It was neat to be included among the press to preview a new project at the Hudson’s Bay Company.  A number of celebrated Canadian designers had the opportunity re-envision that most Canadian of garments, the iconic Hudson’s Bay Point Blanket coat.  I want – I got has all the details and photos.

I particularly liked Smythe‘s version, a cropped, swingy jacket with a hood.

The catering for this media preview was truly outstanding – perfect little morsels of Canadiana, minus (thankfully) poutine.  The greatest highlight was a candlelit bar where they served sugar snow candy, a treat that was a first for me.

I couldn’t stick around very long but I enjoyed the opportunity to preview this collection very much. Thank you HBC.

Last night I got to watch The Style Box‘s preview of the fashions we’ll see on the stage and red carpet of the Gemini Awards.  All of the models were Canadian actors, actresses, nominees and presenters, and they all looked very glamourous in Canadian fashions.

See a couple more photos below the fold.

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Last Friday, that is, not yesterday but a week before yesterday, I went to the Filippa K showroom to preview the Spring/Summer 2010 collection. I asked if I could bring along my friend Anita, who is more into shopping than I am.  Neither of us were very familiar with the brand.

Filippa K is a Swedish brand and their sales rep, Emma, is Swedish too.  She’s very friendly with a terrific smile, and it was interesting chat with her about the clothes and the designer. It was a bit less interesting to sit and watch a very slow, tranquil video with no clothes at all and Filippa K the designer talking about the brand.

The lookbook for SS10 included illustrations!  Its always a treat to see a designer’s sketches, these ones are lovely, understated watercolours.  Click for big.

We got to try things on and chat with other bloggers (including stylist Tricia Campbell).  This jacket that Anita is wearing is incredibly light and unstructured while still looking crisp and tailored.

Filippa K’s family background was in denim – her parents ran a denim label that was ubiquitous in Sweden in the seventies and eighties – and the clothes have really sophisticated casual feel.  Most of the fabrics feel lovely, and the colours – saturated reds and blues appealed to my taste (as did the Swedish meatballs).  It is interesting how a sense of “Swedishness” came through all of the designs in a very subtle way, without any overt references to anything literal.  That is a trick that I would like to see more Canadian designers master.

Anita of top Toronto shopping blog I want – I got let me tag along with her to check out the new Attitude collection from SEARS.  It was neat to get to visit the offices up the tower at Yonge and Dundas, endless cubicles with parking garage-style signposts, and enter the Media Room where the fall collections were displayed for our perusal.

SEARS is known for conservative department store clothing and housewares and also the SEARS Catalogue.  One of my earliest fashion memories was perusing the Sears catalogue page by page over the phone with my best friend.  We lived in a rural area where there really wasn’t anywhere to shop.  The SEARS catalogue was the closest thing to fashion available, and we spent hours plotting how we would make the mature and pedestrian items look cool.

The Attitude collection would have been a dream come true to my earlier retail-deprived self.  Designed by a fresh young team in the SEARS HQ in Toronto, the collection delivers fashion-forward basics that are of-the-moment and also affordable – thanks to the finest man made fibres available.

Anita and I both shrugged on the already-famous-in-fashion-circles boyfriend jacket and were impressed with the effortless look and the soft handfeel.  A double-collared sweater looked amazing on but the coarse texture didn’t make it feel like a deal. If it seems like I am fussing about feel a lot, its because I can’t think of anything more important, especially in a catalogue item – but I know the touch factor is not at the top of everyone’s priorities.

The Attitude collection has some versatile and value-conscious pieces well worth checking out. It hits the floor of the stores this week – because it is already fall in the fashion world.  I bet the must-have hits won’t last until “real” fall.