Author: Anita

Bijouxbead Holiday 2009 Interactive Pop Up Show Community Reception

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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?

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Lanvin Stamps

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As part of continued celebrations for Lanvin’s 120th anniversary, Alber Elbaz has designed two stamps for the French postal service, La Poste, illustrated with his iconic playful doodles images: WWD.com

The Blanket Statement by The Hudson’s Bay Company

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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

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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

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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