Year: 2012

Smythe Pre-Fall 2012

Andrea and Christie of Smythe have unveiled their first Pre-Fall collection for 2012.  Now Smythe junkies have more jackets to choose from in a year.   The collection will be available after June 1, making my birthday month even more amazing. I’m a huge Smythe fan but this is the first collection where I wanted every jacket.   The furry ones are calling my name. I love the three coats with the furry details from the collection, but I’m also digging the check blazer with the cropped sleeve (pictured below). It’s very Thom Browne menswear to me. You can find Smythe at the usual suspects: Holt Renfrew, Dealuxe.ca and Ssense.com, Intermix and TNT Woman. images: Courtesy of Smythe.

Neon Dotty Manicure

I embarked on my most ambitious nail journey this week, a 10 colour manicure. The idea came to me as I was staring at the new Essie collection, Poppi Razzi. I wanted to use all four of these neon shades but I would need to use the dreaded white polish to make the neon pop. I hummed and hawed over using the white base for about half an hour before deciding that I would do this mani properly. I started with two coats of MAC x Liberty London Vestral White. I was very careful with these coats. I took my time, minimized streaking and allowed each coat to dry. I then used two coats of Action for the overall base color. Initially, I was only going to use Camera, Lights and Bazooka for the dots but I realized I needed more variety. I turned to another neon polish from Essie called Funky Lime Light. I felt that some blue and green were essential. I don’t have a neon blue so I used Chanel’s Coco Blue …

i want: NARS x Thakoon Nail Polish

NARS x Thakoon Nail Polish My latest nail polish obsession is the NARS x Thakoon Nail Polish collaboration. I’ve been waiting for over a month for this collection to come out. I absolutely love the vibrant colours. I can’t wait to rock an ombre nails with these beauties or use my new nail dotting skills to come up with something. In conceptualizing the shade range, Thakoon was inspired by the vibrant colours found in Indian spice markets. The highly saturated, high-shine shades come in an opaque finish, perfect for spring. Formula is long-wearing, chip-resistant and toluene, formaldehyde and DBP free. The shades are Anardana – Azalea pink, Ratin Jot – Orchid purple, Amchoor – Bright yellow, Kutki – Powder blue and Koliary – Cyan blue. The collection is available now at NARS counters across the country and online at narscosmetics.ca for $21 bucks a piece. NARS has a great formulation for their polish and is one of my favourites. image: courtesy of NARS.

i got: Abstract Rome Hi by United Nude

Regular readers of I want – I got know I have an obsession with United Nude shoes. They will also know that I lament the state of United Nude retailers in the city. The stores that carry/carried them stocked the worst styles of the collection and not the architectural beauties that United Nude is known for. Who really wants to buy these after all. I figured the only way I was going to get a great pair of United Nude shoes would be at the flagship store on my next trip to New York City. Well, my prayers were answered at the media preview of Queen Street pop up shop, Sauvage. Sauvage is behind Whitecrow in the Burroughes Building.  It’s got some really great shoes and handbags.  I anticipate that this will be my go to summer sandal. images: unitednude.com, me  

Holt Renfrew x Tory Burch x FEED Limited Edition Totes

Holt Renfrew’s latest charity collaboration brings Tory Burch together to benefit Lauren Bush Lauren’s FEED Foundation and the Tory Burch Foundation. FEED was created to help fund the United Nations World Food Programme’s school feeding efforts stateside, abroad and during humantiarian disasters. The Tory Burch Foundation, together with partner ACCION USA, provides microloans in women-owned small businesses in the United States. “FEED is thrilled to partner with Tory Burch and Holt Renfrew to create and sell a product that will provide much needed food and nutrition to children around the world through the FEED Foundation as well as empower women through the Tory Burch Foundation. This bag is a fashionable do-gooder’s dream come true!”- Lauren Bush Lauren “I am so thrilled to partner with FEED on this initiative,” says Tory Burch CEO and designer Tory Burch. “I have always admired the organization’s mission to help children around the world. When this opportunity came up we didn’t have to think twice — the collaboration between Holt Renfrew, FEED, our brand and our foundation was a natural …

Citizens by Natalie Castellino – Till May 5, 2012

A few months ago photographer, Natalie Castellino asked if I would be one of her subjects in a photography exhibit she was planning. She wanted to get an “intimate look at the subject, a moment that the viewer wouldn’t naturally have.” It sounded like a fun project to be part of so I accepted. Last Thursday was the opening party for her exhibit called Citizens at the Red Bull 381 Projects space. Through a collection of 20 portraits, photographer Natalie Castellino captures an intimate side of some of Toronto’s most influential. The project, entitled ‘Citizens’, will be on display at Red Bull Gallery in Toronto from April 26th to May 3rd 2012. “I have always been passionate about portraits but my work to date has been more abstract and staged,” says photographer, Natalie Castellino, “This collection came together very organically, each subject chose their environment and was shot in their natural element of comfort with minimal direction.” Through Citizens, Natalie was looking to bring a focus to success within the city of Toronto. “There is …

Diesel Fit Your Attitude Spring Summer 2012

Diesel denim has a special place in my heart. They were the first pair (probably the only pair) of designer denim I paid the full price for. They are also my favourite brand of denim that aren’t stretchy,  I love the fit of jeans that incorporate that function but there is nothing like breaking in a pair of stiff denim or finding a pair that fits like a glove.  Diesel had a great fit but I found as I got older the styles were a bit too young for me. Fast forward a few years and the folks from Diesel invited me to the Toronto flagship store to introduce me to their new women’s denim line called Fit Your Attitude. I always enjoy playing dress up so I accepted. The Fit Your Attitude line has six styles representing six different attitudes: Sexy: Flairlegg is a flared wide leg jean with a regular rise waist Chic: Highkee is a skinny leg jean with a high-rise waist Free Spirited: Grupee is a super skinny leg jean with …

eliza Spring Summer 2012 – White Nights

One of my favourite Toronto jewellery Designers, Eliza Kozurno has released her Spring Summer 2012 collection called White Nights. Eliza Kozurno launched her first line of jewellery in 2005 after working with an array of innovative designers, including Izzy Camilleri, Colette Harmon and Rita D. Educated at The Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz, Poland as a decorative textile designer, Eliza’s training in painting, drawing, sculpture and photography helped her hone her skills not only as a designer, but as an artist. The collection uses white as a base and adds gold, black and silver as accents.  Materials include crystals, ribbon, chains and beads. Eliza, being the lovely person she is, sent me a pair of earrings from this collection. You can see them in this Flare magazine photo from Toronto Fashion Week this year. images: elizakozurno.com

Theme Change

So I decided that since I moved to a new place in April, the blog should get a new look too. I finally purchased Thesis after debating it in my mind for years. It’s still pretty minimal as a theme and I really like that. Hopefully you see faster loading times too. I’m still working out all the kinks so let me know if you run into any trouble in the comments. Sorry it’s been pretty quiet on the site. March was a month I won’t forget anytime soon and the blog too a backseat to real life. I plan on changing that this month. Thanks for reading. Anita

World MasterCard Fashion Week Stylicity Ad Campaign

This month has been pretty crazy in general for me. One of the cool things that happened is the World MasterCard Fashion Week Stylicity Ad Campaign debuted. In February, I answered a casting call for a street style campaign that would coincide with Toronto Fashion Week. I decided to toss my hat in the ring after some encouragement from friends and what do you know, I got it. It was at that point I learned that it was the title sponsor, Mastercard’s campaign for their Stylicity project. Stylicity is a discount program with selected retailers that provides customers with a 20% discount when they buy with Mastercard. So on a beautiful day in February, I played street style model on Queen Street during my lunch hour. I was pretty excited to learn that the ads would be featured in TTC shelters. The campaign launched on March 5. I didn’t see the ad ahead of time so I was praying that it would turn out amazing. Thankfully, Christopher Wadsworth, Dwayne Kennedy and Wendy Rorong are amazing. …