Glamlist.com - Shopping at great designer sales in the comfort of your own home

So I recently joined this online exclusive shopping club (it's member invite only... let me know if your interested I will refer you), Glamlist, that makes shopping for designer goods that much easier and that much more affordable . You can think of Glamlist like that must go to designer sale that you just can't make it to because of prior obligations, and how for us die hard shopaholics, it's just not the same to go the next day because your size is more than likely sold out. With this new exclusive online shopping club, I might never have to miss another good sale again. They have established connections with over 180 big brands and designers such as Diesel, Cerruti, Valerie Dumaine, etc. The Glamlist concept is to host private online sales with ready to wear luxury goods for 40-70% less. Since they are just officially launching today, I have not experienced this convinient and hype way to shop yet, but I look forward to checking out there first big sale event!!!

H&M, Roberto Cavalli, and possible pieces in his long awaited H&M collection

OK - so i'm really hooked on this Roberto Cavalli collection being in H&M thing. For those of us who are curious and just dying to find out what the Roberto Cavalli for H&M collection might look like, Lislotte Watkins released some fashion illustrations she had done for the Cavalli collection in Paris, last week at the "first ever media event for Roberta Cavalli at H&M". Cavalli's star favourites and red carpet looks are just 12 days away from being in the H&M stores near us!!!! However, my friend who works for H&M informs me that they are only available in the H&M locations at the Eaton Centre, Bloor Street, and Queen Street, and YES her and I are going to be one of those anxious shoppers lining up outside the store before it opens.

*pictures are courtesy of http://blog.hm.com/.

L'oreal Fashion Week Spring 08 - David Dixon

Feeling a little disappointed about how everything unfolded last night, i'm going to jump right in to the good stuff from David Dixon's show. His Spring 2008 collection was full of classic pieces mainly in whites, blacks, accented with some beige, and a few pieces in light blue. Unfortunately I will not be posting my entire experience from last night at fashion week here. Some of it was a little frustrating but if you are wondering feel free to drop me a line. Otherwise you can get the full coverage of all the parties and runway shows from this week's fashion festivities courtesy of The Star, Sweetspot, and Torontostreetfashion to name a few.

The shopaholic in me - Jeanne Lottie sample sale

Extremely pumped about this sample sale. I missed out last year, but a couple of my friends went and got amazing stuff for decent prices. We can expect to see up to 80% off handbags, accessories, and shoes. The sale lasts for 2 days Oct 27 (10am-4pm) & Oct 28th (10am-3pm), and is located @ the Courtyard By Marriott Hotel (65 Monthorn Blvd, Markham) on the main floor.

Toronto L'oreal Fashion Week - Spring 2008 Collections

Today marks the beginning of L'oreal Fashion Week , the 6 day fashion extravaganza of Spring 08 collections, parties, glam, and glitz. Individual show tickets are $20 each or day passes for $50.

I'll be there on Wednesday to see the Andy The-Anh and David Dixon shows!!!

Meeting fellow fashion bloggers of Toronto - TFBB 12

While it was the 12th Toronto Fashion Bloggers Brunch, I attended my FIRST EVER yesterday at the Brassaii Bistro! In the company of ...

Amanda (a fellow reader)
Danielle - Final Fashion
Anita - I Want - I Got
Henna - Canadian Beauty
Eden - Bargainista
Irene, Sonja, Liza, & Rachel - Torontostreetfashion
Adrian - Fashion Verbatim

I enjoyed a tasty Brassaii Egg Benedict while listening and chatting about the future of Canadian fashion, fashion PR, and the politics surrounding this year's Toronto L'oreal Fashion Week. It was so exciting to finally meet with the authors of blogs that I read all the time. TFBB is an event open to all fashion bloggers and readers, looking forward to the next!

TOO Magazine

TOO Magazine launched in Toronto this past Wednesday night at the Drake. It was a FUN and fashionable evening where they showcased some of the works of local photographers, artists, and designers. Spotted in the crowd were Sonja from Torontostreetfashion, Christabel of christablecouture.com, and Lena Love (who were both featured in TOO Mag). TOO Magazine is an independent art and style magazine circulating in Beijing, Guangzhou, Taipei, London, and Toronto.

Shoe plus purse = Chanel's ankle purses

HAHAHA - that was my initial reaction when I saw these pictures. Chanel graced the runways of Paris fashion week with these new accessories and shoes... that I can't seem to out right accept. It is definitely a fashion forward idea seeing as though the young "trendsetting" celebrities, eh hem Lindsey Lohan of today's Hollywood so regularly associate themselves with the law. You have to admit, they are quite the fashion statement. Would you wear them?

Fashion visual search engine www.like.com - Shopping only gets easier

Bored and surfing the net earlier and while reading through some fashion related websites, I discovered this really cool search engine; http://www.like.com/ . What's special about this search engine is it is geared specifically towards handbags, jewelry, shoes, watches, and clothing for men and women. It uses contents of photos to find similar items like it, so when you see something you like this can make it so much easier to find that something that is similar to or more current but in the same style telling you where to buy it from or even for a cheaper price. Crazy eh? But convenient. Some specific features of like.com are - likeness search: ability to search by images as opposed to text, like detail: finds items that have specific features you like (eg. buckle straps, etc), like colour: find color variants and the in the item you desire, like celebrity: find clothing, shoes, and accessories similar to those worn by your favourite celeb, and like upload: the ability to upload your own photo of your favorite item and find the same or similar products. Although not Canadian geared (with the retailers all being American) this is great for the budget fashionista!

It's compact, it's make up, it's convinient - It's Dalish!

Imagine having all your basic make up products from foundation to eye liner, to mascara, to blush gel, to eyeshadow, to lip gloss and more in a nice small and compact container. Thanks to lDalishl cosmetics, we can now have more than just the bare essentials in our purse without having to clutter the already limited space.

I was at The Future of Beauty discussion panel event when I came across this unique and brilliant make up kit created by Melanie Cruickshank. In a small pink and grey girlie, recyclable container, you can find "3 blendable concealers/foundations, cream blush, 2 lip glosses, 3 eye shadows, mascara, and eye liner". All the cosmetic products are placed in double sided mascara like tubes (except for the foundation/concealers) for space saving convenience and as Melanie would put it, allows us to go from our "day to night look without having to lug around a suitcase size make up case" to have all the necessary products with us. For only $70, I definitely have to get myself one of these (unlike my super LUCKY friend Kath who WON this lDalishl cosmetic kit as a door prize at the event)!

The shopaholic in me - H&M warehouse sale

GOOD NEWS for us shopaholics!!! There is a H&M warehouse sale this October 13th (9am-8pm) and 14th (9am-5pm) in Brampton Ontario, at 1 Wilkinson Rd. There will be 70% off all clothing crazy prices ranging from $2-$24. ***In other news ROBERTO CAVALLI for H&M will be in stores November 8th, can't wait!!!!

Random thought - Common courtesy in public

One of my favourite past times when I am bored and in public is people watching. You may not notice it but if you pay closer attention to your thoughts sometimes you'd realize you do it too! Actually i'm sure we all do it!! I would define people watching as the critical inner voice in you that pretty much has a comment to make about all those passing by whether they be nice or... not so nice. So it wouldn't come as a surprise then when I notice how people are generally speaking, wrapped up in their own worlds when interacting with the public and forget the importance of common courtesy. Here are a list of 5 popular offences that I find many people commit in public: 1. standing still on the left hand side of the escalator (which is the walking side) for easy conversational purposes with the friend 2. stopping on the right lane at a red light of a 3 lane road because the right lane is empty preventing all the cars behind you from turning right 3. an individual opting for a 4 seater table in a food court or restaurant when there are 2 seater tables available 4. not saying thank you when the stranger before you holds the door for you and finally 5. EXCESSIVE amount of PDA (public display of affection). My point is -- common courtesy in public is necessary and although we may not think it, it is a strong indicator of the type of person we are.

Just when you think reality TV cannot get any more ridiculous - The pick up artist

Well... this is precisely the reason why society is turning itself into a superficial and cruel place. My friend told me about this reality show airing on VH1 that you can watch online (if you don't have that television channel) called The Pick Up Artist that claims to teach hopeless guys how to pick up women and equip them with the "tools" they will need to successfully do so. When I heard about this show, I thought to myself YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! But I forced myself to open mindedly sit through 2 episodes and well... I am not impressed. Basically a geek turned self proclaimed womanizer, who calls himself Mystery, shares his secrets to a bunch of hopeless, stereotyped "geeky" looking guys who have trouble approaching and talking to women. Many whom have never had a girlfriend or are extremely shy. Unfortunately I can't say I was entertained by this show but instead find it absurd that something which exploits insecure men and promotes unreal solutions to the so called problem of not being able to "pick up" can find itself air time on TV. But none the less I do encourage you to, if for the lack of anything better to do - take a look at this ridiculousness yourself!

Art of Fashion - Trunk show

While out for a girls night on Friday (Oct 4th) Michelle, Tara, and I decided to stop by a highly advertised trunk show for a mini shopping excursion which was held at the Heliconian Hall in Yorkville, Toronto. Art of Fashion showcased some of the top emerging Canadian designers for both clothing and jewelry. Not really in the mood to shop (for once) we did a quick in and out where everyone managed not to buy anything except for myself. A very cute little hand made beer bottle cap pin designed by Adrienne Butikofer, caught my eye for $3 (she is the one in the first picture sitting by her table). Aside from designing fashionable clothing and accessories Adrienne also designs never seen before, unique, and practical winter mini slip on hoods (Michelle is posing with the grey mini hood) and scarves with little permanent bow ties on them. As i'm sure the girls would agree, this was a fun mini shopping experience!

Costa goes glam - Costa Blanca X

On September 27th, 2007 Costa Blanca launched a new concept to there chain of Costa Blanca stores. They added Costa Blanca X to a handful of malls in the GTA, CBX is an accessory store carrying trendy purses, shoes, boots, jewelry, and other accessories. I actually noticed it the other day because I was making a pit stop at Markville Mall to visit the bank. Knowing that I had not seen it there before I stopped by to take a quick peak. The interior design of the store is a completely different set up than Costa, it seems as though they are trying to re-position themselves as higher end with this new Costa Blanca X concept. If you are familiar with Costa, you'll know that the prices for their clothing is fairly affordable compared to many other retailers out there. So expecting the same, I was very excited to see such stylish and trendy shoes, boots, purses, etc. that are now available for an affordable price. But to my surprise I was WRONG. A pair of black flats with a little bow on the top were $50 where a pair of plain patent leather boots with no embellishments were $130, and necklaces and rings ranged from $10-20. Although they sell more dressy specific shoes and accessories looks like Aldo, ICON, R2W and other shoe and accessory stores alike have a new competitor. To my disappointment with Costa Blanca X, there is no cheap chic here.

Random thought - Human relationships, it's an essential!

Some times I like to sit and try to figure out how human beings work and why they are the way they are. Most of the times it gets me no where, but sometimes I see a glimmer of light and it's as if a mini epiphany dawned itself on me to enlighten my curiosity with some answers. Lately I've been thinking about human relationships; platonic or romantic. I don't care which way you cut it... but either are essentials to (following up on my previous posting on happiness) a complete feeling of happiness and human life. I know that this is a bold statement I am making, but maybe it's my personal experiences, I feel they are necessary. You can have platonic relationships and be happy or romantic relationships and be happy or even feel complete, but one without the other are only a partial happiness that can be filled in conjunction with the other. It's like we are created to want to share intangible emotions, thoughts, and feelings with other beings. Sure, certain feelings can be disguised and filled with the excess of other feelings, but somewhere deep down inside it comes up here and there where even if you don't believe you need either or, you find yourself thinking... it would be nice to have a special someone to share certain moments with or (I'm sure everyone would agree) just friends to laugh and cry with. These friends and that "companion", are human relationships that I've really come to believe are solid contributions in the attempt to make happiness stay longer than just awhile. Other sources of happiness such as a new car or a job promotion are only momentary activators of happiness that wear off as the newness wears off, human relationships form lasting memories and fill places in our hearts and minds that last forever.

BY - "A new ceremony dress code"

Earlier this year, around May, BY a wedding and celebration attire store for gay men opened in Barcelona. It is the first of it's kind in Europe and quite possibly the world. The concept of this store was designed for the "fashion conscious individual looking for an alternative to conventional groom and ceremonial suits" for their special day. What a brilliant idea, this is a concept that will probably be caught on in other parts of the world if it hasn't already. Who says men can't have their perfect suit tailored to their every need on their special day?

Check out their website: http://www.bybcn.es/

The Shopaholic in me - Boot deals

Well its that time of the year again... BOOT season!!! What better way to welcome it than adding some NEW and AFFORDABLE boots to your I'm sure, already large boot collection. My sister was telling me about how she discovered really cheap UGG look-a-likes at SEARS for only $40. I know what your thinking, they probably look really cheap and the quality is going to be completely off. But I went with her today to check them out and let me tell you IT IS SUCH A DEAL! They honestly look and feel like the real thing without the brand name and instead of sheepskin wool lining they are fleece lined, the short ankle ones come in 4 colours, but the mid length one only in the brownish beige. While there I also found two other stylish and affordable dress boots that I liked, one of them was also a suede like material and the other leather like... all which are SUPER AFFORDABLE. Who would have guessed you could find such great shoes and great deals at SEARS!

Doggie Fever - Dedicated to a girl friend of mine

People always say that a dog is a man’s best friend, and you would honestly never believe that until you have had one for yourself. Recently a girl friend of mine discovered her new found LOVE for dogs and is desperate to make a very cute white Chihuahua a new member of her family!

Over the past 20 something years, I have been blessed with two adorable furry, four-legged animals that filled my life with nothing but laughter and companionship. I had a German shepherd who regretfully passed away at the age of 9 two years ago and I still have a 3 year old Westey (his name is tooney he's the white one in the pic up top). Anyways, I thought I’d give my friend a hand in convincing her mother to allow her to have a dog. So my friend, here are a few practical reasons to convince ‘mom’ for her approval of a dog: 1. a dog would help bring the family closer and you guys could go on walks more 2. a dog is someone who is willing to make a fool of himself simply over the joy of seeing you 3. a dog will eat whatever you put in front of him and never say its not good 4. a dog will scare away burglars which terrifies you and endangers the lives of your family and all the neighbors 5. a dog will never touch the remote, or care about football, and will be more than willing to sit next to you as you watch romantic movies 6. a dog will be content to get up on your bed just to warm your feet and will be okay with it if you push him off if he snores