Herself

Because Niall the husband is obsessed with clothes and thus, with shopping, I call him herself. Honestly. I had one bag today after a morning of shopping, herself was trotting around with at least 4.

We went to Neiman Marcus (he bought Prada jeans for $120), Saks Fifth Avenue (he bought some sweat pants, I didn't even bother to look at what they were) and we went to Barneys. Neither of us got anything, but he wanted to get a pair of Prada shoes. Another pair. Except they didn't have his size.

On that topic, how terrific is Barneys? I love it. It's so well "curated," I guess you would call it. I just love the buyers' taste, and not just cause it's similar to my own. Simply marvelous, beautiful clothes, the best and most interesting of the lot, and not over-crowded (that means you, Saks).

Free People

I'm in love with a store called Free People. The cutest clothes channelling all the trends I've been loving (chinoiserie, fluted sleeves, mixed patterns, fine-gauge knitwear) are all here!

And by here I mean in Boston, which is where I am right now.

I bought a cute little cardie with a frog closure.

I think free people is made by the same company as Anthropologie (oh, btw, I was there yesterday and just as enamoured as ever).

In Canada, you can find Free People at Aritizia, and also a little bit at Holts, too.

View From the Fourth Row

Perusing gawker.com yesterday, I came across this totally bitchy blog, View from the Fourth Row. Want to be a fashion editor? Read this first, it's anonymously written by a fashion mag insider. Gawker says it's Alice Kim, formerly of In Style magazine.

Hipster watch: Owls, sparrows out, squid, marine life in

So says the NYTimes style section. Toodleloo cutie pie owls and sparrows. Hello ugly squid.

Last week I read an article about the hipster-central crafts fair that takes place in Brooklyn each year. Apparently our birdie friends are on the way out.

Of course, because I am not a hipster, a few months ago I bought a sweet zipped hoodie with owls all over it and one giant owl applique, which I promised the gals at work I wouldn't wear to the office but then I did.. Then on Friday I visited my friend in Hamilton and bought, what, you might ask? A sparrow cast iron door knocker. Which is wicked by the way. But not hip, apparently.

Forever XXI

They should call it Forever Insane.

Went to Toronto's only Forever21 down at Yonge and Dundas streets and the place was a madhouse of flailing teenage arms and weary moms following them around.

What's awesome: super-cheap accessories, and I mean tonnes of stuff under $10 that is surprisingly not cheapo looking; groovy but cheapie looking sundresses.

What's not worth a second glance: possibly the ugliest coloured denim (reds, yellows) I have ever seen.

Forever 21, to my recollection, is a U.S.-based cheap-n-chic fashion store along the lines of H and M. Apparently owned by a Korean-American family.

The only other Forever 21 Canada-side is in the West Edmonton mall, I believe. And that one is huge, much bigger than the Toronto store.

Cute stuff but it really, and I mean really looks like it will fall apart after one wear.

Pocket squares

I love me a nice pocket square. In the pocket of a man's suit, that is.

A rerun of Ugly Betty was on yesterday and the characters Daniel and his father sported pocket squares. I think they're so sharp. (The pocket squares, I mean, though Daniel is pretty sharp, too. Hubba hubba.)

Since the show started in the fall I've been bugging Niall to get a pocket square. He won't budge. Here's a sampling of our convo:

"You should really get a pocket square."
"No, I don't want one."
"Why not. It's so crisp looking"
"No. It's just another thing to worry about."
"Whuh? Why not? They're hot. Look at Daniel on Ugly Betty. It looks hot. Don't you want to be hot?"
"No."

End of story.

Anthropologie's Antwerp chair

If I could be a chair, this is the chair I would be.

This isn't technically about fashion, y'all, but I'm so in love with this chair I don't know what else to do about it. I certainly can't buy it, it's $1,500.

I love it. I love the pattern of the fabric, the generousness of the seat. It's just...it's just hot. I'm actually beyond words.

And...it's from Anthropologie, of course. Not only does its clothes rock, its furniture is superhot, too.

And you can't get it in Canada.

Sigh.

Roberto Cavalli at H and M

Today a PR release landed in my inbox from Jane Gill PR, who does the publicity for H and M. in Canada. It seems the Swedish clothing purveyor is launching a Roberto Cavalli line.

Hmm.

The Madonna line was really and truly nothing special. Lots of black and champagne colours. And satin.
And it was overpriced.

The Stella McCartney line, which I never actually got to see in person cause it was all snapped up before I could even make it to H and M was supposedly quite nice.

Viktor and Rolf--some of the stuff was nice , I tried on wool pants and thought they fit me rather well I can't wear wool pants cause they make me scratch like a mofo.

Cavalli? I'm intrigued. I'm thinking borderline tarty cuts and wild prints.

The Sartorialist

Cheers to my Montreal-based pal Piaras for thie heads up: The Sartorialist is quite possibly the perfect fashion blog...one I wish I thought of myself.

Photos of real fashion from the streets--in particular, NYC.

And you know how I love NYC.

The Sartorialist's bio says:
"I started The Sartorialist simply to share photos of people that I saw on the streets of New York that I thought looked great. When I worked in the fashion industry (15 years), I always felt that there was a disconnect between what I was selling in the showroom and what I was seeing real people (really cool people) wearing in real life."

Tell me about it. I remember my first trip to Manhattan and being on the subway and seeing this hipsterette wearing slouchy boots and tights and a vintagey dress and a soft suede bag and a indo-influenced scarf draped nonchalantly around her neck, really boho...and this was years before boho took off. I was never big on boho but I thought she looked awesome.

The NYTimes does something a little similar in that they publish a collage of real people wearing a certain trend, but that column doesn't have the artfulness of this blog. I love the photos.

The Karl Lagerfeld Diet

Oh Carlo, you so crazy.

Remember what Karl used to look like? Bloated, always fanning himself. Well, he got himself skinny and now he wears Hedi Slimane Dior and weird finger gloves and othy jewelry.

Yesterday I was in Club Monaco waiting for Niall to try something on, I can't remember what, and I picked up Karl's book, which is for sale there and started reading it and it was utterly utterly compelling.

I only read a couple paragraphs but I loved the anecdote about how when he was a young man in Paris and his parents would visit, they stayed at a really fancy-pants hotel and they wouldn't let him visit them there, they didn't want him to think the world was too easy a place and such luxuries came easily, anyhow I digress. It was freezing cold and Karl had no winter coat cause he gave all his away and all he really wanted was this beautiful coat from a certain shop and he would rather freeze rather than wear any other coat. How eccentric.

I think I'll buy the book, even though I don't want to lose like 100 pounds in under a year like he did.
A few pounds would be nice, but that's another story.

Eve revives Fetish, Kate Moss to launch perfume

Eve, the fabulousness rapper and actor with the claw tats on her breasts, is reportedly having another go at her fashion brand, Fetish. I didn't know it was ever shelved, but apparently it was. All I remember about the clothes was that they were kind of skanky-athleisurewear, and that I saw them at Winners. On clearance.

Kate Moss is lending Coty her name to launch a perfume. Coty perfumes are crap, y'all.

Kate Moss' line for Topshop is also crap. Shorty shorts, stupid shiny vests, the dowdiest floral dress I've ever seen. Long skirts. I mean c'mon.

Lacoste

Kudos to Lacoste for reviving the brand with consistently cool collections. Loved their blazers last fall (I even bought one), and loved their 07 summer shoe collection. Those adorable, almost nautical shoes have been ripped off left right and centre. Of course making the real thing that much more covetable. More details in this Ellecanada.com article.

I miss my Citizens

I miss my jeans, my Citizens of Humanity. The weather's been hot for the last week so I've been in dresses, looking at my pairs of jeans just hanging in the closet. I love jeans and I really really love Citizens of Humanity. If you have no bum, like me, they're the best pocket going. And it's all about the pocket. If you have a bum, they still look good.

Victoria Beckham

Posh spice. All I have to say is, why she getting so much coverage? Who cares? I think it's just cause she's scary skinny. Or just scary. For a short time, I thought she was stylish. Now I just think she's skanky. That weird Chanel outfit she was recently spotten in, with fingerless gloves was just whack. Sorry, Karl.

Karl Lagerfeld and Hadid, Nike in Soho and Tom Ford goes global

Kind of a quiet fashion day today, all told.

Women's Wear reports that Karl Lagerfield is working with Zaha Hadid on some sort of art project.

Nike is opening a Soho store.

Tom Ford is taking his new-ish brand global.

Yawn.

Let's talk about my DVF dress instead. Did I mention it before? Oh yes, I did. It's sublime. It's the Adelaide ginko pattern dress. Well, I'm not going to buy it. Why? It's too short. My legs are not up to short dresses. End of story. Sigh.
Someone was quoted in Vogue as saying you shouldn't wear short skirts after 30. Sad but true.

Dior's Victoire de Castellane

I'm watching a repeat of CBC show Fashion File right now. It's a bit meta.

The couture jewelry designer for Christian Dior, Victoire de Castellane, is brilliant. Painted gold, rings with delicate petals, tiny intricate details. So exquisite I'm holding my breath watching the images flash on the TV screen. She's very pop-roccoco. Delish.

Fashiontribes has a nice post on her work:
http://fashiontribes.typepad.com/main/2005/10/victoire_de_cas.html

I miss old FF host Tim Blanks. I miss his comforting posher-than-you accent and his smart stay-out-of-the way comments about the runways.

Now on the telly, JP Gaultier is the designer of Hermes? When did this happen? I really have to start reading Women's Wear Daily more often.

Bitten by SJP

Not to get all on-the-bandwagoney, but Sarah Jessica Parker's new line of cheapo clothing, Bitten, certainly doesn't have me biting. Regurgitating, maybe, but biting...not so much. The line was finally released yesterday at Steve & Barry stores. I've never heard of these stores.

Her manifesto, as spelled out on Bitten's website:
"It is every woman's inalienable right to have a pulled-together stylish, confident wardrobe with money left over to live."

Um, are you kidding me?
I'm sure that's exactly what my immigrant grandmother was thinking when she fled rural China in the 50's and escaped poverty and food shortages..."oh please, I hope my daughter and granddaughters have the right to buy styleless clothing at the low, low price of under $20 per item." Right.

The blandness of Bitten's style aside, is there any real need for another cheap (and in this case, not even chic) collection of throwaway clothing?

Look at her shirt: "Fashion is not a luxury...it's a right"

I'm barfing. If fashion is not a luxury, what the hell is?

(Also, on a side note: why is anyone surprised that SJP's line lacks style, a certain quirky je-ne-sais-quoi? SJP herself is not a real fashion maven, it's Patricia Field that was the mastermind behind her Sex in the City fashionista persona.)

Why do designer purses cost so much?

"Oh, you're just paying for the name."

I've heard this a ton of times, usually about pricey handbags and clothes.

But is it true? In a way yes, and no. Here's a good layshopper's guide as to what goes into designer handbag costs, from CanadianLiving.com:
Why do designer purses cost so much?

My opinion? Yes, they seem (and let's face it, are) ridiculously expensive, but oh, the fine details, the sturdiness, the gorgessity of them (thanks LaineyGossip.com, for coining that marvellous term). I love that they have dustbags tucked inside, I love that the hardware never falls off, I love that they wear to a beautiful patina instead of looking like ragged crap after half a year.




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Miss Selfridge + Topshop

Yep, still love it. Miss Selfridge is my fave UK store, hands down. In Ireland I made 2 pilgrimages. One to the shop in Derry (in Northern Ireland), where I picked up a very cute floaty cotton summer top with puffed sleeves and a notched collar and a darling apple dangling from a silver chain. The second pilgrimage involved going out of my way, dragging my sis-in-law, to a plaza in Galway City when the family took a little road trip there from my husband's hometown of Donegal. There, I bought a pair of turquoise perforated-leather round-toe flats with dainty little bows on the top. Very adorable. Also, a silver cuff.

I also popped into a Topshop, where I picked up a funky 60s-ish printed dress.

A Model Summer

On my flight back from Ireland, I read A Model Summer by former superduper ubermodel Paulina Porizkova. It kept me steadily turning the pages. The gist of it: a Swedish girl goes to Paris for the summer to model and is thrown into a world of sex, drugs and judgement. The fashion aspect doesn't play very much into it, except for notable mentions of Fiorucci.

Do you remember Paulina from the 80s Cars video, where she's scribbling on the wall behind her like a lunatic? I remember her from Cosmo and other such mag covers.

The blog Conversations with Famous Writers posted:

"Of course as I was reading, I wondered how much of this book Paulina experienced herself as a young model in Europe. I recall Paulina never smiling in her pictures because she had bad teeth, just like the character of Jirina. A Model Summer is worth your time to read, scooping you up into the world of modeling and shocking you with the seedy details and gritty experiences of a young fashion model." Couldn't agree more. Read the rest of the post here.

Karl Lagerfeld

Read a story about him in the New Yorker's fashion issue, and he's brilliant.

Check it out, on the New Yorker's website:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/03/19/070319fa_fact_colapinto

Marc Jacobs

Quick one today:

Marc Jacobs. Have you seen him lately? Totally hot, and I'm not just talking about his handbags (though they are particularly smokin' this season). He looks awesome, really toned and tan and slim! Good for him.

Bag, borrow or steal

Yep, there are websites out there for those of us who want to rent (seriously) a designer bag for a week or a month. Perhaps the best known one is
bagborroworsteal.com.

It's selection is comprehensive, I must say. I've never rented from them, but it so happens the only two designer purses I own (thus far), they have on offer.

The obscure Micheal Kors I scored at Century21? It's there, for the low, low rental price of $13 a week:





Except mine is silver.

My one and only, first and last Louis? Also there:




My friend's superawesome, superpricey, superhot Chloe Bay Bag? Also there:




Hers rents for $80 a week. My Kors rents for $13. Needless to say, she ponied up some big cash for that big, gorgeous baby.