Hey Toronto readers, I have three pairs of tickets to give away for The Clothing Show coming up September 24, 25 & 26. Its a one stop shop for vintage & indie stuff among other wares. If you’d like to go, please leave a comment naming your most coveted fashion item this fall – I’ll pick three comments randomly next Tuesday September 21. Thanks for playing.

When I think of Tilley hats, I think of my dad.  Dad has worn his way through many a Tilley hat, taking advantage of the lifetime guarantee multiple times.  When I found out that Tilley was working with stylist and dear friend Linda Gaylard, I was pleased to have the opportunity to see what was new.  Besides the iconic hats and 12-pocket vests, Tilley has a complete line of clothing created with traveling attractively in mind.

Want to check it out for yourself?  Thanks to Tilley, I have a $250 (!!) gift card to give away.  If you’re in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver you can use it in the flagship stores in those cities.  As a little bonus for the winner, I’m also going to include a little something for you from me.  To enter, please leave a comment on this post with the travel destination you’re dreaming of right now and your real email address so I can contact you.  I’ll pick the winner randomly next Wednesday.

The Tilley store is down at Queen’s Quay by the lake, and walking back I was curious to see some tall ships docking, covered with young sailors (and sailettes?) in denim shirts, pulling ropes and tugging on sails.

Linda and Andrea from Edelman helped me pick out a beautiful straw hat for myself – it has a pocket too – and a pink printed top with my favourite feature, the rolly cuff.  I’m wearing it here with Paper Denim & Cloth jeans and a new purchase, my first ever Converse All-Star hi-tops.  Though its common to think of Tilley being for older ladies and gentleman, Linda showed me how good quality, versatile and functional clothing, can be styled to anyone’s taste.

This lady looks far too proper to be perched on the prow of a ship.

It was fun to go through the collection with Linda as a guide. I especially liked the military inspired bags Tilley is working on for fall.  The fabrics are all practical, the signature pocket is in almost everything.  Linda looks great here in a Liberty print top, techy-fabric cardigan and a terrific execution of an idea which is I’ve seen before but usually looks clunky – the skirt zips off to reveal shorts underneath.  This version is sleek, the layers of fabric around the waist have been handled in a way that makes the zipper invisible.

Thanks so much to Tilley, Linda and Edelman PR for the generosity!  Please take them up on a kind offer and enter your dream destination in the comments.

Rock-It Promotions and the FDCC have kindly offered me some free passes to give away to two fashion shows happening next week in Toronto.  I’m also very excited to be attending these shows myself.

Jules Power is showing on Monday March 29 at 5pm.

Zoran Dobric is showing on Tuesday March 30 at 5pm.

The shows are happening at the Allstream Centre.

I have a pair of passes to give away for each show, so if you’d like a chance to go with a friend, please leave a comment on this post with the name of the show you’d like to attend.  Make sure to leave your real email address so I can contact you.  I’ll be randomly selecting and notifying the two winners on Saturday, March 27.

15 designers, 17 paper dolls, over 60 items of clothing and accessories to play with.  This is the result of a rather involved project I gave to myself to commemorate the Spring 2010 collections shown in Toronto this October.

The resulting dolls are available in a book from Blurb for $42.95 USD. It was supposed to be available for Christmas but… it’s not unless you’re willing to pay for premium shipping.  So buy it for yourself!  If you can’t afford it, I’ve put together a mini-PDF booklet you can download for free, print off yourself and play with.  Full-size PDF files are also available for just $17.95.

You can buy a book. Or, you can win a book.  How?  Using the JPGs available here, I want you to dress a doll; use Photoshop or another program to help you do it.  The challenge is to use a model from one designer and clothing and accessories from at least two other designers.  The best mashed-up outfit wins a book.

Something like this: Brandon R Dwyer’s model with Jessica Jensen’s clutch and VAWK’s dress. I am sure you can do even better than that.

But that’s not all; I’d like to see you have some fun with it.  So I’ll also give away a few full-size PDFs to entries I think are particularly funny, or wicked, or clever.  Bonus points for photoshopping in some backgrounds and speech bubbles.  Go for it.  To qualify, post your entry on your blog or facebook profile with a link to this post – entries are due December 21st.

Not to sound like an old fogey, but I’ve been fashion blogging since 2005… and among my fellow veteran fashion bloggers from those days who have stuck with it, Daddy Likey is like the class clown who is now a full fledged author.  This book deal couldn’t have happened to a nicer fashion blogger.  I love Winona’s blog because she know the secret to finding the fun in fashion is all about finding the funny in fashion, a subject that is never short of absurdity.

Her book, Closet Confidential: Style Secrets Learned the Hard Way is a wonderfully portable way to have more Winona in your life.  I read it while taking a cross-city subway trip and not only did I get stares for the number of LOLs I was having, I even saw a fellow commuter write down the title of the book.  Besides the laughs, Winona shares her hard-won style tips which are a refreshing refresher for any fellow fashion-o-phile and down-to-earth straight talk for any fashion-o-phobe.

The cute illustrations are by Sam Trout and totally fit with the book’s vibe.  If I may be a picky professional for a moment, some garment details (like the collar on the trench coat) look awkward. So I am fussy about construction details and proportions when it comes to illustrating clothes.

BONUS – I have a copy of this book which I get to give away to a lucky Final Fashion reader.  To win, just leave a comment on this post with your own “style secret learned the hard way”.  I’ll select the winner randomly on November 20th.

The darlings in dresses over at Worn Journal have generously offered a giveaway to Final Fashion readers – a pair of tickets to their very scary Issue 9 release party and slow dance.  Want to win?  Leave a comment here with your best zombie make-up or dress-up tip – the winner will be drawn randomly and be announced on Friday October 23rd.

On October 31, Hallowe’en, WORN Fashion Journal and Montreal’s Slowdance Night bring you a night to dismember at SLOW DANCE OF THE LIVING DEAD. This event offers a night of slow dance ballads in sanguine style, complete with dance cards (book a dance with your dearest undead) and designated dancers to re-animate the coyest of corpses. SLOW DANCE also offers gift bags for the first 30 ghoulish guests, cupcakes, popcorn, and braaaaaiins. (Just kidding – we couldn’t get those. It’s strictly BYOBrains.)

$13 admission gets you a copy of WORN issue 9 and a dance card – or get your tix in advance for just $10 (at www.wornjournal.com or Model Citizen at 279 Augusta in Kensington Market or Take Me Back at 1692 Queen W in Parkdale).

Heads up, Toronto readers.  I have three pairs of tickets to The Clothing Show to give away.  Just leave a comment on this post telling me what your must-buy for Fall 2009 is for a chance to win.

I’ll be randomly drawing the winners and will be in touch with them next Monday Sept 21 – so please make sure to leave your real email address!

Two weeks ago I announced I had three pairs of tickets to give away to The Clothing Show.  I asked readers to give first-time TCS-goer Isabel some shopping tips for a chance to win.  First I’d like to share some of my favourite tips – scroll down to the bottom of the post to see who won.

Adrienne‘s tips -

• Barter! you’d be surprised the deals you could get, especially in the last few hours. You should treat the clothing show like a fun competitive sport. Most vendors are there to clear things out. I’ve always been surprised by the lack of bartering.
• Don’t be shy of going into booths and talking to the vendors! The Clothing Show is a friendly place, and the designers love to meet their customers in person, and get feedback on their work!

Diana’s tips -

• Bring a digital camera, so that you can snap a photo of yourself in an outfit and instantly see how it looks, because most of the time there are no mirrors.
• Every once and a while, you will find some crazy unique piece that has no place in your everyday wardrobe. If it fits and it’s a good price, just buy it. I have some very unique 50’s prom dresses and 60’s Audrey Hepburn cocktail frocks that look fab at weddings…or thematic costume parties!

Fiona’s tips -

• Get there early on the first day. Most of the unique items or best deals are gone quickly. (ex. I bought a pair of real R&R jeans for $20 in the first 10min there – it was their last pair!)
• Bring cash and have a budget.
• If you like it, buy it, it’s likely not going to be there when you come back.

Andie’s tips -

• Layer – wear leggings and a tank as a base – faster and easier to try things on

Eliana’s tips -

• go on the clothing show website and visit the websites of the different designer and make a list of the ones you really like.
• bring a lot of empty cloth bags to help the environment

Thanks everyone for all the great tips – you can read more here.  I randomly drew three comments, and the winners are Andie, Antoine and Fiona.  They each win a pair of tickets that they can pick up at the event.