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.

As you can see, this is me trying out the Photo Booth thingy on the new iMac. Bear with me, the novelty has not worn off yet.  I’m wearing a new summer-weight cardigan sent to me by LINE Knitwear.  It is soft as anything, a modal/cashmere blend, in a perfect coral colour with navy details. When it comes to colour, it seems like the universe loves to see me in pink and blue.

It is the little details that make a designer garment – on this cardigan it is all about the gold buttons and the interesting detail at the back, sort of a playful take on layered dressing without all the layers.

LINE also sent the incredibly versatile charcoal linen shrug which I wore to my little paper doll party at Magnolia last week.

Thanks so much LINE Knitwear and Ashley MacIntyre for the perfectly selected gifts! I have hardly taken them off since I opened the box last week.

How are Dr. Martens like hobbits?  Well, for their fiftieth anniversary, they give the best gifts.  In my case, I gratefully received a pair of zippered, patent red leather 16-holers.  At first, I was a bit intimidated by them, they were so… shiny, slick, snazzy.  When worn with black, they bordered on goth-y.  My current obsession is a mission to embrace colour.  To help me, I enlisted the aid of Ashley Rowe.

Ashley Rowe is a fashion designer whose Fall 2010 collection included a line of original, one-of-a-kind splattered T-shirts.  Each lovingly shot one by one with a watergun full of paint, they are a steal starting at $75. Its fun and spontaneous.  I asked her if it was possible to do boots, and she went for it!  I wanted something preppy-punk, so I asked for blue…

… and white.  I was literally making squeaks and groans with pleasure as Ashley splattered my boots.  So good! Love love love!

These are epic.

I’m wearing

• shirt – Attitude by SEARS
• jeans – Paper Denim & Cloth
• boots – !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Dr. Martens, thank you Ashley Rowe!

BONUS GIF: big thank you to rock-it promotions for inviting me out to the Precious Metal Gala, my first perfect opportunity to rock the boots.  It was a fun night of activities for ladies, sponsored by Harley-Davidson with proceeds going to support Rethink Breast Cancer.  I had so much fun, I mostly forgot to take pictures, but I did manage to get three of me, improbably lifting an extremely heavy motorcycle.

It is a beautiful day in Toronto, windy, sunny and rainy all at the same time.  This post might as well be called “how I learned to stop worrying and love the outfit photo post.” I’ve resisted long enough, it is time to admit that it is part of my repertoire – and is much more fun to do now that the weather allows me to go outside and perform for the neighborhood.

• shirt – Marc by Marc Jacobs
• tanks – American Apparel and Attitude by Sears
• jeans – Fidelity, Houston style, viper rinse
• boots – Dr. Martens, designed by yours truly

Today I got to go visit Over the Rainbow – one of my favourite clients ever – try on a selection of Fidelity Denim and take a pair for myself, thanks to Faulhaber PR.  It couldn’t have come at a better time – my beloved Paper Denim & Cloth jeans (I’m wearing them in this post) are on the edge of developing their first hole, so my prayers to the denim gods were answered.

Speaking of the denim gods, I got to speak to one of their emissaries – Jason Trotzuk, the man with his name on the Fidelity label, was there to gamely answer our questions, even questions about boyfriends and jeggings (he’s not a fan of either). I liked him right away – he has that right kind of intensity that serves a designer well.

I asked him if designing denim was more art or science?  He said, it is an art, at least when it comes to divining what is now or next – but a science when it comes to execution. He described how he works with mills in Italy to develop exclusive fabrics, and all of the stages of construction and production which happens in Los Angeles.  I asked him if jeans are about fashion or function?  Here he was adamant – its about function first.  Sure, Fidelity makes the nod to trends, but for most customers, jeans are to be worn and loved for many seasons.

Lastly, I got nitty-gritty – why do all of Fidelity’s jeans have stretch?  I’m a 100% cotton kind of girl. Jason laughed – he delivers what his customers want, and most of them want jeans with a bit of give. I’m the kind of masochist who loves the way real cotton binds, yields, and fades, but hey, I’m on a boho blogger budget, and Fidelity is all about premium pants. So I’m only too happy to give these Houstons a spin. I love the way they look, they will be getting a lot of wear out of me.  Thanks Fidelity.

I went to visit OZ studios to chat with designer Evan Biddell about a project… and part of the deal was I got to pick a piece to take with me.  I didn’t even have to think about it – I wanted this jacket the instant I saw it.  Evan cautioned me when I picked it off the rack that it would eat me alive – and he said if I changed my mind I could go back and switch to something safer… forget it!  It feels hyperactive and powerful to wear, and it automatically takes a great pair of jeans and classic 1460s to a dressed-to-kill level. It has the gutsy hunger that I like so much about Biddell’s best designs.  I’ll bite.

Best fashion blog friend ever, Anita of I want – I got surprised me with a trip to Yorkdale Mall this week, where she had the opportunity to style a friend (me!) on the house, with the assistance of the mall’s personal shopping program.

By the way, the Yorkdale Mall personal shopping program is a FREE service, and if you’re like me and you need a little or a lot of guidance to get your shopping done well, its worth a call.

Anita knew exactly what she had in mind for me – I tend to be a dressed-down kind of fashion girl and she wanted to dress me up.  She made me try on about 20 dresses in Club Monaco – the lucky winner ended up being dress #2, a structured, sharp shouldered mini with pockets in silver-patterned jacquard plaid.

She matched it up with these silver Michael by Michael Kors shoes from Capezio.

I did my best to do the look justice with a Jessica Jensen clutch, inexpertly applied blush from Ditzy and seed pearl earrings from Cat’s Cradle.  And I felt very pretty.

We took the look out to the National Post’s Worthy 30 cocktail last night at Hugo Boss, and for once in my life I felt appropriately dressed for the mink mile.  Anita has a real eye for styling, I really felt transformed but still true to my own tastes. Thanks so much Anita, you rock <3