Fabulous Fashion Week

If you like oversized fuchsia cowboy hats, men in midriffs wearing pope hats, and have a thing for pirates, you would have loved last week’s L’Oreal Fashion Week in Toronto… well at least you would have liked the Envers show. The high stiff collared ruffled shirts of the mens collection which made me think of Oscar Wilde at the Mad Hatter’s tea party, and the ringlets and enormous pouf skirts from the womens collection, were reminiscent of those overdressed collectable dolls old ladies buy and display in their china cabinets. Though it was a very entertaining show, the costumesque looks did not appear (thankfully) on any of the other runways.

There was quite a wide array of looks from show to show. Pat McDonagh was a fur extravaganza. The paint throwing must have happened before the show because her neon blue fox fur stole was anything but natural. There was a collective gasp in the audience when that poor dead fox came out. I had my camera ready, waiting to capture the outcry, but alas, it never happened.

David Dixon’s collection had beautiful fitted jackets with feathery blouses and skirts, but seemed to get stuck on some shiny blue fabric with velvet overlay that reminded me of curtains or old lady wear. The big event of the week in my opinion was Andy Thê-Anh’s collection. If I was single, I would propose. The swingy skirts with lace trim, delicately ruffled blouses, and the fur coat with long feathers, were absolutely gorgeous. The dresses were perfection as I’ve come to expect from dear Andy. Pink Tartan put on a great show, which actually included pink tartan! The collection was hip and totally wearable. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take in all of the shows thanks to some grueling school assignments so I know I missed some of the greats.

Overall, some gorgeous looks for fall 2006. I noticed some definite trends which I will divulge to you: tapered pants, cinched waists with thick belts, a higher waistline in general, a lot of neutrals: charcoal, beige, brown, peppered with rich purples and greens… all in all, a feminine, fitted silhouette. Makeup was not surprisingly all about smoky eyes and a strong red lip ala Grace Kelly.

Café Dweller

I adore cafés. I love the smell of espresso, the sound of the cappuccino machines frothing up delicious steamy creations, and the comfy surroundings. In fact I love them so much, I tend to use them as an office for meetings or for studying. My obsession with cafés and finding the perfect café au lait have led me all over the city of Toronto trying to find the very best. So far, my biggest challenge is finding one with good music, internet access and… nice strong lattés. I don’t like the watered down variety we have in the chain operations in Canada. That is not coffee, my friends. Once you’ve tasted a perfect espresso in France, or a Café Con Leche in Spain, the run of the mill coffee based beverages here are an enormous let down. So far, I have yet to encounter my perfect café. Even if the coffee is up to par, either they have no wireless access or they have the radio blaring, commercials and all, which is anything but enjoyable. However, I love Le Gourmand http://www.legourmand.com on Spadina. The lattes are truly delicious and the fresh baked chocolate chip walnut cookies are the best I’ve ever had. The lattés at Balzac’s http://www.balzacscoffee.com are a work of art. They are poured so skillfully, you get a pretty little design in each rich, velvety cup, and they are closest to the European coffees I have encountered thus far. I’ve also recently been introduced to B Espresso on Queen East and am in love. It’s so cute and the lattés are perfection. So if you see a girl with long brown hair, glued to a laptop that looks like she hasn’t seen the sun in weeks, that’s me… and you know you’ve found a good café!

Spas should be covered by OHIP

I believe spa treatments should be covered by OHIP. It should be a woman’s right to have a flawless complexion and hair free legs. After all, that is what society expects of us! So why not make it all possible by having the government foot the bill? It would make beauty accessible to all women and alleviate so much pressure for all the do-it-yourselfers out there. It wouldn’t cost that much… let’s add it up: Monthly leg/bikini wax = $75, Monthly facial = $80, bimonthly mani + pedi = $120.00, monthly massage to relieve the stress of undergoing extractions and hair removal = $85.00. That adds up to $360 plus tax and tip… not too shabby, considering the results! Think of all the benefits that will naturally flow from a dramatically beautified female population:
1. Increased tourism,
2. Increase in skirt and bikini sightings
3. Increase in female employment, and on that note,
4. FINALLY, equality in workplace pay scales! (on account of the skirts)
5. Substantially lower the divorce rate
And the best part is, this program will actually pay for itself! (See benefit #1). Of course I could go on and on about the many other advantages…The bottom line is, we DESERVE a break every now and then, and if it happens to come in the form of an oxygen facial or a Hawaiian salt scrub, the world will be a better place!

p.s for those of you who thought I was actually planning on lobbying the government about this might I suggest a glass of wine, a massage.... something to take the edge off! Don't worry, your tax dollars won't be threatned by lil' old me!