Ever since I put the word out there that I was into clothes, I’ve become a lot better dressed.  Thanks to all the publicists who’ve responded so generously. The latest opportunity came courtesy of the good people at GAP Canada.  They’ve just launched gapcanada.ca, offering online shopping, free shipping and returns to Canadian customers and they invited the media, and me, to give it a spin.

I ordered a pair of black pants off the site in 5 minutes because that’s my shopping style (just want to get it over with), and they shipped to my door within 3 days which is pretty amazing, GAP built a whole new distribution centre just to be able to make magic like that happen. But here’s the thing with shopping online – pants are tricky to fit, and they never look quite the same on you as they do on the supermodel in the picture. So I got to test out another gapcanada.ca promise, that items from the site can also be exchanged in a bricks and mortar store.

I took it to the GAP store in the Eaton Centre where I was enthusiastically greeted as the first ever .ca exchanger.  The computer didn’t quite know what to make of it but the sales clerks made the switch happen anyway. Great service from start to finish. I picked a new tank top and cardigan which feels nice and cozy on the first cool day of September.

It is such a pleasure to see major retailers like GAP making efforts to deliver a great online shopping experience to Canadians. Especially as someone who grew up in a rural part of Canada, the ability to have easy access to the same stores as urban dwellers would have been a dream come true. Access to fashion regardless of location is a trend I whole heartedly support.  Thanks GAP.

Over the Rainbow in Yorkville is a favourite client – once upon a time they invited me to create a repurposed denim globe to hang in the window, one of the most unusual and fun projects I have ever had. It was so much fun to return to the store for a tour from the owner, Joel, and his son Daniel, talking about 35 years in the jeans business in Toronto. Joel entered the business on a whim, sharing a small space with an alterationist, and since then has grown his business to take over three stories at 101 Yorkville Avenue. Over the Rainbow is known for a wide selection of denim and an equally diverse customer base of all ages, a sincere love of jeans and tremendous, kind attitude.

Joel picked these jeans out for me right away – sure, I insisted on trying on a few more, but 35 years of experience gives him pitch-perfect selection and I went back to the first choice.  These are AG Premieres, a deliciously substantial denim that looks and feels expensive. Shortened with a european hem to the perfect length, and I have my new favourite pair of jeans – and incidentally, the skinniest jeans I have ever worn.

Thanks to Kat Lourenco for patiently taking the photos in this post.

To celebrate their significant birthday, the good people at Over the Rainbow are having a party!  If you’re in Toronto its a terrific opportunity to celebrate a downtown denim institution. August 27th and 28th, 101 Yorkville Avenue.

My glasses broke last week. I’ve had the glasses for seven years, and they’ve very much become part of my signature look. It was inevitable that they would break at some point, but I was emotionally and practically unprepared. I have no backup glasses, and the fix-it shop said it would take until Monday. So I got contact lenses. Its been a bit strange to go back to contacts, which I haven’t worn since I was a teenager. I’m so used to seeing my face with glasses, and it sort of feels like my face is incomplete or boring without glasses. On the other hand, I’m excited for the possibility of acquiring sunglasses.

This dress I made recently using a similar pattern to this dress, but with the added nerdy-fun of getting to match plaid.

I’m really pleased with the navy blue heels.  I saw them at Haus and instantly knew they would fit perfectly and I had to have them.  They’re a perfect, low, comfortable feminine heel. I would love a similar pair in white, now I’m on the lookout for similar styles.

Even though I am not a designer, sometimes I am seized with a desire to make a dress. Even if I have better things to do, I’ll find myself feverishly drafting, cutting and sewing to make my idea in the cloth. This is one of those dresses. I shamelessly imitated the bodice of the Butikofer dress I love, but redesigned the skirt to suit some oatmeal crinkle cotton I had on hand, left over from my grad collection.

Once I put it on, I don’t want to take it off.  It doesn’t even come across in pictures just how pretty this dress makes me look and feel. I get an unprecedented amount of compliments and attention in this dress, it is like it is made out of some sort of magic sense of attraction or something.

The maxi trend suits me just fine – it shows off the body parts I love (my shoulders, back, waist and arms), hides what I don’t love as much (my legs and ankles), and just manages to seem so effortless and dressed up at the same time.  I’m planning on making a couple more long skirts and dresses next time the inspiration grips me.  There really is nothing like imagining something and making it real.

A few weeks ago, I was skipping town for the weekend and realized that besides my sandals, all of my footwear consisted of massive, heavy duty boots, which are impractical for hot summers like this one and also far too clunky to throw into a little bag when you need to get out of town.  Solution?  On the way to my destination, I stopped into a small town mall (in Peterborough) and bought these classic navy blue hi-tops.  Hard to believe, but these are my first ever pair of Converse All Stars in my life. As a teenager, I don’t remember them being as popular as Vans and Docs. They’re more of a Generation X thing, I think, I seem to recall my youngest aunt wearing them.

Back in the city, I suddenly started to notice them everywhere, and in particular I noticed that I liked to see them worn with a bit of flair – care and attention to the lacing seems like a subtle way of showing that style matters to you. I found this site, all about lacing up your Chuck Taylors, and had to try it out, going for the “straight across” lacing on my hi-tops. As a fashion student, I had a bit of a thing for lacing, but somehow that never translated to my boots.  Something about the white laces makes me want to play around.

Serendipity called, now that I had bought my first pair, I got an invitation from the PR for Converse in Toronto to come and check out the fall collection.  We had a little tour showing All-Stars for every taste. I particularly like the alt textile converse – wool, suede and corduroy (especially because I’ve been predicting the return of corduroy, not that I’d ever wear it), and the plaids. If you haven’t yet seen it, take a look at the Dr. Suess collaboration it is ridiculous and delightful.

Thanks so much to Converse for a generous gift – a pair of pale grey, low profile one-stars, which I laced up “triangle” fashion.

How do you lace up your Chucks?

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.

This is my current go-to, wear-everywhere sundress.  I picked it up while helping out at the Butikofer booth at The Clothing Show last fall, and it hung around all winter, waiting patiently, for gorgeous summer weather just like today.  It is comfortable, makes me look and feel petite, put together, and cool even when it is humid. Just an all-around ingenious design.  The back view, below, shows how the straps are adjustable, making it easy to fit to preference.

I’m wearing it with thrifted sandals and a belt which was a hand-me-down from my Mom. Adrienne says she doesn’t have any more of these dresses in stock – which is a shame – I’m trying to talk her into cutting just a few more to indulge me.

Julian Roberts came en route from Kent State in New York to Ryerson University in Toronto this week to demonstrate his Subtraction Cutting technique.  This is an event I have been lobbying for, for a long time, and thanks to Sandra Ericson of the Center for Pattern Design, Robert Ott, the Chair of the Ryerson School of Fashion, and Charanya Bala of Balanche Communications, my wish became reality this week.  To say that it was a marvelous day would be a vast understatement.  It was so much fun.

Julian cut a dress live, in front of us.  The class was full of fashion design all-stars – Heidi Ackerman, John Hillifer, Adrienne Butikofer, Cristina Sabaiduc, and Canada’s own fashion fairy godmother, Linda Lundstrom, were all in attendance, among other students, teachers, and professional designers.  The cohesion and enthusiasm of the class was obvious once we all cut our own dresses – there was a remarkable atmosphere of playfulness but also the cool sense of proficiency you get only when you are surrounded by talented people immersed in something they find fascinating.

This is Julian showing his dress on his assistant, Rachel.

I made my own dress out of a length of white bemberg lining and pink plaid sheer sparkle poly organza, intending to create something light which showed the inner seams to display some of the construction of the garment.

This is the “tunnel technique” where the dress is made of a long tube, through which the body passes in and out as if through a winding cave.

I also used the tunnel idea to create two more holes at the front and the back of the bodice, but just for the white linear effect, these holes are too small for the body to go through.

It was such a thrilling day, it was almost overwhelming – and just like that, it was over.  Julian is now in Vancouver at Kwantlen, and then on to California. Thank you to Julian and everyone who made this day such a dream come true, and I hope very much that we can do it again.

Remember my New Years resolution to grow my hair out?  Back in January, I lucked out and won a twitter contest for a haircut with Greg May, which is quite the coup considering he coifs so many of Toronto’s most fashionable and influential women.  At the time, I barely had any hair to cut, but I knew I would need that cut somewhere along the line, and the Trash Fusion Competition show I’m modelling in this weekend (!) provided the perfect opportunity.

After seven or eight months away from the shears, my hair was in a terrible, uneven state, which is why I wore ponytails every single day.  I asked Greg to give me a haircut that would allow me to transition to longer hair, and a haircut which didn’t announce itself too loudly as a capital-H haircut.  I wanted something that would just let me be me and look good doing it.  I have had more than enough wacky haircuts in my 20s, and at 27 it feels like the right time to transition to something more natural. Not as much fun as a fancy edged-out cut, yet subtlety requires a skilled hand and Greg certainly has those – as well as a tremendous, genuine personality.  We hit it off right away and I felt at ease, and now that the cut is done I feel prettier than I have in years, no kidding.  Thanks so much Greg!

Perfect weather for a jacket today. Rayanne Langdon from High Road Communications recently sent me a packable Denver Hayes rain jacket from Mark’s… a thoughtfully selected gift considering I never seem to have an umbrella handy and a well timed one considering I forgot my other favourite rain jacket at my parent’s’ place.  I also appreciate the big pockets, zippered hood and the rolled cuff snap detail. Rolled cuff is definitely one of my signatures, I own many items with this feature. This jacket folds up into a little bag that easily fits in a purse and is lighter than an umbrella. Thanks so much Rayanne!

Mark’s is rebranding, dropping the Work and the Wearhouse from the name and courting the favour of fashionable friends like Gail of Fashion Magnet.  It is all good stuff, certainly the old name was clunky even for pun-lovers like me. When I remarked on the revisions to my man, Ray, a frequent Mark’s customer, he said he hoped they weren’t getting too metrosexual about it. There just aren’t that many stores out there with such an incredible selection of heavy-duty canvas pants and steel toed work boots, which Ray wears and wears out.  When I think of Mark’s, I think hardworking and unpretentious, just like Ray, just like this jacket.

Chose an Ashley Rowe-customized American Apparel tank to brighten things up a bit.  Turquoise is a new colour for me.  Did I jump in the puddle? Yes, I did, but the pictures turned out a little too goofy even for me.