I have posted a reading list on my homepage, so my readers can see some of the blogs I read. There is nothing that revolutionary on there… so I would be happy for anyone to recommend any really amazing blogs I should be reading. The list is short, and will grow, but I didn’t want to just put every single blog I think is good on there (that would be thousands), I wanted to put the ones that are very important to me (OK, I have just lost credibility because Go Fug Yourself is on there. But it is SO funny.) These are ones I read on a daily or at least twice-weekly basis. I am currently testing some more. By testing I mean, I subscribe to the RSS feed and if I’m not excited to read at least 50% of the blog posts, I cancel my subscription, and just visit them occasionally.

Feel free to send over recommendations…

See the Searching for Style Reading List on the right side of the homepage.

Image source.

Today was definitely a day for interesting conversation, and it started this morning when I had coffee with Imran Amed, the founder of the Business of Fashion blog. Afterwards I had lunch at Jericho Tennis Club with an old friend and business partner from London, Emma, who now edits a series of magazines. Both are back in town for the holidays. It seems like too many of the interesting Canadians are living outside of Canada, but it is great to hear about the amazing work they are doing. And hopefully they will follow my lead and move back sometime soon…

I have mentioned Business of Fashion before, but since I am on the subject of great blogs, I thought I would give you a short list of my favourite blogs. I am not going to pretend I am off the beaten track with my choice of top blogs, there is nothing on this list that is very unpredictable, so if anyone has anything fantastic to recommend, please do. I am always looking for new blogs to read, and am trial running many at the moment. I need to enjoy a blog for at least one month before I commit, and I need to want to read at least 70 percent of the content to make me a subscriber.

Business of Fashion is the one to read if you are working in the fashion industry (or trying to break into it.) There are two main components, the first is interesting, insightful articles, writing by Imran and some of his contributors, about the business surrounding the fashion industry. The second part is the Daily Digest, which is a short list, with links, of the 4-6 most interesting fashion-related articles posted on the web that day. Basically, Imran and his team have saved you the trouble of having to trawl through all the websites, they give you the best bits in one hit. But don’t expect celebrity gossip and consumer fashion trends, the BoF Daily Digest will link to reputable information sources like Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Women’s Wear Daily, New York Times, Reuters, International Herald Tribune, and The Independent. This is my fashion information bible.

An illustration of Diane Pernet by Jesus Sandoval, from A Shaded View on Fashion

A Shaded View on Fashion by Diane Pernet is a diary style blog that documents her travels and projects, and she also has loads of great contributors. Read this blog if you are interested in the avant-garde side of fashion, photography, and the arts. Diane, a American living in Paris, shows us what the unusual brands and people are doing, so don’t expect coverage of the latest red carpet event, you are more likely to see photos from a crazy art party in Vienna.

On the Runway is the blog by Cathy Horyn, the New York Times fashion critic. Those of you who know Cathy’s work know that she is called a critic, and not just a journalist, for a reason. She knows pretty much everyone in the fashion industry (everyone that counts), is not afraid to give her opinion, and generally the opinion of the people commenting on her blog is equally interesting. The one main criticism I would have about her blog is that it is sporadic and she doesn’t post often enough, at least for my liking.

A photo of Susie Bubble from Style Bubble

Style Bubble is a blog by Susie Bubble, who is now also an editor at Dazed Digital, the Dazed and Confused website. When she started the blog, she wasn’t working in the industry, and I loved her enthusiastic, un-jaded approach to fashion and her thirst for the new. Even though she is now working in the industry, she is relentless in her pursuit of new and cool brands, and also has very eclectic personal taste.

The Cut and Fashionista are my sources for the “gossipy” side of fashion, which is sometimes important when you are in the industry. And speaking of celebrities, when I need a good laugh, Go Fug Yourself is the place to go to for hilarious celebrity outfit disses. (is disses a word?)

The sort of image you'll see on Dezeen

Dezeen is one of the best design blogs, so if you are interested in architecture, interiors, and furniture, Dezeen is the one for you.

A typical Tommy Ton photo, the photographer behind Jak and Jil

The Sartorialist and Jak and Jil are the blogs to go to for beautiful pictures of people that look damn good.

A Todd Selby photo, from The Selby, a blog of photographs of very cool homes.

I am also a fan and subscriber of The David Report Blog (mostly design and architecture), Style Rookie (Tavi, the 13 year old fashion blogger), Retail Refugees (cool retail spaces), Cool Hunting (everything cool), Vandelay Design Blog (graphic and internet design), Y Pulse (tween and teen marketing trends), Trendland (more cool stuff), and The Selby (cool people’s houses.)

Backpacks are a terrifying accessory for me. There are VERY few nice ones, and they remind me of hiking and scary Canadian brands like Taiga and Mountain Equipment Co-op.

This is my idea of hell. I shudder just looking at this image...

However, I will not deny the benefits of a backpack. My life in London meant that I was often commuting an hour to work on public transport with a handbag, laptop bag, and gym bag, which is extremely uncomfortable. There was a time when I prayed that Prada could come out with a backpack and make them cool, so that I didn’t have my kilos of stuff hanging off one shoulder. When I saw that Susie Bubble posted this story on backpacks, I got excited. Can we bring back the backpack and make them fashionable?

Here are a couple of the images she posted:

I tried to do some research and find a few cool backpacks. Net A Porter and My Wardrobe had none. Topshop and Asos had these ones (the Topshop one is own brand, but the Asos one is Rick Owens for Eastpack. Eastpack has actually done some pretty cool collaborations.)

Topshop to the left, Asos to the right.

Here are more of Eastpack collaborations, this time with Eley Kishomoto and Raf Simons.

To the left, Eley Kishomoto for Eastpack. The rest are Raf Simons for Eastpack.

But the backpack jackpot was definitely at Yoox, the online discount retailer. Here are some pieces from Balenciaga, Ruco Line, Tosca Blu, Giadadanielle, Piquadro, and Parentesi, available on Yoox.

From left to right: Ruco Line, Tosca Blu, Piquadro, Parentesi, Giadadanielle, and Balenciaga.

I am having trouble getting around the idea of having a backpack, but it is defintiely something I would consider now that I have seen there are a few nice ones.

By the way, Style Bubble, mentioned above, is another one of my favorite blogs. I interviewed Susie Bubble many years ago for an article about Web 2.0 for View2 magazine, and it is great to see how far she has come since then. I definitely don’t share fashion tastes with her, but she is one of the best blogs for interesting fashion brands.

I subscribe to a lot of blogs, they are one of my main sources of information, but there are only a select few that are classified as my favorites. One of those is definitely the David Report Blog, by David Carlsson. He does fantastic reports (I think they are semi-annual) about trends, there is always a different theme or subject. They are a fascinating read and unlike most great, good-looking, and interesting reports, these ones are actually free. The last one was called “A Checklist for Sustainability.” You can find them on the David Report Website.

The blog covers interesting design, architecture, fashion, and other interesting or good looking things. I love these pendants, featured recently, designed by Rezon (a Tokyo-based design studio.) They are so simple, fun, versatile, and they shine a lot, so you can use them as a reflector while cycling, as well as a hot piece of jewelry.

Reflective diamond pendants by Rezon

Any ideas on where I could find these in Vancouver?…

This morning’s Business of Fashion Daily Newsletter was about social media (it often is, they are experts in this area) and they talked about Tavi, which reminded me of a really sweet article I read on WWD earlier this week. For those of you that don’t know, Tavi is a 13 year old American fashion blogger (her blog is called Style Rookie), who has captured the attention of the fashion world when she covered the New York fashion week shows in September. She also appeared on the cover of Pop magazine. She is a huge fan of Comme des Garcons, the directional Japanese fashion brand, and describes herself as “Tiny 13 year old dork that sits inside all day wearing awkward jackets and pretty hats. Scatters black petals on Rei Kawakubo’s doorsteps and serenades her in rap…”

How many 13 year olds get magazine covers?

Tavi on the cover of Pop magazine.

Anyway, she has been invited to be the guest of honour at the Comme des Garçons’ holiday party today at the 10 Corso Como store in Tokyo. I thought it was so cute that she gets to meet her idol, Rei Kawakubo (for those of you who don’t know, and you should, she is the creative director behind Comme des Garcons.) There are so many great bloggers out there, but Tavi is defintiely a refreshing change. It will be very interesting to see how she evolves in the next few years, I could easily see her becoming a next Rei Kawakubo, but as Charlie Porter, deputy editor of Fantastic Man put it, “There are 10 seasons of shows before she turns 18 – that’s a long time in fashion”.

She is known for her unusual headwear...

Another great photo of Tavi by Tommy Ton, posted on his Jak and Jil blog.

By the way, Business of Fashion, the blog mentioned above, is my fashion bible, I can’t say enough good things about it. Plus, the founder, Imran Ahmed, is Canadian. If I was on a desert island with only one blog, that would be it.