My father is French, and I lived in France, so I feel I am pretty familiar with the ways of the French. I also feel that as I am half French I am allowed to point out their many faults.

But today isn’t about the bad qualities of the French, as I’d need several hours to write that post, and I’m too tired. Instead, I’d like to talk about a few things that I love about the French.

I received this e-card today from someone I worked with in France. Guillaume was in charge of lifestyle trends when I did a project at Nelly Rodi a few years ago (Nelly Rodi is a big fashion forecasting agency based in Paris.) We have kept in touch since, and this e-card arrived in my inbox today, it is a Happy New Year greeting from Guillaume and his new trend consultancy, LaB.

One of the great things about the French is that they don’t bother with sending out Chrtismas cards during the busiest time of year, when the postman are bogged down with delivering cards and presents, and everyone is busy buying gifts and cooking and celebrating the holidays. Instead they do it in January. I remember when I worked on the design team at Sonia Rykiel, I received a pile of holiday cards to send out to all my contacts, about five days before Christmas. I freaked out, but was reassured that you actually have until the 31st of January to wish people “Bonne Annee.” That is a pretty good idea, removing the stress of mialing Christmas cards before Christmas. It also means that if you forgot to send cards out before Christmas, you can do them in January without offending anyone. Let’s just say…I’ll be sending out some cards this week.

A couple of other things the French do well:

• Holidays: they know how to take them, and they take at least six weeks worth a year. That is the right amount of holidays to take in the year.
• Heathcare: We’ve all seen Sicko, we know the French do healthcare better than anyone else in world.
• Food: well, to be honest, they are old school, and they need to modernize things to keep up with the rest of the world. But French food is the foundation to most good food.
• Bakeries. I guess that fits into food.
• Eclairs. See above.
• Fashion: Paris is the fashion capital, no contest.
• Etiquette. Everyone says the French are rude, but they are usually only rude to tourists. People call each other Madame and Monsieur, and they are very formal in their communications. And when you meet someone in a social environment, you kiss them on each cheek. You do this with EVERYONE there (unless you walk into a house party with hundreds of people.) It means you are forced to meet everyone, and there is no awkward “Do I hug? Do I handshake? Do I kiss?…” It is the done thing. (the further south you go, the more kisses you give, for example two on each side in the South of France, three in French Switzerland)
• Wine and Champagne. Probably also the best in the world.

Time for a trip to France!

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’s my first article for Style Republic Magazine. It was published on Tuesday and it is an interview with one of my favourite shopping bloggers, Susan Tabak.

Read the article here.

Hope you are all had a fantastic Christmas day! This was definitely our funniest Christmas card received. Thanks Tom!

I thought it would be appropriate at this time of year to do a post about food. Since I spent so many years away from my hometown, Christmas was always about family and food. Presents were usually the flight I took home, and on a couple of good years, it was vintage Louis Vuitton luggage, but generally its more about the company than the presents. I have a very big family, and there is generally not a lot of fighting going on, which means Christmas is usually a very good time.

So we tend to eat a lot over Christmas, and my highlights are always the chicken liver pate, oyster stuffing, trifle, and Grandma’s curry (we are a very multicultural household, so there are a few unusual dishes…) Of course there is a bit of guilt associated with all the feasts, but I try not to worry too much, and I’ll make sure I am on the treadmill tomorrow morning, just like I was this morning.

Sizes, weights, and bodies are always an major obsession in the fashion industry, and it can be quite difficult at times. Dressing models certainly doesn’t help with body image, nor does being surrounded by people who don’t eat. But the fashion industry is not all to blame, in fact, I think there are far worse factors than that. So, as a Christmas present to all of you, I am going to set the record straight about food and fashion.

“French women eat all that butter and cheese and pastries, and they still don’t get fat.” Well, let’s start by feeling sorry for french women. Yes, they tend to be slim, beautiful, and well-dressed, but their main reason for needing to be like this is that for some ridiculous reason it is acceptable for their husbands to cheat on them. If I was constantly competing with all of the young, beautiful women swanning around Paris, I too would be keeping myself in tip top shape. Yes, they eat bread with butter, but they eat one slice. And that’s their lunch. And breakfast was probably a black coffee. The fact is, the more calories you take in without burning, the fatter you will be. There are no exceptions, not even for French women, so while they are eating their pastries, remember that is probably all they are eating today.

I remember when Carine Roitfeld (Editor of French Vogue, and the ultimate French Fashionista) used to style our shows at Sonia Rykiel. She would drink water and take a lot of pills, but I don’t remember seeing her eat. I will not deny that she is a fabulous woman, but I do think once women get into their 50s, its important not to be too thin. It just looks bad. Carine is not at that point yet (and she is in her 50s), but she definitely can’t afford to lose any weight. There is no myth about French women, they don’t eat a lot, that is how they stay slim.

“The fashion industry is to blame for body image issues.” I won’t lie, models are under pressure to be thin. But lets face it, a model is a freak of nature. How many people are born six feet tall, with size 2 bodies? Not many, they are anomalies. And, when you sign up to modeling, you sign up to staying thin all the time. That is your job, simple as that. Actresses, on the other hand, are a different matter. You don’t need to be six feet tall, or a size 2 to be a successful actress, yet for some reason Hollywood has become obsessed with dieting and plastic surgery.

And the media doesn’t help by publishing photos of actresses and singers who are “too thin”, “too fat”, and with “too much cellulite.”

Hollywood is much more to blame for body issues than the fashion industry is, and even within the industry, models are not the ones to blame. Journalists are just as bad, if not worse, with their eating habits. I once saw a fashion week food diary from a designer, a model, and a journalist, and the journalist ate by far the least, in fact, she was dangerously below a healthy calorie intake. My friend works as a designer at Dior, and she told me about an American press lunch she attended. She was sat around a table with a bunch of American journalists, and most of them didn’t eat their lunch. In fact, one actually said “I don’t do food.” So let’s leave the poor models alone. Most of them are 16, having to get naked in front of loads of strangers, and will have to retire when they are 28, because they will be too old. So it is not that great of a job.

“The size zero phenomenon is affecting our society.” Ok, yes, I won’t deny that size zero is not a very good thing to be exposed to when you are a vulnerable 14 year old girl. But the fact is, there are way to many over weight people than there are underweight people. I think it is important to realize when you are overweight, and when you are dangerously overweight, but as long as you are happy and healthy, you shouldn’t put pressure on yourself. The UK was one of the main “voices” in the size zero debate, and they also have terrible media that criticizes celebrities and follows them like crazy. But the UK is very close to catching up to the US in terms of percentage of overweight people.

I’m a size 8, and in the UK I feel like I am average, or sometimes below average, whereas in France I feel fat. The problem with a lot of Brits is that they are overweight from drinking and eating huge amounts of unhealthy, processed foods. I once heard that it is totally acceptable to say to someone “You shouldn’t smoke” or “You are too thin” but when is it acceptable to say to someone “You are too fat.”? Its not really acceptable at any time. I feel that the media just finds a scapegoat (thin models) rather than dealing with the real issues, which in the UK and the US, is definitely the people who are eating too much, not too little.

On that note, I hope you all have a very happy Christmas. I’ll be back in a few days, so I am going to leave you a few images from the upcoming V Magazine “Size” issue. I read about this on New York Magazine’s The Cut, and what they have done is shoot a “normal” size model next to a plus size model. Terry Richardson did the photos, and the girls are Crystal Renn (the plus size one) and Jacquelyn Jablonski. Although there is a pretty distinctive difference between their sizes, I am sure we can all agree that Crystal looks pretty hot in some of the shots.

Enjoy your families, food, and presents, and make sure you do it guilt-free!

Thank you to Erin and Lenny who hosted an amazing Christmas party last night. The baked goods situation was extremely dangerous. Erin does things with peanut butter that are…incredible.

She made 14 different types of delicious things and they had a great colour theme too.

I am toying with the idea of copying their "book matching" technique. The shelves definitely look nicer when the books are colour coordinated.

Me and Kendra, who used to live in England too.

Kendra now manages Latitude restaurant, a fantastic restaurant on Main street (don’t judge the website, the restaurant is way cooler than its website.) I’m wearing Aloe loungewear top, very old skirt, and even older Sonia Rykiel boots.

Good looking girls.

More good looking girls, this time all with fringes.

Great tattoos and fabulous grey tie.

I am a bit jealous of their white cuckoo clock with deer head.

I am very excited that on Thursday I will be going to the Museum of Vancouver (for the first time!) to see a gingerbread house competition! It has been organized by Creative Room and ten top architects and designers from around Vancouver are re-interpreting the traditional Christmas gingerbread house. They will auctioned and the money is going to a charity (Architecture for Humanity.)

I have never managed to make a gingerbread house, but I am not a big fan of candy, so I guess I’d probably go for a really simple one like this (found on Mid Century Modern Utah.)

This is one of the submissions that will be auctioned on Thursday, from Nick Milkovich Architects.

I would like my house to look sort of like this... in the mountains and on a cliff.

and of course with a swimming pool and filled with lots of cool modern furniture (although I would probably mix in some kitsch too.)

Some of the other firms making gingerbread houses include Romses Architects, Clash Collective, Measured Architecture, and Eastside Design & Solus Decor Inc.

Tickets are still available for 20 bucks: www.creativeroom.ca/gingerbread/houses

See you there!

I went to Portobello West for the first time on Sunday, which is a market for local artists and designers that takes place in Vancouver and Calgary. My camera was out of batteries, so I am sourcing a few images from the web, but here are some of my favourites.

Tricia Aviss‘ cheerful, playful canvasses.

Brendalyn Avender’s metal cuffs.

and Modus Press cards, who uses an antique letterpress.

I was walking by Spence Diamonds on Burrard this week and I had to stop to admire their windows. I also had to stop because I was sort of in shock…how can it be that one of the cheesiest diamond companies has managed to create incredibly attractive Christmas windows? (Spence Diamonds is the Le Chateau of the jewelry world…)

The photos do not do the windows justice, as the jewelry in the cakes sparkled and shined, they looked so impressive and delicious, and you can’t really see that in the photos. Lets just say, these windows stopped me in my tracks, whereas I stormed by the Louis Vuitton Christmas windows without so much as a pause… What’s wrong with this picture?

yum! (the cakes, not the diamonds...)

I had a really interesting conversation with my friends on Saturday night, about fashion and brands. The subject turned to Hermes, which I believe is an untouchable brand, despite the fact that it has become a lot more mainstream in recent years. We then disucssed the fact that many brands have been “ruined” when they hit the mainstream. As far as I am concerned, when Victoria Beckham wears it, or when it is mentioned in a rap song, the brand is over. Hermes is an exception.

Even Victoria Beckham can't ruin Hermes (images from www.pursepage.com)

Why is this? How has Hermes managed to maintain this powerful brand position? They have superior quality, longevity, classic pieces, and waiting lists, but so do many other brands. On the other hand, Balmain (ruined by the “Russians” apparently), Jimmy Choo, Herve Leger, and Christian Louboutin have been tainted by over exposure on celebrities.

Another thing we discussed is the power of the handbag. For some ridiculous, unexplainable reason I always feel I need to buy a handbag from a well-known luxury brand, however, I am happy to spend fortunes on clothing or shoes from smaller luxury brands that are not very mainstream at all (Finsk being my main example.) I don’t understand why I feel that way… Maybe because I use a handbag everyday for two years, whereas I don’t wear the same shoes more than once a week. Maybe because a great luxury handbag can make a 20 dollar outfit look like a 2000 dollar outfit.

I don’t have the answers, but here are some of the Hermes pieces I wouldn’t mind finding underneath my Christmas tree (hint hint husband.)

Images from www.hermes.com

Dear Holts,

You are the only luxury department store we have in this country, so we need you. I went to visit you for the first time in 6 months yesterday, and I was very disappointed. I couldn’t bring myself to venture beyond your handbag department, but that was enough. All I saw was Top 40 handbags, most of them ones we have seen one hundred times before. The Balenciaga Lariat, the Chloe Paddington (does this still exist?), the Salvatore Ferragamo bags with those horseshoe hardware things (I have one of those, fell apart after 6 months and had to go to war with the shop to get it repaired for free), Dior Lady Dior Bag, Gucci Indy Bag (I wanted one of those…three years ago!), D&G Leopard Print bags (boring!), WAY too much Michael by Michael Kors, Burberry bags (in check, no amazing leather bags, just the horrible horrible check), Bottega Veneta weaved bags, and the Louis Vuitton section still had that multi-coloured monogram (I can’t believe they are still selling that!) And Coach, endless amounts of Coach bags.

Clockwise from centre top: Bottega Veneta weave bag, Burberry bag, Chloe Paddington bag, Salvatore Ferragamo Vitello bag, Gucci Indy bag, Louis Vuitton bag, Marc Jacobs bag, Balenciaga Lariat bag, Lady Dior bag.

Holts, when I visit you, I want to feel inspired to shop, but instead I saw a sea of boring bags I have seen one hundred times before, ones that I can buy on several online discount luxury sites. Plus, the decor is boring, all white, Coach bags presented the same way as Marc Jacobs, Cole Haan displayed the same as Balenciaga. That is just wrong.

Vancouver, why the obsession with Coach bags?

I understand the Canadian customer is not very fashion forward or risk-taking, so I can accept the sea of Top 40 bags. But where are the little gems, the ones that us fashion-lovers can visit, caress, and maybe even buy. Those fabulous pieces that we dream about, ones that won’t be recognized by every person on the street, but we don’t care because we know what we have and we treasure it. No Coach or Louis Vuitton monogram bag is going to do that for me.

Plus, your Christmas windows are very boring, are you sure you are owned by the same family that owns Selfridges?

Dear Holts, I will be visiting your shoe department next week, please don’t disappoint me.

—EDIT—

Monday November 23rd

Just saw these images of Bloomingdales Christmas Windows on The Cut. Now even more depressed, they get Christmas trees made out of stilettos!