Valentine’s Day is Every Day: Converse Spring 2010 Collection

We’re officially one month out from Valentine’s Day, so I thought I would remind you, as the HB so lovingly likes to remind me, that Valentine’s Day is every day!

You shouldn’t need a “day” to tell, or show, the cuddly, fleshy, significant other in your life how much you love them.

Write Your Name on His/Her......Foot?

In celebration of Not-Valentine’s Day, have I got a gift idea for you to give!

Just in time for this sweet Spring we’ve been seeing peeking around the corner, and perfect for putting your “mark” on your significant other, is Converse’s Spring 2010 Collection.

“This season Converse wants to share some love with its customers by introducing some “loving” styles as part of their Spring ’10 collection. The Chuck Taylor All Star becomes the perfect blank canvas for the pioneer of pop art, Robert Indiana, and his iconic “LOVE” artwork.”


Or sign off on him/her being permanently yours by tagging your hawt name on a pair of (PRODUCT) RED LOVE shoes.

Go for the Converse (PRODUCT) RED LOVEs and really ROCK OUT the world with Spring Fever L.O.V.E. because "a significant percentage of the sales (or portion of the profits) from these shoes go to the Global Fund to finance AIDS programs in Africa, with an emphasis on the health of women and children."

Make-Them-Yours Deets:
Robert Indiana ($80); Converse (PRODUCT) RED LOVE ($80); Available in Toronto at Little Burgundy (in Eaton Centre) & Get Out Side (437 Queen St. W)

So of course....

Love love,

If I Was A Rich Girl...Toronto

Frumpy to Fabulous – Taking It Up A Level at The Bay (w/ Fashion Magazine)

With the opening The Room, The Bay (at Queen & Yonge) has revamped and reunited itself with the REAL fashion world!




[Pic via Me & my BB]

Teaming up with Fashion Magazine for a great "launch"** event last Thursday, this Canadian department-store icon flaunted a new third floor that will have fashionistas flocking. That evening we were treated to X-Rated cocktails, sexy appies and a SWEET little candy buffet (yes, BUFFET!) – moving The Bay from frumpy to fabulous!

[Note about the event itself: *The Bay girls who were handling guest list & coat check were UBER-awesome and armed with patience, as A LOT of ladies came out to prance around amongst the designer clothes, swirling glasses in hand. I was there at 5:30 and left at 7:30 and during that time, I don't think the sign-in/coat-check line was ever less than 20 ladies. And let's just say there were some cats in the house - MEOW!]

Yes gals, they’ve brought in the big guns – Balmain, McQueen, Berardi, Matthew Williamson and Pink Tartan are just a few of the great designer brands you’ll find on the heavenly white and very chic third floor of this flagship store. And they’ve really opened it up (think high ceiling, open-concept loft) - you can actually WALK around without bumping into a rack – oh the logic!

Reinvention is great – think Madonna – when you can pull it off and appeal to an entirely new audience without looking like you’re trying too hard. (I highly recommend checking out the store’s new fashion candy from the first floor up, starting in the handbag section.... ..You won’t be disappointed!)

This revamp had me at hello, and I’ve added it as a stop on my emergency-shopping list.


*Note to self – Thursdays are mark down days, so if you make this a regular shop-stop you might get lucky and land a few stunning, investment-piece wardrobe must-haves at an IfIWasARichGirl price.

So...thanks to The Bay and Fashion Magazine for a fun little after-work bash and the killer takeaway bag that made its way home with me – here’s a list of what was in the bag:

[Pic via Me & my BB]

-- A Catherine Malandrino scarf (LOVE IT & actually wearing it as I write this post [pic above]! BEST. SWAG-BAG-PIECE. EVER!)

-- Givenchy’s Liv Tyler inspired scent, ABSOLUTELY IRRESISTIBLE (I will give this one away because I’m particular about what perfume I wear, [I am NOT a mix-it-up-everyday kinda girl], but I did LOVE the sexy roll-on applicator!)

-- Schwarzkopf BLONDME Shine Magnifying Spray, Illuminating Body Shimmer

-- OSIS+ Volumising Spray

-- A Sonia Rykiel chunky necklace

-- A Free People Lace bandeau top and mini purse

And of course a copy of Fashion Magazine

[Pic via a Fashionable Little Birdie]

Love love,

If I Was A Rich Girl...Toronto

**The Room at The Bay has been open since 2009

What’s Next: Burberry 2010 Autumn/Winter Show

Dear Burberry, You give GOOOOOOD show...

I am by no means a serious fashion writer/critic/blogger/tweeter/expert etc.

I’m what you would call your ‘bare-bones’, straight-to-the-point ‘fashionista’ – I LOVE clothes (ALL styles of clothes and by all types of designers) and I LOVE shopping – Done & Done!

But I often do *wonder* things about the fashion industry, much in the same fashion Cookie Monster philosophizes....

And I’ve been mulling this over for awhile now but after last week’s Burberry 2010 Autumn/Winter show, I had to get it down in writing and ask – What’s next?

You see, it is now the norm (or new ‘trend’ if you will) that fashion shows by the world’s top designers are globally live-streamed - giving front-row all-access to anyone, and everyone, who’s interested.

There have been a lot of bumps along the way and the live-streaming hasn’t always been the greatest, often cutting out and/or freezing altogether just from the sheer number of people trying to watch.

However, for me anyways, Burberry nailed it – no trouble in site, streamed perfectly from start to finish and I especially loved being able to tweet right on the homepage as I watched (again not new but FUN every time)!

But taking it to the next level, like any good showperson would, the Burberry show was.........wait for it.............in 3D!!!!!.......Actually, not too much of a shock – after all this Avatar hoopla, someone had to do it. It was really just a matter of who would do it first.

And don’t get me wrong, with all this ‘Wow-Factor’, the honest-to-goodness, best part about the Burberry show was the clothes – oh, the clothes, the bags, the shoes, the jackets.....ahhhhh. *Daydream a little*

*Coute Que Coute has my favourite collection of pics from the show*

And that’s just it isn’t it? The ‘Wow-Factor’ combined with a GORGE collection is kinda like a Triple Threat (or double-threat in this case). If you have the foundation – an exquisite, to-die-for collection – and you are, and always will be, just-THAT-good - does it hurt to play the game and seal the deal with a bit of a ‘Show’?

But then where does ‘taking-it-to-the-next-level’ end – will it end? If it’s all about engaging the audience, creating a spectacle, reaching out further and so on, the furthest I can see this going is to actually put the audience in the dress and on the runway themselves....oh, and do it globally, live-streamed, in 3D from Mars. *Will LOVE IT*

[Pic via Wikipedia]

So I am looking forward to seeing if ‘What’s Next’ shows up here in Toronto at this year’s Fashion Week. Will some of our top Canadian designers add a touch of new, take things to a whole new level.....or have we hit a plateau? Da Da DAAAA! Oh, the suspense is going to kill me!

Toronto LG Fashion Week: Fall 2010 Collections
Date: March 28th to April 1st, 2010
New Venue: 30 Ordnance St.
Register

The evolution of the fashion show....what do you think...where do we go from here? Where would you like to see it go from here? (Oh, and just to keep you up at night philosophizing too, an even bigger question for your - Does exclusivity in the fashion show world exist any longer? Should it?)

Watch Burberry’s 2010 Autumn/Winter Show here:

[Pic via Burberry.com]

Love Love,

If I Was A Rich Girl...Toronto

*Update – March 9, 2010*

Well, that didn’t take long! Looks like Canadian fashion designers are IN for What's Next!

"Canadian designer label NADA showcases Fall 2010 collection with 3D short film": http://bit.ly/NADA3D