The daily chronicle of a fashion-and-beauty obsessed, style-writing, pseudo-Angeleno who made her way from the Great White North to La-La Land -- otherwise known as Los Angeles, California -- and back again.
Till the next big city calls out her name, that is.
I'm a Vancouverite who moonlighted as an Angeleno. My momma is the best in the entire world, and I'll argue you hoarse on that one. I've been in love only once in my life. The East Coast calls me but the West Coast is in my blood. Social butterflies -- and party animals -- are a great species. Fashion and writing will be the death of me, but what a way to go. Carine Roitfeld is fabulous. I would die a painful death if art, design, photography, fashion, music and dancing did not exist. Always kind of wondered why Smurfette was the only girl in town. I can't draw. Absolutely believe everything happens for a reason. I feel so lucky to have the girlfriends that I do. I'm a total sun baby. Think I might be a workaholic. I may have slight road rage. Ice cream and hockey are religions. I buy too many glossy magazines. Nothing beats someone with a killer sense of humor. Chivalry is really not dead. I'm a victim of minor vertigo and a serious lead foot. Always up for meeting people from paths different than mine and crossing paths with old friends. At the very end of it all, I want to be able to look back and say: Yeah, I sure lived a damn good life.
My grey matter is in a state of mush right now, so I need a big time break, though it's rather humorous that my method of taking a break from transcribing and typing is to type and write even more.
Though transcribing interviews is long and laborious -- I don't have one of those fancy digital recorders that turns recorded interviews into a word document just yet -- one of the most fulfilling things about this task is re-listening to the conversation, picking up bits of information and poignant statements that I may have missed in the interview moment (thinking about the next question, no doubt).
I spent nearly two hours with Michael, chatting about everything from Morocco and Guatemala travels with his children to a reclaimed skis public art piece he masterminded to reinventing the Canadian timber industry to working with the Aga Khan on sustainable communities in Tajikistan to rock climbing to why bears are his firm's nemesis.
Michael and mgb just won big accolades in Chicago at the International Interior Design Association awards for their work on the Rennie Gallery and LYNNsteven boutique (see the image below for Michael and the book installation), an amazing feat for a local firm.
The reason they won was simple: instead of being victorious for big, flashy work, they were victorious for simplicity and, more importantly, shifting the way architects look at design.
So why I love my job is because I get to meet and shoot the breeze with forward-thinking innovators like Michael Green and Bob Rennie and Eoin Finn and Richard Jaffray, all of whom have, yes, had great success financially but who are truly good souls and who truly recognize that even greater success comes from retaining life balance and from changing the world.
So a big thank you to folks like Michael, Bob, Eoin and Richard, who have had a major hand in making my work that much more enjoyable.
Hope to cross paths with many more people like them in the future, too.
I'm Lovin' it: It's been a week of very full, productive work days. Self-back pat action happening right now.
I'm Over it: n/a
Track of the Day: "Bloodstream" by Stateless. Don't judge me, I'm aware this song is on The Vampire Diaries soundtrack, but I didn't know that before I liked the song. True story.
* Photo property of vancouversun.com and is used solely for commentary purposes
I likes shoes, I like grey and I like dark wood heels.
Those are just a few reasons why I came across these shoes and wanted them immediately.
They also remind me a lot of a pair of Kirrily Johnston heels I obsessed about a few years ago on this very blog.
The thing about these shoes is the many different ways they can be worn: go Chloe Sevigny with a pair of denim cutoffs or tight flowered dress (with denim vest, natch), or go Lauren Santo Domingo with a body-con Balmain leather mini dress.
Options = good.
I'm Lovin' it: Taco salad-making and bike riding night with Trini!
I'm Over it: I can't complain today. Got up at 6:15am and went straight into working. Productive day to make up for a very unproductive last Friday.
Music of the Day: I was twittering back and forth with our Sweetspot marketing manager Sari L. about new music, and she recommended the UK's Howling Bells. So I checked them out and really quite like it -- head chanteuse Juanita Stein's vocals reminds me slightly of Karen O. from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs crossed with Karen Elson.
Check out "Ballad for the Bleeding Heart".
* Photo property of nymag.com and is used solely for commentary purposes
Popped into lululemon Lab last night to reconnect with lulu Lab leader Melissa Content and the rest of her amazing team and, wow, the fashion-forward designs they have going on in there are phenomenal.
One lululemon gal Lauren -- an old friend of a work colleague and formerly of both Chanel and Hermes in New York -- was wearing a pair of organic fabric harem pants in a washed out navy, paired with a white button-down shirt, heeled sandals and big statement necklace.
What's great about the newer Lab items is that they've made the lulu symbol black (instead of the standard issue white) on the pieces, differentiating between sports gear and fashion gear.
And for all you eastern folk out there, Melissa is packing her bags (sniff) and heading back to the right coast to open a new lululemon Lab location, so keep your eyes and ears open for the opening date.
Namaste, and Happy Friday!
Besos, Haute Hippie
I'm Lovin' it: Went into a book store the other day and flipped through a stack of fashion glossies, which is something I haven't done for awhile. It reminded me of how much I admire what goes behind producing each issue, and reminded me of why I love fashion and everything around it so damn much.
Snapped this picture from a collage of photos in the latest L'Officiel, this one being of a gorgeous little girl with photography aspirations.
I'm Over it: Can tomorrow's beach bash for Big Brother K's birthday be here already? No?? Okay, fine.
Track of the Day: "Fall N Love" by Slum Village, since it's Big Brother K's birthday this weekend and is mos definitely a Big Brother K kind of song.
* Photo property of lululemon and is used solely for commentary purposes
The new look book for Dace is out, and the photography is pretty stunning (some of the shots remind my slightly of the rowing scene from The Notebook).
I'm Lovin' it: I was at the extremely stylish apartment of an interior designer and his florist partner yesterday evening, and could not get over the dark grey corduroy button back headboard in their guest room. You wouldn't think grey corduroy could be categorized as chic, but oh, believe me, it is.
I'm Over it: This Harmonized Sales Tax our local government shoved down out throats has GOT to go.
Track of the Day: "AM FM" by !!!. There's a great, super funky bass line in this track.
* Photos property of Dace and are used solely for commentary purposes
Style.com took photos of some fashionable people at the recent annual music festival at Coney Island.
I love to look at what folks put together for musical festivals, because there's often a nice cross section of vintage, high-low and just plain cool (lots of jean shorts between 2009-2010 thus far!).
Except for this get-up they posted.
Not sure what the thought process was for this, as the piece was on fashion "do's", not "don'ts".
The photographic evidence speaks for itself, that's all I have to say.
* Photo property of style.com and is used solely for commentary purposes
This (very) sunny Friday seems like a perfect day for sitting back and thinking about all the things in my life I'm thankful for, so here are a few, in no particular order:
My family and my friends, who are all the most awesome, loving and supportive people I know. Every which one of them. (Cheesy is okay on TGIF, right?)
The makers of the Hipstamic iPhone app, for affording me the ability to take all the artsy, cool photographs I want for a one-time price of $1.99, instead of an SLR price of $1,199.
Refinery29, for consistently being one of the best fashion blogs out there. You're unbiased and always en pointe.
Lionel Richie, for creating this song.
Liberte Yogurt and Island Farms Ice Cream, for being the geniuses behind my lunch today.
Yasmin A. of Ybrands recently brought this label from Down Under to my attention, and I've been unable to stop flipping through the look book PDF she sent me since then. There's always something a little rough, tumble and edgy about Aussies brands, even through any feminine details and accoutrements. It's almost a little unexpected, like a sartorial Sixth Sense twist.
It was very, very difficult for me to curate it all down to a few key looks for your viewing pleasure, but just take this image overload as a sign of my enthusiasm.
Besos! Haute Hippie
* Photos property of One Teaspoon, May Globus and are used solely for commentary purposes
Many insiders have been lamenting the end of couture since last year, fearing that the storied ateliers and businesses catering to this sartorial art form will disappear sooner rather than later.
Couture, some argue, has no place in such low economic times (nor has relevance anymore in general), since it sets a buyer back thousands and thousands (and sometimes millions) of dollars for all that painstaking, hand-crafted detailing and luxe fabrics.
Fashion without couture is like an Aston Martin One-77 without leather. That quality mastery and material really helps make the whole.
Without further ado, here my two top picks for the latest haute couture showings in Paris, one from Chanel and one from Dior.
Disclaimer: both have a rather obscene amount of gold beading.
I'm Lovin' it: I could use a new obscenely big necklace. This will do.
I'm Over it: I forgot how to spell "obscene" for about 20 seconds. Hooked on phonics much?
Music of the Day: My pal Matty of Adidas emailed along a link to Radio Zero, which has some fantastic mixes. This one by Tyler Fedchuk has been making me bounce in my seat for the past 25 minutes or so.
* Photos property of nymag.com and are used solely for commentary purposes
I've been a little sparse on the posting for the past week, apologies! I'm back in action.
My girl Leila B., who has killer KILLER style (therefore she is, naturally, a stylist), had her birthday last week karaoke-style at Fortune in Chinatown, where another friend of ours DJ Sincerely Hana was spinning on her usual Happy Ending Friday night.
Snapped this photo of Leila dancing her pants off behind the DJ booth to Hana's wicked mixes, which includes Ed Banger's "Baby I'm Yours (feat. Irfane)" by Breakbot.
Might I add that it's not only a bada** song, it's a bada** video?
There you have it. It's a happy photo to start off this Happy Monday!
