Go-To Fashion Blogs (Reposted from WordPress school blog for JRN504)

I don't follow many style blogs religiously, if at all. If something interesting pops up on TweetDeck or in my Google Reader I might take a look, but there are really just a few that I go back to. The following are blogs that I enjoy reading, but they're in no particular order.

Toronto Bike Chic focuses on trendy bicyclists in Toronto. The postings involve mostly photos and a bit of description. The photos are nice and crisp, and they're of regular Torontonian bikers who have that little bit of extra style. I enjoy this blog immensely because I'm a cyclist. I bike to school, to work, and around the city on the weekends in the good weather. I feel that my bike is an extension of my attitude, my style, and my personality. In downtown Toronto, a bike is part of the culture. A bike can be a fashion statement, and in Toronto it usually is.

Coffee Cycle Chic is by the same person, but focuses on coffee shops and cycle shops in Toronto. Sadly, neither have been updated in a while. This round-up makes me miss them.

Though, Hipster Musings is updated frequently, and it is one that I check often. A small-town girl, who goes to Waterloo University, writes this one. Her style isn't actually necessarily what I would wear myself, but I the outfits she puts together are cool nonetheless, and that's exactly why I read it. I wouldn't wear it, so I read her blog and sort of live vicariously through her. Also, I find that her posts are kind of a blast from the past. The music and movies she writes about, as well as her sense of fashion, are very 90s. Not to mention the writer looks like Winona Ryder so I constantly think back to Girl Interrupted (1999) and all the dark, 90s fashion in it.

Lastly, Cheap and Chic is a blog that similar to a million other blogs, but I read it anyway. Nothing about it is spectacular, but I do read this so I thought I should include it. Even the name makes it hard to distinguish. It has pretty photos, some DIY ideas, and some nice fashions. Though I can't really tell what the cheap part is. Of course, the DIY stuff is cheap, but I the clothes are all a bit pricier than I would personally buy.

Here are the rest of the online fashion and design media that I read (again in no particular order): LENS, The Sartorialist, Worn Fashion Journal, Textstyles, College Fashion, and Eye Weekly Style

I love the library

Whether it's the Toronto Public Library or the Ryerson library, I just absolutely adore the library. They're a great idea in general, a way for people to share and learn using books they might not have necessarily had access to otherwise.

Toronto's public library system is one of the best systems in the world. There are many branches, a huge amount of material, and even some really great building and system updates lately. Library staff (not just the librarians) are usually quite knowledgeable and helpful. Not only that, but the Toronto public library system also offer programs for kids and adults alike, all of which are free.

The Ryerson library is also really great. Librarians at Ryerson really know their stuff, and they know how to help a university student, what kind of texts we're looking for and stuff like that. As a former prof of mine (Prof. Copeland) once said, "For some reason, the librarians really like helping you kids."

Ry library also has computers, ipads, laptops and lots of other equipment that can be taken out of reserve for a few hours at a time. But the best part of the reserve material at Ryerson is that there are text books for each class available to take out. You can sign them out for two hours at a time.

So, this semester I didn't even bother buying my French textbook for $120. Instead, before class, I take it out of reserve. Even if it's a little bit late getting back to them, they only charge a dollar fine per hour that it's late. So, if this semester is thirteen weeks long, and I take the textbook back late after each class, it still only costs me $13.

Wow.
And that is why I love the library.

*Photo Credit: Anais Kelsey-Verdecchia. Figure in photo is my sister.

Update

Just an update on the TTC "quicker" front:

They have not changed the sign. They're all still there and they all still bear the horrible "quicker" reference. How annoying, and still quite embarrassing.

I know, I'm obsessed. But it really needs to be changed, for the good of a grammar-correct society.

The Hogtown Project

Toronto has two sides: Tourist Toronto and Torontonian Toronto.

Tourist Toronto involves big, busy places, bland, average North American culture, and it usually requires a lot more money than the average person has.

But the other side of the city, the Torontonian view, is what residents of the city see every day. There are small shops, well-loved neighbourhood niches and extensive cultural activities, festivals and experiences. Most of it doesn't require any money, but it all expands your mind.


This is why Kristie Macor and Nadine Dolly have created The Hogtown Project, a new coffee-table book devoted to showing the world the Toronto that is known and loved by Torontonians.


Many people have tried to create Toronto books, but this one is definitely different. Every other Toronto coffee table book has at least one photo of the CN Tower. But Macor and Dolly focus on the parts of Toronto that actually give the city its life.

For the past three years, Macor and Dolly have photographed over 180 locations in Toronto.
They've captured the Junction, small shops on the east end of the Danforth, laundry mats in quiet areas, and restaurants closing up after a busy day of work. They've photographed festivals and attractions with the eye of a true Torontonian.

The book also includes interviews with Toronto residents like city councillor Adam Vaughan and spoken word artist Dwayne Morgan.

The creation of this book cost the pair $20,000 to produce, and their advertising is 100 per cent word-of-mouth, as they say on their site. So check out The Hogtown Project website and if you like the look of the book, pass on the info.


* Photo Credits: The Hogtown Project website

New fashion is old fashion (Re-posted from school blog)

This is a post I actually wrote for my online class back in April- we had to write on fashion or sports. Needless to say I chose fashion...

Spring is a new season, and with it comes new fashions, but recently the new fashions are old fashions: vintage, second-hand and thrift-store finds are the way to go this season.

Cassie Cowie, 19, created and runs her own online consignment store, MYEXCLOSET, in three different cities: Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.
"Fashion is always coming and going, and what better way to bring trends and styles back with vintage and second-hand. It is a very authentic way of doing it, instead of buying a new version of the trend re-vamped," Cowie wrote in an email.

Luckily, Toronto has a great collection of thrift stores. Plus, there is the Toronto section of Preloved, a company that creates new high-end fashion pieces out of old clothes.

Tess Roby is a 16-year old student at Rosedale Heights School of the Arts. She mostly shops at Value Village because it's cheap, but she likes to buy new clothes every season from stores like H&M, which she says is very good.
But Roby thinks that a lot of stores, like Urban Outfitters for example, "pull their ideas from vintage shoppers" and use them to create more expensive fashions.

"I definitely like that [thrift] one-of-a-kind," Roby says. "Sometimes there can be stories behind clothes." A friend of hers once bought a dress from 69 Vintage that was a traditional hand-made Dutch dress.

Isabel B. Slone also has a lot of thrift clothing. She writes Hipster Musings, which gets 5,000 to 6,000 visitors a week. She picks thrift clothes from the 80s and 90s that are "cheap, outrageous and tacky, which kind of suits my personality," she says.
"Designers are always looking through their archives for present inspiration from the past," Slone says about thrift fashions effecting new fashions. "Everything in fashion seems to get recycled eventually."

*Photo Credits: Alexandra Auger and Isabel B. Slone

It's a $57,000 "water feature"

The fake lake being built at the media centre for the G20 and G8 summits is actually only going to cost taxpayers $57,000 out of a budget of $1.9 million, said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Works to The Globe and Mail.

The rest of the money is supposedly being spent on graphics, food, drinks and media communications material.

Totally makes sense.

Not.

"They also stressed that the much maligned fake lake is not a lake at all. 'It's a water feature,' I was told," wrote Siri Agrell for the Globe and Mail.

I hope the Tories drown in their fake lake.

If I was not already disgust concerning the ridiculous and over-the-top spending and procedures going on regarding the G8 and G20 summits, I am now.

No, not even disgusted. I am too shocked to be disgusted. I am so embarrassed that the Canadian government could possibly be spending this much money that I am almost at a loss for words.

Today, the media picked up the news that there will be an indoor lake that costs nearly $2 million dollars, and they ran with it.

How is it that the Canadian government, that has a deficit of over $56 billion dollars, can afford to host this summit?!

They're paying for several very large, expensive meeting locations, for hotel accommodations and food for all those in attendance.

They're paying for many new high-tech security systems, like CCTV, and new gadgets for the police force.

They're paying for hundreds of police officers to line the perimeter of the security zone because they know the 10-foot wall being built to keep people out won't hold if the huge amount of protesters who will be demonstrating decide to storm the conference.

But that money could be used for health-care, education, homelessness, environmental issues and so, so much more and better issues than a two-day conference.

Is it necessary? Will it change the world? Will it change what is said and decided at the summits? Does Canada need this? Does the world need this?

The world is laughing at us as we throw money down the drain. I was laughing until I realized what this all really means. And the truth is embarrassing.

Germs- ew!

So I was sitting on the subway this morning on my super-long train ride out to Rexdale and this woman in a long floral skirt and clunky black shoes came on and promptly pulled out a hard-boiled egg and ATE IT right there on the spot. Just put her whole hand around it and shoved it in her mouth and took huge bits, and there was egg falling everywhere around her.

Now, I understand eating a bag of chips or an apple on the subway because you're a little peckish. But really, a slippery hard-boiled egg on public transit that is used by thousands of people each day?

I mean, to eat a hard-boiled egg without a bowl and cutlery, you need to grab the thing with your whole hand, so all of your palm and fingers are touching it. That's the hand that you just touched the railing, the door handle and the train poles with.

Don't get me wrong, hard-boiled eggs with a bit of salt and pepper and veggies are delicious and nutritious, but only when you've had a chance to wash your hands and take a seat.

Needless to say, I was a little grossed out. She just ingested way too much of other people's sneezes, coughs and snot.

Photo Credit: the cosmic cowgirl

Damn Heels

The best invention for any fashion-loving woman: fold-up flats for sore feet after a night of clubbing, partying or just plain standing around in killer heels.
Hailey Coleman, a student at Ted Rogers School of Management was given a prize for her product Damn Heels, black roll-up flats that come in their own pouch and are small enough to fit in a purse.

I knew that this type of product was available in the U.S. but it was not until today that I knew these wonderful shoes were available in Canada.
I actually first heard the U.S. version through College Candy- there was a blurb about City Slips.
But, after seeing this Canadian option Damn Heels, I generally like them better.
They have a different type of sole and they actually look more comfortable. Even though there aren't different colour options, the Canadian ones look like they're made of a nicer material.
There's also a price difference of five dollars (City Slips are $24.99 USD and Damn Heels are $20 CAN) which can really make a difference after shipping, handling and duty costs (if ordering from the states).
And, of course, they're Canadian.

By Definition

Actually, by definition an accord is an agreement.

Photo of the billboard on the Southeast corner of O'Connor and Donlands.

Hazel McCallion, Perfect Vintage

Joseph's Estate Wines will launching it's new line of wine later this month.
It will be named after Hazel McCallion, Mississauga's mayor.

And, with the launch of bottled Hazel McCallion, I have the perfect opportunity to explain why I love her.

McCallion will be 89 in a couple weeks. She has been Mississauga's mayor for 31 years, and she's done a damn good job.
She spends time with people, actually participates in local events, is always open to new suggestions and will talk with just about anyone.

She is the epitome of what a mayor should be.

She walks and shops regularly in her own neighbourhood, contributing to the local economy and making herself available for chats with local residents.

Not only that, but McCallion bikes everywhere! That is what I love most.

When you think of Mississauga, usually what you immediately think of is suburban houses and lots of cars. But they've had a Cycling Advisory Committee since 1994, and Hazel McCallion is a frequent cyclist.
So far as I know, for the past two, if not more, World Carfree Days, McCallion rode her bike seven kilometers to City Hall.

Imagine, an 89 year old that can ride her bike to work, while there are 20-somethings who drive their SUVs to the corner store.

When I'm 89, I want to ride my bike to work.

Haiti: Speedy Text Message Relief (re-posted from school blog)

More than $25 million dollars has been donated to the Red Cross by Canadians since Haiti was hit by an earthquake last week, said a Red Cross spokesperson Tanya Elliott on Monday.

Such speedy fund-raising was made possible by today's technology. Phone companies have made it possible to send a text and instantly donate five dollars. Or, people can donate any amount of money online.

Last week, the government told Canadians they would match donations up to $50 million dollars.
On Tuesday, the International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda, announced that the government is contributing $80 million dollars to relief efforts in Haiti.
It seems the government has finally kept a promise.

The CBC has made a web page about Haiti Relief information. It includes a list of all registered charities and a list of numbers to text to instantly donate money to a charity.

Text message donating is a good idea. It has probably gotten a lot of younger people involved. It’s easy and hassle free. People are more likely to punch in a number, a few letters and press send.

According to the Canadian government, 665 Canadians are still unaccounted for, 13 have been killed and 1,206 have been evacuated.