfitters, we have.

But I think I'm about 5 or 6 years too old to be shopping there. If Urban Outfitters is your younger sis's rocked out, edgy shop, Anthropologie is for big sis who got her first string of pearls.

Judge for yourself:
www.anthropologie.com

Gofugyourself.com

2007-05-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

The two gals who plonk out the copy for gofugyourself.com are pretty funny, non?

The GFY gals, if you haven't checked out their blog, write about celebrities and their bad outfits.

Love them. They are dead-on most of the time, and incredibly witty and plugged into the pop zeitgeist.

Though I think they may need to step up the posting a bit (this coming from me, I haven't posted in almost a year--hey...don't judge me. I started a new job on top of my other job and it's been a hard cold winter where I've stomped around in quite possibly my ugliest outfits yet and I haven't even been wearing heels anymore anyhow I'm starting to digress...) Perezhilton.com, that Perez, say what you want but he keeps updating through the day, every day. I think he even had pneumonia in Australia and he didn't even take a day off. Now that's dedication.

One or two items a day isn't going to cut it anymore. I feel like 3, 4, 5 items a day is where it's at.

Fashion Babylon dishes the dirt

2007-05-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

Fashion Babylon by Imogen Edwards-Jones is a pretty darn good read for those interested in the sordid tidbits of the fashion world (me). Loved the gossip on models, children's cotton (not as durable as adults cotton, will crap out at the few-months mark), why it's tough for designers to get into shoes and handbags if they don't have a mucho-richo conglomerate behind them, what fashion weeks are really like behind the scenes, etc and so forth. It's late. I'm rambling. Just read it.

Miss Selfridge in a few days

2007-05-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

Topshop and Miss Selfridge will be all mine for the perusing in a few short days when I go to Ireland. Can't hardly wait. What will the overseas chickadees be sporting? I guess I'll find out. They're so way ahead of the curve in England and Ireland--they're really early adopters. Gotta love it.

On my must-get list:
•Cute flats, was considering Tory Burch but I dunno. Not sure I'm feeling it for the summer. Nice with skinny jeans (yes, I've succumbed) but not so sure if they'll fly with a floaty summery dress
•Light, loose summer dresses
•Bangles or cuffs. Why is it that none in the stores fit me? They're so loose they fall off my wrists.

When I get back, I will search in earnest for:
•The DVF Adelaide dress in green and white with a gingko pattern. Canadian dollar is flying high these days, good time to order from the U.S. and cross my fingers that it doesn't get tagged for duty and taxes. Once in a while that happens. This dress is hotness:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2920974/0~2376780~6009391~6009098~6009101~6009112?P=1

I'm skeptical about:
•Bluefly.com
I bought a pair of Jimmy Choos and a rockin pair of Gwen Stefani-esque Gucci sunglasses, but most of the time, they've got pure dead stock on offer. It's never the stuff you saw at Holt Renfrew 4 months ago, it's the stuff you NEVER saw cause, well, I don't know why to tell you the truth. I guess it's where they're buying it from.

Back in the saddle, baby

2007-05-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Haven't blogged in a dog's age (10 months or so), but here goes:

Loving my new Elsa Peretti Tiffany Bean, so much so that I posted a pic of it on Facebook and now I look like a right twit because I forgot that everyone who's friends with me gets a feed of pics I've uploaded. Um, can you say pretentious?

I read in the New York Times the other day that clavicles are the new cleavage and/or killer abs.
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30F16F83C550C738DDDAC0894DF404482

To blame: those swingy, trapeze-y, A-line cuts that obscure your curves, but are cut to show off your collarbones. Unfortunately I have terrible collarbones so this is not a look for me.

The White Dress Part 3--the NYC finale

2006-08-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

So the reason I bought the white eyelet dress is that I was eloping. Surprise! Niall and I got hitched July 2nd, 2006, in Central Park, at Bethesda Fountain overlooking the pond. It held up beautifully.

New York was amazing, as it always is, and will continue to be. It was steaming hot, and I always feel that on those 32C+ days you're not really getting a feel for what people are wearing, cause they seem not be wearing much of anything. Did spot some weird frog-skin multicoloured 80s belts.

Century 21 department store was wicked, as it usually is. Scooped up a Michael Kors goldy silver handbag,regular retail price must be close to $400, for a mere $80. Actually Niall bought it as a wedding gift. Thank goodness for him cause I'd never have a nice handbag if I had to buy them myself.

Also purchased: a long charcoal grey dress from American Apparel, an evil place but they were open til 2 in the morning, and a zip-up from Ben Sherman.

The White Dress Part II

2006-06-17T16:49:00.000-07:00

I take back every bad thing I ever said about Topshop.

They sent me a newsletter via email that caught my attention. Lo and behold, the beautiful white dress I was searching for, in a modest wrap style, in eyelet, also known as broderie anglais.

But oh, the difficulty in getting that dress from there to here! They don't deliver outside of the UK, but luckily, the future sister-in-law lives in Northern Ireland (and not for that much longer, she just sold her house).

Had it shipped to her on the double, and she shipped it to me.

Every day I eagerly awaited my postie on the front step (that sounds vaguely sexy, but trust me, it was only in the name of fashion). No luck all week long, then suddenly he whipped out a big package (get your mind out of the gutter).

Inside was the white dress of my dreams. And it fits like a glove.

What's going on here? Slim trousers and Louis Vuitton, of course.

2006-06-01T18:11:00.000-07:00

So there I was earlier today on a flight to St. John's, Newfoundland.

Onboad, I was rather stricken by two totally haute passengers who embarked during my Halifax connection.

On walked a slim blonde woman in a pair of True Religion jeans, toting a large Louis Vuitton carry-on with a good amount of patina on the leather. She made her way to the back of the plane and sat down.

Ahead of me sat a businessman in a pink shirt with a light white stripe. His suit trousers were of the slim fit, slightly short and oh-so-trendy variety.

I thought, What the hell is this? The fashion-runway puddle-jump from Halifax to St. John's?

I was also tired from too little sleep, so I considered that I was having a fashion hallucination.

Deplaning (I hate that word but is there a faster way to say that? Don't think so), I noticed another two style mavens milling around the baggage claim. What the hell?

But then, proving that the cosmos really isn't a random place, they all retrieved their luggage and convened together, walking out and chatting. They were all travelling together. Ha...so this isn't some sort of couture mecca that I'm unaware of.

But wait.

Then I saw another girl waiting for her bags, on the arm of some local kid all dressed to kill in D'Orsay pumps, tan bare legs and a killer cinched trench coat.

Feelin hot hot hot

2006-05-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

When it's stifling outside, I hardly know what to wear. Luckily, the sundress has prevailed as the must-have item of the early summer season (and no, I haven't found a white one yet).

A local supermarket has launched a cheapie, relatively fashionable clothing label. My cousin Janet and I bought identical sundresses for $12. How the hell can a dress only cost $12? I don't want to think about it. Anyhow, the dress is quite cute. It's a sepia colour with large pink roses, which sounds douche but really it isn't. It's got little buttons on the side, and little vertical seams under the bustline. Luverly.

The day after we bought them, Janet called and told me she thought it was actually a nightgown. It's got kind of a loose fit and stretchy pink spaghetti straps. I retorted that I saw the dress in a fashion spread on sundresses in a shopping mag, so it can't be a nightgown.

Then I discovered it's almost completely see-through. No wonder it's only twelve bucks.

So I'll just wear it around the house I suppose. Problem solved, for the indoors anyway. Now, what to wear outside?

My favourite outdoor neighbourhood footwear is a pair of light blue Crocs that were given to me. Yes they are ugly. Yes my neighbours stare. I don't care. They might be garden clogs, but they are the new Chinese slipper, trust me.

When Chinese slippers were in, women I knew said, You can't wear those outside.

Then the same women started wearing them outside.

Same with the Crocs. Everyone is saying You can't wear those outside of the garden.

Well, just watch me.

The White Dress

2006-05-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

I'm looking high and low these days for a white sundress. I was telling a friend of mine that I'm lucky, this season the White Dress is everywhere. Most years if you weren't getting married no way in hell would you even think about buying a white dress unless you were a total show-off skanker or a bride.

So there are lots of white dresses out there, most of them quite simple, some strapless and relatively straight, some country and button-laden, but none are detailed enough for my liking. There's something a bit off with all of them, bad hemline, too skimpy, too see-through.

It's so terrible when you've imagined an item of clothing and you can't find it. The other side of that is when you've imagined an item and you find, only better than what you envisioned. When that happens it's like OMMMMM or some other heavenly sound you'd associate with clouds and cherubs.

I'm looking for layers, a bit of structure, a bit of ruffle (I love ruffle), a soft but thick material. Oh, wherever will I find this dress?

The search continues.

Miss Selfridge is my friend

2006-05-16T13:09:00.000-07:00

Miss Selfridge is my friend

Actually, Miss Selfridge is a U.K. shop, but if she were a real person, she’d be my best friend. After a day of London high street shopping, teasing myself at Harvey Nichols, and coming up empty-handed at TopShop, I stepped into the Miss Selfridge shop. I thought I was in heaven. Every which way I turned I spotted something to try on. It was perfect, it was…me.

A flapper’s string of light yellow beads I’d imagined, and was hoping I’d find somewhere? Found, at four quid. I was so inspired by the lovely ruffly antique dresses on display at the Victoria & Albert museum, and what did I find at Miss Selfridge? A sweet rumpled dust-coloured blazer with flared three-quarter sleeves and darling ruffles on the back. Loved it, bought it for 40 pounds. Also bought: mint green open-toe Sabrina heels in a faux snakeskin, on sale for 12 pounds. They were a tad trampled, but I really didn’t care.

Let’s discuss Harvey Nichols. Harvey Nichols is amazing. If Harvey Nichols was a man, he’d be my boyfriend. Or perhaps, more financially accurately, my sugar daddy. Chloe, Lanvin, Balenciaga, even Smythe jackets from Toronto, they’ve got it going on. Though I did notice a lack of certain items on display – they wait-listed ones, like the Balenciaga Lariat bag, which I did see displayed prominently in Paris.

Which brings me to Parisian women.

Niall the fiancé and I took the Eurostar to Paris after visiting London for five days.

Parisian women, as far as I can tell, don’t seem to buy into any of this wait-list nonsense. The women are stylish to be sure, but it’s still this old-world neatly done-up pantyhose-and-conservative-colours look. Or else they look like students. But they never look like fashion victims. One thing I’ve noted, when a woman in Paris looks chic, she really looks chic and not in an of-the-moment tight-jeans-stuffed-into-boots way. You notice her, and the clothing she was wearing stays on your mind, like a woman on the Metro wearing simple white t-shirt tucked into a pair of well-cut camouflage cargo pants, topped with a jean jacket. Nothing new here, but she looked so fresh wearing it. For some reason I imagined her as a young, clever doctor off to do a shift at the hospital.

I hate skinny jeans

2006-05-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

The English Rose is quite something, isn’t she? When I visited London In March of 2006 she was still in narrow jeans tucked into boots, a la Sienna Miller -- defiant as to whether or not she possessed Ms. Miller’s whippet-like figure. Or she was in abovesaid skinny jeans with ballerina flats, like Kate Moss. You’ve got to love that kind of attitude. Personally, I hate “skinny” jeans. Convince me that they weren’t created by the devil. First of all, what kind of a depressing name is that? Second: Why would I accentuate the fact that my thighs are bigger than my calves by about threefold? Yes, I admit, it’s a nice look if you can pull it off. Which means weighing in the vicinity of 90 to 100 pounds. I’ll stick to my Citizens of Humanity Ingrid’s and Kelly’s for now -- I need a bit of flare to balance my upper legs.