Frugal Fashion Week: Frugalista Brunch and ShopCrawl – Post Mortem

So I had an OK time at Frugal Fashion Week’s Frugalista Brunch and ShopCrawl on Saturday...Not great...just OK....

HIGHS

- Shopping before breakfast/first-coffee-of-the-day: The indoor market-like-shops set-up inside the Drake was wonderful – clothes, jewellery and handbags – who could ask for anything more

- The Drake Brunch: One word – Superb – a mouth-watering assortment of baked goods, Drake’s Housemade Granola and Soft + Sexy Scrambled Eggs, and of course – lots of coffee

- Windfall Clothing: Proceeds from Frugal Fashion Week, which I believe included the silent auction, benefited Windfall, Canada’s ONLY new clothing bank

- A good friend: A Walk & Talk with a good friend down one of my favourite shopping paths WQW

- Discovery: Found a couple new spots along the WQW path that I’ve added to my LOVE IT! Shops List including shoe-and-so-much-more-shop Chasse Gardée (Queen & Dovercourt) and pastry shop Nadege Patisserie (NE corner of Queen and Gore Vale) – loved their open-kitchen concept!

- Fieerce Fashion House: Bought two pieces from Fieerce Fashion House - similar to the ones below - that I absolutely LOVE IT! The skirt I got is red with BIG gold buttons and the dress I got is black with gold highlights (*will update with pics of the actual pieces....)

(Pics from fieerce.com)

And Julia Tommasone, Fieerce’s Sales Director, was absolutely AMAZING at helping me out 1) With one glance she picked the exact right size for me 2) She dug deep in the boxes to find that dress size because there were none left on the racks 3) She let me take the dress downstairs to try on in the bathroom before I bought it – perfect fit – and I don’t just mean the dress!

LOWS

- Fashion Show?: I know it is FRUGAL Fashion Week but just two looks came out as part of the fashion “show” – seriously? We had to laugh when the MC said...”And now our last look.......” ---- “Last look”! There was only one before it! The “First look”!

- Gift Bag: The gift bag left MUCH to be desired. Again, I know this was FRUGAL Fashion Week but I don’t think that means unwearable. My gift bag came complete with a broken pair of earrings – so broken, I had no idea what they were and my HB and I stared at it in its packing trying to figure out what the hell it was. The card SAID jewellery, and there were earring hooks but there was nothing attached them – what was supposed to be attached – two big round colourful shells of something – had come unglued and were just hanging out at the bottom of the packaging!

And besides those, there wasn’t much else in the bag – a couple glacéau vitaminwater, which was a b@%#* to carry on the crawl, a copy of TCHAD (this I did like but again, a b@%#* to carry on the crawl) and a can of Dufflet’s Tart Cherries in Pure Milk Chocolate + Madagascar Vanilla.

Haven’t tried the cherries yet, so will let you know but either way, NOT fun to carry on the crawl. Not sure who made the sacrifice of leaving the gift bag and coming back for it after the crawl but smart and lucky you if did. I, on the other hand, am a bit compulsive when it comes to moving forward rather than back --- sigh.


Love love,


If I Was A Rich Girl...Toronto

Summer Sales! Imelda, Shopgirls, Body Blue Denim Lab and Portobello East

This whole ‘Where is summer?’ thing is not so bad because across the city this week the Summer Sales have begun! I have faith in Mother Nature that she will bring the heat – LOVE IT! – so I have no qualms with stocking up on gear so late into the season because in all honestly, I think I’ve only been able to bust out ONE summer dress so far! This, my friends, is a shame... BUT counter that with a great sale, at just the right store, mixed with a little ‘good timing’ = PuurrrFECT!

Starting it off in my neighbourhood - Roncesvalles Village – is Imelda shoe boutique. Imelda is a spin-off of one of my other favourite stores, Frock, and from my stalking of the shop, I believe this is Imelda’s first sale – Wheee!

I adore the set up of Imelda – lots of room for me to stand back and take it all in – ahhh – and they carry El Naturalista, Fly London (my personal favourites), Miz Mooz, Dolce Vita, Hunter, Jump and Clarks, along with some killer handbags.

Once you’ve added some summer style to your ‘soles’, take a stroll around the corner to Shopgirls, which carry beautiful pieces from fantastic local designers and is also the place to hook yourself up with a pair of Second Yoga Jeans....

And if you know me at all, you know I’m a jeans-girl (much like guys are a leg-guys or boo – oh never mind, you get the point!), so I’m a big fan of Body Blue on Queen. They too are currently having a sale, and on first glance, I saw that shoes are 30% off but I just got an email forward from a friend letting me know that Body Blue’s entire summer collection (almost) is 30-75% off!

This Sunday, July 26 is also the first Portobello East...

“A new style of market is in the works. Unlike traditional farmers markets that sell grandma’s homemade jam, Toronto will soon have a fashion and art market selling unique pieces from local designers and artisans. Inspired by the famous, long established European markets, Portobello East market provides a low-cost venue for local artists and designers to show and sell their work directly to the public.”

Portobello East will run on the last Sunday of every month from July through to December at the Fermenting Cellar at the Distillery District. Admission is $5.

***If you are a local designer, Portobello East still has limited exhibitor spaces in other categories besides jewellery (they’ve sold out of jewellery spaces for July and August).

******

*Update – July 24, 2009*

On my way home last night I saw:

1 – There is a rainbow of Hunter Boots in the window at Imelda (Again, wheee – SALE!)

2 – Frock is having a sale TOO! So just like Doublemint gum, Double Your Pleasure, Double Your FUN!

Love love,

If I Was A Rich Girl...

reco Jeans - Recycled Denim

LOVE IT!

This is brilliant! As I move more and more towards making earth-friendly, responsible and sustainable purchase choices, reco Jeans has introduced to the list of options a staple of any wardrobe – a great pair of jeans. (EVERYONE looks good in a great pair of jeans – it's all just about getting the right ones for you!)

“reco is an eco-friendly, fashion forward brand. We are extending the lifestyle of “living green” with an exclusive line of recycled denim....

reco is maintaining a natural essence by naming styles after endangered plants for men and flowers for women. In addition, we have broadened our beliefs beyond fabric and consider external details of your jeans. The tags, for example, are printed on both recycled and or plantable seeded paper. The goal is to eliminate waste. Every little bit helps.”

My favourites are the Texas Snowbells – HOT!

Pic from recojeans.com

As yet, availability seems unclear, as prices haven’t even been set yet because - FUN FUN - they are actually taking bids for the first 300 pairs! recojeans.com

“What is the price?! Well, YOU get to decide! How much are reco jeans worth to you? We want to appeal to your sense of involvement by asking your opinion on the pricing of our brand. What would you pay when purchasing reco jeans in a retail store? We have devised an auction style promotion for you to determine the price. Your bids will influence pricing for future seasons.”

I’ll be keeping my feelers out for these, and when I do get my paws on a pair, check for me in my reco jeans & a plain white T (and heels, of course)!

Love love,

If I Was A Rich Girl...

Frugal Fashion Week

LOVE IT!

I am looking forward to checking out Frugal Fashion Week – especially the Frugalista Brunch presented by The Drake Hotel on Saturday, July 25.

Tickets are $35 and for that very budget-friendly price, you get:

- A 3-course brunch
- Fashion Shows
- A SWEET silent auction (I ADORE silent auctions!)
- And a West Queen West Shop Crawl (The shop crawl is on both Saturday, July 25th and Sunday, July 26th – just look for the ‘F’ in the windows of participating boutiques!)

Add a shopaholic friend to the mix and this ticket has everything I love and everything I love to do on a lazy Saturday – dine, shop, talk/gossip and then shop some more, and maybe even win something along the way!

A few other lovables about this event:

- Energy-packed gift bags
- Sneak Peeks – “Fashion shows will take place inside select boutiques, allowing shoppers a sneak peek at what will be hanging in frugal closets this Fall!”
- Winners and M.A.C. have donated to the Silent Auction

And it looks like ‘a few of my favourites things’ (a.k.a. shops) are participating in the shop crawl as well: FAWN and Thieves.

Love love,

If I Was A Rich Girl...

Rock Star vs. Toronto Women

This morning I saw a guy who looked like he just stepped off the stage as lead singer for the hottest, ROCK-OUT rock band ever - (insert your favourite rock band here) – and he was walking down King Street. As smooth-operator as he looked though, it just seemed odd....looking like that and just walking down the street – doing nothing in particular....and all alone.

It made me realize that I am so glad to be a T.O. woman!

You see, so many Toronto women walk down the street – doing nothing in particular – looking like we just stepped off the runway or off the cover of the hottest fashion magazine – and nothing ever seems wrong or odd about that. That’s just our style...that’s just the way we roll – HOT every day, all day.

Men – not so much...It’s odd to see you all dolled up and comes off fake or trying too hard. I like my men in jeans and t-shirt - always sexy - or a well tailored suit - and you are good-to-go!

Not trying to save the world with this observation – just an observation. And maybe it only applies to me. Would love to know what men think about all the dolled up women in Toronto – honestly, truly, deep-down inside – do you love to see us in the skinny jeans and heels with the face-eating sunglasses? Or the high-waisted skirts and tank tops? Or could you care less and wish we would bring back the jeans and t-shirt, or dare I say it – sweat pants?!!!! UGH

On that note, it will be interesting to see the results of Lou Lou Magazine’s latest contest...

LOULOU Street Style contest: Vote for your favourite man! http://bit.ly/iDSS8

“CONTESTANTS WERE ASKED TO SEND US A PHOTO OF A MAN WHOSE STYLE THEY THINK IS AMAZING”

Hmmm...I picked my favourite – whose yours?

Love love,

If I Was A Rich Girl...

STRUT - The Wine with Legs

Although the TTC advertising caught my eye yesterday - a bit of sexy always does - I just heard about STRUT 'The Wine with Legs' today, and what I think is a fantastic street-level initiative....

STRUT Grassroots Event Locations – Free Bottle Offer (http://www.strutwines.com/)

If you show up at one of the locations listed, on the right date, between 9 p.m. - 1:30 a.m., you get a coupon for a free bottle of STRUT wine. Just take yourself and your coupon to Wine Rack to get your bottle, and then get your summer 2009 sangria-, spritzer- or just-a-glass on!

I'm looking forward to giving the 'Cab Couture' a try!

*One side note though - the 'creative' for STRUT looks very similar to the last Paolo Coelho book, The Winner Stands Alone...hmmm

Love love,

If I Was A Rich Girl...