Month: December 2009

i want: Le Carre Hermes

Le Carre Hermes I would love to own this book, people have been telling me about it. A source of discovery and enchantment for lovers of Hermes, this work describes the life and history of the square of silk which has become legend. Published by Les Editions du Regards. 320 pages MaiTai’s Picture Book has a ton of great photos of the book. images: hermes.com

i want: Cat Burglar Barbie by Christian Louboutin 

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I heard about Christain Louboutin doing a Barbie. I do like what he’s come up with. It’s sold out at the moment. Limited edition Christian Louboutin for Barbie 'Cat Burglar' doll with red hair and green eyes. Barbie wears a black catsuit and Differa sandals, comes with 3 extra pairs of mini Louboutin shoes; Miss ankle boots, Claudia peep-toes and Altameche knee-high boots, each with a box and shoe bag. Barbie comes with a stand and is presented in a brown designer-style box with a copy of Christian and Barbie’s travel journal. image:  NET-A-PORTER.COM

i want: Barbie by Comme des Garçons

Love the Commes des Garçons. The dress is perfect. For the very first time, Barbie is dressed by Rei Kawakubo, and forms part of Jingle Flowers, Comme des Garçons’ new nonsense theme for the Xmas holidays. Wearing a sleeveless silk-lined floral dress in the Jingle Flowers photo-style print graphic, which features a full asymmetric-cut skirt that stands away from the body, this limited edition Barbie forms part of the Barbie Collector Platinum Label Collection, and comes in its own box featuring the Jingle Flowers print, and display stand. image: Dezeen

geekiviews: A Single Man by Tom Ford

So, I saw A Single Man last night. I’m not going to go into a huge review of the movie but I liked it overall. Tom Ford fans obviously will be flocking to see it. It does seem like a long Tom Ford commercial, not that it’s a bad thing necessarily. I was really curious to see Tom Ford’s debut. I wanted to see the expression of his aesthetic on film. The movie is shot beautifully. Tom does have a great eye for directing. However, I do think he could use an editor big time. Some shots were a little tedious and a few snips would have been beneficial. A friend of mine actually left halfway through the movie because she felt it was more about the imagery than the story. I can see her point, but every time the movie started to seem tedious, that is exactly when Tom would bring some humour into the situation. I really enjoyed that snap back to reality and it kept me from feeling “New Moon” about the …

Richly Hawtin Spring 2010

I never thought I would be staring at the collection from Richard (Richie) Hawtin, a DJ and electronic musican whom I’ve spent more than a few sweaty nights dancing my ass to. But here it is Richly.Hawtin. The label Richly.Hawtin was established in 2008 Tokyo, Japan by Richard Hawtin and Isolde Richly. Inspired by their shared love of Japanese culture and design Richly.Hawtin finds harmony within the sensitive balance of strong line management and muted color arrangement. Just like Richard’s music, the collection is minimal and very cool. Japanese retail shops carry the line but it looks like you can order online too. images: Gradientmagazine.com

geekiviews: Lancome Ôscillation Powerbooster

Someone asked me if my eyelashes were fake on Saturday at Shinan’s Boldface Names Party. I knew I had to get my but in gear and post about the Lancome Ôscillation Powerbooster. It’s a godsend. My lovely friends at L’Oreal Canada send me a sample of Lancome Ôscillation Powerbooster. I’m not a fan of primers in general. My Double Extend Beauty Tube experience didn’t change my mind about primers either.  However, a primer based on Ôscillation technology had me instantly interested. I’m a big, big fan of Ôscillation by Lancôme. I was excited about a primer with the same type of application. The idea of primer amplifying the already amazing effect of the mascara AMAZING. The combo of the Ôscillation powerbooster and mascara is amazing. My lashes are thicker and longer. I usually get a comment or two about how long and curved my lashes are when I use them together. I also use the powerbooster as a primer for my Benefit Badgal Plum mascara. The plum colour pops more with the primer on.  It …

Boldface Names at Barbara Edwards Contemporary

Shinan had a small, intimate gathering of people for his Boldface Names book at Barbara Edwards Contemporary gallery. We enjoyed artwork from Barbara’s latest exhibition by photographer Taras Polataiko. The gallery is in Barbara’s home, which explained why the party felt so warm and inviting. She has an amazing kitchen with beautiful gas stove. It was such a treat watching our cute ginger-haired chef, Nathan Isberg go to town making us culinary delights. There were a couple personalities in the group (besides myself that is, har, har). Steven and Chris joined us as well as a cute young actor named Michael Seater. Michael was wearing this amazing green velvet jacket. A friend took a picture but I wish I took one myself. The desserts were to die for. Egg custard served in egg shells and Lemon mint sorbet served in lemons. The egg custard was the best custard I’ve ever tasted. It wasn’t just about food, it was an opportunity to meet other people.  It wasn’t just the usual fashion crowd there were some of …

Bijouxbead Holiday 2009 Interactive Pop Up Show Community Reception

I attended the Bijouxbead Holiday 2009 Interactive Pop Up Show Community Reception to get a look at the collection of necklaces influenced by Canadian Designers David Dixon The show will kick off with a unique interactive display of eight one of a kind necklaces, all of which happen to be eight stranded, designed to pay homage to eight Canadian Fashion Designers. Evan Biddell Paul Hardy Each piece was a thrill to design; I studied these designer’s spring summer 2010 collections at great length, that were shown at Toronto’s LG Fashion Week. I came up with colour, texture and scale for these pieces based on my interpretation of the clothing in their collections that were most notable to me. Vawk Unlike my previous collections, this collection is exclusively glass, crystal and sterling -a big departure for me. All together, I incorporated over thirteen thousand six hundred pieces of glass and two thousand four hundred pieces of crystal into these eight necklaces. Also, for the first time in Bijouxbead history, I will be introducing crystal and sterling …

Ask a Geek: Where to find classic/retro swimwear in Toronto?

Sometimes readers ask me questions. If they are of value to all my readers I post them online. If you have a question, please feel free to submit it using the contact form. I’ll definitely do my best to answer it. I want – I got twitter follower @edlynne wrote for a friend: Where are there good non-skanky swimwear stores in Toronto? I replied to this query on twitter but I thought it would be good to record the answers here for everyone. First, I had to understand what non-skanky swimwear meant. I had thoughts of this person wandering into the many shops on Yonge Street that carry a variety of skankwear. I came to understand that the friend was looking for more classic/ retro swimsuit shapes. I had the following stores in mine for more classic/retro swimwear options. Shan – 38, Avenue Road, Toronto Melmira Bra & Swimsuits – 3319 Yonge Street, Toronto Swimsuit Essentials – 114 Cumberland Street, Toronto Sandpipers Sports and funwear – 87 Yorkville Ave & 2580 Yonge street, Toronto I …

This is the Burroughes Designer Department Store’s last day. This is what you are missing.

It’s the last day of the Burroughes Designer Department Store’s last day. Check it out before it’s gone. Burroughes Designer Department Store Blog is a great resource for learning more about all the designers participating. Burroughes Designer Department Store 639 Queen Street West Toronto Thursday, December 3, 4 pm to 9 pm Friday, December 4, 11 am to 9 pm Saturday, December 5, 11 am to 9 pm Sunday, December 6, 11 am to 6 pm Get in touch by e-mailing at burroughesstore@gmail.com.

Drake General Store Rosedale Preview

I got a sneak peek at the new Drake General Store location in Rosedale. It’s so damn adorable. It’s very similar to the Queen location in the fact that reclaimed materials are used for store fixtures and antiques are peppered throughout. The wood came from a barn that was built in the late 1800s. As soon as I found out, I had to rub my fingers over the wood. When I encounter an object that is old I always touch it (if possible). It’s like I’m trying to feel history or some residue memory of the lives the object has encountered. When I was visiting the Taj Mahal in India, I make sure I touched the marble and embedded gems. I still can’t get over that building, just wow, stunning. I think the location choice is a brilliant idea. It fits quite well with the neighbourhood. I dare say I like this location better. The Rosedale location also has some items that are exclusive and won’t be found on Queen West. Both locations share the …

i want: Thieves Wool Ecotone Bodysuit, the Shop Sustainable Edition

I’m loving the Thieves bodysuit. The one pictured is wool, but it also comes in bamboo. It’s ridiculous but I want it. It’s very sci-fi. Thieves is part of Shop Sustainable this holiday season Shop Sustainable is a city-wide initiative that challenges consumers to shop ethically this holiday season. Its goal is to raise general awareness for eco friendly products, and at the same time promote many Toronto based and online retailers who carry them. The program is a collaboration of Fashion Takes Action and Evolution Green. It might seem like eco friendly products are hard to find, but in reality there are several Toronto based retailers who make doing the right thing a lot easier for consumers. Shop Sustainable has something “eco” for everyone, including adult and children’s clothing, toys, personal care products, products for the home, coffee, chocolate, stationary, gadgets and gear and more. The retailers participating in Shop Sustainable include: Baby on the Hip, Bullfrog Power, Caterpillar Baby, Chocosol, Daily Apple, Eco Flora, Greencricket.ca, GreenIsBlack.ca, Grassroots Store, I Recycle Computers, KaiKids.com, Kids …

The Coat, Philip and I

I was send a video that brought back memories of taking this photo with Philip Sparks at the Holt Renfrew TIFF party. It was Philip’s idea to get for me to wear the racoon fur buffalo coat from the Fall 2009 collection. We come into play at 0:38 in the video. It’s originally from Radio Canada We had a total blast taking the photo and I’m glad the moment is recorded somewhere. Loves It! Anita <3s Philip.

The Blanket Statement by The Hudson’s Bay Company

I was invited to the preview of  The Blanket Statement in the Hudson’s Bay Company Shop on Queen Street.  The Blanket Statement is a collaboration that saw 10 Canadian designers rework the traditional Hudson’s Bay Point Blanket into coat. In addition to unveiling the 10 one of a kind coats, the event also showcased new items created for the Hudson’s Bay Company Shop. Specialty items from fashion to home to collectibles have been created by several Canadian fashion designers and artisans — encompassing everything from organic T-shirts to artisanal maple syrup cubes to women’s recycled fur accessories. My favourite coats are a toss up between Comrags and Smythe. It wasn’t just womenswear designers, Krane and Klaxon Howl created something for the guys. The new collection at the Hudson’s Bay Company Shop included custom made canoes, canoe paddles, Pink Tartan Hudson’s Bay Point cardigans, $75 pure maple sugar cube (I was astonished at this item to be honest. I even had to twitpic it.), specially made tshirts from Shared, chocolates, chunky sweaters, Virgina Johnson printed scarfs, …

Holt Renfrew Pop-up Shop is now open till December 6, 2009

I got a sneak peak at the Holt Renfrew Pop-up Shop last night. It’s situated in the Fashion House showroom and is now open to the public. I liked the setup. The Holt Renfrew visuals team came in and gave it a “general store” store feeling. The clothing is casual with a lot of tshirts, relaxed sweaters and plaid button up shirts. Denim was the staple pant but there were a few non denim choices too. There were a lot of non clothing options too like jewellery, candles, bath products, scarves and hats. Great options for gift giving and a smart move with the holidays coming up. I love the Christoper Sherman ties, Philip Sparks curling sweaters, the kick ass Dandi Maestre jewellery and silvery hat. The clothing wasn’t as androgynous as I expected but it does have that unisex feel. There’s also a range in prices. I saw a fabric necklace/scarf thing for $22 $28 and then I would see an oversized Balenciaga Motorcycle bag which is around $2000+. Don’t feel too intimidated, walk …

i want: Onyx Indian Necklace

I’ve discovered a lot of beautiful things on CoutureLab and the Onyx Indian Necklace is one of them The lave stone and black onyx beads of this necklace originate from India. Two antique engraved brass amulets are symmetrically strung above the abounding torsade of beads. The necklace fastens with a brass hook and eye clasp at the back. image: CoutureLab.com