Perfect Kaden-ce

These past months, I've been eschewing heels and rockin' the low-riders -- also known as flats. Since I'm an admitted shoe junkie -- my pal TC almost fainted when I opened my closet and he saw how many pairs festered in there -- I'm always on the hunt for more souliers (French to English translation: shoes) to add my collection.

Banana Republic never used to be one of my favorite stores to walk into. Everything was too buttoned-up, too khaki, too preppy, too string-of-pearls for my easy, breezy bohemian liking. However, BR has certainly taken up their designs a notch in recent years, including their shoes.

I just spent the last minute salivating over their Kaden peep-toe slingback flat, which comes in the fabulously basic colors of silver, gold and patent black. It's always so hard deciding which hue to choose, so I'm just going to choose them all.

Flat is phat.









I'm Lovin' it: I haven't used a blowdryer or heating tool on my hair for three days and it's so fantastic. Call it the influence of Shuswap Lake (where using a blowdryer would certainly have elicited a barrage heckling from my friends), but I really kind of like this beachy look. It's been getting serious kudos from the pals -- or maybe they just enjoy laughing behind my back. Whatever it is, I sported the look to work today and save myself an extra 15 minutes in the morning. Ji-yah!

Oh, and this little undergarment/sleepwear bow babydoll set from Lornnie Louie is so goshdarn ADORABLE.








I'm Over it: Being home from the lake. I could live the rest of my life up there. Wakeboarding (unsuccessfully, mind you, since I couldn't pop myself up on the board), extreme tubing (bailed hardcore though, got about 6 feet of air and landed on me head), beach volleyball, s'mores, bunk beds, yummy breakfasts, lunches and dinners, shimmery moonlight on the water, card games, bevys all day, boating for hours, watching the boys cliff jump, eating our faces off, dock tanning, jumping in the lake to cool off, chilling to music, lounger reading, lots of laughs, close friends and all around forgetting the rest of the world existed. It felt good not to stare at a computer screen or check my phone constantly. Peace of mind for 48 hours that was needed, for sure.







Track of the Day: I've been on the hunt for the title of a Tragically Hip song that I just love. All I could describe was it was a slow ballad about something "cajun". Thankfully, TC was able to figure out what track I'd been obsessing about -- it's called Bobcaygeon from their "Phantom Power" album and it's also on their "Yer Favorites" greatest hits CD. You know how songs can really just hit you for some reason? This is one of them for me.








* Photos property of bananarepublic.com, www.peermusic.com, www.lornnielouie.com, Google Images and are used solely for commentary purposes

Shoe Clue

Last year, I was tres excited after stumbling upon the Abaete for Payless shoe collection, discovered in a rare Haute Hippie appearance at a local SoCal shopping mall.

I ended up buying black suede, faux alligator and gold trim pumps, as well as suede ankle booties -- both of which have been my go-to footwear when it comes to going out.

Abaete has gone and done it again with another collection, this time less ghetto sophisticate and more classicmod, with the same attention to detail: gradient lucite heels, shiny patent and a clear section in the shoe's body to slightly mimick the D'orsay -- well, kind of.

In any case, it seems classy and lady-like is on order for Fall '07.










I'm Lovin' it: Shuswap and me. Tomorrow night. Boo yah. Oh, and a yesterday's birthday man of the hour -- my Big Brother K -- inebriatedly pointing at our friend Trevy C. and for some reason saying, "I hate you, I hate you!" repeatedly, while trying to get him to jump off the patio balcony of Chivana's on 4th. Yeah, that would've been some birthday present.

I'm Over it: Working on less sleep than usually accustomed to is NOT FUN. Especially when it's your own damn fault for shutting down a local watering hole the night before and still not going to bed afterward.

Track of the Day: None today.




* Photos property of payless.com

Oh. My. God.

Did anyone else known that Louis Vuitton had a bag style called the "Globus"?!

Lynn Yaeger -- yes, the editor with the perpetual circle-rouged cheeks -- said so in this Village Voice article.

Sorry for those who don't get it -- only those who know me will -- but it's just so hilarious!!

This bag is so elusive, there are no cyber images of it. All that is known is that it's a white canvas tote emblazoned with a pink medallion declaring "Louis Vuitton" in the center.

Kudos to anyone who can find it OFF of Canal Street.

You're So Paper Rad

Writing a little blurb on this three-person, 80s-influenced cartoon and techno graphics art collective out of NYC known as Paper Rad seems futile.

Read the group's wee manifesto and you'll see why I say that -- they prefer not to be defined by what they call "america-speak". Which is apparently what I'd be doing if I wrote extensively on them.

Having said that, check out some of the awesome works that come from the artists.

Totally rad, dude.













I'm Lovin' it: Vancouver editorial and commercial photographer Jody Rogac. Her impressive client list includes things-cool such as Aritizia, ION Magazine, The Georgia Strait, Shine Nightclub, the band Your Say Party! We Say Die!, Spankrock, FASHION Magazine and Slum Records. Her camera-style is very, very real and authentic -- looking at some of Rogac's photos feels like catching a series of precious moments in someone's life. On top of all that, she's a total sweetheart who dotes on her dog Jonathan -- and, of course, her camera.











I'm Lovin' it, Part Deux: Today, I'm not in strong dislike of much. Maybe it's because of the two cookies I just had? Anyway, I just finished having a discussion with my co-worker Nicky P., who -- at the tenderoni age of 24 -- doesn't seem to understand why girls always go for older guys. He claims that girls have it all wrong, because once the guy hits 70 and croaks, she has 20 more years of loneliness to bear while, "he sits up in heaven, banging on the piano and drinking martinis while she sits on earth, crying her eyes out and being all depressed."

Good point, Nicky P., good point.


Place of the Day: The new Illhoiha gym facility in Tokyo, with its special Omotesando-style climbing wall masterminded by hip design group Nendo. This ain't your average rock climbing in Squamish, that's for damn sure.









* Photos property of jodyrogac.com, Google Images, core77.com and are used solely for commentary purposes

Stylista Of The Day

Just call her Pete-ra Doherty.

She rules this graffed-out cement ledge for reals.








* Photo property of facehunter.blogspot.com

Vicky's Got A Secret...

And the cat in the bag is these Colin Stuart bad boys from the Victoria's Secret website -- pictured below -- are a-comin' in the mail for me.

Yes, I totally gave in. Um, who wouldn't at $24.99 USD??


Arrival time: Sometime before mid-August.

Chosen color: Patent Black in size 6.

Outfit For Coordination: TBD (to be determined).

Location For Initial Debut in Vancouver: Somewhere where martinis are shaken AND stirred.

Haute Hippie Happiness Factor: Very high.










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

Sneaker Freak

This one's for the boys.

What handbags are to the ladies, sneakers are to the men. The kind of crazy designs, color combos and graphics companies and artists are coming up with these days are mind-blowing, not to mention totally collection-worthy -- some sneaks are basically works of art.

Sneaks stores are popping up everywhere, from Sportie LA to Alife Rivington Club To Blends to Colette (yup, the Paris one) to Clientele to Flight Club Los Angeles and New York to Headquarter, Gravity Pope and Livestock in Vancity to St. Alfred in Chicago to Undefeated. And most of them probably carry Creative Recreation, a sneaker line from Orange County, California just dominating the scene.

Now, hip dudes sport suits and dress pants with sneaks instead of fancy wingtips. Creative Recreation styles have testerone-filled Italian or Latino names like the Cesario, Colombo, Don Carlo, Gambino and Torrio, as well as a special collection exclusive only to Barney's New York. Oh, and hey -- they've got styles for the chickies, too.

These puppies are no longer just for the ballerz in iced-out bling.



















I'm Lovin' it: A little bird named Michelle Rizzardo -- who owns one of my fave Vancouver boutiques One Of A Few -- told me that she and her fiance are opening up a second boutique next door to their current Gastown location. Store number deux is aptly named Two Of A Few, concentrating on menswear, exclusive labels and a bigger shoe selection. If you haven't check out Michelle's store, please do yourself a favor and stop by. I'll be the girl curled up in a ball in a sleeping bag next to the entrance, waiting till Two Of A Few opens up its doors a few feet over.


I'm Over it: Looming editorial deadlines. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!


Track of the Day: New Violence by White Williams, aka. Joe Williams and close crony of Gregg Gillis from Girl Talk. More electro-pop goodness I usually praise. It's the kind of song that gamers might dig, with its techno edge and Atari sounds.







www.myspace.com/whitewilliams



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

Playing Polo

Nothing delights me more than seeing friends take fashion risks.

Especially my guy friends.

Case in point: My good buddy Luker actually went to upscale Canadian department store Holt Renfrew and picked up the snazzy Polo Ralph Lauren Washed Pincord Blazer (pretty sure it's this one, I'm working off my memory from a going-out night) and sported it out on Saturday for our friend Mikey's birthday shenanigans. It's light, sporty and very of-the-moment with it's blue and white pinstripes, something I imagine on tanned, dandy-ish Italian men during summertime in Milan.

I was shocked, amazed and absolutely over the moon at his fashion selection.

Yep, it seems dear Luker has some serious style.

He sure did me proud.








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

Walk On Water

Quite literally.

Today, I came across this amazing installation that simulates walking on water from the London Design Festival called Bridge, by the artist Michael Cross.

This special installation is for Dilston Grove, formerly called the Clare College Mission Church and now London's well-known raw, large-scale space available for artists. Two-thirds of the church is submerged in water and the only thing visible to the eye is a single, round stepping stone on a platform near an entranceway. Stepping on the stone causes another stone to rise in front of it -- each step you take makes another arise in front and lowers the one behind, until you reach the middle of the water (where it all comes to an abrupt halt) and need to turn back.

There are 30 steps in all, so this activity may not be the best for folks afraid of water. Intense, eery and liberating.

And you may not turn into Jesus the Lord Savior, but you'll sure feel close.








I'm Lovin' it: Four more sleeps till my big weekend up at Shuswap lake with me crew. And my girly girl Erica L. will be there, too, houseboating her bum off. I see tanning, day-time drinking, beach volleyball and incriminating photos in my future. And no, not that kind, just the inebriated-with-friends kind. Dirty, dirty minds.







I'm Over it: People -- from out of town in this case -- who get in touch to make plans to meet up with you a week and a half in advance, and then fail to let you know they can't make it on the actual day of the meeting. Yep, still waiting for a call, text, email or some form of communication saying, "Hi, I'm sorry I didn't call you yesterday to cancel because I'm a complete and utterly rude douchebag." Good thing I didn't sit around waiting for this winner. And somewhere my gut instinct -- based on my record of previous history with said individual -- is screaming, "I told you so, I totally knew it!" at me over and over.

I believe most people call this moment "the straw that broke the camel's back".







Happiness of the Day: My tickets to Kaskade at the Commodore on October 5th and my newly purchased CD of the Shout Out Louds single "Tonight I Have To Leave It" with its four different versions and "Streams of Whiskey" track. The Kleerup remix is currently on massive repeat on my vehicular stereo.










* Photos property of art-design.umich.edu, www.gucca.dk, 343guiltysnark.com, ashuswapholiday.com and are used solely for commentary purposes

Cardi Party

Sure, sure.

It's not really cardigan season yet, but with the current stormy weather hovering over us and summer halfway finito, there's absolutely no harm in preparing for upcoming chillier days and nights.

Cardigans used to be synonymous with librarians, old maids, grandmothers and pocket-protector geeks. Shapeless, unflattering in color and just plain boring, boring, boring. Well, stop your yawning -- and your whining -- because Sonia Rykiel has put out a slouchy, shirred version in this season's it-color: yellow (well, citrus in this case).

Awesomely awesome e-tailer La Garconne carries the three-quarter length, light-as-a-feather cardi, which is divine for layering. I even love the rest of the outfit it's thrown together with.

So all for you jeune filles (French to English translation: girls) out there, La Garconne -- and Sonia Rykiel -- may just be the thing for you.









I'm Lovin' it: The huge, annual Coachella-ish concert event -- that goes down in Japan -- best known as Summer Sonic '07. We're not talking cheesy asian pop groups or quirky rock bands like Puffy AmiYumi. We're talking everyone from The Black Eyed Peas to The Pipettes to The Editors to the Arctic Monkeys to Gwen Stefani to Interpol to 120 Days to The Long Blondes to DJ Shadow to Hot Chip to LCD Sound System to the Klaxons. Dope, dope line-up for sure. And you can bet your bottom dollar that even the non-English speaking, dancing "kawaii" girls and boys will know the lyrics to every song. All while flashing the peace sign.







I'm Over it: Uh, how did Sugar Ray make it into the Summer Sonic '07 line-up?!?!


Concert Announcement of the Day: Oh. My. Gah. Kaskade is back in town this October 5th, DJ-ing himself out to a sure-to-be-dancing Commodore Ballroom crowd. My girl Seems D.'s other half is throwing -- and is the guest DJ for -- the event, so it'll be double-y wicked times. Didn't get to catch the Kaskade show last time, but I'm making up for it by getting my ticket tomorrow, which is when they hit the sales tables. Make sure to pounce. Tickets will sell faster than Anya Hindmarch's "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" eco-shopping bag (which was basically in 15 minutes at all Whole Foods stores in New York yesterday).






www.myspace.com/kaskademusic



* Photos property of lagarconne.com, kaskademusic.com, Google Images and are used solely for commentary purposes

Som Like It Hot

Ah, what wouldn't I give to be lounging at a resort somewhere. Especially considering summer decided to go all MIA this week in Vancity, leaving behind grey skies mid-July, completely reminiscent of our fall going into winter and our winter going into spring.

Taking into account my current work schedule, me and a resort vacay is clearly out of the question. Therefore, I must live vicariously through all the PYTs that are both able to jet-set the exotic locales in private planes and afford this stellar Resort 2008 collection from Peter Som.

A good chunk of NYC's biggest socialites live and breathe Peter Som. Just check out the stills from New York Social Diary or Park Avenue Peerage (the new Socialite Rank, now that the latter is defunct). Som silhouettes and proportions are certainly flattering to the feminine form (despite all socialites being nearly emaciated) -- his pretty details are even better. His Resort 2008 collection rebuffed the skinny pant, leaning toward the extra-wide, sailor-style hems paired with either loose or form-fitting sleeveless tops.

What really got me going was the designer's seemingly odd pairing of the colors bright lime green (on the bottom) and muted blue-grey (on top, naturally). Sounds hideous on paper, but the result is very fresh, very modern. And it appears blue -- in all shades -- ruled this collection.

Me likey some Som.















I'm Lovin' it: These lovely chick-itas are KILLIN' it in yellow and colors. I can't get over the first girl's vintage vinyl necklace on a thugged out gold chain paired with lady-like ensemble -- white gloves included. She's so "flava-flaaaav!"








I'm Over it: Rain, rain, go away on this supposed summer day...


Band of the Day: If I were P. Diddy on the MTV's "Making The Band", I'd totally make Van She. But since they've all gone and made themselves already, I'll dance out hardcore to their music. This wee quartet is about 80s post punk, synthesizers, funky tunes and electronica de Paris, releasing their debut EP in 2005 to some considerable buzz. They remix like crazy, from The Klaxons to Feist to New Young Pony Club to The Bravery to fellow Aussie consorts, Sneaky Sound System. Van She me any day.







www.myspace.com/vanshe



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