All posts tagged: Toronto

i want: Aldo Rise x Preen Buito High Heel Sandal

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I’m a big fan of the Aldo Rise collections and I’m a huge fan of Preen. So when these two get together, I get a little giddy. For Spring Summer 2013 Preen and Aldo released three styles of shoes with two different colourways per style. I’ve already picked up the Musilova style which has a pointy toe, asymmetrical vamp and ankle strap. It’s in a bone colour and the leather has some texture to it. I’m also a big fan of the Preen x Aldo Rise Buito Sandal. It wasn’t available when I purchased the Musilova thankfully because I would have walked out the door with both. All the styles from the Aldo Rise x Preen collection are $155 and can be found online at aldoshoes.com or in select Aldo Stores like Eaton Centre. images: aldoshoes.com

i want: Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Mobile Speaker II

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I was in Bay Bloor radio looking for some spare earbud covers but somehow ended up getting a demo of the Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Mobile Speaker II. My earbuds were sold out but I started talking to the Sale Associate about the Beats Pill, a portable speaker. The wasn’t sold on Beats but mentioned that Bose has the best portable speaker in the business right now. I was intrigued so it was demo time. The speaker connect to devices wirelessly via Bluetooth which makes it available for use by any Bluetooth enabled device. A major plus for those that love their iPhone upgrades and the inevitable change in hardware that makes all peripherals obsolete. I connected my iPhone to the Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Mobile Speaker II and started pumping out some Lucy Pearl. Bay Bloor Radio was filled with the sweet sounds of “Don’t Mess With My Man”. There was power and clarity in this portable speaker. I was really impressed because I’ve never heard a small portable speaker with such huge sound. It’s only …

Rag & Bone Visit Holt Renfrew

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Bravo to Rag & Bone designers Marcus Wainwright and David Neville who battled their way to Toronto during an ice storm. They weren’t going to miss the Holt Renfrew bash in their honour that unfortunately happened on a very shitty weather day. Holt Renfrew commissioned five local graffiti artists to create new work using Rag & Bone’s Spring Summer 2013 collection as inspiration. Skam, Li-Hill, Elicser, Joel Richardson and EGR turned the third floor of Holt Renfrew into a northern Houston Project. Fashion Magazine, She Does the City and Backseatstylers where there to document the party. I own one piece of Rag & Bone. It was a blazer I got at a consignment shop for a great deal. The preppy aesthetic of Rag & Bone is done very well and I love what this award winning brand produces. Spring Summer 2013 has some great neon green pieces like the standout leather motocycle jacket. Outfit Breakdown: I always enjoying my vintage Chanel skirt as it has the best movement of any skirt I own. For the …

The Great Gatsby x Holt Renfrew Windows

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Are you excited about The Great Gatsby movie? I generally hate movie remakes but I’m very excited about the visual possibilities for this movie. The costumes will be incredible and that’s enough for me. The film didn’t play on it’s original release date in the fall of 2012 and was pushed till May 10, 2013. This isn’t usually a good sign but this is an eye candy movie for me. I doubt it will be better than the 1974 Redford classic. Holt Renfrew teamed up with Warner Bros to create two window displays. The Holts’s visual team and costume designer Catherine Martin were the creatives behind the windows that includes original wardrobe pieces from the production. The Great Gatsby x Holt Renfrew windows are on display at the Bloor Street location until May 20, 2013. Holt’s Muse has an interview with costume designer, Catherine Martin. To get customers into the roaring 20s mood, Holt Renfrew created The Great Gatsby Lookbook featuring products in the store that fit the 20s theme. images: courtesy of Holt Renfrew

i got: Black Lizard Rider Bag by Loeffler Randall

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I’m having an intense love affair with a handbag right now. It’s the Loeffler Randall Rider Bag in black lizard printed embossed leather. This bag came into my life with the help of eLuxe’s great personal shoppers. I made a comment on the eLuxe Facebook page when they posted a preview of the beautiful Neon Red and Bubble Gum Loeffler Randall Rider Bag. It seems my Internet squeal of a comment prompted a mental note for this personal shopper. I soon received an email telling me that the Rider Bag was in stock and ready for purchasing. The Rider Bag is adjustable. It’s an attaché , a shoulder bag or a cross body bag. It also has two straps on the back that allow it to attach to your bicycle handles if you do that sort of thing. The dimensions of the bag are 11.5″ x 8.75″ x 4.5″. The shoulder strap is 14.5″ long and it adjusts to 20.5″ when in cross body mode. There are 3 pockets inside the bag and it can …

I want – I got Editorials – Spectacle

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So, this is the third post in my I want – I got Editorials group. I was blogging for the award-winning MasterCard Stylicity project this season and I organized three editorial shoots for the stores Philip Sparks, Nomad and Spectacle. The shots turned out really well so I’ve decided to showcase some of them here too. This is Spectacle. I did the modelling for this shoot because I LOVE sunglasses and I was looking to pick up a pair myself. Dave Yan and I had a great time and the staff at Spectacle were very helpful. They didn’t mind us almost taking over the shop. Spectacle has a ton of sunglasses and regular eyewear in the shop. It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted. Previous “i wants” from Charlotte Olympic x Linda Farrow and Prabal Gurung x Linda Farrow didn’t look good one me at all. I also tried on some pairs from Claire Goldsmith and Thierry Lasry which I really liked In the end, I bought two pairs of …

I want – I got Editorials – Nomad Spring Summer 2013

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So, this is the second post in my I want – I got Editorials group. I was blogging for the award-winning MasterCard Stylicity project this season and I organized three editorial shoots for the stores Philip Sparks, Nomad and Spectacle. The shots turned out really well so I’ve decided to showcase some of them here too. This is Nomad. I really wanted to do the modelling for Nomad myself. However, I felt there were a couple of problems with that. One would be sizing. The other problem was audience. Nomad is a menswear shop and I need to speak to their main customers who are men. So my photographer Dave Yan and I convinced my tall and lean brother to model. He was great! Nomad is an amazing shop and their sales associates are some of the incredibly helpful and down to earth. I even saw a couple of things that would fit me in the store. I’m going to have to go shopping. Curtis makes everything look amazing. Thanks dear brother for your hard …

I want – I got Editorials – Philip Sparks Spring 2013

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A lot of bloggers love to the do the photoshoot of themselves thing. If you’ve been here long enough, you know that’s not my thing. I rarely post about my daily outfits because I honestly don’t find it or them interesting. For those of you that are curious about what I’m wearing, your best bets for glimpses are to follow me on twitter or instagram. You can search geekigirl to find me. So, I don’t like outfit posts and that kinda shit but I enjoy doing the occasional editorial. Some of these editorials I’ve organized and others I’ve just played model. I was blogging for the award-winning MasterCard Stylicity project this season and I organized three editorial shoots for the stores Philip Sparks, Nomad and Spectacle. The shots turned out really well so I’ve decided to showcase some of them here too. First up is Philip Sparks. I brought my sometime collaborator with me Dave Yan. We did the Moon campaign together and he has an amazing eye for shots. The amazing Andrew Coimbra styled …

geekiviews: Guerlain La Laque Couleur Nail Polish

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Guerlain is introducing a new permanent nail polish collection to its makeup line up. The collection features 10 shades as well as a Gel Top Coat and protective base. Gel top coats are going to be the next rage in the nail polish world. They claim to give a similar finish to a gel manicure without the need of the potentially cancer-causing UV lamps. What makes a gel top coat different is that it contains polymers or epoxy resin that provides the coverage, protection and finish. Julep, Deborah Lippman and Dior all have gel top coat products on the market. At the preview, I got to see the nail polish in person and I indulged in a mini manicure. Guerlain impressed me. The polish is very opaque and there was 95% coverage in the first coat. I love that Guerlain has the wide and flat brush design like Dior’s nail polish. The wide brush makes applying polish so quick and easy. Some people prefer a thinner brush but I’d love all my polish brushes to …

I want – I got visits CBC’s In the Kitchen with Stefano Faita

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You don’t say no to the photographer that put you on the webpages of Women’s Wear Daily. So when the lovely James Teen offered me a tiny bit of Kitchen TV stardom I said yes, yes and yes. The show James works on is called CBC’s In the Kitchen with Stefano Faita. You may have seen it. Me, I never heard of it before. I didn’t even bother to Google it after I accepted. I went on my merry little way until a friend mentioned that Stefano, the host was pretty hot. Not going to lie, I hit up Google immediately after that nugget of information. Ha. The episode was called Stefano’s Restaurant-Style Dishes and it originally aired on November 6, 2012. I heard through twitter about it, ha. Ha ha. I just got informed that my appearance on @cbcinthekitchen is on TV right now!!! — Anita (@geekigirl) November 6, 2012 @geekigirl nice work! It was great to have you on our show and you can watch the episodelater here: ow.ly/f4JqC #iksf — In The …

i want: Peplum Moto Jacket by Sacai

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I got to touch the Sacai Peplum Moto Jacket in person at Holt Renfrew the other day. It’s so beautiful. I love Chitose Abe’s take on the moto jacket with the addition of the peplum back and the choice blue striped fabric. It’s available online at Barney’s and also available in Khaki Green. images: lyst.com

Shan Swimwear 2013 Preview

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Did you know that some of the world’s best luxury swimwear is made in Canada? Montreal based Shan was started by Chantal Levesque in 1985. The brand is now carried in over 500 stores across 25 countries including Harrod’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. Shan is found in some of the world’s most luxurious hotels like Sandylane in Barbados and the Wynn in Las Vegas. Toronto has its own standalone Shan store in Yorkville as well as Miami, Montreal, Laval and St. Sauveur. Shan takes pride in it’s Laval based production and state of the art facilities. Everything is hand sewn by staff that have been trained for many years learning the Shan standard of quality. The Shan customer is someone who is looking for quality in workmanship and materials. Chantal’s hard work has paid off and she received the Designer of the Year,2011 award by the International Mode City Show in Paris. The Quebec Chamber of Commerce also recognized her contributions and she received the Mercuriades Award in 2012. Chantel and her Vice President, Jean-François …

Take My Picture by Garage Magazine

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Street Style photography and blogs really pushed buttons this season with Suzy Menkes’ going off about in her article “The Circus of Fashion” . I had my own opinions that didn’t agree with hers and I felt that all the bloggers she called out in the piece worked damn hard and are the exceptions to the rule. Dasha Zhukova’s Garage Magazine examines the phenomenon with a story documentary called Take My Picture. It’s quite interesting and definitely worth the 10 minutes.

Kara Ross Spring Summer 2013 Preview

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Kara Ross is Queen of the exotic skins. This award winning designer is known for her luxury clutches made of out of a colourful assortment of skins like lizard, python, alligator and ostrich finished with a clasped made from coloured stones. Kara is a certified GIA gemologist and she puts that experience into her handbag and jewellery designs. To compliment the skins, Kara uses mother-of-pearl, labradorite, black onyx, rock crystal and hematite gemstones. Kara by Kara Ross jewellery uses alternative materials like jet, marcasite, lava, wood and chalcedony to create her statement making jewellery in addition to traditional materials like resin, crystal, Malachite, Lapis, Tiger’s Eye, Amethyst, Turquoise and Onyx. I attended a preview of the Spring Summer 2013 Kara Ross Handbags and Kara by Kara Ross Jewellery. It was the first time I got a look at the product in person and I’m such a fan of the handbags. I love the Art Deco inspiration in the shape and the clasp design. The skins are so unique and colourful with all kinds of colour …

Zara.com Now Shipping to Canada or I’ll Never Step Foot into a Zara Store Again

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It’s absolute genius at how Zara can make every single piece of clothing look desirable on their newly launched Canadian ecommerce site. I’m floored. Zara is my favourite of the fast fashion shops but nothing ever looks this good in the store. That’s right folks, you can get Zara shipped to your door anywhere in Canada starting March 6, 2013. To celebrate the launch Zara blanketed the city with $150 gift card according to all the tweets and Instagram post I saw last week. I too received this lovely gift which allowed the recipient to shop at Zara.com ahead of the national launch on March 6th. Zara does everything right when it comes to a great online experience. My key indicators are as follows: Easy to Navigate – Must have a simple, intuitive menu system No animation or auto playing music Simple, uncluttered interface with lots of white space Multiple large, high resolution photos of the item from many angles including a detail shot On figure and off figure images Fabric description and composition Item …

Le Cercle Montparnasse - The Spoke Club - Wednesday, Mar 6 2013

Chatting with I want – I got at The Spoke Club and Soho House

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March is the month of panel discussions for me, I have two. Unfortunately, they are a private member clubs but if you are a member of either establishment bring some non member friends and come out. UPDATE: I’ve added start times 🙂 Le Cercle Montparnasse – Wednesday, Mar 6 2013 at 8pm Inspired by the dynamic conversations between artists in the early 20th century Paris that were the catalyst for over 100 years of creativity, this inaugural event features our Cultural Curator Raji Aujla as she sits in conversation with some of Toronto’s most loved online fashion writers, Anita Clarke, Hannah Yakobi, Jen McNeely and Sharad Mohan. Spoke Club 600 King Street West Toronto If you are a member of The Spoke club you can rsvp for this event on the Spoke Club website. Soho House Toronto – March 12, 2013 at 7pm A cross section of current cultural contributors encouraging commentary on the cultivation of contemporary Canadian creativity. Examining commanding culture and technology, this first evening convenes with pop culture and fashion expert Elio …

Kania Spring Summer 2013

Kania Spring Summer 2013 Lookbook

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I enjoyed opening the Kania Spring Summer 2013 lookbook, the images are beautiful. Kania is the brainchild of Ottawa based Stacey Bafi-Yeboa. She is a former Broadway dancer and that experience heavily influences her designs. Kania is designed and manufactured in Canada. The Spring Summer 2013 Kania collection is called Tropical Luxuriance. Stacey brought in Tanzanian model, Herieth Paul who moved to Ottawa when she was 14. Welcome to a world where fashion meets dance and where fantasy is reality. A private island where you can escape the ordinary and be submersed in luxury. Steamy nights and hot summer days rule your world. You’ll sense the relaxed beauty of the Caribbean and be transformed into the glamour of an African queen. As you step into paradise you’re ready to let go, to let loose, to be noticed, to be free. Is it a dream? No … you’ve just entered the island of KANIA… get ready to experience…TROPICAL LUXURIANCE(source: press release) Stacey’s dance background is evident in the clothing. Everything is sexy but comfortable looking. Stacey …

Chatting with Dorothy Vogel at the Reel Artists Film Festival Opening Night

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I didn’t realize I would be meeting an art world superstar on Thursday but I found myself sitting across for Dorthoy Vogal talking about art, booze and Downton Abbey. It was the Opening Night party for the Reel Artists Film Festival. The 10th-annual Reel Artists Film Festival presents a selection of international feature-length and short documentaries that address challenges and questions raised by artists both in front of and behind the camera. Through these films, subjects are revealed, experimental processes unfold, and events are staged. With these three categories in mind—subject, process, event—RAFF handpicked works by artists who play with the idea of documentary and show how cross-disciplinary connections can revitalize the medium, reigniting its creative potential.(source: press release) Opening night was a real treat as the Real Artist Film Festival brought Megumi Sasaki and Dorothy Vogel to celebrate 10 years of the festival and their new movie Herb & Dorothy 50×50. Megumi Sasaki’s Herb & Dorothy premiered at the Real Artist Film Festival in 2009. It documented the lives of Herb and Dorothy Vogel …

i want: Brooks Brothers x Liberty London Dresses

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I finally visited a Brooks Brothers store in Toronto. I don’t know why it took me so long to visit the Brooks Brothers Flatiron Shop. It’s a beautiful store situated in an old bank building and includes the vault! While I was browsing I noticed the dresses made from Liberty London fabrics. I can’t remember the Canadian price but they are listed as $248USD on the website which also ships to Canada. Brooks Brothers Flatiron Shop 262 Bloor St W Toronto images: www.brooksbrothers.com

Run, Don’t Walk to Roger Vivier: Process to Perfection at the Bata Shoe Museum

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The Roger Vivier exhibit at The Bata Shoe Museum is coming to a close and if you’ve been putting off going you need to stop now. April 7, 2013 is the last day you can check out the work of this master shoemaker. I finally got off my ass and took in the exhibit this week. Roger Vivier’s work is of exceptional beauty and technical design. He invented so many of the classic shoe styles some of which are as popular as ever more than 50 years later. Roger pushed shoe design to new levels with his creative and technical sides. Vivier perfected the modern stiletto in 1954. He never used the term stiletto but aiguille (needle heel). The Choc heel which looks like a concave stiletto came along in 1959. My favourite pair of the exhibit are a Choc heel and pictured above. Roger also debuted the Tibet heel in 1959. It’s shaped like a small inverted pyramid. The Polichinelle heel followed, it has a low hourglass-shaped heel. In 1962 he introduced another heel …

Sarah Stevenson Design Spring Summer 2013 Lookbook

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Sarah Stevenson Design Spring Summer 2013 collection reminds me of the sea and Ming Dynasty porcelain. Sarah is a textile designer so she creates the prints herself and has them transferred to silk. Pattern Observer has a great interview with Sarah. All of her pieces are made in Canada. For those people who tend to skew a bit more conservative in their clothing can add a pop of colour and print with one of Sarah’s beautiful scarves. You can find Sarah Stevenson Design online at Ukamaku and sarahstevensondesign.com. images: courtesy of Sarah Stevenson Design

AnU RaiNa Spring Summer 2013 – Tathya’s Garden

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I’m a secret pomegranate junkie. It’s a problem that developed when I worked close to Chinatown. During Ppmegranate season, I developed the habit of buying up copious amounts of the fruit, taking advantage of the 3 for $5 pricing that dominated the many of the fruit sellers in the area. I knew which shops that consistently brought in quality pomegranates, knowledge after weeks of experimentation and research. I made the most of the short season and ate my way through it at every opportunity. I don’t work close to Chinatown anymore but my pomegranate addiction hasn’t stopped. My local grocer brings in good pomegranates during the season. They know my habits really well. So, it’s not a surprise that I love Anu Raina’s pomegranate dominated Spring Summer 2013 collection. My SS13 collection of prints is inspired by my memories of witnessing the majestic Echinaceas, the dew drop laden Daisys on the lazy Sunday mornings, the beautiful Pomegrante trees that humbly bore the weight of the biggest and reddest ever Pomegrantes, the riot of colour and …