I went into the new Oakley store on Robson street last week (this was not out of choice, it was part of a project I am doing) and was very impressed with their custom eyewear line. I wouldn’t normally set foot into an Oakley store unless I was in the market for snowboarding goggles, although they do other stuff too, like ski apparel and watches.

The new store on Robson street has this line of custom eyewear, where you can choose the frames and the lens colour and they’ll have them ready for you same day. (Bad news, if you want prescription lenses, they can’t do that same day…)

At first I though the only person who can get away with these is the Australian guy with perma tan, bleached blond hair, and who wears board shorts year round, no matter what the weather. But then I tried a pair on, and thought these could be very fun with slicked hair and a worn with lots of black.

Maybe I am getting a bit obsessive over eyewear at the moment, but I am still really loving these crazy things.

I saw these Gucci Spring Summer 2010 campaign images on Fashionologie this morning and I really love them. Which is surprising, since I am not a huge fan of Gucci since Frida Giannini came in as Creative Director (I love you Tom!) But this isn’t about the clothing, although some of it looks amazing, its more about the mood. And I think I love it because I am longing to travel, and I haven’t been on a plane since September and probably won’t be until March, which might be the longest I have gone without traveling since I was a teenager. Also, my week in a villa in Spain last summer seems like a hundred years ago, and I am dying for some sun.

Gucci Spring Summer 2010 with Natasha Poly shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

This dress looks amazing, maybe I am not giving Frida Giannini enough credit.

This is also an amazing dress and shoes.

What a fantastic photo.

That pool is calling me...

The details on the skirt look beautiful.

If I am tanned enough next summer (which is unlikely as I live in Vancouver) I might try some head to toe white looks.

I love the OTT handbag.

That shoe is amazing! This might need to be a Spring Summer splurge. Gonna check out the Gucci store when I am in London in March. It will probably be good news for my wallet, I am sure its already sold out.

I think I’ll spend the rest of my weekend drooling over villa porn, we are thinking of going to South Africa next Christmas, and we will be renting a villa in Cape Town with my family for a week or so. I am insisting on an infinity pool, its the only way to go.

The idea behind this post started when I watched the Lord of the Rings yesterday. It was the last movie, Return of the King, during the really boring part (the end) where the last half an hour is just everyone crying. I noticed that Liv Tyler (who plays Arwen Evenstar, the elf who is in love with Viggo Mortenson, aka Aragorn) had a really cool headpiece on.

Here is the photo.

I know it would be pretty hard to NOT look like an elf princess if you wore this, but it got me thinking about interesting headpieces. Then I saw Trend Central’s blog today featured hand jewelry, and reminded my of the headpiece from yesterday.

Some of the hand jewelry featured on Trend Central’s Blog.

So I’ve been thinking about headpieces, and interesting jewelry (like the shoulder pads my friend Dean does, or shoe accessories) and of course I also started to think about how things things can go very wrong.

Two things I despise that involve hair and heads are up-dos and fascinators. OK, yes, a great hairdresser can do an interesting up-do, but its very hard to pull off, as you always look like you are going to your prom. I also have a very strong disliking of fascinators, and don’t think they are acceptable to wear unless you are the mother of the bride, over 50, or both.

Everything is wrong in these three photos: the hair is tacky, the hair accessories are dated, they all look like a wedding or prom look gone wrong. Image source.

Way too many of the fashion shows, student and professional, I have seen here in Vancouver had models with up-dos and fascinators, which I think is just crazy. Find me one major catwalk designer that had his models in prom up-dos with feathers stuck to their head. None, because its ugly!

But Liv Tyler’s Lord of the Rings headpiece got me thinking about what sort of thing you could wear on your head that is decorative, and not tacky.

I found this one on Net A Porter, by Eugenia Kim. Its cute.

I know this is Nicole Richie, which is bad news as far as I am concerned, but I think this head piece can work. Image source.

This is one of the brands mentioned on the Trend Central blog post today, its called Litter SF. The images are wonky, but the accessories are sort of cute. Although I am not convinced I would wear them unless I was at an outdoor wedding that involved camping or something.

This brand, Bliss Lau, also mention on Trend Central, has beautiful body jewelry.

And all of this reminded me of this brand called Ilya Fleet, which was sold on Coco de Mer’s website. Coco de Mer is the first real high end erotic store, which opened in London many years ago. They were one of the first stores to sell dildos and erotic literature in a very classy environment, starting the whole “high end sex shop” trend (this was around the time Sex and the City made the Rampant Rabbit dildo a household name, and Dita Von Teese was famous for tastefully taking her clothes off.) Anyway, Ilya Fleet sells a lot of bondage gear, but I love it, and think their pieces would be beautiful over a nude chiffon evening gown, or a thin, worn t-shirt. If you can get over the model’s perfect tits (and I mean perfect, these are the best tits I have ever seen in my life) imagine one of the bondage pieces over a fabulous black dress like the Bliss Lau pictures above…amazing!

All Ilya Fleet images from the Coco de Mer website.

I was so wrapped up with my Decade Summary Posts (Remembering the Noughties Parts 1, 2, and 3) that I didn’t really upload many of my photos from the holidays. Here’s a couple of the parties and stuff. Christmas was low key this year, with presents mostly revolving around the home: a few French tapestries, antique silverware, money towards a Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner, and a giant plastic rabbit toy with a cigarette in his mouth.

My Christmas shoes, old Sonia Rykiel press pieces.

What is a better present than a book about shoes?

A book about shoes that is hand drawn by an artist.

Girls who love Shoes 2009 by Dougal Graham. I hope there’s a 2010 version coming soon.

Douglas Coupland’s City of Glass was one of the secret Santa presents.

It is all about Vancouver.

This list of top ten surnames in Vancouver was, well, interesting.

Thanks to Kendra, Tara and Neil for throwing a great New Years Eve Party. A house party is always good, there are no variables…you know there will be a toilet, your shoes aren’t going to get ruined, and you probably won’t be cold either.

The pom pom wreath

I like their house

Happy New Year!

The NYE aftermath: my D&G shoes, Sonia Rykiel diamante anchor, Vivienne Westwood rings, money left over (a very pleasant surprise) and a midnight snack of Lindt chocolate.

Last night we went to my friend Maria’s house for drinks. Her husband, Gregory Kenny, is a furniture designer, so there was high expectations with regards to their house. It was beautiful, but unfortunately my photos didn’t turn out that great since it was dark.

I love the painted radiators

Greg’s work is modern, and they have done a great job mixing modern and old in their home.

Here’s a few pictures from Greg’s website.

Back to school and work tomorrow everyone! Good luck…

Here is Part 2 of my summary of the last decade. Click here for Part 1.

New Blood in the fashion industry and on the catwalks. Images from Style.com

Christophe Decarnin for Balmain.

Tomas Maier for Bottega Veneta.

Christopher Bailey for Burberry Prorsum.

New designer Gareth Pugh.

Ricardo Tisci for Givenchy.

Alber Elbaz for Lanvin.

New designer Marios Schwab.

New designers Rodarte.

New designer Giambattista Valli.

Stefano Pilati for Yves Saint Laurent.

New designer Zac Posen.

Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga.

And I am not forgetting Jonathon Saunders, Proenza Schouler,  Alexander Wang, Philip Lim, Richard Nicoll, and many others (including revivals of Halston and Ossie Clark.) In fact, when I was researching this post, I realised that in Fall 2002, Style.com showed 114 designers’ catwalk collection on their website. For Fall 2009 the number was up to 262.

A New Retail Perspective resulted in an shopping evolution, or revolution.

Dover Street Market in London.

Dover Street Market, considered one of the “best” stores in the world, opened on London’s Dover Street. Curated by Rei Kawakubo from Comme des Garcons, the store continues to innovate.

Primark’s first central London location had people queuing over an hour to buy £1 tights and £3 t-shirts. Dubbed “Primani”, the store continues to attract crowds and has not felt the recession as badly as most high street retailers.

A new retailing concept: The Pop-Up Store. A temporary retail space, opened for a short period of time, sometimes with a limited edition product. This one is a pop up for Louis Vuitton’s collaboration with Rei Kawakubo from Comme des Garcons for a collection of handbags.

Net A Porter changed the way consumers shop for luxury online.

ASOS (As Seen On Screen) started as a site selling copies of celebrities outfits, but as turned into one of the largest, most-successful multi-brand online retailers.

Gilt Groupe is one of the many discount luxury retailers thriving in the recession.

American Apparel sold basics tees with a new angle: using sleazy and sometimes pornographic images to sell a product made in the US in factories where workers had holiday and sick pay.

A Decade to be Forgotten. How many of these fashion trends do you look back on and smile, or cringe? (in no particular order…)

Kate Moss wearing gladiator sandals, first seen at Balenciaga.

Luxury denim, aka the $300 pair of jeans. These ones from Rock and Republic.

Lingerie becomes fashionable again, thanks to brands like Agent Provocateur.

I remember when there were one hour lineups outside the Birkenstock store.

Bling: a trend I definitely did not embrace.

Nu Rave. The worst trend of the 00s. What were they thinking? This look by Cassette Playa.

The IT bag: Chloe Paddington anyone?

and we certainly cant forget the Motorcycle bag by Balenciaga.

The new IT bag: The IT shoe. From top to bottom: Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, and Christian Louboutin. I think we have Sex and the City to thank for this.

On second thought, Crocs were definitely the worst trends of the 00s, with Nu Rave coming in a close second.

Not wearing pants. A Lady Gaga phenomenon, lets hope this one doesn’t last. Image source.

Leggings. These ones by American Apparel.

Boho, Hippie, Hobo, whatever. A look that kept on giving. Sienna Miller image from Dave Hogan/Getty Images.

Skinny jeans helped us to discover the muffin top. These ones by Topshop.

Maybe it was a decade of really bad shoes…. But unfortunately we still haven’t seen the end of the Ugg boot.

Wellington boots by Hunter. Remember when there were for farmers, not festivals?

If anyone had told me that a company would make millions buy selling velour jogging suits, I would have never believed them. Nauseating.

The Birth of the Recessionista and the credit crunch will probably be one of the defining events of the last decade, even though it took place at the end. The losers were the big luxury brands that didn’t have a strong brand identity, hedgefund managers, department stores, anyone selling cars or furniture, and the millions who ended up unemployed and homeless. The winners were the discount retailers, online retailers, anyone selling an education, and MacDonalds.

Susie Bubble as a Recessionista.

Catch Part 3 of 3 “Remembering the Noughties” posts tomorrow!

All images from the brand’s or person’s website, except all catwalk images from style.com, unless otherwise noted.

OK, this post isn’t about my car (I wrote a post about my car whose name is Shoulder Pads), it is about some amazing shoulder pads my friend Dean has designed.

I met Dean Sidaway when we were both doing the MA in Fashion Design at St Martins, and we have been good friends ever since. His project (I would call it more of a project than a collection at this stage) is not going into production but will be available for photoshoots.  Hopefully he will do something cool with them, the concept could be quite an interesting accessory, toned down a little, and worn with a dress or jersey top and jeans. I like the idea of “new” accessories coming into the market, shoe jewelry, shoulder pieces, and leather leg “accessories.”

I’ll let the photos and these quotes from the press release do the talking…

Wood Shoulders

“Shoulders are the physical embodiment of power, of confidence, and of domination. Those at the top stand head and shoulders above the rest; the unlucky ones shoulder the blame, and there are those who carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Shoulders are transformed in battle, commerce, and glamour to show intention and purpose, attack and threat, influence and ascent – and now, they are transformed once again…”

Beaded and Knitted Shoulders.

“Dean Sidaway focuses on the strength and vulnerability of the shoulders to redefine their role upon the body creating innovative organic shoulder-pieces from naturally sourced and inspired materials.”

“Embracing artisan techniques, each piece is handcrafted from unexpected decorative materials. Tailoring and pad stitching sit aside blown glass and ceramics whilst canvassing of soft Melton and horsehair is contrasted against the hard coldness of keys, pins, and wrapped chandelier crystals.”

This one is my favourite, keys.

www.deansidaway.com

Julie called me today and asked me to met her at Envision Optical, she was trying to choose between two pairs of glasses, and she needed my advice. Well, I was glad to help but was unable to leave empty handed. Envision Optical Deisgns (see details below) is probably one of the only Vancouver stores that can compete with the ones in the major fashion capitals. The owner, Monny, has a collection that is superb, you won’t find better in Paris or Milan.

I was in there last month helping my Mom choose some glasses, and fell in love with these.

Here is another cool pair. (Please excuse the state of me, I was having a work at home day, therefore no makeup.)

Anyway, I am now working on creating a wardrobe of glasses so I don’t have to wear the same ones every day. I love the way a great pair of glasses can transform your face.  I have a couple of great “mainstream” glasses, like Versace And Miu Miu sunglasses, but I also want to expand and add some more unusual ones. Here are a couple from my collection, some of them are not quite ready yet (no lenses or wrong prescription) but I want to get them all sorted in the next month.

These are my every day Chanel glasses.

These are my old everyday Chanel glasses, good when I am going for a secretary look.

These are reading glasses I bought 15 years ago, I am definitely trying going to sort out the lenses on these.

These are my Mom's from a very long time ago, I wore them over the summer.

Sunglasses that my grandmother just gave me, I need to get the prescription lenses replaced.

These are the ones I bought today, lenses to follow soon. Monny had put them aside for me, knowing they would be right up my alley. They are dead stock, so vintage, but never worn.

Envision Optical Designs

2675 West 4th Avenue

Vancouver B.C.

Tel: 604 733 2020

Here is an interesting term that has been coming up in the press recently: Recession Fatigue. A few retailers have noticed sales picking up, and apparently this is because of Recession Fatigue. Are people tired of being broke and suddenly shopping? Or are people who weren’t affected by the recession tired of pretending they were?

I am definitely tired of the recession, but until my bank account catches up with my brain, I should probably try and “control” my shopping urges.

Net A Porter is one retailer that really sticks out as a recession winner, if you can say anyone is a recession winner. Their sales have grown exponentially in the past few years, and they have definitely proven that luxury products CAN be sold online. My favorite Net A Porter story is their “recession packaging.” For those of you that don’t know, Net A Porter orter delivers their products in beautiful bags and boxes, and I have also heard that they choose their delivery men based on their looks (nothing wrong with that!) So even if the customers aren’t benefitting from the whole luxury “in-store” experience, you still get fabulous packaging and a pretty face delivering it.

I remember when the recession was just beginning, Net-a-porter (very intelligently) introduced their “discreet” packaging, so that the customers who still had the money to shop didn’t have to feel embarrassed by all the Net-a-porter bags turning up at their work. I thought this was a pretty brilliant move.

Signature packaging when you want to show off, discreet packaging when you don't want anyone to know you are shopping...

I have never bought anything from Net A Porter, since I really like to try things on before I commit. I had a shoe disaster with Asos, and decided I only buy clothing online if there is no other option (which will probably be the case more often now that I am in Vancouver, and there is less great things to buy.) But if there was no recession, and I never suffered from buyer’s remorse, here is what would be in my shopping cart on Net A Porter.

From left to right: Asymmetric ruffle dress by Roksanda Ilincic, Cocoon lace floral strapless bra by La Perla, Satin chain-embellished sandals by Camilla Skovgaard, Silver plated pyramid bracelet by Dannijo, Wonder Stripe jersey T-shirt by Acne, Divine peep-toe platforms by Yves Saint Laurent, Embellished metal bird cuff by Lanvin, Leather frame bag by Marni, and Rabbit fur gilet by Karl Donoghue.

This week, like next week, is the time for a lot of socialising and meeting friends. Vancouver seems to have a lot of good restaurants, many of which I have yet to explore.

I met my friend Hannah on Tuesday at the Secret Garden tea shop in Kerrisdale. The concept is interesting, tea and cakes and lunch in a cutesy tea room environment. The location is perfect, as there are a lot of people around Kerrisdale that can probably afford to take long lunches (let’s just say the typical Kerrisdale lady is probably pretty time-rich as well as cash-rich.) We met at 3pm and it was almost full, so they must be doing quite well. When I sat down I saw this lovely tea cup with sugar cubes on the table, and looked at the menu, which had an amazing selection of teas.

The decor had a lot of potential. personally I would have bought old chairs and tables, so that none of them match, but the counter area had a lot of charm.

The tea and cakes was lovely, but I have to say I was really disappointed by their tea pots and cups. Why go through all the trouble with the decor and the pretty tea cup sugar holders on every table, when you are going to serve the drinks in these generic, boring tea cups.

Another slightly disappointing drinks situation was last night when I went to Uva with Debra, Valdimir, Tin, and the husband. Great company, beautiful venue, fantastic decor, great wine list, but very disappointing service. In fact, I am regretting the 10% tip I left, they deserved less. But at least everything looked good.

Love the light fixtures!

These wall patterns look great, definitely something to consider for a wall in our living room.

Speaking of looking good, today I used my Oonagh O’Hagan bag for the first time. Oonagh is an old friend, we studied together at St Martins and we have stayed close ever since. She is the author of a fantastic book, called I Lick My Cheese and Other Real Notes From The Roommate Frontlines. It is a book filled with notes that people have left for their roommates. I supposed I could say I was the author of one or two of the notes in there, but I won’t tell you which ones, as they weren’t very nice.

She did a limited edition run of bags early this year, which were only available at Browns, a beautiful little department store on South Molton Street in London. in London. Her design took after the famous Anya Hindmarch “I’m not a plactic bag”, which sold like crazy a few years ago but was criticized because it wasn’t ethically friendly and it was made in China.

Marisa V’s version was also very funny, I never got around to buying one, but I defintiely wish I had.

Anyway, here is Oonagh’s bag, I don’t think you can get it anywhere anymore, but you can definitely enjoy my picture!

Its a cotton bag with a photo of a Louis Vuitton bag printed on it.

SO cool!

Perfect size for my MacBook.

I love the way the French view their fashion industry, they treasure it as a part of their culture, heritage, and a huge part of their economy. I think that is why French fashion is the best (yes, I said it, the best) because the French government and the French people appreciate that fashion is part of why France is famous, and they cherish, protect, and value their industry.

Take as an example counterfeits. Now, the French government knows that that they need to protect their luxury industry as it is a vital part of their economy, therefore in France, you can be fined 10,000 Euros on the spot if you are found to be carrying a counterfeit bag or watch. OK, it is rarely enforced, but the fact that the law exists says a lot. (Did you know that Louis Vuitton employs a team of over 10 people to combat counterfeits in France alone? They train airport officials to spot fake monogram bags arriving into the country. )The French courts have been very supportive of Christian Lacroix (although the company has not managed to be saved completely) as they appreciate that the loss of such an iconic couture brand is a loss to French culture as a whole.

When was the last time the Canadian government made some attempt to nurture the Canadian fashion industry? The only thing I have heard about is drastic cuts to Arts Funding, which certainly is not going to help. Perhaps a bit of government intervention would be a good thing, it certainly hasn’t done any harm to the UK, where an increase in funding and support to the British Fashion Council in recent years has seen London Fashion Week and London designers being taken a lot more seriously on the international stage.

Anyway, another fun way for France to show their support and appreciation to their wonderful fashion brands and designers is this postage stamp, created by Alber Elbaz to celebrate the 120 year anniversary of Lanvin. It is so fun and fabulous.

Image taken from WWD.