you're weird

shredded cowl neck tee, downward vest & diagonal shorts, thomas; leggings, american apparel.

wool tabard, complex geometries; shorts, raf by raf simons; leggings, american apparel.

photos: leigh farrell

styling: drew & mikey thomas

hair: blake arsenault

mua: rachael meckling

model: damien kim (elmer olsen)

face value

where's my beer?

LG fashion week - day 3

day three... definitely the best of the three days. we made it just in time to see evan biddell's spring 2010 collection (we had to stand near the media pit...) and we stayed for rudsak afterwards. being hungry, we skipped out on the nada show and went to java house for salad and beer. later we after partied with evan biddell at the drake followed by the usual thursday hotspot, brooklynn. it was a long night... i didn't make it to the tents the next day.

highlights

evan's show was definitely my favourite of the seven shows i saw this week. i loved the geometric space-age statement necklaces and the overall structure of each piece in the collection. i especially liked the one piece cut-out bathing suit.

rudsak was a bit banal for me. it featured leather safari/military jackets and lots of neutral colours. they played it safe and were definitely on point when it comes to hitting their target market. it was a smart, but not innovative or exciting collection.

shadowplay

later on day 2 of LG fashion week, we went to carte blanche for the shadowplay event.

the concept was the same as show|off at upc boutique with the thomas clothing line...

stylists and photographers had to style a photoshoot using carte blanche's in house clothing line, pink cobra. we had arrived late after seeing the joe fresh show, so the bar was dry. mark the cobrasnake was sneaking around the crowd snapping photos. the photos were all great, though i didn't stay long - fashion week is tiring...

www.shopcarteblanche.com

LG fashion week - day 2

day two of lg fashion week was even better than day one. i saw the pink tartan and joe fresh shows, which needless to say, were packed. we were backstage with the models between shows and had such a hard time finding seats for joe fresh when we came back out to the runway room...

highlights

i loved the bustier-style silk form-fitting dresses and the use of clean black and white stripes done in basic jersey knits as well as sequined pieces. leather garments in tan (think wang s/s10), beige and black made appearances as well. my favourite aspect about the collection was how shoulderpads were placed on top of the garment, rather than inside. this created an interesting focal point and added more structure to the pieces.

joe fresh started with a bang when model, theodora, had difficulties walking in her shoes (one fell off and then she preceded to kick the other off her foot). midway through the show, this happened again with another model. joe fresh showcased yellows, pinks and blues, ginham, underwear as outerwear and clogs (blah). my favourite part of the collection were the trench coats and the use of bodyshapers. to top it off, a price list was included on each seat, noting the looks and the [inexpensive] price-points of the garments.

ali and i backstage at joe fresh

joe fresh

rick mercer

this is rick mercer modeling in the bustle show on tuesday.

photo by steve a (from facebook)

LG fashion week - day 1

so, i went from saying i wasn't going to toronto fashion week because i have zero time, to getting a pass and making time for it (ie: skipping classes).

yesterday i went to the david dixon, david dixon for barbie, and bustle shows.

highlights

my favorite elements from the david dixon show were the skirts with petal-like pleats, the bright canary yellow used and what i've named the "tinsel" dress. i was pleased to see tamara mcdonald and nicole s on the runway! between his two shows, volunteers came around and handed out beer and wine - great for the guests but not-so-great for the people who had to clean up the broken glass under the bleachers after.

each year, bustle has a theme for their show and this year, the theme was muskoka (or so i have come to call it). there was a forest projected on the backdrop, a barbecue set up and lounge chairs for the models to sit on. midway through the show, stacey mckenzie strolled down the runway with a trolley holding caesars of which she handed out to select people in the first and second rows (jeanne beker received one, of course). on top of that, rick mercer made a guest appearance as he walked the catwalk holding his "rick mercer report" microphone. notice that i haven't mentioned a thing about the clothes? yeah, that's because the models were more or less wearing american eagle shorts and american apparel hoodies. big yawn. i almost think that they recognized the banality of their collection and used stacey and rick as distractions...

jonathan and i as barbie and ken

michelle and kirby!

tonight i will be seeing pink tartan and joe fresh. stay tuned.

construct to deconstruct

if you didn't see the shredded tee first on style blogs like lookbook a few years back, then you surely noticed when the trend trickled up and designers like raquel allegra based her debut collection on it last spring.

raquel allegra s/s09

the shredded tee is to the torso as ripped jeans are to the legs, only more impractical. so, what's the appeal? i went to fiona green, assistant fashion editor of FLARE magazine for her expertise.

"people are always looking for the next spin on the ultimate classic wardrobe staple: the t-shirt," green says. "[this trend's] popularity has been amplified because people are able to achieve this look as a DIY."

thomas s/s10

the growing success of a toronto-born clothing line, thomas, is thanks to the shredding technique that co-founders drew and mikey thomas based their debut fall 2009 collection on. but with shirts starting at $120, how can one justify purchasing these delicate garments at such high price-points?

"people with money would rather pay for it than [shred the shirts] themselves," says drew thomas. "it's in fashion, while still holding a designer label."

it all comes down to one question: should we be investing in this trend?

"i wouldn't recommend investing now in a shredded tee with a high price-point. it's an easy DIY if you want to participate in this look," green says.

while it's important to invest your money in versatile wardrobe staples, it's still as important to have fun with the latest trends. so take a trip to chinatown, get in on the six-for-ten t-shirt deals strewn about the spadina sidewalks, and get shredding!

ufo

the balloon boy's been floating around since the 70's.

"oh, boy! a ufo!"

rachael meckling

my friend rachael meckling is brilliant. she is from saskatoon, saskatchewan and currently resides in toronto, attending ryerson's fashion communication program with yours truly. she has the most creative mind of anyone i know and it's starting to get her places!

her illustrations of evan biddell's designs are currently featured on FLARE's blog. check them out here.

she also has a blog where she posts her illustrations, photography and design work. get inspired!

you're invited!

it's that time again; c2 apparel is having their biannual sample sale!

who c2 apparel

what sample sale

when october 22 & 23 from 10 - 8, october 24 from 10 - 4

where c2 apparel showroom (63 wingold avenue, unit 208) map

why because you can get up to 90% off the retail prices

facebook event page

thanksgiving monday

photo: christopher marques

models: rachael meckling & leigh farrell

styling & hair: blake arsenault

mua: paulette weiss

sorry about the crappy quality... these photos were just taken off of facebook and i edited them from there. but you get the idea!

grayscale

this is part two of my accessories shoot with ali...

dead disco

styling and hair: blake arsenault

mua: paulette weiss

this is me mid-photoshoot. once i get my hands on some real shots, i'll put some up. until then... here's a photoshopped camera phone mirror pic!

i'm sorry, what?!

i am a "fan" of vogue on facebook. the following sentence just came up on my newsfeed:

"Spring 2010's Essential Accessories: Low Heels, Small Purses, Silver Bangles, and... Socks?"

... low heels? small purses?!

okay i admit, i love the look of clutches and smaller bags (though, it may take a while to figure out how to downsize all the junk i lug around in my purse), but low heels? as in kitten heels? ew. i'm not sold.

right now, my motto is "the higher, the better." let's not read that in the wrong context.

oh yeah, this is the image that went along with the headline:

none of these are doing it for me.

l: rochas, c: dior, r: marni

photo from style.com

casting call

this is my friend maddy as seen in the november 2009 issue of FLARE. she's gorgeous. go buy it.

bunnies & bows

this is my friend ali. i guess she's alright looking...

model: alexandra lalonde (elmer)

h & mu: rachael meckling

photo: leigh farrell

headband by le catogan