I am the type of person who knows what I like, and when I find a fashion item that I really, really like, I often buy two. This doesn’t mean I buy two of everything, my system usually applies to basic items, or things I know I’ll wear to death. Previous examples have included Banana Republic white t-shirts, American Apparel lace underwear (although that did cause me some problems), Uniqlo jeans, and COS shirts. My latest double-acquisition, is a pair of Finsk pumps.

The amazing thing about these shoes is that they are cut asymmetrically.

To be honest, this isn’t the first time I’ve bought two pairs of the same Finsk shoe in different colours, I’ve actually got a pair of sandals and a pair of peep toe wedges that I have in double (and there was a third pair of those wedges bought for my Mom.) When I was in London in April, I ordered two pairs of the Finsk asymmetrical pump, one in pewter and one in a dark gold colour, because I knew it was the perfect fall shoe.

This photo shows the gold pair, which, due to my poor photography, doesn't look that different to the silver.

The Finsk brand works two ways for me, there are the crazy, amazing shoes that I wear for impact. But the other reason I fell in love with Finsk, is because she makes amazing shoes that are extremely comfortable. Most people say it is impossible to wear a 5 inch heel that is comfortable, but I have to disagree. Julia Lundsten, the designer behind Finsk, has all these lovely little tricks that make her shoes comfortable. Which is why for my fall Finsk order, I decided to go practical, and buy some shoes that I would be able to wear to work, and during my day to day life.

Believe it or not, these wedge boots are extremely comfortable.

I love the detail on the heel.

The two pairs pumps arrived yesterday, along with this fantastic over-the-knee wedge boot. Things like this make me excited for the fall and winter!

Be jealous: my Finsk collection is AMAZING.

Primark jewelry: super cheap, very fun, and you don;t have to worry if it gets ruined at the beach.

I was approached a few weeks ago by a company asking me to write a guest post on their handbag blog. The company, Handbag Heaven, sells inexpensive handbags. My initial thoughts were, no thanks, I only like luxury bags. But then I had a look through their site, and I realized, not everything I have in my wardrobe is luxury, and not everything I aspire to have is luxury. Firstly, I can’t afford to buy all my clothes and accessories from a luxury brand. Secondly, I am very careful with my expensive and favorite pieces of clothing, and sometimes it is nice to have something that you don’t have to worry about losing or ruining. Also, when I am not sure about a new item or trend, and I prefer to try the fast fashion version before I decide whether I want to invest big bucks to buy a designer version.

So I got thinking about the pieces in my wardrobe that are designer, and the pieces that aren’t. And I realized there was a trend going on… I tend to splash out on products like shoes, every day handbags, skin products, coats, and classic clothing items, and rarely spend money on items like evening bags and jeans. So I have compiled a list of the clothing and accessory items that I think aren’t worth spending your hard earned cash on. Save it for your dream shoes and a great winter coat instead.

Eliza clutch bag.

Fun handbags: My most-used handbags are classic ones, usually bought from luxury brands because I want them to last a long time. But sometimes I want something fun to hold my phone, keys, and credit card when I go out.  Because this is a bag that usually only gets taken out three or four times a year at most (I have ten versions of this “fun” evening bag, some vintage, some new) it is not worth investing in an expensive piece.

Handbag Heaven sent me this Eliza clutch bag (image above) as a gift, and it is a perfect “fun evening bag.” The unique colour means it probably won’t get much wear, but it is a great piece that works with my black wardrobe. And it is big. Not BIG, but big enough so you can comfortably fit your smartphone, keys, small wallet, and a few other bits. Most of my vintage clutch bags are too small to fit my Blackberry. Handbag Heaven has given me a second version of the Eliza clutch, which is my first ever GIVEAWAY. Click here to find out how to win the bag!

Uniqlo jeans. Please open a store in Vancouver. Please!

Jeans. There are probably a lot of people who disagree with me on this, but I don’t see the point in spending a lot of money on jeans, when there are TONS of brands who do great jeans for less than $100 (and I don’t really think this was the case 8-10 years ago, when all the designer denim brands started hitting the market.)  The most I’ll spend is around $100 on a pair of Lee jeans, but other than that, I go to Uniqlo, who do amazing jeans, with a great fit, for less than $50 a pair. Gap and Topshop are also good options.

Club Monaco jewelry: looks good, and it won;t break the bank.

Summer Jewelry. I have mentioned this before in my Travel Tips, but I really don’t like traveling with expensive jewelry. It makes me nervous. Once I was going through security and the woman made me take off my giant Hermès Chaîne d’Ancre necklace. She was giving me the “no, no, no” look. I nearly had a heart attack, as I clearly was not leaving my Hermès necklace in Oslo. I explained to her that the necklace was for sale IN GENEVA AIRPORT, so therefore could not be a security threat. She went off to speak to her boss, which made me extremely nervous because the necklace left my sight, but I eventually got it back. The nuisance of having to rebook a flight from Oslo, or get to Sweden and fly from there, with my necklace, was enough to make me decide that when I travel, the expensive jewelry stays in the safe. So, when I want accessorize for the beach or hot holidays, I buy cheap jewelry that I don’t have to worry about.

New Look wood wedges, for walking from hotel room to beach.

Summer Shoes. I like to wear wedges when I go to pool/beach/park summer events and I don’t like to wreck expensive shoes. Espadrilles and wood or cork sandals are not worth spending a lot of money on. Sandals have little material on them, so it is not the end of the world if they aren’t made of leather. Save your shoe dollars for amazing winter boots.

Old Navy workout pants. Only 20 bucks!

Workout Gear. Aside from a good pair of running shoes, I can’t bring myself to spend money on workout clothes.  You can get a whole workout outfit from Old Navy for less than a $100. Why spend $400 on a track jacket then?

Read my guest post on Handbag Heaven here.

Trying to find fault with a Bottega Veneta collection is like trying to find meaning in a Christian Slater movie… (OK, I have Clueless on my mind right now…sorry!) I pretty much love everything that Tomas Maier does, he seems to have captured the mood of the moment. His collections have the perfect balance of minimalism and detail, looks fabulously luxurious but effortless at the same time, and are completely wearable. I think my ideal wardrobe would be full of Bottega Veneta, with bits of COS and Uniqlo as filler. This resort collection looks like what Jil Sander would wear on holiday.

I Love…

that Bottega Veneta can make black tailoring look resort.

a simple capped-sleeve tee.

how a white shirt, black skirt, and black runners can look easy and fashionable.

a conservative resort dress. This would work on a 20 year old, or a 60 year old.

how Tomas Maier can take simple shapes and turn them into something interesting, without losing the simplicity.

a great one-piece.

klein blue.

I Loathe…

the cut-out shape of this top. It is a little bit off, and makes her bust look weird. But I love the skirt and its giant pockets.

this leotard (or whatever it is.)

Read the rest of my resort 2011 collection reviews:

Donna Karan
Yves Saint Laurent
Michael Kors
Burberry Prorsum
Alexander Wang
Christian Dior
Chanel

All images from Style.com.

Illustration by Chris Bettig

I met Mandana when I was working for Lambesis, a brand development agency. I was one of their global trend scouts, and she was our editor. She recently started a short fiction blog called Teeny Tiny Fiction, which is very fun and cute. I guest posted a short story there, about some dresses, have a look.

Here’s the deal with the Fashion Chat interviews: They are done on Skype or Gmail using the chat function. I do edit them down a bit, but try and keep the general flow of the conversation. Actually, I haven’t done a very good job of editing this interview, but there were so many interesting things said. And I definitely sort out the spelling mistakes, since I am guilty of very bad writing when I’m chatting and typing very quickly. Hope you enjoy!

Alexandra Suhner Isenberg: OK, so you are a writer, editor, art director, trend forecaster, creative, and culture consultant. You’ve worked for Oyster magazine, Dazed & Confused, The Face, Dutch and for a ton of amazing trend forecasting agencies and consultancies.

You’ve also got Teeny Tiny Fiction, tell us about your blog.

Mandana Towhidy: Umm. Ok. when I was In Portland, I ended up doing some gigs for Wieden + Kennedy. And for one of these stints, they put me in a room with a dude from Amsterdam, which ended up being Rafael Rozendaal. He’s an Internet artist. We couldn’t be more different. I’m a writer who loves books and art and pens and he hates everything outside his computer screen. And for the entire time I was there, plus the year or so after, he always said, “Why aren’t you doing something online? DO SOMETHING ONLINE.”

After I left Portland and moved back to California, and had finished the work on my novel, I was about to start a short story collection. And again he said, “THAT WOULD BE PERFECT FOR ONLINE!” He was relentless. But I love him for it. And so it was. And I’m very shy about my creative stuff. But the response has been really great. And they aren’t serious. Just more like literary “doodles”.

ASI: I love the term literary doodles, it totally sums up Teeny Tiny Fiction.

MT: Yeah. Just like a sketchbook. And it’s really nano fiction, which is a newish term referring to tiny fiction…tinier than flash fiction and mostly used online.

Illustration by Chris Bettig

ASI: There have been so many changes in the way we consume media in the past ten years. Lets talk a bit about magazines, what is the future of print magazines? I know it’s a question that gets asked all the time, but I’d like to know your thoughts. Maybe one or two examples of who is here to stay.

MT: Well… When I was a tiny little thing, like maybe 6 or 7 or something, I saw a picture in one of my mom’s magazines, or maybe WWD, of a fashion show and all the people sitting in the front. And I asked my mom who those people were. And she said, “Those are buyers and editors.” I knew I wanted to be there. I tried being a buyer, because we have retail buyers in the family. But I hated retail. And I also knew from a very early age that I loved to write and I loved to draw.

And so, I decided, hmmm. I need to write. And then some time later on, when I was at the end of my retail visual gig, my then boyfriend was watching fashion TV with me and there was a lady speaking and under her name it said FASHION JOURNALIST. And my boyfriend then said, that’s what you should be doing. And everything shifted.

Illustration by Kelly Tunstall

But those dreams aren’t really there anymore. Before I went into hiatus to work on the last novel, about 3 years ago, there were so many magazine jobs…so so so so so many. And I was getting gigs without even trying. People would forward me emails from editors looking for people. But now, it’s zip. They really f-ed themselves in the ass, though. Most of these greedy publishers. Because anyone with any sense of style would NEVER throw in the towel of art for…a celeb cover. And coverage. I mean, can you imagine what Diana Vreeland would think?

I read online that paper will easily be a thing of the past. Which I think is good…the flip side is that because I can’t really work at the same Vogue I saw as a child, and I can start an online thing and have it as stylish as I want. I don’t need Vogue anymore. Anyone can be the new Anna Wintour. Ya know?

The web is the Wild West right now.

I think a lot of brands are missing out on a great opportunity to create a following with a branded publication, like Benetton and Colors or Acne jeans and their nice pub or even H&M’s publication. It doesn’t have to be super thick and glossy. It can be smaller and newsprint. But if the content is amazing, the customers will get hooked! And it can be really fun, because you’re creating your own culture for your very own brand. I mean, does Uniqlo have a publication? If they did, I would love to see that. (ASI: actually they do, but I’ve only ever seen a copy for a few seconds.)

ASI: Wow, leads to my next question, about Vogue. We both aren’t huge fans of US Vogue, do you think the next few generations will respect a publication like that?

MT: I don’t think the next generation gives a fuck about Vogue.

I think the next generation thinks, “I want to do this….I can do this…I’m doing it.” They aren’t waiting for anyone or anything or any influence. They see what they like, like Teen Vogue (which I do love) and they say, “I am going to start my own Teen Vogue.”

Illustration by Chris Matty

ASI: So, you are in LA. Do you like it? (Mandana just moved to LA from Portland. Before that she was in New York City, and before that in San Francisco.)

MT: Um…yes and no.

I grew up here. It was a great experience. I like smaller big cities. I like neighborhoods. But I am back and I had to ask myself why I was back here AGAIN, and I think I’m supposed to be here.

ASI: LA was tipped to be a new fashion capital a few years ago, when Rachel Zoe was making headlines. It never really happened. Why do you think?

MT: Well, there’s a huge problem here in that the cooler people hide out.

ASI: I forgot to add “ugh” after Rachel Zoe

MT: Ahahahahah…to the ugh! The douches are out there. But I think there are some of us that can change that. It’s really spread out and, frankly, there is lots of cookie cutter terrible style.

The right people that/who can create a good scene here might pop up. One good thing happening is that Jeffrey Deitch is coming here. That will bring them out in thralls, when he starts at the MOCA.

Fashion week was always weird here. The PR kids here never ever knew the mags I wrote for. I’d say I was from Dazed & Confused and they’d look at me bewildered. Once I asked, “Do you know what Dazed is?” and she answered, “Um, I think I’ve seen it before…” I mean, that’s what the big PR people are like here. It’s not like that in New York or London or Paris or Tokyo…or even sleepy San Francisco.

ASI: Geez

MT: That’s why fashion sucks in LA. But New York is almost over. Sorry, but it is. No one can pay $7500 a month for an apartment. So, we’ll see.

Illustration by Azad Sadjadi

ASI: I remember one day during one of our trend brainstorming conference calls, we discussed the idea of urbanites moving back to smaller cities. At that time I was in London, and planning to move to Stockholm or Vancouver. You were going from NYC to Portland. Do you think this is still a trend? I mean, it seems so, after your comment about NYC.

MT: I think it’s forever happening and going to happen. For good art you need cheap rent. Not my quote. But true. And good art usually brings in creative style, cool kids, which brings in more cool kids/good style. And so on. And then it starts over again somewhere else. So, yes. I think it’s always happening. LA is huge, so it can happen here repeatedly.

ASI: We all know that social media is THE thing right now, and it’s all anyone is ever talking about. I am quite enjoying watching some of the old fashioned brands jump on the bandwagon and then fall straight off. But how about a backlash, is there any chance of people regressing a bit? I mean, a backlash like people get bored of Twitter and everything. Or they use it, but value “old fashioned” ways more.

MT: I think it’s happening. There are a lot of reports recently about how the CEO of Facebook doesn’t believe in privacy or is changing the privacy things. I think it’s all really weird. I mean, I don’t think a lot of people realize these are companies gathering information from all the users and selling it as research to huge companies. I think it’s really a weird thing. I mean, not everyone, but some people spend more time on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, etc, than they do on their art. And then they wonder why they aren’t getting ahead.

ASI: It is stressful being on Twitter cause in theory you should be always “on.”

MT: There are a lot of people, mostly artists, I know who never have and probably never will get on any of those sites. And they are some of the most famous and successful. They are too busy CREATING films and art and scripts and stories. They might have a blog, but it’s not updated very much.

ASI: You are so right, I need to think about doing that more.

MT: I think Twitter is really too much. I can’t really handle the narcissism. It really freaks me out. Even Facebook. I have most of the people on there hidden so I don’t have to hear about them making a cake or feeling shitty every five minutes. I mean, GO DO SOMETHING.

Lula magazine.

ASI: Is there any magazines, blogs, websites, artists, anything you’d like to recommend to the Searching for Style readers? One or two people/things you love?

MT: Of course we love Italian Vogue and such. I like Lula. Check out Rafael’s site. newrafael.com since he’s the person who pushed me to get online.

Here are some other things I like right now:

• Bang Gang from Iceland, especially the last record.
• Petra Cortright’s sparkle 1 and 2 (see video below)
• Amy Davis and Jon Moritsugu’s new record “High on Low“
• Cecil Beaton
• Liselotte Watkins
• Artist Brian Ermanski

ASI: I heard the term “email bankruptcy” today, which means you are so behind on all your emails, you just erase them all and hope the important ones will resend.

MT: Omg that is ridiculous. That just sounds like laziness. Who gets like that? I used to write for 7 magazines at a time, go out 6 nights a week, sleep in all day, and I still managed to write everyone back. One thing I really don’t like about the new kids on the block is the lack of etiquette or manners. Like, people not replying for eons. Just cuz. They are used to it.

ASI: I feel that way after I go on holiday and find a full inbox. That’s why I check emails while I am away, so I don’t get stressed thinking about a full inbox when I get home. But yes, no excuse for that in your every day life.

MT: Or ignoring a text. that’s just rude.

ASI: Oh god, don’t come to Canada. I have people responding to emails 3 WEEKS LATER. No sense of urgency at all, or etiquette. It is totally rude, Canadians are not very good with that sort of etiquette at all.

But that’s a subject for another day…

MT: I mean, sometimes, it’s fine. But there is a whole new generation who don’t think anything is wrong with that. and they are too busy on Facebook and Twitter to reply. The other thing about social media I hate is that people add me on Facebook, but never email me or call me anymore. I mean, that’s just not my style.

Check out Mandana’s blog Teeny Tiny Fiction. Unless otherwise specified, all images from Teeny Tiny Fiction.

Read other Fashion Chat posts:

Fashion Chat: Bon Bon Bodywear

Agyness Deyn (left) and her sister, wearing the Uniqlo t-shirts. Notice Aggy is standing in a weird, crooked pose, and sporting a very ugly haircut.

I am not a fan of Agyness Deyn, I don’t think she is pretty, and most of the photos I’ve seen of her look the same. She’s got an ugly haircut, she’s standing in a weird, crooked way, and her mouth is hanging open. So I was pretty relieved when she eventually fell out of favour…

But I read today that according to Modelinia, Aggy’s sister has launched a line of t-shirts for Uniqlo. Who is her sister? Is she an artist, or fashion designer? Well, she has been “creating” t-shirts with her best friend for some time…although I don’t think that gives her the credibility to be a designer for Uniqlo. As sick as I am of the I’m-a-relative-of-a-famous-person phenomenon, the thing that disgusts me the most here, is that it is Uniqlo, one of my favourite fast fashion brands, engaging the sister of a past-her-sell-by-date model to design ugly t-shirts. It’s bad enough that Agyness Deyn has helped propel Henry Holland to fashion fame (hopefully he too is falling out of favour) but now we have to deal with her sister as well. Did Jil Sander have any say in this? I hope not.

Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's SEX store on London's Kings Road.

There’s been so many interesting fashion stories in the news recently that I haven’t had enough time to cover, so I am doing a very quick summary on some of my thoughts on recent headlines.

Malcolm McLaren in the 70s.

• LVMH owns Louis Vuitton, Céline, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Fendi, DeBeers, TAG Heuer, and more.
• PPR owns Gucci Group which owns Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, and Bottega Veneta, Boucheron, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, and more.
• Richemont owns Alaia, Chloé, Piaget, Cartier, Alfred Dunhill, Net A Porter, and more.

Natalie Massenet, founder and CEO of Net A Porter.

So what happens when one of the big luxury conglomerates takes hold of the most successful online luxury retailer in the world? Well, I am sensing that LVMH and Gucci Group might be a bit worried…Neither has managed to successfully sell their products online, and now Net A Porter is owned by one of their competitors. LVMH has launched NOWNESS, described as ” an editorial website that offers an exciting new way to experience luxury lifestyle online.” Sounds a bit vague, yes? I haven’t had the chance to properly explore NOWNESS, but I do know that it is not the next Net A Porter. LVMH and Gucci Group are going to have to come up with a better concept to successfully sell their products online, now that Richemont owns Net A Porter. I’m still shocked at how slow some of the major luxury brands have been to warm up to online retailing.

Anyway, well done to Natalie Massenet, the founder of Net A Porter, for banking 50 million on a business that was “never going to succeed, because people don’t buy luxury online.”

Uniqlo campaign.

And finally, here’s something very exciting for North America, Uniqlo has just signed for a giant retail space in New York City, in which they will pay over 300 million dollars in rent for the next fifteen years.

“What’s set to be Uniqlo’s biggest store in the world, with a whopping 90,000 square feet of space in total between 52nd and 53rd streets, is a clear statement of intent. Fast Retailing (the company that own Uniqlo) president and chief executive officer Tadashi Yanai–Japan’s richest man, according to Forbes–is determined that the Uniqlo name will become as ubiquitous elsewhere as it is in Japan.”
-Wall Street Journal

Let us all hope and pray that this will be the beginning of a massive North American expansion of Uniqlo, including shops here in Vancouver. They are the best for basics, they do what Gap does, but way better and a bit cheaper. And they have Jil Sander designing collections for them. Yay!

Image sources:
Malcolm McLaren image.
SEX boutique on Kings Road.
Natalie Massenet.
Uniqlo image.

So many people dress well in London. Not classic like the Parisiennes, or polished like the New Yorkers, but here people are trendy. The 13 year old girl, and the 55 year old woman are all dressed in the latest fashions (although sometimes the women dress a bit too young…)

Ever since I arrived in London I’ve been trying to figure out why everyone here is wearing the latest fashions, while most of Vancouver can barely manage one great trendy item, let alone a complete look. It took me a while to figure out why, but then it dawned on, it is obviously becasue they can access the latest fashion at a very low price. The British High Street is the best fast fashion shopping in the world, because it has all of the best international brands and a ton of incredible British brands. Topshop, Miss Selfridge, New Look, Primark, River Island, Oasis, and Marks and Spencer are some of the British brands that sit next to the likes of Zara (Spain), H&M (Sweden), Uniqlo (Japan), Bikbok (Norway), Mango (Spain) and more. Every store is packed with the latest styles at amazing price points, although that’s not necessarily a good thing. I can understand why there is so much criticism here about people buying too many clothes, since there are so many clothes readily available, and extrememly cheap.

I came here intending on hitting all the deparments stores, but then I realised I am more excited about the high street clothing, which is cheaper, and a lot more fun. Plus I can afford more of it. I am trying to to buy things I will wear for a while, not super trendy pieces (well, not all super trendy pieces), although a lot of the very trendy stuff probably won’t be in fashion in Vancouver for at least another season or two, so I’ll get a longer life from most of it.

Imgaes from their brand’s websites. New Look black and white striped tunic, £18. New Look black and white bralet, £20. New Look Gold by Giles Deacon striped cap sleeve top, £35. Oasis nautical sweater, £45. Richard Nicoll for Topshop knotted t-shirt, £32. River Island shoe, £59.99. River Island bag, £29.99. Topshop peach cropped tank, £10. Topshop black puffy skirt, £60.

I don’t discuss denim much on this blog, although, like most people I’m sure, it plays a very important part in my wardrobe. I don’t really do designer denim, I have yet to understand why one needs to spend $300 on a pair of jeans, when you can get a perfectly good pair for $50 or $100. I have a couple pairs of Lee Jeans I really like, and the last pair I bought was from Uniqlo, which are great, and very cheap. I will definitely be spending some time at Uniqlo when I am in London in March.

There’s been a couple of announcements of denim collaborations in recent weeks, including Vivienne Westwood with Lee, and Henry Holland with Levi’s.

Some of my Vivienne Westwood jewelry.

I had a very, very bad experience in the Vivienne Westwood store in London a few years ago, which resulted in me writing a nasty letter to them highlighting the fact that their customer service sucks, and the response from their retail manager was basically “tough shit.” So I will never shop at Vivienne Westwood again, even though I have tons of the jewelry, which I still wear, and have recently been given some more of the jewelry as a gift, which I also love. (I do think her collections are a bit boring, she did a whole bunch of cool things a long time ago, the pirate boot, the platform shoe, the corset, the big pouffy satin ballgown, and the amazing tailored suit, and she hasn’t really evolved since then. Her fashion shows almost all look the same.)

Vivienne Westwood catwalk looks. From left to right: Spring Summer 2006, Autumn Winter 2007, and Autumn Winter 2008. They all look the same. Images from Style.com

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania brand is collaborating with Lee jeans, and according to WWD, “the debut collection for fall will launch to buyers next month, and will include styles such as superskinny jeans and microshorts for women, along with bondage jeans and skinny jeans for men. Washes will run from indigo denim to metallic gold- and copper-colored denim to denim printed with a trompe l’oeil lace design.” If the collaboration is half as good as her ongoing Melissa shoes collaboration, then I am sure we can expect great things. But I won’t be buying it.

Amazing rubber shoes. Vivienne Westwood Anglomania for Melissa. Images from Melissaplasticdreams.com

The other denim project announced was Henry Holland’s collection for Levi’s. I have never met someone working in the fashion industry in London that didn’t think Henry Holland’s collections were a complete joke. His original slogan t-shirts were cool and catchy, but his attempt to turn them into a full on fashion collection were a complete and utter failure, which only captured media attention because Agyness Deyn was his very close friend and used to model his shows. One day when I write a post about models, perhaps I will be able to express my disdain for Agyness Deyn, the one-trick-pony model with terrible poses and who never closes her mouth. But today is about jeans.

The slogan tees were a bit tacky too, but they have their place in fashion history.

I think Sarah Mower summed up Henry Holland’s last catwalk collection quite well on Style.com, by describing it as “a presentation with very little substance and plenty of ironically tacky clothes that are actually genuinely tacky, too (how else to describe tangerine lace?)… he’s a one-man self-marketing wiz who instinctively knows how to brand himself (the quiff, the glasses, the Agy, the cheeky northern wit) and is now using his runway chiefly to display his collaborations with other companies.”

Why did Levi's have to hire Henry Holland to make these jeans look ugly?

Well, his collection for Levi’s is no better. In fact, I think it looks tacky like the rest of his stuff. You can tell he is not a designer.  I’m very bored of Henry Holland, and I wish he would go away.

More ways to ruin a perfectly good Levi's jean jacket, by Henry Holland.

Levi’s by Henry Holland images source.

Last night I went to the opening of the James Nizam show at Gallery Jones on 3rd. As expected, crowd was interesting and well-dressed (unlike most fashion events in Vancouver.)

James’ work is really interesting, and once I looked into his older work, I’ve realised that this recent collection is much more to my taste than his older work. It is photography of sculpture and installation, and its amazing. He told us a bit about the process, and it was really interesting, but rather than try and recap it all, I’ve included a blurb from the invitation on the bottom of this post.

Images from the Gallery Jones website.

Here I am with a very old friend, Jessica Clark, from Quince Fine Flowers. I’m wearing Atelier 1 coat, Uniqlo Jeans, vintage handbag, Hermes necklace, and Finsk shoes.

I had to show you all a few more photos of my shoes, which got many compliments. I have yet to unleash my entire Finsk collection on Vancouver, but I can tell you there are many more amazing pairs that need christening.

The giant zipper pull looks amazing when it sings back and forth when you walk.

The pleated leather is divine.

More on James Nizam’s work, from the exhibition invitation.

“On the occasion of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Gallery Jones is pleased to announce James Nizam’s exhibition, Memorandoms which continues Nizam’s use of vacated domestic interiors as the backbone of his photography, the provisional location of his studio, and the source of materials. In this case the site is the former Little Mountain housing project on 33rd to 37th Avenues, between Ontario and Main Street, what was the oldest public housing development in Vancouver, recently demolished to make way for a higher density combination of market condominiums and social housing. At one time these low rise buildings situated around grassy common areas across the street from Queen Elizabeth Park would have been attractive housing. Large windows threw light onto hardwood floors of square well built rooms, but that was decades ago. One year ago Nizam was granted access to the slated complex where he assumed residence to an empty third floor apartment. There he set up a camera, and over the course of several months, documented a series of ephemeral sculptures that he constructed from accumulations of remnants such as doors, drawers, shelves, and various other standardized architectural furnishings. Similar to each of Nizam’s previous photographic series two dominant and constant ideas persist with this new body of work: the lost or abandoned domicile, and that the personal is political. In Memorandoms, though the type of the home used has shifted towards the social, Nizam’s work in them continues to move towards greater refinement and sophistication.”

I think a very suitable first post topic would be one about something we can’t find here in Vancouver, as I’m guessing a lot in this blog will be about just that. I suppose I am somehow hoping that I can convince Canadian retailers to start to sell more exciting clothes, but I suppose first I need to convince Canadians to want them.

Anyway, for Canadians unfamiliar with Uniqlo, imagine a bunch of stylish Japanese people getting their hands on Gap and injecting colour, style, and cool. That is exactly what Uniqlo is. Then, to top it all off, they ask Jil Sander to come in as Creative Director. Their new line, J+, launched 2 weeks ago, has resulted in line ups outside the Paris store for over a week. So there must be something amazing in there, and I can’t have it. In fact, the only place it can be found in North America is New York.

Here are some photos, and if you really want to upset yourself, have a look at the prices on their website. I should also note there is tons of fantastic menswear, which we all know is very difficult to find if  you don’t want to break the bank.

Photos courtesy of Uniqlo.