Blogger Brunch in Toronto!

What better way to wrap up an amazing trip to Toronto than to meet a fabulous group of fashion bloggers? You can read Danielle's recap here and Ashleigh's here. We all met at the Bloor Street Diner for a buffet style brunch that included live Jazz! My mom came along for the visit and I have to give her the photo credit:) It was great to discuss fashion blogging, the Toronto fashion scene and what else? CLOTHES!!!! I hope those of you who read this will be inspired to organize a meeting like this in your city too. Thanks to all of you who came to the meeting even though you were right in the middle of exams! Be sure to check out all of their blogs by clicking on the links below :)

We arranged the hair colors lightest to darkest did you notice?
From left to right :
S from Modern Guilt
Ashleigh from Rantings of a Fashion Addict
Danielle from Final Fashion
Marta from With Love
Moi
(I have not mastered the Torontian art of layering in a slimming manner yet!!)

(Image courtesy of the lovely Ashleigh's camera)

Loreal Fashion Week Recap Continued : Evan and Dean, Rudsak and Lucien Matis

The final three Toronto Fashion Week collections I will be posting about are: Evan and Dean, Rudsak and Lucien Matis. While I was dressing backstage my Mom was in the audience watching the shows. This post includes some of her thoughts on the shows as well. Later this week I will be posting about some of the vintage stores I visited and the blogger's brunch I organized! In the meantime, Danielle from Final Fashion has already posted about our exciting meeting on her blog. Who were your L' Oreal Fashion Week Favorites?

Evan and Dean

A magical nature inspired collection. The intricate cut out jewelry was unique and complimented the pieces nicely. Stiff but shimmery fabrics shone as they floated down the runway. These pieces could be dressed up or down for any occasion. The gowns and dresses would be perfect for summer evening cocktail parties. The color palette was vibrant and eye catching.

(Images courtesy of Toronto Sun)

Rudsak

I never thought I would ever like leather this much. This collection included many separate and functional pieces. The purses and accessories were stunning! The color palette featured blacks and whites with occasional beiges. I want one of those hats!

(Images courtesy of Coutorture)

Lucien Matis

Lucien, runner up of Project Runway Canada, continues to prove that he is a top Canadian designer. His work is detailed and always beautifully executed. He makes it look easy and effortless! He presented his collection to a full house on the evening of Friday September 24. Models wore intricate head scarves, elegantly flowing gowns and simple complimentary jewelry. The first image was his most elaborate look and a quick change as well! Bravo Lucien on a magnificent collection that surpassed everyone's already high expectations.

(Images courtesy of Fashion Television)

Denis Gagnon: The Best of Toronto Fashion Week

I am home after a week of excitement in Toronto. Volunteering at Toronto Fashion Week was definitely a valuable and exciting experience. I met some great people and worked with amazing Canadian designers. My favorite designer of all was Denis Gagnon. I helped to steam the dresses he presented in his Spring/Summer 2009 Collection you will see on the Fashion Television video clip. Denis produced everything on his own : the leather bags, jackets, dresses and shoes! The only thing he didn't produce was the jewelry. His work was intricate and detailed and I overheard the models say that they wished they didn't have to take off his dresses. He was calm and collected throughout the entire show and even helped the dressers get the models ready. His team of assistants and associates was friendly, energetic and a pleasure to assist. Bravo Denis on a magnificent collection.

Here are some images from his collection. His palette included: fuschias, reds, golds, and blacks. Many of the gowns featured intricate rousching and chunky jewelry. The draped jersey fabric shimmered and flowed elegantly.

(Images courtesy of Sweetspot.ca)

Watch a fashion television clip of the runway show here and an interview with the Toronto Sun here. See his full collection on his website here.

Day One Loreal (Toronto) Fashion Week

Today was a very full and busy day of work at Toronto Fashion Week. I helped dress models and assist backstage for Evan and Dean, Rudsak, Gsus Sindustries and Buffallo. They were all very well done and went off without a hitch. I will post more detailed reviews in the next few days. You can read an interview with Evan and Dean designers Raymond and Lyle here and reviews and updates at fashion file or fashion television. If you haven't bought tickets for today's show you can purchase them day of at the Loreal Fashion Week tent at Nathan Philips Square.

Evan and Dean
A nature themed collection that included beautiful designs and jewelry. The designers Raymond and Lyle were very sweet and fun to work with.

The Rusus Collection was full of excitement! It was really fun to work for this show and the models really had a lot of fun playing up their roles :)

Another Very Full Day in Toronto!

Today was another very very full day. We visited the Bata Shoe Museum, the Royal Ontario Museum, Yorkville, and Kensington Markets. We walked around town for most of the day. The sun was shining but it was very chilly. I actually sat on the top of the double decker tour bus! Toronto is definitely everything I expected and more. Thank you for all your wonderful comments! I am going to try and keep posting at least until Friday. I should have some exciting news about Loreal Fashion Week soon as I am volunteering tomorrow and Friday!

Royal Ontario Museum
Fall Winter 1956-1957
Christian Dior
Many more pictures to come. They had some magnificent dresses on display.

Ok so I am going to see Madonna in Vancouver next week. I found this fabulous dress in a vintage shop in the Kensington Market Area (more pictures to come soon). What do you think? I thought it would be fun to dress up and go in this for the concert. It was only $15 !

Well, if I don't wear it to Madonna, I can definitely wear it for Halloween!

I thought this was a body suit but it's actually a Speedo Bathing suit! It fits beautifully and is really unique.

A Snowy Day in Toronto!

Today we had snow in Toronto! It was really cold, but a beautiful day nevertheless. We went to see the Steven and Chris Show live, went on a tour (by bus) of Toronto, and saw the musical Dirty Dancing! My mom loves the Steven and Chris show so she enjoyed being a part of the audience and seeing it live. Dirty Dancing definitely exceeded my expectations. Except that no one can compare to Patrick Swayze ;) It is one of my favorite movies of all time. Have you seen the movie? Are you a fan?

Here is a clip from the original Dirty Dancing Movie!



Here is a promo clip for the Steven and Chris Show:



I have noticed that everyone is very stylish in Toronto! It's very alive and full of excitement. Tomorrow we are going to visit the CN tower and will do some shopping. I bet you can't believe that I haven't bought anything yet! Stay tuned..

Loreal Fashion Week

This week is Loreal Fashion Week. You can read updates and blogs about the event here. Today was my first day in Toronto! I am here with my mom to scout out the city, have a little vacation and participate in Loreal Fashion Week. We visited Nathan Philips Square, which is where Loreal Fashion Week will be taking place. I am really excited to be a part of this event! I also visited Ryerson University. It is a beautiful university located in downtown Toronto. Finally, we visited Eaton's Shopping Centre, walked around Yonge Street and had a great dinner on the Milestone's patio (it's four floors up and overlooks Yonge Sreet). Yum! Here are a few images of my trip so far.

The Bay display window. These gowns were made of toilet paper!

Toronto, Toronto Fashion Week, Ryerson and Blogger's Breakfast!

I am leaving tonight for Toronto! I am going to visit Ryerson, volunteer at Toronto Fashion Week and meet with a great group of Toronto Bloggers! Next Sunday I will be meeting the Toronto Blogging Gals at the Bloor Street Grill for breakfast. Here is who I have been in touch with: Ashleigh, Chantelle, Marta, Chloe, Stefani, Sarah, and Cass. Be sure to check out their blogs for their posts about our meetings! I am really excited to hear about the fashion in scene in Toronto from them :) There are so many things to see and do in Toronto I hope I can fit everything in. I am going to try to post from Toronto. Stay tuned..

This is before I started attempting to fit everything into my bag! Eek..I had to pull a few things :) Other bloggers make packing look so much easier! I am actually a fairly organized person but I just decided to throw everything in a pile and then go through everything again later.

These are some shoes that I picked up when I went to the Salvation Army with my mom the other day. She found most of them. I usually only find good things when I go with her; she has a great eye! I have no idea why they are all men's shoes, but they are all really different and unique. They were all also under ten dollars ;)

These are kind of cool right? I think they would look cute with some tights and a skirt or dress.

These are Florsheims, which my mom tells me are very good shoes!

Tell me this song is not fabulous!! (That fabulous was for you KIM!! ;)

Project Runway - Finale

For the last episode of Project Runway Season Five, the three finalists presented their ten piece collections at Bryant Park. The show was filmed over a month ago, during New York Fashion Week, but the results have been kept pretty hush hush! There were several firsts for Project Runway this season: Tim Gunn was the third judge and all three finalists were women! The fabulous Tim Gunn was initially reluctant to participate as a judge, but decided to put his relationship with the designers aside and give it a try. Click here to read his thoughts on the finale and being a Project Runway judge! His question and answers with readers are quite amusing too. It was clear that the real competition was between Korto and Leanne but I really wasn't sure who they were going to give it to. I chose several of my favorite pieces from each designer's collection. What did you think? Whose collection did you like best?

Leanne-Winner!
Inspiration-Waves
Leanne definitely deserved to win Project Runway this season. She has been consistent throughout the season. She has worked hard and acknowledges constructive criticism. Many of her pieces were actually made out of environmentally friendly fabrics. The judges were a little bit concerned that she might not be able to top the "petal" look in the future, but her collection was certainly the most innovative and inspiring.

Korto

Inspiration-Nature
Her collection was magnificent. It could be marketed and would appeal to many different sizes and ages. Korto also incorporated elements from her African heritage. She used a vibrant color pattern and accessorized many of her garments with gorgeous jewelry and paper fans. In the last three days, Korto decided to create two brand new looks for her collection. Definitely a feat!

Kenley

Inspiration-Fairy Tales, Tug Boats?
Well as much as I can't stand Kenley, her collection was solid. When the judges commented on the similarities between her collection and Balenciaga's; she stated that she didn't see any similarities. I don't buy it! I admire the fact that she is self taught, but I find it hard to believe that she doesn't keep up with the current work of designers!! I think she was shocked to find out that Tim Gunn was going to be judging her work. They didn't seem to have the best relationship. In other words..she didn't respond well to constructive criticism and was often defensive, rude and disrespectful to Tim. She does have a future in fashion, she just needs an attitude check and to quote Michael Kors "a fashion history course."