Marni and Current Elliot have teamed up for denim collaboration for Fall 2010. Marni designer, Consuelo Castiglioni, was given free reign to design denim that fit with the Marni aesthetic. This is her first denim line
Dyes and washes span from light azure to indigo and from faded to saturated. A few styles will be sold with a black cotton belt that Castiglioni likes knotted as a ribbon. Other details include cloth borders, either press studded or piped in leather. Retail prices for the Marni-Current Elliott jeans range from $250 to $500 and will be carried in Marni stores starting in June.
This denim gives me visions of chunky boots and rolled up cuffs. I’d pair them with an oversized tshirt and my Final Fashion docs or any of the shorter boots in my closet.
I received a package containing a pair of Zip Ankle Jean Legging in Black by Joe’s Jeans from Holt Renfrew PR just before Christmas. Jean Leggings were never something I would have tried before this package arrived. I hate to say it, I’ve drunk the koolaid, I like them.
When I pulled them out of the magenta bag, they looked a little small. I’ve come to realize that you need to buy them smaller than you think. They are denim and do stretch a bit. They are comfortable, it was the first thing that surprised me. They are like wearing non-denim leggings. The fabric is stretchy and soft. The zippers on the side make it easy to put on and remove.
I checked out the stash at Holt’s. They have a ton of different styles included distressed denim, acid wash and tie dye. The price range is $116 – $140. The pair I have are $128. I thought it was hilarious that the distressed denim ones cost $140 even though from a production standpoint I can understand.
I hate the term jeggings and you’ll never hear me use it. It makes me angry.
I don’t know how I found myself on a porter plane going to Dorval airport thursday morning but there I was. I received an email from Julie Leblanc from Girafe Communications inviting me to a press retreat in Mont Tremblant for French Dressing Jeans. I didnt know anything about them so I checked the website and desaw that they were based in Quebec. Good, a Canadian company I thought to myself, I feel better about accepting the offer.
I packed feverlishy into wee hours of the night. There was no point in sleeping as it would be more painful. I had to get to the airport for 6:30 but I wanted to arrive earlier to enjoy the infamous Porter lounge. I’m in the Lounge, huge Burberry sunglasses hiding my tired eyes and a machine capacinuo in my hands. I said screw comfort and wore heels. I might feel like a zombie but I wasn’t gonna look like one. Very nice lounge, civilized and quiet.
I boarded the plane. It was a prop plane and not the jets I’m used to. Would it be louder and bumpier? Would I freak out at some point during the hour flight? (I’m not a fan of flying at all). I was glad that there was noone sitting besides me during the flight. Prop planes really aren’t that much different. It wasn’t all that loud and it was a bit bumpy but nothing serious. It was a pleasant ride and I wish all flying could be this civilized.
We touched down in Dorval without incident. I was told to look for pink FDJ balloons which wasn’t hard to find. I felt like I was in a movie because that is usually the only time I see that scenario played out. We walked outside and a limo pulled in front to take us to Mont Tremblant. A freaking limo people, I was a little impressed. I was dead tired and was in and out of sleep during the ride. Mont Tremblant reminds me of the Adirondacks a little.
We pulled up to Château Beauvallon Hotel Mont Tremblant. A very cute hotel from the outside. I had no idea what I was in for. We were greeted by French Dressing team and provided with our keys to the rooms. Each attendee had their own room, there was no bunking on this trip.
I wandered to my room 319 and opened the door. I was immediately taken with the size of the room. As I looked around I started counting off the features.
Kitchen with stove, microwave and dishwasher. Hold up, a freaking dishwasher.
Large balcony. I’m talking large enough for a patio table and four chairs. It was huge and facing the courtyard where the pool and hot tub was. The hotel is U shaped and all the units face the courtyard
Living room complete with FIREPLACE and large flat screen tv. Don’t forget about the stereo for playing music
Bathroom with shower. It’s a good size, was a little disappointed there was no bath.
Damn, I scored big I thought. I walked around the room laughing hysterically. Then I turned from the balcony and noticed a set of french doors on the black wall. WTF, it’s another room with a freaking Queen sized bed and ensuite bathroom with bath. I jumped on that bed and laughed even more. I had a running commentary on twitter during this discovery process.
We converged on the dinning room and the French Dressing Jeans team talked to us about the company before we settled into some lunch. French Dressing Jeans is available in over 2500 boutiques across North America. They are also starting to expand into Europe. The target demographic is women 35 or over. They started in 1985 in response to the changes in denim during the 80s where regular women couldn’t fit into the popular styles. Think Brook Shields and her Calvins.
French Dressing Jeans are made with Lycra and their styles have features that are meant to slim the tummy and lift the butt. The are four styles Peggy: regular rise and easy fit; Suzanne: regular rise and natural fit; Olivia: mid rise and natural fit and Kylie: low rise and natural fit. They also come in regular and petite as well as various silhouettes: slim, straight, boot cut and flared. Embroidery, rhinestones, studs, rivets and leather details are also options to the standard styles. They have also added some new fabrics Diamond Denim which uses less stretchy fabrics and manual distressing and Euro Denim which is textured.
They also talked about their cause of choice, breast cancer. Of the many companies I’ve seen involved in breast cancer, these seems the most genuine. They have campaigns during Breast Cancer Awareness Month and organize Dragon Boat races. They even donated $50 in each attendees names to a Breast Cancer charity.
After lunch we were fitted with a pair of jeans to use on our excursions. I was fitted with the an Olivia Flare in regular denim wash. It was a medium rise but still to high for me. I like low rise since I’m short waisted. The jeans themselves were quite comfortable but I wish I went a size down because of the Lycra. French Dressing Jeans are not my style to be honest. The styles are more mature and I’m not into Lycra in my denim.
The excursions the group had a choice of were zipline, horseback riding or bike riding. My activity was Horseback riding. I grew up in Richmond Hill but I had never been on a horse. It really makes no sense and I had to rectify it. Richmond Hill had a lot of farm country when I was growing up, I don’t know why I didn’t take advantage then.
There was some time to kill before horseback riding and I decided to take advantage of the hot tub in the courtyard. It was a beautiful space with a massive pool. It was closed but the hot tub was open for business.
We packed into the Hotel vans and were driven to the Ranch de la Riviere Rouge for horseback riding. It was amazing. My horse’s name was Rosie and she was very sweet. We went on a short hour walk, no trotting for us newbies. The only disturbing thing was when the horses relieved themselves mid walk. The denim held up extremely well. They were very comfortable to ride in. My legs were so damn tired after, thank god we were moving on to the next part of the day, Scandinave les bains.
The Scandinave les bains is a picture perfect spa set on the shore of the Du Diable river. This spa’s specialty was Scandinavian baths; the hot, cold and rest treatment. You would sit in a hot bath first. It could be the steam room, hot tub or dry sauna. You then have a cold rinse to close up your pores. Finally you relax for ten minutes and then repeat. The spa has little cabins all over the place and lot of places to relax outside. It was heavenly. We also were treated to an hour massage and it was heavenly. I thought I was going to fall asleep on the table.
After the day of denim, hot tubs and horses we returned to the hotel for drinks and dinner. There we got to mingle with our hosts and learn more about them. After dinner there was a bonfire by the lake and more drinks. It was great to see our hosts let their hair down. They even had marshmallows for roasting. I hadn’t slept in 24hr at this point so I turned into bed around 1am. I had a great sleep on the queen sized bed.
The next morning I awoke a little disappointed I had to leave this paradise. I headed down to get some breakfast and used twitter to decide if I should hit the hot tub again. Twitter thought it was a good idea so in I went again. When it was time to leave we packed into our limos and headed to Dorval. FDJ provided me with another send off, a pair of Kylie jeans in black. The return trip on Porter was excellent again. This time it involved free beer. Porter Air has my heart, not only was the trip civilized they got me nice and buzzed.
Photos by me and courtesy of Girafe Communications
I recently purchased some Superfine Denim on sale at Jonathan + Olivia. The style name was Liberty and it came with black sheen. They almost looked like pants instead of jeans.
I don’t have any pictures of myself in them so I leave you with Doutzen being Doutzen instead. They are a great fitting pair of jeans. I have yet to wash them so I’m not sure how the colour and fabric treatment will fare afterwards. We shall see.
They came out last year amid the yoga buzz but somehow I missed hearing about them. It’s only after I received an email from Jennifer from Mudsharkstreetwear.com that I became intrigued. I was looking for another pair of dark skinny denim for the fall to wear with boots. This is what the website says:
Jeans are not generally associated with perfect comfort. They tend to impede the large movements of the body and restrain and ususual stretching. But Second has changed all that!
Combing fashion and comfort, Second Yoga Jeans are perfect for any lifestyle with an emphasis on well-being, flexibility and relaxation.
Made of top-quality denim containing 97% brushed cotton and 3% elastane, Second Yoga Jeans hug the curves of the body in any position. They fit the ups and downs of a hectic day and metamorphose into laid-back fashion in the evening. Second uses denim with 92 percent shape memory, while the industry standard is only 64 percent. And thanks to their revolutionary treatment, the cuts and styles actually shape, hold, and lengthen the body and helps flaunt just the right areas. Multifunctional and perfectly malleable, Second Yoga Jeans are offered in mid and low rises, with the option of a boot cut, straight, flare, or skinny leg.
SECOND uses natural materials and organic fibres to protect the planet. ) Every Second Jeans is hand crafted on an individual basis to give them an authentic vintage look. With this unique attention no two Second Jeans are exactly alike.
Second Clothing is a Canadian company based out of Montreal. They produce the merchandise in Montreal which is a bonus. After trying on a pair in a different style, I was all prepared to purchase some when Second decided to send me some to try out. So are they worth the hype?
I’m always wary of anything that uses yoga in it’s marketing. I don’t practice yoga (I appreciate it’s benefits, but I’m just not interested) and don’t follow the whole lifestyle aspect of it either. Removing that aspect of the marketing I can say yes, the jeans live up to what they say. It also depends on the kind of denim wearer you are. I’m a huge fan of tight fitting denim much more so than relaxed and looser fits. You won’t see me sporting the boyfriend jean.
The skinny style Yoga Jean looks really tight in the photos but they are extremely comfortable. To the point where you forget you are wearing them. I’m reminded of shapewear, the denim version, as there is a lot of smoothing and shaping with the body happening. Great butt lift girls! When I first tried them on, I was surprised at how long my legs looked; it was that noticeable, and this was before I read the website and the claims to lengthen the body. They also fit a bit small. I’m usually a size 27 or 28 in denim, but with Second I’m a 26.
Can you workout in them? The denim is flexible enough that I could probably play squash or something in them, but I wouldn’t want to. Denim, no matter how light and flexible is still too heavy to be comfortable in prolonged activity where you are sweating like a dog. Cotton doesn’t wick water away to well.
Are they worth $110.00? I say yes for the following reasons:
They are Canadian and manufactured in Canada
The fit!
You can get Yoga Jeans in a variety of cuts online from Toronto based, Mudshark Streetwear.
Edit: I changed the title from “i got..” and changes this to a geekiviews post. That’s the reviewing section of the site. Traditionally “i got…” posts are things that I’ve purchased. The post url will not change so any linking done will still be valid.
