Party at Gatsby's! Er, St. Laurent Centre!

Last night I had the absolute pleasure of attending St. Laurent Centre's Gatsby themed party in support of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.

Taking place in an unused store made to look like a 1920's parlour by designer Leanne Lacroix, the event was lovely and intimate while still capturing some of the great energy from that era.

People (including me!) dressed in their best Gatsby attire, since most of Ottawa's fashion lovers came out and every fashion-lover worth her salt cites the 1920's as one of their favourite fashion eras.

Waiters and bartenders kept the snacks and the drinks coming while beautiful models styled by Erica Wark drifted around, really adding to the feeling of being a part of The Great Gatsby.

But the real delight for me, came from installing myself next to the macaron table while chatting with a fellow blogger about the lusty appeal of a young James Spader. And at the start of the night there was even a dancing crew that performed and made me long for dance lessons, but only if my speciality was doing a breakdancing version of the Charleston.

A television installed at the back of the room played the original 70's adaptation of the book, which was also a great conversation piece, "Hey! It's that guy who plays in Law & Order now! What's his name? No clue, ooh look, Robert Redford!"

I loved getting dressed up for this event, and seeing all the guests get dressed up too. It absolutely did nothing to cure my Gatsby Fever, in fact I think I have it worse now. Get me a doctor Old Sport! 

Chop Chop See You Later!

In the most recent issue of FLARE, assistant fashion news editor, Emily Ramshaw chronicles the week before lopping off 15 inches of her precious, precious hair.

I wasn't working at FLARE when Emily had long hair, so seeing her with the short hair wasn't a big deal, but reading the her article and seeing how stylish and chic she looks every day has totally inspired me to do my own long goodbye.

My Inspiration:

It's ok, I'm a limo driver.

I saw this picture of Olivia Wilde and I was sold. I had been turning it over in my mind for weeks to chop off my mane, but Olivia sealed the deal for me. I showed the pic to my boyfriend and his response was, "That looks great! But then again, it's Olivia Wilde, she could have a Lloyd Christmas haircut and still be hot." I'll take that as a vote of confidence!

The Stylist:

I only trust the best, and I'm lucky because I happen to be related to her. My cousin Stacy works at Synergy Spa in Orleans, which you should totes check out. It's a really great spa, totally worth the trip to Orleans!

Before:

I used to have this free for all spirit about my hair. "It's just hair!" I would say, "It'll grow back!" But after growing it for a few years and having it to shield me when I was at my most self conscious, the thought of chopping it all off is not only scary, it's actually anxiety-inducing

After:

So it's been about a week since I had it all cut off, and what a week it's been. Literally a roller-coaster, I went from loving it, to hating it, and thinking I looked like an ugly boy. Don't get me wrong, the cut is fantastic, it was my face that seemed to be the problem. It was mostly when I was around pretty girls with long hair that I felt left out. I can't be in the pony tail club anymore. Unless they're accepting girls with David Beckham-esque teeny half buns. But once I've got my outfit on, and my makeup did, I decided that I really like it. Like REALLY like it. In fact as I'm writing this out, I'm even thinking about going shorter...

Success!

Summer is coming.

I love summer fashion in theory. For example I think so many girls look so cute in all sorts of different summer outfits and dresses and skirts, but for me, summer is the time of year where all I want to do is run around barefoot in a pair of grungy shorts and a pony tail to keep my mane off my neck. The only accessory I think I can pull off in the summer is the pile of freckles that are going to start popping up on my visage as soon the sun starts to make itself known.

I think last summer I tried to be too sophisticated for my own good. I found myself feeling uncomfortable and sweaty in tight fitting skirts or like a whale in A-Line empire waisted dresses. This summer I have learned and therefore I present to you my new summer 2013 uniform.

Shorts, Rag & Bone, Nike Dunk Sky Hi's, Madewell, "Perfect" Belt,  Sandals, Michael Kors, Sunglasses, Tory Burch, T-shirt, Wilfred, Bracelet, The Ropes (From Viens Avec Moi!)

What do ya think? See you in June?

Fashion Crimes: The BIG Debate

Last night I went to a really informative and inspirational discussion. No, I'm not talking about Oprah. While no one gave up their Jimmy Choo's at the event I attended, I still enjoyed the panel discussion Fashion Crimes: The BIG Debate held at the ROM in Toronto. I headed over with a PR friend of mine who heard about the panel while trying to research cool things in Toronto for us to do together.

Five panelists included Canadian designer Jeremy Laing, Ryerson University School of Fashion chair Robert Ott, branding and fashion lawyer Ashlee Froese, VP and buying director for The Room at The Bay Nicholas Mellamphy and the always electric Jeanne Beker who acted as moderator.

The discussion of the evening ranged from talking about the pros and cons of fast fashion, marketing and branding in a social media obsessed world and the blogger phenomenon, the panel gave great insight and a few laughs about what it means to be involved in the fashion industry in Canada today.

When it came to talking about fast fashion Canadian designer Jeremy Laing acknowledged that while he is no proponent of the trend, it's not something that bothers him. "It's the reality of the business," he said. "If anything [when I see the high street ripping me off] it inspires me to do something different in my next collection."

The panel itself seemed a little bit split on verdict of whether supporting fast fashion is sustainable, and whether high street fashions cheapen designer labels,  but they all seemed to agree that it's something that is not going anywhere, anytime soon. 

The other part of the discussion that piqued my interest was when the panel turned their spotlight on the explosion of fashion bloggers over the last five years. "I have a journalist friend who laments at the six billion journalists in the world today," said Ryerson chair Robert Ott. "I always tell him, 'just think about the 12 billion fashion critics. Everyone is a critic twice over, of their own style, plus a critic of what everyone else should be wearing."

Laing for one says that the blogosphere explosion is having a more adverse effect on him, and he believes it's a trend that will soon pass. He no longer looks at websites or blogs for fashion inspiration. "I have friends who are very successful bloggers, and I'm definitely proud of them," he said. "But I don't look at their blogs every day. If anything, this attention on bloggers makes me focus more on my own work."

"I think that one day people will get tired of dressing for the internet, wearing bright coloured patterns on patterns, and put on a black jacket again," he said.

When Beker posed the question to the panel, "Where do you get your fashion from?" The speakers fell silent. Not one of them could give a solid answer on where they gathered fashion inspiration. It was Ott who offered some wisdom on the subject.

"We are consumers looking for taste-makers, but we don't know who they are today," he said. "Do you trust the magazine editor, or the 'wild west' that has become the internet?"

A thought-provoking, yet short panel. At an hour and 20 minutes, I would have liked the discussion to be a bit longer and to come to a few more definite conclusions, but leaving the debate open-ended left lot's of room for a post-discussion wine and cheese fest in Yorkville. No complaints here!

April Showers

I'm not sure what's been inspiring me lately. One day I want to dress like a French women, the next day I want to look like Blade Runner. Some days I want to be decked out in colour, and other days I want to be monochromatic. I'll pledge to myself to never wear anything but black because there's nothing more chic. But then I find myself falling in love with colours and spring since the snow is melting as I type this.

One of my favourite things when it comes to personal style is how often it changes, I guess this is growing up.

Differences and the journey so far

Having been in Toronto for a little under three weeks now I feel it's safe for me to make my observations public. I'm past the first impressions, but I'm not yet jaded by the lights and the sirens and the easily accessible brands that we have to scour the countryside to find in Ottawa.

Packing for the big "move" was tough, especially with a fatso cat sitting in my bag.

That being said, Toronto is a bit overwhelming. Meeting new people and telling them that you're from Ottawa usually results in them treating you like a Make a Wish kid at Disneyland; "Oh wow, how does it FEEL to be in Toronto? Are you having trouble adjusting?"

Really?

For the uninformed, Toronto is about five hours away from Ottawa. It's in the same time zone, has the same climate and is just as culturally diverse as Ottawa.

My first day called for a totally spring outfit, I even co-ordinated my nail polish to my sweater. When I got to the office I was immediately given a new issue and then found this lonely shopping bag under my desk, what was in it you ask? No it wasn't a Birkin, just a bunch of booklets and papers...*sigh*

The only thing I need to adjust to in Toronto is the fact that in Toronto all the girls wear Rudsak winter jackets paired with Rebecca Minkoff M.A.C clutches instead of TNA jackets with the Marc by Marc Jacobs pouches that every girl in Ottawa has. They wear Tory Burch boots instead of Michael Kors and the taxi service here makes me want to hug and kiss an Ottawa taxi until I'm banned from Blue Line service altogether.

I've also probably seen more Audi R8's in my 2.5 weeks in Toronto than I have watching every season of Top Gear on Netflix.

My second week was disastrous/awesome all at the same time, Monday morning I discovered I left all of my makeup in Ottawa, so I had to rush to Shoppers and buy all new stuff. I also got a taste of the "rich" life, the Winners on Bloor carries YSL, Dolce & Gabbana and more (INSANE RIGHT?) I tried GlamGlow for the first time (TOTALLY RECOMMEND) and I got to check out some cool beauty products.

From what I can tell, having spent a little time in Toronto, it seems nice. I do like it. I think if I ever lived in Toronto, I would need to be very wealthy because the temptation of shopping would be out of this world. But I also am not sure if I could ever get used to sour sewer smell that lingers at random street corners, in Ottawa that kind of smell is usually reserved for the sewer pipes pumping sewage into the Ottawa River behind the Parliament Buildings.

At the same time, the excitement in Toronto is kind of a lot to bear. I've been staying there for over two weeks and I still haven't got over the fact that every day I want to do something. Sitting at home and watching TV doesn't seem to be an option, even though I don't do much of that in Ottawa, everything in Toronto is NEW and EXCITING.

The second weekend was my favourite. Charles came up and we walked all around Toronto all day long and went to a Supercross race, then topped it off with a midnight snack in Dundas Square. 

I think my ambivalence towards the newly minted fourth largest city in North America, is that I'm there, essentially alone. I mean, not alone ALONE, but you know what I mean. My boyfriend, cats, closet and king size bed are all in Ottawa. Despite being in this arguably great city, I'm always going to focus on the things I don't like just because my life isn't really in TO...it's in Ottawa, no matter what I'm still just a guest.

An update...

I've begun to neglect my little bloggy again. It seemed that in the past weeks I had started writing some really interesting content but since then I've become a little too bogged down with everything else going on to write any compelling entries.

In the past I would have just made up some baloney posts just to say that I was still posting, but I think the key going forward is going to be quality over quantity.

One of the reasons I haven't been posting much is because in the past week my life went from (semi) boring to insane. On Wednesday of last week I found out that I had been accepted to a really cool editorial internship at FLARE in Toronto.

So in less than one week I packed my things, arranged lodging, picked up and left for Toronto. I'm staying with a smart and beautiful friend and her amazing roommate, who graciously said I could stay with them.

It also worked out perfectly since they are literally a stone's throw away from the offices where I now work at.

I'm also staying spitting distance from the amazing Holt Renfrew on Bloor, where a Miu Miu boutique just opened. (I'm also probably the first person to ever say they were spitting distance away from Holt Renfrew while at the same time knowing how to pronounce Miu Miu.)

The way things worked out could not have been better, my hosts are probably two of the nicest girls I have ever met, my immediate boss is a complete gem and I think I'm going to have a lot of fun and learn so much. (That sentence totally feels like a beauty queen answer to me, but it's so true.)

Putting all the amazing and exciting things aside though, I will say that just being away from the little family I have cultivated in Ottawa is hard. I miss my boyfriend constantly, and I fear that our little kitty-babies will think that I have abandoned them.

For the next while I'm going to be splitting my time between Ottawa and Toronto, trying to go home as much as possible. It's going to be tiring and just thinking about all the money I'm forking over to Via Rail from now until the start of May makes me really bitter, but hey, what can you do when you live in a (very fashionable) shoe?