Within two days the film world suffers two great losses, Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni. RIP

Visa supports Vice

Shopping is to me what booze&blow is to Miss Lohan, complete with enabling friends. The difference? I can admit that I have a problem, and accept responsability for my actions! This, however, does not mean that I am seeking treatment for my addiction. I am now sealing away my visa and filing it away in an envelope to be tucked into the corner of a small drawer in my room and not removed until christmas (or my next trip to montreal).

The lethal combination of a great vintage store (with a friendly and knowledgeable owner & on the same block as Alanna and Patrick's) and the Holt Renfrew Now or Never sale proved too great a temptation. Rideshare with strange asian man, neighbourhood-gazing, cooking, smoking, Finally getting to see TTC!!!!!, meeting new people, walking, shopping, baking, movie watching and then making the 6 hour trek back to TO -on a stomach empty with krispy creme and water- with Doug and Patrick. All in all quite a fulfilling weekend.

I did buy a few more things- but I couldn't take a suitable photo of the items. So you will have to wait to see them in all their glory and turn green with envy at the very sight!!

shoes: stuart weisman from Holts

Hangbag & dress (complete with pink slip and pink Chanel ribbon/belt) from E.R.A. Vetement-vintage-wear www.eravintagewear.com

Gorbachev for LV

Marc Jacobs is obsessed with using only celebrities in his adds, and this has extended to LV as well. I definately like it more than Scarlett's ads...

read about it:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/26/fashion/26ROW.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

What i want

Great vintage clothes (I saw a Lacroix white denim vest that would be perfect for you), reasonable prices

www.theurbancollection.com

Carine does Wintour

"Wintour might be the most famous editor of Vogue but true fashion mavens love French Vogue's Carine Roitfeld for her innovative photoshoots and forward-thinking fashion sense."

I agree but still hold Ms. Wintour above Ms. Roitfeld, maybe because I feel that the American editrix more closely represents my own fashion tastes than does the sometimes outlandish Parisian and also it was Ms. Roitfeld who went ahead and sullied Paris Vogue for me by putting *ick* Paris -The Whore- Hilton on their cover last year. (Emanuelle Alt is a whole other story tho)

Snejana Onopka is Ms. Wintour but I wonder how the real Anna feels about this?

Are we going to see Carine or Emanuelle Alt by Anna Wintour or Grace Coddington in American Vogue any time soon?

doubt it

via Catwalk Queen

read all about it: http://www.catwalkqueen.tv/2007/07/carine_roitfeld.html

What i want

http://www.retrosuperfuture.com/gallery/

Gotta head to Lileo and get me a pair of these!!!

Doo-Ri Chung and for Piaget custom-made watches made from antique lacquer and crachet mother-of-pearl available in September at the 5th ave Piaget store.

photo from style.com

In response

...to this article:

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2007/07/24/tipping-canadians.html

Is tipping supposed to be like tax? The problem being that we already pay taxes on goods and services so why does it seem expected, nay, required that we tip and why is it that instead of giving those in the service industry what we feel to be appropriate (if anything) does this added bonus need to be 15%?

I am not cheap. I do not go to a restaurant and then short the bill; refusing to pay anything over the absolute minimum required, leaving %5 to cover tip & tax. I'll usually end up dishing out far more than my share of the bill just to cover those who do. If I get a haircut or go to a particularily good esthetician or masseur I also, often leave a small tip, but I feel that my repeated business and good word of mouth is better. I always tip a cab driver, even when I feel that they have overcharged me, but I never think in percentages I just give $2 to $5 over the meter. I do not want to feel pressured into giving something that I do not feel was merited as I often do at some dining establishments.

The above article pisses me off.

Why should every service expect 15% more than what they are already charging me, for what is sometimes a VERY expensive service? Are they giving me 15% better service than anywhere else and are they neglecting to charge me for this by offering a fairly competitive -read: low-original price point? I find that often times this is clearly not the case.

Just because you are in the service industry does not automatically entitle you to a tip. This seems to be a very common misconception. Did your cab driver get out and open the door for you? Did they help you with your bag or boxes if you are carrying any? Did the spa offer you any refreshments, did they make every effort to cater to you and to make your time there comfortable? Were you happy with you hair cut and/or colour? In short did you recieve treatment that exceeded your expectations? If you answer yes to this last question than a tip is absolutely required, if not, than you should be allowed to tip at your leisure.

Even most restaurants fail in this regard to standard. I have been treated with casual indifferent bordering on contempt at some restaurants and have never failed to tip the required %15, even if I loathed to do so, and at these times I seriously question the necessity of tipping. I realize that measuring expectations is a tricky thing and that this is why 15% is given as a standard I just think it's a standard that should be applied only to those deemed exceptional (well 15%-20%); for regular fare %5-10% should be enough. Instead of questioning why consumers don't tip a standard 15% in all service sectors we should be questioning why a %15 tipping standard should be merited.

I believe that if you expect what is essentially a 15% tax free bonus you should be giving me better than mere adequate -read: basic- service; my expectations for the service should be met and far exceeded. If you are paying over $65+ for your haircut and about $110+ for colour, as is standard for most women, being expected to pay an extra 15% may be an actual financial strain. Add to this bill the $45 for a waxing, the $20 for a manicure and $30 for pedicure and $95+ for a facial, $35 for a massage ($70+ if it's from an RMT) not to mention the $10-$15 cab ride and you are looking at an extra $60 at least and all of these prices are before tax!

Those same student hordes, as mentioned in the article may want to treat themselves to a day at the spa (usually priced between $120-$250 for a treat-yourself spa package) and probably view the steep pricings of the offered services as enough of a payout.

Bottom line, there will always be cheap people and there will always be over-generous ones, being in the service industry means you should be gracious to all and since you are getting paid (minimum wage or not) to do your job you should be pleased to recieve any added value that the customer may or may not see fit to give.

a rainbow of choice

Ok, it looks like an ipod but I still want one. Why? well mostly because it's not an ipod, it's cheaper and I need an MP3 player.

read about it:

http://technabob.com/blog/2007/07/24/toshiba-gigabeat-u-media-player-24-colors-why-no-periwinkle/

Fighting Feet

I really don't know what to say about these boots. At first they seemed kind of fun but the more I stare at them the uglier they get; they would look hotter with a straight up golden stilettos, right? I mean when are you really going to get the opportunity to get into a fight and be able to whip off your shoe, put your fingers through the heel and give someone a right smack in the mouth? That is unless you were some kind of flexi-freak who could just whip their leg up and thread their fingers through the heel for a good solid punch all in one motion without even taking the shoe off... ok, I've now officially given this too much thought.

A little S&M

Did you notice the striking similarities between some fashion footwear, as of late, and that worn for years by Women of the Night? Chanel did it a few seasons back, then Anne Hathaway wore them in Devil Wears Prada. Fall 2007 saw Burberry sending girls out in high-thigh-high patent leather boots and Karl continued the trend for Chanel couture fall 2007.

Now, I'm a fan of the thigh-high, myself owning a pair of flat grey/navy suede boots (pictured somewhere in the back items), but the look is a precarious one to pull off. What with hemlines shrinking (although fall 2007 seems to see a trend away from this) the line between dressing for a night out and dressing for working at night is being ever-blurred.

If knee-high boots have garnered the nickname, fuck-me boots then what can be instore for the ultra-high thigh-high?
A risky venture to be sure but when done correctly oh-so-sexy.

Nice Sneakers

Last Night

KATWALK & GETJANET PRODUCTIONS presents...Toronto's Premiere Night of Fashion and Music at The Ultra Supper Club... NIKE STREET HEAT STYLE /SUMMER 07 FASHION SHOW

I'm sorry I've been bad with posting the flyers to events I've been attending, I promise to get on that. So Last night I went to this Nike Street Heat Style Summer Fashion Show @ Ultra. The club was suitably hip with a great patio (seemingly a must in toronto) and it was filled to the brim with well-groomed, very young-money types.

The fashion show was pretty good. The styling of the girls was remeniscent of the Meisel shoot for Italian Vogue in June 2006 "Non-Stop Ultimate Pumping" (pictured abouve) with a heavy dose of American Apparel, espeically one run that had the girls coming out in Very high waisted, lycra cotton-based, short-shorts and tight-Nike collared shirts worn knotted in the back. Also another outfit which had the model in white jean short-shorts, a hiked up Nike printed t-shirt and a gold lame, cross-back, open-fronted body suit.

The accessories were pretty fun, all ghetto gold (except for the yoga girl who wore intricate gold chandelier earrings) with fun pendants, like a teddybear or crown and nike sneaker belt buckles. The sneaker selection didn't impress me much; I felt like I had seen most of the sneakers on a recent trip to Livestock/Goodfoot. I did enjoyed the brightly coloured, patent leather, open toed stilettos the girls wore down the runway with most of their outfits. One look was styled by pairing these with socks, printed to look like Nike shoes (see 2nd photo above- although the shoes are different). This was probably my favorite styled-item of the show.

Two terrible oversights from the show last night: a pair of jeans worn down the runway with the tag still dangling down beside the model as he walked the runway and a cap also worn with the tag sticking up out of the top of the cap like a propeller.

The fashion show was broken up by little aerobic routines. There were break-dancers and extreme fitness girls and two yogis. The yoga team put on the most impress display, though their outfits left a little to be desired (nike sports bra for the girl, sleeveless lycra tank-top for the guy and thai/tie pants all in black).

meisel photo provided by http://farm1.static.flickr.com/76/163445372_83548a508b.jpg?v=0

sunday fashion photos

http://community.livejournal.com/foto_decadent/

The Simpsons in Harper's

One of the funnest fashion layouts ever

Proenza Schouler + Valentino = love

After 45 years in the biz Valentino knows a great talent when he sees one- or in this case two! Proenza Schouler have become part of the Valentino group, and it's a match made in fashion heaven.

read all about it

http://wwd.com/issue/article/117250

Thanks Ali from PS for the heads up

V is for Valentino

Well it seems as if Fall 2007 Couture should be renamed The Party Season. Everyone, it seems, has something to celebrate. Valentino celebrated 45 years in the fashion biz with a weeklong blitz of parties. The multitude of celebratory events was such that I couldn't tell who was coming or going, nor could I tell who wore what to which day/evening party. It was pretty much one long party that called for several outfit changes. It was all a bit ridiculous but a fantastic opportunity for celebrities to turn the several red carpets into a Valentino retrospective.
The show itself was a marvel. It is a sure bet that you will be seeing several of his catwalk creations once awards season rolls around.

He's Boss

Karl Lagerfeld reigned supreme with Chanel's Fall Couture 2007 show. If I even tried to put up photos of half of the great outfits, dresses, head-dresses, Boots and gloves that came down the runway, you would be looking at at least 35 photos (67 outfits were shown). Beyond words and just straight into dreams (and, of course, for some lucky bitches- their closets).

simply. incredible. clothing.

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/collections/F2007CTR/review/CHANEL

Happy 60th

I wish I were attending the Dior couture show and afterparty/60th Birthday party in Paris tonight.

read all about it: (and turn green with envy)

http://www.fashionweekdaily.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=440410&itype=8486

Lanvin Men have the flashiest footwear

Lucas Ossendrijver's perfet interpretation of the easy elegance and refined tailoring that has come to define Lanvin under the mastery of Alber Elbaz. These looks could work for a multitude of men of varying shapes and sizes, although I'm sure several would be daunted with the task of wearing, say, wide-leg drawstring silk pants or loose fitting, mid-thigh hitting silk shorts.
My favorite collection thus far.
I can't wait to see what is in store for the women's spring/summer '08 collection.

A New Era

Introducing, Dior homme by Van Assche

Slimmane this is not, and it's kind of refreshing! Enough style to keep the clientel but with a certain classic Gatsby-era feel.

The starving artiste by YSL

I enjoyed the new open-minded liberalized artiste look that Pilati sent down the runway at YSL . Boxy shirts, jackets and sweaters paired with pleated pants that were just a tad "too short", some covered in paint spatters. However, I fear that this look is going to be translated much like the distressed/worn out jeans look of three years ago. Basically people are going to be paying skyhigh prices for fashion items that have been traditionally known as rags (or in this case smocks). If you like the look and painting isn't necessarily your thing, don't worry all you need is an old pair of pants and any old paint (obv not watercolour) and you can go-to-town expressing your inner Jackson Pollock.