Would You Wear The Prada Turban?

Apparently, while I've had my nose in the books for school, I failed to notice that Prada came out with the most ridiculous accessory for spring.... the female turban.

This is a scary, scary thing and here's why. Muiccia Prada is considered the fashion leader when it comes to new trends. When she does something, others will follow. Please. Someone stop her!

Just look at Style.com (where these pictures are from) to see a whole runway of turbans from Prada. I look at this and I think Aunt Jemima? WTF? My head would look like a bowling ball with this on, what with my big cheeks.

This reminds me of another terrible idea: the horrid Balenciaga riding hat from Fall 2006. Woof!

What do you guys think? Would you wear either of these looks?

Sexy Canadian Designers Part I: Rudsak

We recently posted a poll on ChickAdvisor to see what you all thought about Canadian Designers. While 46% of you have already purchased Canadian designer labels and loved it, or plan to in the future, the majority of you said you either never buy designer, or you had no idea Canada even had a fashion industry. We thought this was a travesty that needed to be addressed. Soooo, we're going to start filling you in on a few Canadian designers we think are sexy, innovative and fun.

Rudsak:
We've been big fans of Rudsak ever since we first started attending Fashion Week in Toronto. Rudsak is a Montreal label designed by Evik Astoorian, who started his career in footwear before getting into the leather business with his family.

Though they launched in 1994 and are one of the fastest growing labels in leather garments in North America, they've only recently started getting the street cred they deserve. This is largely thanks to their popular shows at Toronto and Montreal Fashion Weeks, and more recently, their newly opened boutiques on Queen Street West and Sherway Gardens in Toronto and a few in Quebec.

Rudsak is known for its signature leather accents in jackets and coats, and leather accessories. This is a great store to buy a trench for spring, a winter coat or an uber cute leather jacket. You'd probably also like the leather handbags and wallets.

They carry mens and womens apparel and even have jeans and a few tops, which are reasonably priced. This is a must shop for Canadian designer wear and the prices are comparable to big chain stores. Regular priced coats run from about $200 - $600.

visit www.rudsak.com for more pictures or lorealfashionweek.ca to watch a video from their latest collection.

* Photo credits: www.rudsak.com

L'Oreal Fashion Week F/W '07

For some reason the video went a little wonky when we uploaded it, but here's a little piece about some of the controversy surrounding the Canadian Fashion Industry.

Shoe Shopping at a Conference

We must appologize for our tardiness in reporting the latest from L'Oreal Fashion Week. It was amazing and we got a chance to check out some fantastic designers like Izzy Camilleri and Gsus, who we'd never seen before. We made a video piece about some of the controversy surrounding Fashion designers in Canada, which we'll hopefully have up here soon!

In the mean time, we've spent the last several days at ICE '07, (Interactive Content Exchange), which is a huge multimedia conference with delegates visiting from all over the world to discuss the latest and greatest in multimedia.

While the conference was a great networking opportunity and we met a lot of invaluable fascinating people, I got a wee bit distracted and somehow found myself downstairs in Winners buying these uber comfy Micheal Kors pumps. It wasn't really pre-meditated, it was friggin' freezing in the Carlu and I needed a sweater. I wasn't about to go about in my winter coat. I just happened to pass by the shoe rack and without meaning to, I ended up trying on these.

Alex was there and insisted we buy them. I don't like to argue, so I bought them. Now that I have them at home, I'm feeling a little indecisive. They were $100 (CAN). What do you guys think? Yay or nay?

We won 1st Place!!

We're still here at the conference (people are speaking as I rudely type this) but I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who wished us well. It wasn't as scary as I imagined and we got 1st place so we'll definitely be talking more about this. Yay!

ChickAdvisor is a Finalist at U-Pitch for Ice '07!

We recently entered our street podcasting concept "Where'd You Get That?" for the U-Pitch competition for Ice '07, "the world's coolest interactive media business event".

I found out this Thursday that I am one of 5 finalists who will be presenting our concept to a panel of industry experts in an attempt to win a cash prize to develop our idea. This is taking place in Toronto on Wednesday at 2pm. Whoo hooo!

I'm officially peeing my pants.

Public speaking terrifies me. I blurt out words that don't exist. I say things backwards like, "it's mreat to geet you!" If you're still trying to figure out what that means, you understand how odd I can come across. It's not that I don't know my stuff, it's just that crowds are very imtimidating to me. Especially crowds with media toting video cameras who can broadcast my bumblings to the world. Ironically, video cameras alone don't bother me at all. Go figure.

Sooo, here's to me speaking English, not fainting or tripping on the stage and making us proud. Goodness knows we need the cash. At 2pm this Wednesday please send positive vibes my way. I'll let you know how it all goes down...

L'Oreal Fashion Week F/W '07: boutique le trou

I made this little video using my little digital camera. It came out pretty good considering it's supposed to be for taking photos. I wish I would have thought to make all my videos like this instead of lugging around a 35 lb DVC Pro Camera and broken 40lb tripod all week. I guess I know better for next time!

boutique le trou is on the hip Queen Street West strip. The owner, Marlene Shiff, is an absolute doll. I got a chance to talk to her last night. I'm hoping to include that interview with my fashion piece, which should be ready some time next week.

L'Oreal Fashion Week Spring 2007 Videos

Fashion Week here in Toronto has just wrapped up and while everyone is scrambling to edit their fall 2007 footage, we thought you might like to see the videos from Spring, since that's what we'll be wearing next.

We found these on atomic-clock.tv. They've compiled videos of every collection. For those of you unfamiliar with Canadian designers, we think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Our favorites are Andy The-Anh, Bustle, Izzy Camilleri, Pink Tartan, Paul Hardy & Arthur Mendonca. Enjoy!

Fashion Week Schwag

L'Oreal Fashion Week got off to a great start Tuesday night. The clothes were gorgeous (of course!) and I've already picked out which coat I'll be buying from Mackage this fall. I'll talk more about the clothes after Fashion Week is over, but for now, I'm all about the schwag in the media kits.

L'Oreal lavished us with lipstick, lipgloss, mineral makeup, liquid eyeliner and telescopic mascara. Conair gave away flat irons. There was organic deodorant, lipbalm and teeth bleach from KissMe, Cadbury Thins, stockings, funky hair elastics from im, that I'm really digging, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff.

L'Oreal's Colour Juice Sheer Juicy Lip Gloss in Tutti Frutti is a summery cotton candy colour that smells like strawberries. The Colour Juice lipstick in Cherry Freeze is a gorgeous deep pink color that looks surprisingly good on me. I have really pale skin and I never fathomed wearing a colour like this but I love it! It smells like cherries too. Yummy!

I tried the Carbon Black Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid eyeliner yesterday morning. It lasted all day long and looks fantastic on. I just need to work on my application skills as it was far from perfect.

I'm already a huge fan of L'Oreal mascara and can't wait to crack open the Telescopic Mascara tonight. I'm curious to see how their mineral makeup compares to Bare Escentuals.

I'm very excited to try the Instant Heat Ceramic Flat Iron. I love Conair. I already use their curling iron and blow dryer. I've never bought another brand. Though my hair is naturally poker straight, I've always wanted to try to get that sleek polished look, which can only be accomplished by a flat iron. I'll keep you posted on how that turns out.


Kiss My Face, a "Healthy, effective, and earth-friendly" brand gave little kits with Liquid Rock Deodorant, Lip Balm, toothpaste and Honey & Calendula Ultra Moisurizer. I tried their organic toothpaste this morning and the organic lipbalm in Treat Mint (spf 15). The lip balm is refreshing and minty. It feels amazing on. It reminds me a lot of Bert's Bees actually. I'm all over it. I applaud companies like these who strive to create natural, organic, or earth friendly products and can't wait to test all of it.

Airplus pitched in a pair of Steppies, (Formerly called Ball-of Foot. I can see why they changed the name), which are these brilliant little doohickeys that stick to the inside of your shoes to provide additional cushioning for the balls of your feet. I can't wait to try these with my heels in spring.

As you can see, being in the media is a really tough job! It was sheer exhaustion testing all of this fantastic free stuff and of course, my fingers are getting quite sore from typing about all of this, so I simply don't have the energy to tell you about the wrinkle zapping properties of the Revitalift from L'Oreal, the Trouser Socks from Silks, or L'Oreal's Studio Line Indestructible hair gel. Alex is bald anyway.

But don't worry about me. I'll have a couple of those yummy Lychee Amarula Martinis tonight (they were practically force feeding them to us), and I'll survive somehow ;)

Can Botox Stop Aging Before It Starts?

Celebs are doing it in droves and apparently, so are we. Botox injections are by far the most common plastic surgery procedure amongst 35 - 50 year olds. (Yawn) We're not surprised. But get this: according to WebMd, there is a trend amoung women in their 20's and 30's to get Botox early to stave off wrinkles from forming in the first place. Huh?

Theoretically, this could work. As skin loses it's elasticity, wrinkles and creases set in and become more permanent. Botox blocks nerve signals from getting to the muscles so that they can't contract, preventing you from furrowing your brow and other such wrinkle-inducing facial expressions. In addition, microdermabrasion is a great tool in the battle against age because it gets rid of dead skin cells and softens fine lines.

Hmmm, would this be a tacky time to remind Toronto Members about the Elixir deal? Win free facials for a year until March 17 '07. Ok, commercial over.

Seriously though, would you consider doing botox early to PREVENT wrinkles from forming or do you think this is all a bunch of hooey?

How fascinating! Tell me more

Cookouts, Cooking Demonstrations & Theme Dinners: NYC

The Gothamist has compiled a list of food happenings in the big apple.

Sounds like fun! Check it out.

Far Coast

You're bundled up to your eyeballs looking anything but fashionable as you hurry along the trendy Bloor St. Strip. Apparently, the Weather didn't get the memo that it's supposed to be spring already! You're fighting every urge to go shopping despite the warmth of the stores when you spot in the distance like an icy mirage, Far Coast, a gorgeous new 2 level cafe with big windows and inviting couches. You feel it is your moral duty to at least pop in for a peek so you can tell everyone if it's worth a visit.

Well, it definitely is...









This place is adorable! Fresh aqua walls, hardwood floors, eclectic mismatched furniture, comfy couches and lots of little nooks to read a book or get a little work done.

We sipped the Raspberry Roobois Tea, which tastes like hot fresh raspberries. There's lots of room in this two level cafe and it's easy to sit here for hours people watching and avoiding studying, which is so dull by comparison. The only problem with this location is fighting the temptation to go shopping.

We can't wait to sample the coffee.

Christian Dior Fall/Winter 2007 Video

While we don't see ourselves buying this hat any time soon, there are some interesting colorful ideas in the Fall '07 collection from Christian Dior.

Watch the video.