As often happens in fashion blog land, some of my favourite bloggers discover me. When Gilda of Queen Gilda commented on my site and my drawings, I followed the link back and discovered an awesome fashion student blog, candid and enthusiastic, full of feeling and colour.  I even had the opportunity to meet her when I went to NYC and she gave me a short clandestine tour of Parsons, where she goes to school.  Gilda, like all fashion students, is super busy with her school work so her posts are infrequent – but when she does post, its well worth the wait – her posts are long and full of stories and pictures, honesty and humour.

I asked her about her projects, her school, and her favourite fashion inspirations.

You just finished an amazing project for LVMH, can you tell me a bit about the design and construction process of it?

this project was basically a collaboration with LVMH and parsons, called “the art of craftsmanship revisited: new york”. it was a group project where students of different disciplines within the new school university can take part in. the project is two-fold: we have to create a 5 minute mini-documentary based on the artisan we were assigned to, and we also had to draw inspiration from their craft to create an ensemble.

the artists we were assigned to were metal artists from a french company called les metalliers champenois. we went to visit their shoppe a few times and were so blown away. “amazing” really isn’t a way to put it. because we had to bear in mind that the garment had to reflect our artist, it was a lot more difficult than just sitting down and designing something as we were used to.

more than anything, what really inspired us when we were at LMC was their work ethics and the way they thought and went through their work process. we wanted to make sure we respected this and so we tried to put ourselves into their shoes and become fashion designers who could inject our own sense of aesthetic to the work, but also employ their thinking and mindset to the garments.

the resulting ensemble was a half-jacket, that represents strength and “protects” the most important thing to any artist – their arms and hands. in particular the “stronger” arm that they work with. under it was a very fitted dress with only 1 straight seam; the rest were all curved. it was a reflection of the movements the artists took as captured in our videos. we also included ideas that spoke about the amazing latticework that they do inside of statues and restoration work that they do.

lastly, on top of the dress is a delicate 3-tiered cowled piece which is made of 2 layers of light chiffon fused together. it is a direct homage to the amazing repousse work that LMC does.

construction was a huge craze. i did the patterns for the dress and the dart manipulations took me a day and a half of mathematical calculations to get right. i’m glad i took my time with it because there wasn’t any major fit issues. phew!! we draped the jacket and cowls together. cowls seem so easy but it also took us about 3 days to finally get the exact shape that all 3 of us were happy with!

What is the Parsons fashion design program like? The best part, the worst part? Would you recommend it?

i know i sound so biased about this topic. it’s hard to talk about it because i had attended another world-class fashion college before parsons, bunka fashion college in tokyo, so after coming here from there, i think i was very angry as i felt i was wasting my parents’ hard-earned money and giving myself a lot of unnecessary stress. the best part are the teachers. some of them, not all. i have been lucky to have been blessed with a handful of extremely talented and really nice teachers whom i have learned a lot from. the worst part is the school itself. i would rather pay my teachers $40,000 a year and just learn from their studios. in other words, even if i could come back to this school for free, i would not. i had to say i am biased also because i have already received my basic education in sewing and design before coming to parsons, so the comparison makes me sick to my bones and sometimes i feel like i haven’t learned anything new. in america though, it is supposed to be the best school available. perhaps it is? i really don’t know.

What inspired you to choose the life of a fashion designer? Is your experience so far anything like what you expected?

i’ve always loved fashion, although when i was probably 15 i thought i was really cool and stuff, but looking back at pictures i would love to slap myself. i’d always devoured magazines and went shopping all the time. by myself, especially. shopping alone is best for me. (ha!) when i was about 15 or 16 i started remaking a lot of my clothes; i had no idea how to use a sewing machine so everything was done by hand with a thread and needle. i tore up so many tshirts and sewed some together, made new shapes etc. i also made accessories. and i had so much fun. i never gave it much thought until i was about 17 when i had to think about what was going to happen to me after high school. that was when i set my hearts on doing something in fashion, and i never really looked back.

the experience has been amazing and fulfilling. it is a lot of work. a lot more work than 90% of the people think it is. sometimes i watch those reality shows of people who think they are “fashion designers” but really they are just rich b*tches with silver spoons in their mouths, who have no sense of personal style and think they are amazing. i could line them all up and shoot them, really. they give fashion a bad name. nothing is glamourous, everything is work, nonstop, all the time. being able to create something from 2D on paper and fabric, into something in 3D that is going to be worn by someone… the work in between takes a long time, and yet, the sense of fulfillment of seeing a finished garment is just something that cannot be explained. i imagined this is how it must feel to have a child when it finally pops out of the belly. heh.

to some people, fashion is nonsense. ridiculous. it is just clothes. and in many ways, that is true. it doesn’t matter what sort of collection a designer puts out there every season; in the end, it’s just clothes. when i tell people i am a fashion designer, sometimes i get scoffed at for having such a trivial occupation. so i tell them that fashion is part of their lives, everyone needs it even if they refuse to think so. they need to eat. sleep. be protected by the elements under a roof, and to do so they also need clothes. i’d like to see them run their lives while in the nude.

What fashion professionals do you admire? How have they influenced you?

my biggest influences are rei kawakubo, junya watanabe and tao from comme des garcons, as well as jun takahashi from undercover, takahiro miyashita from number (n)ine. i love japanese designers. they design in a very different way as compared to american or italian designers. i love the avant garde look, the undone, asymmetry look… basically i want to be adopted by them. please.

Can you describe your proudest fashion moment?

the biggest one so far would definitely have to be my recent participation in the LVMH x parsons event. the launch was during nyfw at milk studios. we were right there having a show after proenza schouler. i mean, to be still a student and to have this opportunity to show some of my work during an event like nyfw, that is not some chance that hops around at every corner of the street. meeting so many people from the industry and having people compliment us on our ensemble was just a feeling i hope i never forget. it really spurred me on to thinking more about business plans and how i can one day, on my own two feet, return to fashion week. new york? tokyo? somewhere, one day.

When Danah moved to Toronto, she emailed me and asked what is up in the city.  I was familiar with her site, Ottawa Street Style, and I invited her to Fritz Helder and the Phantoms‘ single release party where she made friends, pretty much instantly.  Danah is precocious, honest, has a great sense of humour and her new non-city-centric blog, The Yuppie Activist is all of those things too.  I asked her a few questions about her home cities, regional fashion and blogging.

photo by Renata Kaveh

When you moved from Ottawa to Toronto, you chose to pass along the torch of your street style blog to other contributors.  How do you move on from a blog but still keep the flame burning?

I had one reliable contributor for a little while but right now I’m just updating the blog sporadically with events going on around the city. But moving on from a blog is hard. Initially, I was going to write a post telling my readers I’ve decided to stop writing here since I couldn’t find reliable contributors, however, one contributor persuaded me to keep it up, so I did with her contributions but I’ve yet to find someone who is really consistent. I think I kept the flame burning through her enthusiasm and through the emails that come into my inbox letting me know how much they love this blog and how it’s their go to for X, Y, Z. That’s really important, so the readers, in the end, keep the fire alive.

It amazed me how quickly you became part of the scene and collected a terrific group of friends.  How do you make the most of moving to a new city?

How do you make the most, hmm, well for one, I was always connected to Toronto before moving here so that’s something that I would always keep in mind prior to venturing to a new city: have an idea of the city you’re moving to. I am a huge fan of research. Find the places of interest to you and go to them, keep track of events and don’t be afraid to ask further information from the organizers. Talk to people. A lot of people keep to themselves and don’t talk to anyone, or sometimes you’ll meet them once and they don’t talk to you again. I will never do that. I will always come by and say hello and talk to people and get to know them. Personally, I am not afraid to find people with similar interests and go ask them for coffee in order to get to know them. For example, as a blogger, it’s easy for me to connect with other bloggers (such as yourself) so I use that common interest and build conversation. That’s how I met a lot of people. Being sociable helps! Get over yourself and your insecurities and go do it, it won’t just come to you!

What are your favourite blogs, websites and magazines?

I work in the social media world, so my Google Reader and Delicious are flooded with a variety of blogs and websites so I’ll attempt to keep this short! Blogs: John Haro’s Fashion Copious, he’s always on top of the latest in fashion – magazine covers, models, editorials, news, etc. I read a lot of advertising websites because it’s a passion of mine so I Believe in Advertising and Adverblog are daily reads. Personal blog: The Tragically Unhip. They don’t post as much anymore but the material on that site is hilarious. Otherwise there’s a few here and there but nothing I’ve gotten too into. I’m sort of a blog snob, I read a lot of them so the content has to be really impressive, especially when it’s a personal blog. Art and design is also important, so I’m huge on The Contemporist, Drawn, Jessica Goldfond’s Shiny Squirrel features some great illustrators and fashion designers and Kitsuné Noir always updates with fantastic content! As my identity also reveals, I’m an activist, so I like political humour, a website called KABOBfest fulfills that for me. There’s a lot of news websites lingering as well! When it comes to magazines, I read AnOther Magazine, Dazed & Confused, Kill Magazine (Montreal based), Monocle, Vs., 10, Applied Arts and I recently heard of Bidoun Magazine which I haven’t found in the city yet but I’ve been perusing the site religiously! I used to read Strut a lot (Canadian publication) but their content isn’t as strong as it once was. I collect magazines that look interesting from everywhere I go so my place is flooded with them.

You know I’m going to ask it – do you have any comments on Toronto fashion and style vs. Ottawa?

There’s obviously a difference because of the city culture but I mean it’s not like there’s a huge difference. There are areas you visit in both cities where you expect to see people dressed a certain way. In Toronto, you see that more often because the population is larger and the scene is bigger and more established here. But if we’re talking club wear entertainment district zone, you’re looking at the same dress codes, no exceptions! Toronto is also Canada’s capital of private companies so it has more men and women in nice business attire or the casual but stylish young, creative professionals. Ottawa is Canada’s capital of government employees so there’s a lot more pleated pants and khakis because the dress code isn’t enforced on all offices! There’s also such a lack of places to shop in Ottawa (although that’s changing) so people end up all looking the same whereas with Toronto its much more of a fashion established city so fashionable people are more common. I don’t however, want to take away from those teens outside Much Music! They all look like they walked out of the same shop! If we were to compare all Canadian cities, Montreal takes the prize. The French rather starve than not look good!

You have had some experience with both Toronto’s and Ottawa’s fashion week events.  One thing that seems to define Canada is regionalism – and a lot of smaller fashion weeks.  What is your perspective on regional fashion weeks?

Straight up, I’m a fan of the regional fashion weeks concept. I definitely think Canada needs to support its talent more to raise the bar for these fashion weeks. We see it in our arts industry – there isn’t nearly enough support for the arts or sports! There’s even less for the category of fashion. Canada doesn’t have many fashion schools or resources for Canadians interested in fashion. When looking at the fashion weeks in smaller Canadian cities vs the larger ones, there’s also a “fashion divide”. The larger fashion weeks make it hard for new talent to gain experience, they want bigger names, and when they showcase the new talent, they don’t promote the show well enough so attendance is low. Ryerson had a show at LGFW back in March but not many people attended. Those students are the future of our country’s fashion industry, we need to support them. If no one is going to come out and watch their show this is where the much smaller fashion weeks come in handy, it’s like a step for these designers awaiting to gain experience and some recognition, the confidence to participate in shows and eventually move onto larger fashion weeks and to stay in Canada. A lot of designers leave for opportunity in different markets why didn’t we provide them with that opportunity here? Ottawa Fashion Week didn’t start to compete with larger cities, only to promote the local designers and give them experience to build up their brand and move on. Otherwise, they’ll feel shunned out. We have great talent here – support it! Did I answer the question?

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Post Script – Danah passed along this poster for a fashion fundraiser in Ottawa – Fashion Cures à la mode – so if you’re in Ottawa, you should go.

The coolest thing about my series of Toronto Fashion Blogger Brunches was the tremendous diversity of the attendees – not all of us were university students or recent grads – we had some bonafide adults in the group including Eden Spodek of the Bargainista shopping blog.  Her perspective as an online professional, hobby fashion blogger and mom made for some fascinating conversations over coffee and eggs.  Besides scoping out deals for Bargainista, Eden also collaborates on the Community Divas podcast and has a day job in PR.  She’s always a terrific person to talk to about blogging and developing professional relationships online and in real life.  I asked her a few more questions along those lines here.

You have a unique perspective being both a shopping blogger and a PR professional.  What do you think fashion blogging has to teach PR, and vice versa?

Wow, Danielle! That’s a loaded question. All bloggers and PR professionals can benefit from learning how to work well together. There are several agencies that have been working with fashion bloggers for quite some time. I don’t know them well because I tend not to get out to Fashion Week. From what I’ve seen, some have done a good job of getting to know individual members of the Toronto fashion blogging community and tailor their approach accordingly.

The Toronto fashion/shopping blogger community can show PR practitioners how communities will grow organically and be self-regulating without following any rulebooks, codes of conduct or social media thought leaders.

You are very active in a number of online communities and have an interest in communities in general.  Given the breadth of your participation, do you have any comments on the fashion blogging scene in particular?

The local fashion blogging scene is a relatively mature online community. It’s a tight, passionate and supportive community that has always been welcoming to others – for instance, Anita Clarke found me online and asked me to participate in TFBB (a group you founded).

It’s mature in the sense that its members successfully demonstrated their knowledge and influence early on. Independent retailers, designers and PR companies specializing in fashion recognized the influence of the fashion community early on and invited members to participate in the same events as traditional media, did their research and engaged bloggers on their terms. (That’s not to say there weren’t and still aren’t some hiccups along the way.)

We were discussing a certain “coming of age” for personal blogs recently.  When turning a personal or hobby blog into a business venture, what are the pitfalls to avoid?

I’m probably not the best person to ask about this because I’ve made a hobby out of keeping Bargainista a hobby. <joking>

In all seriousness, the most important thing a blogger has is her reputation. It’s worth more than money. Her blog is influential because it’s an authentic representation of her passion, her perspective. If she does anything to compromise her integrity, her reputation may be gone for good.

Pitfalls to avoid – ghost blogging, pay-per-post, not disclosing when you’ve been given a product, service or access to an event because of your role as a blogger, dishonesty.

My advice: be careful of whatever decisions you make, be transparent and disclose any relationships that may be perceived as a conflict of interest by your community.

What has being a shopping blogger taught you about shopping?

I’ve learned that online conversations really do influence purchasing decisions. It’s one thing to see crowds gravitate towards an iPhone app or a book on Twitter, but it’s another when you meet a regular reader of your blog who shows you all the things she’s bought because of your blog posts. Customer review sites are going gangbusters. Fashion bloggers are showing up in Holt’s windows. Things are changing. Blogging is becoming more mainstream. Google is a shopper’s best friend.

Not enough retailers appear to be aware of the online discussions taking place around their stores or competitors. At the very least, they should be monitoring online conversation.

Once I had an employee from a North American retail chain get involved in the discussion about a change in their return policy. She seemed quite jaded and her comments towards customers were somewhat harsh. Another employee chimed in who would have made a great online ambassador. She told us the policy had been overturned after a three-month trial period and that the company does listen to customer feedback about such issues. Unfortunately, both employees remained anonymous except for initials. The company would have benefited by having a social media policy in place to govern employee behaviour online and possibly cultivating online ambassadors who could openly engage in online conversations with customers and potential customers.

What do you think the future of the fashion/shopping blogging trend will be in the next decade?

The next decade? Online technology and adoption is moving at such a rapid pace that I’d be remiss to predict what it will be like even two years from now. However, I think we’ll see more online conversations with more brands participating. We’ll see a greater reliance on peer reviews and online customer review communities. I think online shopping will increase, especially as 3D web becomes commonplace and the barriers to entry decrease.

Gloria is another fashion blog friend discovered over brunch back in the day.  Her blog, UrbaneBloc covers fashion, shopping and gadgets, music and design… you know, things she likes! It is both personal and polished which is an admirable combination in a fashion blog.

She also has a quirky sense of humour and a soft voice which combined is instantly endearing.  I asked her a few questions about what she likes and how she blogs.

UrbaneBloc is one of the sites I like to click through from my RSS feed for because the look is so distinctive. How did you arrive at the design for the site, including the gorgeous logo and the style of captions-on-photos?

Thank you so much – it means so much coming from a talented fashion illustrator such as yourself! I think it took a lot of trial and error to get to this point – it’s a mash up of aesthetic styles I like. The captions are always a product of toying with effects, and sometimes beautiful fluke.

For the urbanebloc logo, I knew I wanted something simple and universal (meaning it would appeal to anyone and everyone, and could apply to all aspects of fashion and culture coverage).

The design of the site was just something that evolved over time. Be on the look out for the next version within the next little while!

You teamed up with Chris from Mindzai.com two years in a row to curate The Peek, an exhibition of contemporary local artists and designers. How did the idea for the Peek come about, and how do you and Chris pick the artists for The Peek?

THE PEEK is an event that originally started out as a Mindzai.com event – Chris is one of my best friends so I wanted to contribute. It grew into something much more, a collaborative effort. Instead of showcasing visual and graphic artists, we brought in a fusion of fashion, music, photography, and visual arts. It was a really unique blend of people that we knew from the Toronto community. We reached out to artists that represented the most incredible emerging talent, many of whom we had admired in the past.

Besides fashion UrbaneBloc also covers techy stuff, music and urban culture. So I have to ask, how do you define “urban culture”?

I have a fascination with city-slicker lifestyle – much of which stemmed from the fact that I’m an uptown dweller. I love the culture that’s housed in the epicenter (sorry, geek word) of a city. I love to play downtown – the trendiest, most sophisticated, and downright most interesting folk congregate and create this urban culture. It’s not necessarily the most popular trends that dictate this culture. But that’s my take.

What are your favourite blogs, websites and magazines?

I’m a fan of Toronto fashion blogs. Yulanda from Little Thoughts is great, Final Fashion (love the illustration style), I check in with lookbook.nu sometimes. The standard FashionToast is always great, because you wonder how she gets her photos to look the way she does (and it’s something that’s coming for urbanebloc.com). I love lookbooks that are created by online retailers, like Shopbop.com, RevolveClothing.com, and ModCloth.com (dream job – being a stylist for a plethora of branded beauties). Magazine favourites include the general FASHION Mag, but I definitely dig the more independent ones like MetroPop, and The Block has some nifty looks. Lula is a magazine that’s pretty hard to obtain sometimes – but it’s filled with pages upon pages of beautiful imagery.

What have you learned from the process of developing UrbaneBloc for the past two years?

So much that I don’t know if I could confine it to anything remotely succinct in description! I learned that blogging is a huge undertaking – it’s about being connected online and offline. I learned that you only get out of it as much as you put into it. In this case, I’ve put a lot of my life into it and I’ve seen an abundance of positive response and results – much of which has been a reflection of my fantastic friends and readers.

I’m definitely happy on the path that I’m on. All the other perks are just icing on the delectable cupcake.

Zoe of verbal croquis is one of my first ever fashion blog friends.  When I found out she was a finalist (and eventually, winner) for the Gen Art competition way back in 2006 I immediately bought my bus ticket to New York City so I could go and meet her.  We were instant friends and kindred spirits. Despite all the bright lights of NYC my favourite memory of that trip is wearing kimonos and having long conversations in Zoe’s hotel room.

Zoe’s a born fashion designer whose natural ability is matched by her work ethic.  Her blog, verbal croquis, is an incredibly candid and passionate perspective on the rewards and risks of her calling and the archives are a recommended resource for anyone who has fashion fever.  I asked her a few more questions about this thing called fashion.

What are you working on these days?

I’m in month 8 of my year-long no-plan plan, just trying to work and play and make as many cool things as possible and make some money along the way in as undisciplined a manner as my OCD, anal-retentive, type-A, order-loving little heart will allow. I used my corsetmaking knowledge to make some belts-that-don’t-keep-your-pants-up. I made a wedding dress. I made things for myself for the first time ever. I bought myself a drawing horse and drew a lot, which I hadn’t had time for in a long time. I collaborated with some interesting people.

Right now, I’m working on my next collection. When will it be done? What’s it look like? I don’t know. There’s no plan. It’s scary and fun at the same time. Like a roller coaster. I just hope I don’t get stuck like the folks at Great America last week.

In such a saturated, competitive and mature market, what do you think the better options are now for someone who wants to live the life of a fashion designer?

Someone “who wants to live the life of a fashion designer” or someone who wants to be a fashion designer? Haha.

With the Consumer Product Safety Improvement and Design Piracy Prohibition Acts, it gets harder and harder every day to be a fashion designer. At the same time, with all the niche markets, more people, both sellers and buyers, interested in becoming less mainstream, and websites like Etsy, it’s easier to be a designer than before. It all depends on what kind of designer you want to be.

If you want to cater to a small niche, or a very particular market, sell small volume of some amazing, precious items, I think the market will always support you. If you want to be the next Karl Lagerfeld, prepare for the long road. He’s developed this persona he loves of the amazing man who achieved everything from effortless genius but that’s a crock of crap and I doubt even he’s so deep into his own image to believe it completely.

I have always said, to people interested in fashion and anyone else who’s asked me, life is too short and work consumes too much of our time and energy to not pursue the thing you absolutely love the most in the whole wide world. The industry and the economy will weed itself. (How’s that for stream of consciousness?)

How do you see the role of fashion designers changing as we enter the next decade?

You know what would be awesome? If designers could go back to being designers instead of faces for their brand. My worst nightmare is for everyone to know about my engagement, my rehab, my latest zit, galavanting about at parties to amuse buyers into buying–and I’m just talking about the stuff I read in WWD headlines. I am one of the least ‘hip’ people I know. I’m happiest in my studio, knee deep in oak tag clippings and croquis. Parties scare me. At the same time, I want to be a successful designer with the respect of my peers, known in my industry without the pop celebrity.

What is it about fashion that holds your fascination?

The excuse to dream. Being a fashion designer is having a ready-made excuse to dream of the most amazing things and try to fabricate them and call it “work” and sometimes even get paid. The rest, ordering, costing, invoicing, grading, measuring, the caffeine swilling, the band-aid wearing, the head-scratching, the teeth-grinding, it’s the price you pay for the privilege of having that excuse.

When I first started Toronto Fashion Bloggers Brunch, I was thrilled to discover how many different types of bloggers there were in the city – shopping bloggers, street style bloggers, outfit bloggers – and beauty bloggers.  Henna was part of our core group of merry brunchsters – her site, Canadian Beauty, covers all aspects of beauty with a focus on products that are available in Canada.

Henna has since moved away to Calgary and we miss her here in Hogtown – I asked her a few questions about beauty blogging and the scene in her new hometown.

As a beauty blogger, your main focus is on products – how many products do you actually use in your own routine? How do you go about testing new products?

Well, there are really two kinds of products as I see them: routine and regular use products, and then there are products that you use sporadically. The ones in the latter column include makeup items like eyeshadow and lipgloss. I don’t have to make these a part of my routine to know whether they’re good or not. I can use them once in a while and generally, if I’m not satisfied with my very first use, then there’s something wrong with them.

The routine and regular use products include moisturizer, masks, body wash, etc. Those that are reviewed on my blog, really HAVE become a part of my routine! I enjoy using them so much that I can’t help but put them into my routine. The thing is, unlike most people, my rotation of products that I use on a regular basis is quite large. I have about 5 different masks that I use on a regular basis and that have different solutions. I have a moisturizer but I don’t use it daily – just when my skin feels really dry. I have different foundations for different days and even different powders for different days. When I like a product it becomes part of my routine – some times it replaces something I already have, and some times it doesn’t.

You are much missed in Toronto since you moved to Calgary – have you had the chance to check out the fashion and beauty blogging scene in your new home, and how does it compare to Toronto? Any recommendations for great western beauty and fashion bloggers?

I’ve checked out the fashion and beauty scene some in Calgary. I moved out here in October, and I think the biggest shock to me was that people don’t go out in the winter. Imagine going downtown on a Saturday and finding it completely empty simply because it’s the weekend. That changes a bit in the summer here, especially because there are so many festivals, but for the most part, “the scene” in Calgary is a lot different to the one in Toronto. The city is divided into quadrants and people generally don’t like to leave their own quadrants. It’s a really strange phenomenon to someone who comes from a big city, but Calgary is a sprawl and very suburban despite its size. That’s changing but very slowly.

Bloggers here are also far and few in between. It’s one thing to find someone who really has a strong blog identity, but in Calgary I haven’t even met too many people who have personal blogs. (editors note: Henna you need to meet Kim from Calgary Fashion!) I guess most people are too busy watching hockey! PR in Calgary is a lot different too, and it seems that businesses seem reluctant to make contact with bloggers. Perhaps it has something to do with the conservativeness out here, but many businesses are not interested in promoting themselves on any kind of big scale.

One of the conversations we had that left a great impression on me was your debunking the myth of “making pores disappear”. How do you separate the reality from the hype when it comes to the beauty industry?

Ahhh Beauty Myths. I think beauty myths are one of my biggest pet peeves because no matter how much I write about them, people still buy into them! For example, I cannot express how important it is to wear sunscreen every day. There are countless independent studies that show that the sun causes skin cancer, and in these days and times, we’re within 3 degrees of someone who has had severe consequences to sun bathing. Yet, I still have friends who go to tanning salons or the sun is “really good” for them. I even know of someone who thinks that it’s the sunscreen causing cancer and not the sun. People don’t understand that the darker you get from the sun, the more skin damage you have. I’ve accepted that there’s nothing I can do to help people understand what the truth is because people only listen when they’re ready, and they’re ready when they see the negative consequences with their own eyes.

The other part of beauty myths is the potions that companies sell to make people feel better about themselves. No matter how ridiculous it is to think that a cream can get rid of cellulite, people will still buy products that claim to do it, and part of the problem is that companies will still try to sell these magic potions.

I understand that beauty is about transformation – that’s why I’m drawn to it in the first place. But it’s transformation within reason. You can have lashes that look thicker, but nothing out there is going to grow more lashes for you. I think the most I can do is refuse to cover products that feed into the beauty myths (that’s largely one reason that I don’t really cover anti-aging products, also I’m not of the age that I need them).

Carolyn Rohaly has been a friend since first year of fashion school.  She is a creative writer, a sweet rock star (see photo at left by Caitlin Cronenberg), and always has a lot of projects large and small on the go.

She writes the Toronto Fashion Incubator diary blog, where she explores fashion news that affects entrepreneurs and does interviews with people in the fashion industry.  She was also my co-blogger at Rags and Mags (RIP).  She is also the author of the top-secret manuscript “Military Chic” which is a hilarious novel which someday I hope all of you will read.

Carolyn and I share a fascination and affection for the characters in the fashion scene in Toronto – from the media establishment to the scrappiest of up-and-coming designers.  She also has a terrific sense of humour.  For that reason I love to collaborate with her on projects that both send up and celebrate our little corner of the fashion world – and if she doesn’t have time for that, she is always a brilliant friend to brunch with.

I asked her a few questions about fashion in Toronto.

What is it about the fashion scene in Toronto that inspires you to write stories?

There are so many untold stories about Toronto fashion that it’s time to share the joy, optimism, and youthfulness of the scene. Stories from Paris, Milan, London, and New York have already been told. I like to write about what I know and I know about clothing designed by friends and colleagues where I live. Brands based in other cities don’t register with me.

You work in both the film industry and the fashion industry – what are the connections and contrasts between your two worlds?

I started in both industries through costume design and worked wardrobe on a couple of indie films. Then I fell into a film job that is more production and administration-oriented and realized I didn’t like shopping enough to pursue costume design.

To work in either industry, you have to have passion about what you want to do. Working in fashion or film takes so much work and can be so crushing, but if you love it, you can’t do anything else.

Oh, and in both worlds, the glamor is maybe 1-5% of the job. The rest is hard work.

You’ve interviewed a lot of cool people for the TFI blog. Do you have a few favourite interviews you would like to share?  (Note:  The TFI blog is not searchable – something it should be!!  So sadly I do not have the time to go through it all to find these specific interviews – all I can tell you is that it is a blog well worth reading from the beginning when you have some time to really enjoy it.)

Thanks! After I stopped working on my clothing line, I didn’t have much to blog about, so I started interviewing designers. I loved my first interview with Wonderlust designer, Hannah Melville. All of a sudden, I felt like a journalist, which wasn’t a career plan, but I enjoyed interviews and wanted to do more.

I realized that designers would benefit from interviews with other people in the fashion industry, so I interviewed model agents, stylists, photographers, and am always looking for interesting new people to chat with. I get inspired by visiting designer studios and talking about business rather than “what’s new this season”.

A few favourite interviews happened out at events when I thought, “Hey, there’s so-and-so. I should talk to her/him.” So far, nobody has declined. I enjoyed my Fashion Cares series last year where I interviewed a bunch of people involved in the event, from Artistic Director Phillip Ing to performer Kreesha Turner. Somehow I can always figure out a way to get fashion business advice from someone.

What are your favourite fashion blogs, websites and magazines?

My fashion reading leans toward local and DIY, so I’m a big fan of Final Fashion! I always read Nathalie Atkinson’s National Post style coverage, Andrew Sardone in NOW, and Rea McNamara in EYE WEEKLY. International publications I read include Jezebel, BUST, and Worn Journal, though WORN is based in Toronto. That makes me happy.

Do you see the Canadian fashion industry as a separate entity from the international fashion industry? Does it have its own unique concerns or advantages?

Canada is a baby on the world fashion scene and began as a wannabe New York, but now it’s developing a voice. some would say voices since there is not one all-encompassing Canadian Fashion Week. With so many enthusiastic fashion designers, journalists, bloggers, stylists, photographers, and models, I see nothing but uniqueness and advantage to the Canadian fashion industry. Since everyone wants it to prosper, I have only experienced support and hope it stays that way.

I met Anthea of Clothes Line Finds last fall when she came to Toronto (from Vancouver) to volunteer at Fashion Week.  While she was here, she brought together a few local bloggers for a brunch meet-up – a fashion blogger after my own heart.  Since then she has gone to Japan – covering fashion events there and giving lucky readers a taste of what its like to be a fashion blogger in the land of the rising sun.

Recently she hired me to create a new header for her blog!  I selected some choice garments from her archives and had fun “tying in” the clothes line title.

I asked her a few questions about fashion blogging and her international life.

What inspired you to start Clothes Line Finds?

As I was finishing up my undergraduate degree, I decided that I wanted to pursue fashion journalism. I had been actively involved in the Vancouver Fashion scene: I had modeled, dressed models and attended fashion shows. I was spending a lot of time reading fashion blogs and so I started my own! I found that blogging allowed me to write freely on a variety of themes and subjects. It has given me the opportunity to see and blog about Vancouver, Toronto and Japan Fashion Weeks!

You’ve relocated to Japan and have been posting about a lot of Japanese events and fashion designers. How would you compare the Japanese fashion scene to the scene in Canada?

The Japanese Fashion Scene is unlike anything I have ever seen. My first experience with the scene was for Japan Fashion Week. The production of the shows was meticulous and the shows were always full! The collections were beautiful and designers were willing to participate in interviews and talk with the press. There were a lot of bloggers in attendance at Toronto and Vancouver Fashion Weeks. I didn’t see very many bloggers at Japan Fashion Week. It would be great to see a wider variety of media sources attending Japan Fashion Week to help spread the word. I will be attending again in October and I can’t wait!

What are your favourite magazines, blogs and websites?

It is really difficult to find English magazines here in Japan! They are also really expensive. I have resorted to reading Women’s Wear Daily, ELLE Magazine online, Who What Wear Daily, Harper’s Bazaar, New York Magazine and The New York Times. I also keep up with the Toronto and Vancouver fashion blogs too: Style By Fire, Solo Lisa, Final Fashion, Rantings of a Fashion Addict and With Love… I have met with many of these fabulous ladies at blogger lunches (Vancouver and Toronto) and kept up with them over the past year.

Do you plan on returning to Canada? What are your goals for Clothes Line Finds?

I will be returning to Canada in December 09. I will be applying for Masters Programs in Journalism for the Fall of 2010! I have really enjoyed attending Japan Fashion Week and blogging about the Japan Fashion Scene. I hope to continue traveling after Japan and attend Fashion Weeks in other cities around the world!

One of the greatest omissions in my fashion education as a design student was the incredible influence that public relations has on almost every aspect of the industry.  Graduating with very vague, biased perceptions of PR, I was unprepared for the extent that it would become a part of my life as both a fashion blogger and an entrepreneur.

PR Couture is the only website of its kind that I know of.  Crosby Noricks, a publicist and educator, has managed to bridge the gap between fashion blogging and fashion PR.  The site is a bit like a trade magazine – informative and entertaining.  I asked her a few questions about her industry and her career.

Do you have any heroes or mentors in the fashion PR business? What have they taught you?

This question kind of throws me because I haven’t really had any professional mentors, most of the time it’s me just fumbling through trying to do my best. There are certainly practitioners I respect, and through PR Couture I now count myself lucky to have a community of practitioners I can ask for feedback or advice, but it’s really been quite the solo climb.

What are your favourite fashion blogs, websites and magazines?

Ah! This question is much easier. Let’s see – for print Lula and Bust are my favorites. Online I read a ton – Independent Fashion Bloggers, Fashionista, The Business of Fashion and The Daily Obsession are current must-reads, for inspiration I like Garance Dore, Lookbook, NotCouture, and for a quick pick me up I check out Think Simple Now.

Public Relations has a very superficial image in popular culture and its characters are not often remembered outside the industry. Can you tell me of any anecdotes, names or events that define the best of fashion PR, either fictional, historical, or recent?

Originally, garments were advertised for their function and durability. It was through the influence of people like Edward Bernays (often referred to as the Father of PR) who understood how to tap into human desire and leverage the human condition, that PR was used to help companies promote goods – no longer based on function but personal expression, cultural affinity (or a reaction against it), etc. I like the example of how Edward Bernays got women to smoke in the US (when previously it was completely culturally unacceptable), by making it seem that by not smoking, women weren’t supporting suffrage. He did this (I’m glossing over the particulars a bit) by having a bunch of pretty lady suffragettes light up during a big parade. The power, influence, and ethics of PR are worth examining and addressing. In terms of fashion PR, I think a lot about our responsbility to share messaging that makes women feel good about themselves, that is respectful of both the industry and the individual.

What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?

I think that’s still to come. What’s most meaningful to me are the emails, requests for coffee and anecdotal stories I get from young women intersted in fashion PR who tell me I had an impact on them and that they appreciate what I do and what I have to say, or practitioners who let me know that PR Couture inspired them to start their own agency.

One of my favourite things about fashion blogging is making friends and watching eachother grow up and grow into our blogs as our lives change, and we learn stuff.

Shortly after I started blogging I noticed Isabel at Hipster Musings – she was a teenager who didn’t take the H-word too seriously.  It used to be subtitled “a bitch fashion blog” or something like that.

I loved her style and was kind of blog-starstruck when she visited Toronto and called me up to hang out a couple times.  Isabel, you can call me any time.

Since 2006 Isabel has graduated from high school and moved on to university, where she is in an academic program completely unrelated to fashion.  She has even been featured in Teen Vogue.  Best of all, she still hangs out with us internet types, sharing her punk-magpie outfits and sweet and snarky little slices of life.

I asked her a few questions about fashion blogging.

Why did you start Hipster Musings?

To be completely honest, I don’t really remember. I guess I just had something to say and needed to vent about it on the internet. Which is kind of funny thinking about it, because sometimes I have to censor myself because I know a lot of friends read the blog.

How would you describe your style? Has it changed as you graduated from high school and started university?

My style is constantly evolving, so much so that I couldn’t even describe to you in what ways my look has changed. I have become more selective with the pictures of myself that get uploaded. In high school I was a lot more willing to post crappy mirror shots of myself. Now most fashion blogs are so “high-quality” that I wouldn’t even dream of that anymore.

What are your favourite blogs, websites and magazines?

I follow a shitload of blogs on that Bloglovin’ website, but I am rather partial to Style Rookie. She’s my favourite! I am also consistently inspired by The Selby.

What is your favourite part of fashion blogging?

Comments! Every time I open up me email inbox there’s a bunch of little self-esteem boosters that I can smile at. I also love doing clothing swaps with bloggers! Recycling yet still receiving is an excellent feeling.