June, 2010 | Style Blog | Toronto Fashion and Lifestyle Blog

Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen Resort 2010 Collection

I am pleased to say that Sarah Burton’s first full women’s resort collection for Alexander McQueen is everything I hoped it would be. According to New York Magazine: “Burton was responsible, as Lee Alexander McQueen’s right-hand woman, for turning his runway fantasies into more commercial things women will buy in stores.” And it definitely shows, as the collection is quite wearable, yet still has that distinct McQueen feeling.

I think all of us have quite high expectations of Sarah Burton come fall. I am sure she’s under a lot of pressure to create a beautiful Spring collection that honors the legacy of Alexander McQueen, yet having to make it her own. I hope she does well, and I’m rooting for her to succeed. What are your thoughts on these pieces?

Photo Credits: NYMag

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Wednesday Candy: FIFA World Cup 2010 Sexiest Players

World Cup 2010 is in full throttle, and while my beloved Les Bleus are out of the competition, there’s still plenty to be excited about. My number 2 team – Spain has been doing quite well, and so far, my hopes are riding on La Furia Roja, and its hot Spaniards. But the one thing that most girls will likely agree with me on, is that football is not just about the game and winning. Of course, winning is super important, but sometimes a little eye-candy goes a looong way.

After watching a few games, and cringing when girls swoon over that fake-tanned, sun-dried Portuguese beef jerky with drag queen eyebrows – Ronaldo (apologies to all you CR lovers, but it’s just my silly opinion), I couldn’t resist posting my Top 5 Hot Players of World Cup 2010. No, you won’t see Beckham or Ronaldo on this list – they are not my type of man candy. But I would most definitely love to kick it with these hot footballers. Happy Wednesday, lovelies! And share who your fave footballers are in the comments!

1. Iker Casillas - Spain (age 29)

Plays for Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, this talented and hot goalie hasn’t been on my radar for very long, but it looks like he took the number 1 spot from my all-time fave Zizou. My favorite Iker is the scruffy, moody, angry one on the field. Yours?

2. Carlos Vela – Mexico (age 21)

Carlos is the new (hot) face of Hugo Man, and is the only consolation to the France vs. Mexico loss for Les Bleus. Looks great both in a suit and on the field.

3. Yoann Gourcuff – France (age 23)

This cute French midfielder replaced Zidane’s playmaker role on the field. And though he hasn’t proved to be as skillful as Zizou himself, he’s still quite nice to look at.

4. Kaká – Brazil (age 28)

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite or simply Kaká to his friends and fans is hot, talented, and devoted to his family. He’s also Iker’s teammate at Real Madrid, which makes Real Madrid games eye-candy galore. He’s the face of Armani and Adidas…and have I mentioned that he’s hot?

5. Roque Santa Cruz - Paraguay (age 28)

There’s no doubt that Paraguay’s national team reached quarter-finals for the first time in their history in part due to striker Roque Santa Cruz’s hotness talent. Next up, his team will be facing Spain, and likely will be sent on their way home to Paraguay…but the moments of Roque’s passionate plays and charismatic smile won’t fade from fan’s minds for a long while.

Photo Credits: Google Images

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Style Blog, June 30th 2010 | Tags: Carlos Vela, Football, Hot Men, Iker Casillas, Kaka, Roque Santa Cruz, Wednesday Candy, World Cup 2010, Yoann Gourcuff
Posted in Hot Men

What I Wore: Bad Day

Last weekend, amid the G20 craziness, le boyfriend and I finally made a trek to Yonge and Sheppard to see my “Yorkdale Is Me” billboard! After a few minutes of silly picture-taking and attempting to climb up on the roof of the building in heels (me, not le boyfriend), which was unfortunately locked, we ended up spending the day wandering aimlessly around the Lawrence Park area, stopping by Sporting Life to check out their sale, and finally sampling Capocaccia (foodie post coming soon).

All in all a great day…especially compared to the day before that, when I hit a parking lot pillar, almost killed myself while hanging wallpaper and shopping at IKEA (hint to self: don’t attempt to drag a super heavy shelving unit across the driveway – it will inevitably result in busted up toes and scratched up, yet brand new piece of furniture).

Thankfully, there were kind souls that helped me along the way, and made my day a bit brighter. Like the guys at the auto shop, who instead of taking advantage of clueless me, helped me with the dent, offered advice and manual labor…all without any monetary expectations (I still paid them, of course). Also, huge thanks goes out to the random guy at the IKEA parking lot, who after seeing me wheel a huge shelving unit over to my car, did not hesitate to offer his help, which was hugely appreciated. And last, but not least, I am really thankful for the assitance of my almost-neighbor, who helped me get the aforementioned piece of furniture into my house, after seeing me helplessly fighting with and flailing around the careening shelf, which clearly was out for blood (ouch!).

What last weekend taught me (other than not to go furniture shopping alone, and to watch out for parking lot pillars), is that the world isn’t such a hostile place afterall…there are still people out there who will lend a helping hand to a stranger in need, without expecting anything in return. And that’s a pretty awesome thing to realize.

What I Wore: Shirt – Forever21; Shorts, Men’s Bracelet, Belt, Sunglasses, Nail Polish - H&M; Earrings – Chanel; Bag – Longchamp; Shoes – Zara

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Style Blog, June 29th 2010 | Tags: Chanel, Forever21, H&M, IKEA, Longchamp, Organic Style, Street Style, Toronto, What I Wore, Yorkdale, Yorkdale Is Me, Zara
Posted in Fashion, Organic Style, What I Wore

Wishlist: Disney Couture Tinkerbell Egg Ring

Call me childish, but I simply adore this Disney Couture Tinkerbell Egg Ring from Fred Flare! It’s both fun and elegant, with a pink mother-of pearl inlay dome, that opens up to reveal 2 fresh water pearls and a blue enamel egg. Plus, I could hide things inside the ring…like love letters or snacks…Ok, maybe not snacks, but I’d find use for this extra storage space within the ring. What do you think? Cute or not?

Photo Credits: Fred Flare

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Style Blog, June 29th 2010 | Tags: Disney, Fred Flare, jewelry, Rings, Shopping, Wishlist
Posted in Fashion, Shopping

What I Wore: Quebec City Part 3

Great breakfast at Cosmos to start the day. A leisurely stroll around the Plains of Abraham. A dozen of macarons from Paillard. A scary encounter with a tunnel monster. An unexpected Porter sandwich on our way back to Toronto (on top of an incredibly above and beyond flight service).

A fantastic end to a fun trip to Quebec City.

What I Wore: Top, Denim Shorts, Feather Ring - Forever21; Blazer – Zara; Shoes, Turquoise Bracelet - Urban Outfitters; Scarf, Men’s Bracelet, Nail Polish - H&M; Bag – Longchamp; Earrings – Chanel; Sunglasses – Ray Ban

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Style Blog, June 28th 2010 | Tags: Chanel, Forever21, H&M, Longchamp, macarons, Organic Style, Paillard, Porter Airlines, Quebec City, Ray Ban, Street Style, Travel, Urban Outfitters, What I Wore, Zara
Posted in Fashion, Organic Style, Travel, What I Wore

Zara June 2010 Lookbook

Zara’s summer sale is now on! And though the items I mostly want aren’t on sale (they are from Fall collection), it might be a good time to stock up on some essentials and a few fun summer pieces.

Also, just wanted to apologize for the lack of posts last week – my weekend got a two day extension due to the G20 happening in the downtown Toronto area, so I spent both Thursday and Friday renovating my room (painting, wallpapering, etc)…perhaps I’ll share some photos of the end result sometime next week.

Oh, and the winner of the H&M giveaway will be announced quite soon…don’t worry, I didn’t forget about you!

Hope you are having a wonderful Monday, lovelies!

Men’s Lookbook after the JUMP!

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Style Blog, June 28th 2010 | Tags: Guy Fashion, Lookbook, Shopping, Summer 2010, Zara
Posted in Fashion, Shopping

Foodie: School Bakery & Café

School Bakery & Café

70 Fraser Ave
Toronto, ON
(416) 588-0005

Perfect For: Brunch

School’s out for summer, but a couple of weeks ago, I gladly (and voluntarily) went to School…School Bakery & Café that is. Though I originally thought that a visit to SBC would be a cool surprise for le boyfriend, he went on to inform me that he was the one who suggested this place months ago, and I was just probably not paying attention. Well, it didn’t matter who discovered the place, School Bakery & Café is one cool restaurant – and is perfect for brunch!

First of all, there are a lot of tables – it is crucial to have generous seating for the hungry masses on Sunday afternoons, when most brunch places have snaking line-ups. We waited for 5 minutes before getting a table, and another 15 to get the menus – it seemed that they were a bit understaffed. Needless to say, when food arrived, taking photos for the blog escaped both our minds and we all but licked out plates clean.

One of my favorite things about SBC brunch was the variety of dishes on the menu. It’s not just your regular eggs and bacon and toast. No, at SBC you are treated to tempting dishes such as “Overstuffed Croissant of Smoked Salmon and Spicy Scrambled Eggs”, “Super Cheesy French Toast”, and “Chipotle Biscuit Sandwich”. And though I wanted to sample every dish on the menu, I settled on Caramelized Banana Pancakes ($15) with a side of bacon ($3), while le boyfriend went with the Overstuffed Popover with Gruyère, Smoked Bacon, and Greens ($11). Both were delicious, though I must add that the bananas on my pancakes were not at all caramelized and the coffee was sub-par. But even that didn’t change the fact that I want to come back to SBC for brunch, lunch, and dinner, as all three menus are permanently etch-a-sketched in my mind.

And the decor…it’s almost worth a trip to School just for the ambiance. Pencils, and blackboards, and apples…oh my! There are flat-screen TVs to watch the World Cup, patios to enjoy the sun, and baked goodies to round out your meal…what’s not to like? If you find yourself looking for a new place to try in the Liberty Village, try going to School…you might enjoy it for once.

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Style Blog, June 28th 2010 | Tags: Brunch, Foodie, Liberty Village, Restaurants, School Bakery & Café, Toronto
Posted in Foodie

What I Wore: Quebec City Part 2

After a day of shopping and eating in Quebec City, and falling on the bed half-conscious and half-incapacitated, getting ready to go out in the evening was a bit of a challenge, but I think we did ok. I finally got to wear my new H&M Fashion Against AIDS Missoni-inspired tank top dress. It’s definitely on a shorter side, and used to be quite see-through, before I’d attached my old white t-shirt as lining at the bottom, but I simply loved the color and the pattern of this tank! Surely, I’ll get lots and lots of use out of it on steamy summer nights, running barefoot on the beach…and did I mention that it cost me $15?!

Though I do question how lucky this particular dress is, because after getting a table at Savini on Grande Allée, some lady promptly managed to spill my drink all over my dress. Thankfully, the fabric didn’t stain and dried pretty fast (except for the t-shirt lining part). I didn’t let this little mishap ruin our night, and we ended up having an incredibly delicious meal, before heading to the hotel to get some rest for the next day.

What I Wore: Tank Dress, Men’s Bracelet, Belt, Nail Polish - H&M; Blazer – Zara; Turquoise Bracelet – Urban Outfitters; Bangles – Forever21; Necklace – Marc by Marc Jacobs; Backpack – Chanel; Shoes – Oscar by Oscar de la Renta

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Style Blog, June 23rd 2010 | Tags: Chanel, Forever21, H&M, Marc Jacobs, Organic Style, Oscar de la Renta, Quebec City, Savini, Street Style, Travel, Urban Outfitters, What I Wore, Zara
Posted in Fashion, Organic Style, Travel, What I Wore

Wednesday Candy: Zinedine Zidane for Louis Vuitton

Since my favorite team since 1998 decided to self-destruct and subsequently crash and burn on the way out of the World Cup 2010, without winning a single game, I definitely needed something to cheer me up. And the new Louis Vuitton “Core Values” campaign helps ease the pain a bit.

Featured in the campaign are the “holy trinity” of soccer football: Pelé, Maradona, and surprisingly (even for me) Zidane, photographed by Annie Leibovitz. As an avid Zizou lover, I couldn’t help but smile at these images of the beloved and legendary French midfielder. It’s great to see him in the spotlight again, because the French team without Zinedine Zidane is…well, like a herd of sheep without a shephard…who just got eaten by the wolves for their own stupidity (who doesn’t train before an important game???).

So here are the photos of the three greatest footballers in the world – ever, starring in the latest Louis Vuitton campaign. And might I add that Zidane is still looking smoking hot, smiling, and enjoying life, knowing that he retired at the right time, and that he doesn’t have to endure the PR nightmare that is the French team at this time. Good for him.

Photo Credits: Louis Vuitton

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Style Blog, June 23rd 2010 | Tags: Ads, Diego Maradona, Hot Men, Louis Vuitton, Pelé, Wednesday Candy, World Cup 2010, Zinedine Zidane
Posted in Celebrity Fashion, Fashion, Hot Men

Wishlist: Dolce & Gabbana Face Wedges

From the Suede Kisses bag to Suede Faces shoes…I am obsessed. I should be growing out of these types of things, my taste and my style should be maturing as I get older, but instead, I find myself further drawn to silly, kitschy items like these Dolce & Gabbana face wedges. Is there no hope for me? Will I be a sixty-year old woman in a silly hat, wearing silly shoes and silly jewelry? Not sure yet, but stay tuned.

Photo Credits: Sea of Shoes