Winter 2010 Olympics Madness.

I'm a little lacking in my posts for the past couple of days, but it's honestly been madness in my little world!

The Winter 2010 Olympics are here, and the city is buzzing with an incredible energy that I haven't seen before.

Walking around downtown is such a trip: people from all over the world are here on our streets, speaking in fabulous foreign languages and bringing a bit of Euro style to the table. It's fantastic!

Tonight marks the first major night for events, so I'm just about to get ready for the big Olympics bash at the Opus Hotel, followed by An Awesome Showcase art show at Shine Nightclub. Then it's back to the Opus, I'm sure!

Then there's the Samsung Pavilion and Molson Hockey House media tours tomorrow during the day, followed by the "Confessions" performance -- starring my girl Carla C.! -- tomorrow night.

On Thursday, there's the Oakley media preview at Grouse Mountain, W2 launch and Gibson Guitar party.

Friday brings the Heineken House, then meeting Dean and Dan Caten from DSquared at Holt Renfrew for an event on Saturday evening, followed by possibly the free Califone and Wilco concerts at David Lam Park, which will then be followed by a big gathering of my friends, some of whom have flown in from New York and Pakistan for the Games.

In short, whew!! Oh, and Happy Tuesday, of course!

I pray that I make it through these next few weeks alive.

xo
Haute Hippie

Happy Friday! Bamjamz.

My bedtime staples include the following: a good brush of the teeth, minty wax floss, Chantecaille's Rose and Geranium face wash, Bliss toner and either my birthday suit or my Steven Alan rainbow bloomer shorts.

There's no need to wear a ton of clothes in order to count fictitious sheep, right?!

I might be changing my mind, though, after learning my good buddy Pons-arelli did the graphics for Bamjamz, a new organic bamboo sleepwear line that's been picked up by Holt Renfrew across the country and just got some love from ELLE Canada.

Now to see if Bamjamz can make me count sheep faster at midnight.

Happy Friday!

xo
Haute Hippie





I'm Lovin' it: The Olympics are coming up so fast and there is so much going on in town. It's amazing!!


I'm Over it: The Olympics are coming up so fast and there is so much going on in town. I had a heart attack looking at my event schedule for the next few weeks. YIKES.


Music of the Day: Please, please, PLEASE download Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers, a free Wu Tang vs. Beatles remix album from Tea Sea Records, produced by Tony Caruana.

Wu Tang acapellas + Beatles muzzak = SO GOOD!






* Photos property of Bamjamz, Tea Sea Records and are used solely for commentary purposes

Tattoo Time.

I never thought I'd say this, but I've been heavily contemplating getting a tattoo.

It's something I've added to my bucket list recently.

Of course, I'm not looking for dragons and flames and tramp stamps and suns and fairies and flowers. I'm looking for something that has a significant meaning to me. It'll be small and well-placed -- I'm thinking just underneath my armpit, along the side of my body but not running all the way to my hip or anything, something that can be hidden when my arms are down.

I also think the wrist tattoo can look good, as well, like these (temporary Chanel) ones on Dree Hemingway, photographed by Garance Dore.

The wrist might be too much public exposure for me, though.

But I'll let you know when I figure out just what thing of significance I'm going to ink on my body.

PS. Dad, I know you're reading this and probably shaking your head right now! :)





* Photo property of Garance Dore and is used solely for commentary purposes

Two One Two.

My boys Anthony Castro and Scott Walhovd, the duo behind Vancouver and New York-based line 212, have Spring/Summer 2010 ready to go and, man, does it look good.

They, like many others in fashion, jumped on the blue hue bandwagon with the Terry Snap Front Silk Print Top and Alice Gathered Silk Mini Skirt (paired together), both of which I pretty much need to make mine right now (dialing the store's number as I type...).

The Maralyn Criss Cross Top is another must-have -- it would so fab with a pair of either slim-fitting shorts or ragged denim cutoffs.

Spring can't come fast enough for me.







I'm Lovin' it: My first society column comes out tomorrow, woo hoo!


I'm Over it: Let's not get into it at the moment.


Track of the Day: "Volver a ver" by Siddhartha.






* Photos property of 212 and are used solely for commentary purposes

Singin' The Blues.

Pantone named Turquoise to be their color of 2010, because it "transports us to an exciting, tropical paradise while offering a sense of protection and healing in stressful times."

Adds Leatrice Eiseman of the Pantone Color Institute, “It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that Turquoise represents an escape to many – taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy.”

It's no wonder why I've been seeing so much blue in stores and in collections of late!

This weekend, a little bird at Club Monaco told my buddy Scoots and I to come back on Tuesday to check out the new incoming collection, which -- surprise, surprise! -- she said was blue-based. Then I looked at the new Dace Spring 2010 collection today, and the most covetable pieces -- like the Lucie and Brielle dresses -- were blue, too (super light and then very bright, respectively).

Baby blue was big on runways -- Ralph Lauren in particular had a lot of it for Spring 2010, as well as navy. Even Alexander McQueen wove an aqua hue into his recent sea creature-esque collection.

Guess this might be the one time people are actually happy that someone's singing the blues.









I'm Lovin' it: Currently have on my (faux) fur bolero today, wondering why, oh, why I don't wear it more often?! Also, thanks to Holt Renfrew VP of Fashion Direction, Barbara Atkin, for taking us through the trends for Spring 2010! She has to be one of the nicest ladies working in fashion today.





I'm Over it: Searching through my business cards for one in particular was absolute mayhem today. Need to plug them all into my Mac address book, like, stat.


Music of the Day: Beach House -- or Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand-- released their new (and third) album called Teen Dream, and it's still pretty chilled out (though more grown-up sounding than their last album, I must say). I really like the tracks "Lover of Mine" and "Walk in the Park".






* Photos property of style.com, Pantone, Dace, Holt Renfrew and are used solely for commentary purposes

Happy Friday! Kiss From a Rose.

I have an art opening to cover for work tonight, one in which the mayor will be on hand to speak a few words introducing the exhibition, so that means I should be putting on my prettiest dress and heels, topped off with my usual blazer, natch (the latter is great for having my camera and business cards quick for the draw).

I've got on my dress already, and though it's fine, I kind of wish I had Rose Byrne's simple, yet feminine white dress and black tights on instead.

Technically, I probably should not want to be wearing white in the middle of winter, but I say outdated sartorial rules like that no longer apply, especially when it comes to art openings.

Happy Friday!

xo
Haute Hippie





I'm Lovin' it: My buddy Double J of Sonseen Agency reps the L.A.-based line Hellz Bellz for the pacific northwest coast. He passed along the SS 2010 look book -- you need to check out this street smart brand.





I'm Over it: I need a nap. Big time. Last night's back-to-back events really took it out of me. Big ups to DJ Flip Out for winning this year's Red Bull 3 Style competition, by the way!!


Track of the Day: "Ooh La La" by the Faces. A golden oldie from 1973.





* Photo property of wwwd.com and is used solely for commentary purposes

Rest In Peace, J.D. Salinger.

Catcher in the Rye will forever be a book I remember, because amongst the many, many books I had to read throughout high school and university, it was one of those that stuck the most (that, and Perfume by Patrick Suskind).

Salinger may be gone, but he'll live on because there's a little Holden Caulfied in all of us.

"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be."

- Holden Caulfield, Catcher in the Rye







* Photos property of J.D. Salinger and are used for commentary purposes only

Chanel Spring 2010 Couture.

In Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel Spring 2010 couture collection, there was not one iota of black or navy, two of the signature colors of the French fashion house.

Instead, the designer trotted out silver -- and lots of it.

There were, of course, the requisite Chanel suits in the beginning of the collection, which later gave way to gorgeous frothy and floaty ensembles that left me breathless. I mean, I'm always breathless after viewing a Chanel collection, but I was seriously blue from oxygen-depriving awe after this one.

I particularly liked the silver half-gloves (so Karl!) and the tights with the silver sheen (makes me want to put my boring, basic black ones very far in the back of my drawer). The pearl outlined shoes were a bit much for me, but I'm not really a pearl fan in the first place.

The Kaiser's boy toy Baptiste Giabiconi made an appearance at the usual wedding dress finale, outfitted -- funny enough -- in a suit of gold. How ironic!

It was extremely, EXTREMELY difficult for me to narrow down a tight group of outfits that caught my attention the most, so forgive me for the ensuing onslaught of images.

I warn you: take a deep breath.

























* Photos property of style.com and are used solely for commentary purposes

Havana Nights.

Michelle Rizzardo -- of the awesomely awesome shops One of a Few and Two of a Few -- is so goshdarn creative.

I'm swiping this idea from her girly, tongue-in-chic decor at One of a Few: brightly-colored cigar boxes as shelving/storage (she had Hanky Panky undies for sale rolled up neatly in the bottom box).

Here's a side view of what is looks like. Amazing!





* Photo property of Haute Hippie and is used solely for commentary purposes

Rad Hourani E-Shop.

Here's a good little piece of news that hit my inbox today from Rad Hourani: the label is now available for the buy online.

The Paris and New York-based Hourani -- who is clearly influenced by the American-gone-Parisian designer Rick Owens -- has been the toast of the fashion industry the past few seasons, thanks to his super urban, androgynous looks (he, after all, put male models in heels on his Spring 2010 runway).

Hooray for Hourani!





* Photo property of Rad Hourani and is used solely for commentary purposes

I Got Lots of Pictures in My Head.

I like cameras.

Do you like pictures?

Then check out my (amateur!) shots on my new Flickr stream!

I'm officially obsessed with photography after shooting Phoenix last Friday for WE. Not sayin' I'm Terry Richardson or Steven Meisel or Guy Bourdin or anything, but I gotta start somewhere!!

xo
Haute Hippie

Core Values. LV 2010.

This morning I was sent a teaser ad photo -- and some behind-the-scenes black and white candids -- for the new Louis Vuitton Core Values campaign for 2010.

Last year, the Core Values campaign starred a mish-mash of famous figures, like Mikhail Gorbachev, Francis Ford and Sofia Coppola, Keith Richards, Buzz Aldrin and Catherine Deneuve.

For 2010, well-known (and currently bankrupt?) Conde Nast-owned photographer Annie Leibovitz and the elegant, dashing former ballet dancer and Studio 54 regular-turned-actor Mikhail Baryshnikov are the stars, posing in Leibovitz's New York studio.

The tag line? "The journey of a star, captured in a flash."

* Note: I couldn't upload the black and white candids because the ones sent are corrupt. Sorry!





I'm Lovin' it: Daria! As in Werbowy. In the new Balenciaga campaign.




I'm Over it: Runny nose.


Music of the Day: I'm INSANELY obsessed with the OLN travel show Departures, which is going to be airing its third season this coming March. It stars Scott Wilson and Justin Lukach, a pair of twenty-something, regular (and kind of cute) guys who travel the globe from Antarctica to Zambia to Cambodia and more, documenting their personal journey with their third musketeer, Gemini-winning cameraman Andre Dupuis. The shots and editing are gorgeous, and their journey is very human, funny and touchingly emotional.

And the soundtrack is amazing, too, like Buddha Bar meets Thievery Corporation.









* Photos property of Louis Vuitton, Helly Hansen, Balenciaga, edzcelperk.files.wordpress.com and are used solely for commentary purposes

Lotus Flower.

Radiohead debuted a new song -- "Lotus Flower" -- at an Oxfam benefit show for Haiti.

Get excited, people.

That means a new album is coming soon.

I Digby This.

Past 2004, all of my jewellery has been gold -- silver was my high school, early university metal color of choice but I've since graduated (literally, phew!).

This Digby & Iona Stump Ring in sterling silver is so damn cool, I'm contemplating switching teams. The side of ring has a heart carved into it, in which you can customize initials for you and your significant other.

A nice little bonus: when you customize your order, the good folks at D&I will call to make sure the initials are correct, just in case it you have a complete brain hiccup and send in your ex's initials instead.

And to make this piece of jewellery even cooler than it already is, Digby & Iona has a short stop-motion video, starring the ring and a real piece of wood.

I'm stumped!






I'm Lovin' it: I plan on copying Zanna Rassi's outfit below. Yes, I'm a sartorial stealer in this case. My apologies.




I'm Over it: The intercom in my apartment keeps on going off. I am slowly going crazy, 6-5-4-3-2-1, switch...


Track of the Day: "11th Dimension" by Julian Casablancas. He's the son of John Casablancas, as well as the songwriter for The Strokes. He's gone on to do a solo act, from which comes this jam. JC is currently touring Europe, so I imagine the next stop is North America.





* Photos property of Refinery29, Digby & Iona and are used solely for commentary purposes