Archive for Connie Ng
BARBIE BY DAVID DIXON. Photography by Jess Baumung
Prolific fashion muse Barbie turns 50 this year and in honour of the style icon’s birthday, a line-up of top designers collaborated with Mattel to bring Barbie’s luxe life of mansions, convertibles and lavish wardrobe options into reality. The long list includes Volkswagen, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors and Diane von Furstenberg. There’s also Canadian content from David Dixon, Cake and Town Shoes.
Bamboo beauties: Deux FM's Evie blazer (left) and a shirtdress by Thieves
Fashion isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of bamboo. Pandas love it, but more and more designers do too. With the sheen and softness of luxurious silk, bamboo fabrics feel like a million bucks (only better–it’s washable!).
Hilly Yeung's "Givenchy"
Shoes have become one of the most sought after fashion items on the runway. Women have been known to spend $14,000 on a pair of Manolo Blahnik alligator boots. Sex and The City even dedicated an entire episode, “A Woman’s Right to Shoes,” to Carrie’s relationship with her designer heels. So perhaps women barbarically wrestling one another over a pair of Pucci boots in Confessions of a Shopaholic may not be so unbelievable after all?
Nahui Ollin ER satchel, $260
I recently spied the sweetest gift (with no sugar): Nahui Ollin (nahuiollin.com) purses and clutches. Resembling more pixilated versions of the woven Bottega Veneta Cabat, the large selection of styles, colors and patterns are hand-woven from misprinted and overrun candy wrappers. Read the rest of this entry »
Nothing says winter blues combat like a flashy pair of shades. At Ontario Specialty Co (133 Church St., 416-366-9327), you’ll find one of my favorite selections of vintage sunglasses in every possible color and style.
But don’t just take my word for it: fans of the shop include the likes of Alice Cooper, The Clash, Sean Lennon, Beck, Alec Baldwin and Danny Masterson (a.k.a. Hyde from That ’70s Show), who bought 48 pairs.
The symphony of colours, patterns, textures, forms and silhouettes in fashion transcribes into a cultural and historical dialogue into the Textile Museum of Canada’s exhibit, The Cutting Edge (to July 7, $12, 55 Centre Ave., 416-599-5321, textilemuseum.ca).
With one of the most comprehensive selections of vintage purses in the city, Gadabout (1300 Queen St. E., 416-463-1254, gadabout.ca) is a household name among friends who I am convinced are members of Purseoholics Anonymous.
There is nothing like a lazy day at the market. Be it for flowers or meat, as long as I have a fresh cappuccino in hand, I have the best time simply browsing for hours. Among my favorites is a name often overlooked by locals, the Sunday Antique Market (North Market, St. Lawrence Market Complex, 92 Front St. E., 416-392-7120).
With a stir of rebels and rivals, a pinch of angst, romance and graduation anxiety, cinematic high-school drama never fails deliver. My coming-of-age retrospective is consumed with the fashion in juicy teen classics like Dazed and Confused, The Breakfast Club, Clueless and the cream of the crop, Grease.
Odd Gems by Connie Ng
Attention chocoholics: MoRoCo Chocolat (99 Yorkville Ave., 416-961-2202, morocochocolat.com), possibly the most fashionable chocolate salon in Toronto, opened this fall. The location is quite hidden, but even if you miss their giant Victorian logo that reads “Let Them Eat Cacao,” your nose will lead the way like a GPS.
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