All posts tagged: Toronto

60 Years of Designing the Ballet & The Tutu Project – Till September 2, 2012

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The Design Exchange is hosting two exhibits for The National Ballet of Canada: 60 Years of Designing the Ballet and The Tutu Project. Both exhibits will be at the Design Exchange until September 2, 2012. 60 Years of Designing the Ballet This exhibition offers an intimate look at the design of one of Canada’s most celebrated treasures – the National Ballet of Canada. The exhibition is organized thematically – highlighting the various ways in which the ballet as an institution is designed through hundreds of items from the ballet’s archive. The exhibition provides a private invitation into the world of one particular company. This exhibit brought me right back into The Nutcracker world again. I had to snap a photo of the Cannon Doll costume sketches and swatches. There are a lot of costumes to check out and set pieces to see up close and personal. You can even try on a tutu and try out ballet moves right in the exhibit. Admission is $10.20 for the 60 Years of Designing the Ballet exhibit. The …

Le Monde d’Hermes Autumn Winter 2012

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At the beginning of every season I trek down to the Bloor Street Hermès and pick up my copy of their lovely in house magazine, Le Monde d’Hermès. The Autumn Winter 2012 issue looks fun with a specially commissioned editorial by photographer, Olivia Bee. Olivia Bee, 18, is a photographer. Her blog is the showcase for her photographs and videos and shares the dreams and experiences of a young girl. Between naivety and naughtiness, she creates her own arcadia and reinterprets fairy tales with all the freshness and impertinence of a teenager. For Le Monde d’Hermès autumn/winter 2012 she has shot a bucolic tale of silk. In an enchanted landscape Olivia has cast her own spell on the Hermès scarf, now transformed into giant bows on the heads of pink-haired punk fairies, then a uni-horn for her horse or a silk kerchief for a thoroughly modern day Prince Charming. Hermès loved the story so much it became the cover and a short film was commissioned. I`m a sucker for Hermès scarves so I`m interested to …

Ann Taylor Fall Winter 2012 – 2013

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So, Ann Taylor is another one of the big American chains invading Canada right now. They will open the first international location at the Eaton Centre this fall and another soon to be announced location in Toronto. “Toronto is the perfect location to open our first international stores. It is a beautiful city filled with modern, sophisticated women who lead busy lives, and we are excited to bring a trusted fashion destination that offers great style as well as incredible versatility,” said Axelson. I attended the Ann Taylor Fall Winter 2012 – 2013 preview at The Carlu where I got familiar with the brand. I know of Ann Taylor by name but never really paid attention and wrote them off as an “older woman” brand. I learned with most established fashion brands they did a little fashion reinvention to give their customers more fashionable offerings. The fall collection is based on 60s Paris. It was your standard working women wear with lot of Aline silhouettes. Many great pieces for us office drones. It was refreshing …

North Star Sportwear x Geoff Mcfetridge Collection

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North Star + Geoff Mcfetridge Pop-up Shop runs from June 22 – 28, 2012 at Magic Pony. I attended the launch party because I was dying to get a look at the collection. I wasn’t disappointed, it’s pretty damn cute. My favourite is the moose print. Thanks to North Star I walked away with a red moose tank that you will see on Instagram soon, ha.  You can take a look at the North Star Sportwear x Geoff Mcfetridge Pop-up shop launch party photos on their facebook page. images: Courtesy of North Star

Preen Resort 2013

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As always, I’m drooling over another collection from the British Duo, Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi of Preen. The Resort 2013 collection is inspired by florals, sport and paintings from Jeff Koons. “There are hydrangeas, poppies, gerberas, chrysanthemums, which we love,” said Thornton. “But we wanted to do something nontraditional with them. So we started looking at Jeff Koons’s paintings with all those super-bright pop colors and brushstrokes dragged across them. And Nick Knight’s photos of flowers.” “Sport is the other thing that went into it, I suppose,” Bregazzi said. “The idea of combining the patterns with tracksuits, sweatshirts, and bombers.” Have the London Olympics been working their way into their heads, then? Thornton laughed, “Well, maybe without us really thinking about it. We’ve just always liked that sporty minimalism of the nineties.” (source) I love the contrast of dark lines, solid colours and sharp angles to the colourful florals. There a few retailers carrying Preen in Canada: Rac Boutique and Ssense.com. images: thefashionspot.com

Philip Sparks Spring 2012 Lookbook – Behind the Scenes

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I took some behind the scenes photos at the shoot for the Philip Sparks Spring 2012 lookbook. The shoot took place at the Philip Sparks store that wasn’t open at the time. Philip Sparks Spring 2012 Lookbook. It was an exciting time, many people still didn’t know about the store and it was all very hush hush. I held onto the secret of the store for months on end. I’m great at keeping secrets but it was nice to finally talk openly about how amazing the Philip Sparks store is. Photographer on set was Mckenzie James. Alon Freeman (Judy Inc) was the master stylist. Claudine Baltazar (Plutino Group) was on hair and makeup. The lovely models for the day were Oliver W and Katy from Elmer Olsen Model Management. See all my photos in the slideshow

Finally, I’m a Street Style Star on Refinery29

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I’m a street style star! Refinery29 had some photographer spies taking street style photos and I was snapped. It was very cool to be featured in the Oh, Canada! Toronto’s Most Stellar Street Style post. This is totally bucket list material. Neon makes people crazy. I wore this outfit to work. I wear some crazy things but this was brightest and loudest. Coworkers were commenting all over the place. Random strangers had nice things to say too. It was such a fun outfit to wear, I was smiling all day. Let’s breakdown the outfit shall we. Dress: Zara Shoes: Aldo Necklace: Aldo

i want: Vintage Kimonos from Shrimpton Couture

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Shrimpton Couture has some lovely vintage Kimonos from the 1920s and 1930s up on the site now. Cheri helped a long time Kimono owner downsize the collection and some of those pieces are for sale. These two are my favourites. 1930s Deer & Rooster Silk Under Kimono is an absolute gem.  I love the clash of organic and geometric images.  The cute factor is always appreciated and I love the animals. The 1920s Rare Hand Blocked Rayon Kimono reminds me of summer.  The colours really pop out from the white background. images:  shrimptoncouture.com

geekiview: Velocity V50 Compact Vapor Generator Iron

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I’m a total garment care nerd. I love my clothing and I take care of it so it lasts. I hang dry a lot of my wardrobe and that results in lots of ironing and steaming. I ditched my old iron years ago when I learned about Rowenta steamers. However for garments like dress shirts and pants I really, really missed that crisp feeling and look an iron provides. I tried for many years with a steamer but I just can’t replicate that look. Last year, I broke down and bought a shitty cheap iron for pants and shirts. It wasn’t that good but it was sufficient. I attended the TFI New Labels Contest this year and I sat at a table with folks from TNT and Reliable Corporation. I knew who TNT was so I proceeded to find more information about Reliable from my seatmate, Kimberly. They are a long time sponsor of the TFI and the company specializes in professional and commercial steam cleaning products as well as sewing and fabric care products. …

i got: Tubereuse Noir Baxter of California Candle

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My Barber at Hollow Ground Barber Shop introduced me to candles from Baxter of California.  Since 1965 Baxter of California have provided men with grooming products.  They have a range of skincare, shaving and hair care products.  In addition grooming accessories, candles and fragrances round out the product selection.  Baxter of California also collaborates with brands like Saturdays NYC, Porter and Unionmade. These soy wax-based candles are geared towards men and are produced with the brand Joya.  I love the Tubereuse Noir scent which has fragrance notes of  Tuberose, Bergamot, White Tea Rose, Geranium and Camellia.  The packaging, designed by Marc Atlan is very cool. You can get a wide selection of Baxter of California products (including the candles) at: Hollow Ground Barber Shop 1053 Bloor St W. Toronto image: baxterofcalifornia.com