Insta-L.A.

Wildfox Couture showroom in L.A., Instagrammafied. Yes, I am obsessed.

The Fashion Market...

I have a very open obsession with Wildfox Couture (click through to see what I mean)--in fact, I'm wearing a neon Wildfox tee I picked up in Santa Monica as I type this--so when we stumbled upon the Wildfox Couture showroom at the Cooper Building while touring the L.A. Fashion District downtown, I was more than a little excited. We also just so happened to be there during buyers' week, so the offices and showrooms were in full swing. So often we forget to think of fashion as a business. There's too many pretty, distracting things to convince us otherwise.

My first article on my SoCal trip is out, having run in the National Post on Saturday. Click here to read So Cal, so now: Catching the wave of sunny California's style, which describes the pretty pink Wildfox room and the indoor, vine-y swings hanging from the ceiling. California lives in an eternal summer.

For more information on travel to California, go to visitcalifornia.com

Fashion Week L.A.

Me and Kristen, our lovely press trip publicist, at the pre-show at the Vibiana

L'une Collection

Almost as soon as I landed in L.A. for my SoCal fashion press trip in mid-March, we were whisked downtown to the Vibiana, a stunning cathedral (circ. 1876)-turned-performing arts space with refurbished ornate interiors, archways, and columns, and this time, a fine, white runway.

The pre-show stage show (by L'une Collection) and drinks happened outside on the patio, and the runway line-up included menswear label Madisonpark Collective, Skingraft, and Project Runway Allstars' Mila Hermanovski.

Established in 2002, Fashion Week L.A., or "Style" Fashion Week, is in its early stages. There are few buyers in the audience, and few, if any big-name publications covering the shows. However, press from local newspapers, L.A.-area television stations, and local bloggers is rich, and even as an outsider the experience is a positive one. Designers receive substantial crowd support (standing ovations in some cases), which shows promise for grandeur in the future. Further, these ready-to-wear labels certainly reach the retail racks, as I found myself unknowingly coveting garments from Skingraft while shopping Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood later that week.

There's much more to come on my trip (adventures from Santa Monica, Orange County, and West Hollywood), and I'll be posting all my published articles exploring this region's fashion scene as they come, so stay tuned! xx

For more information on travel to California, go to visitcalifornia.com

#SocialSeen

Excited to share with you my new weekly column in the Arts & Life section of the Edmonton Journal, called SocialSeen, out every Wednesday. It's a round-up of the week's hottest parties and the beautiful, social and fashionable people who make them sparkle! Check it out!

Mixin'

This was taken at the Gerry Thompson Gallery in Calgary during PARK's fashion industry mixer. Fashion bloggers unite! From left: Lions Lace Lattes, Linda from Calgary Fashion, Dress Me Dearly, moi, and The Girl With the Messy Hair (photo).

Get your tickets for PARKSHOW, a fashion show for emerging designers, and one of Calgary's hottest fashion events of the year, happening March 10th at the Palliser South Tower.

The Ingredient...

New Year's Resolution #1: Learn to cook more (good) meals than I can count on my hand. The secret ingredient: truffle oil.

NYE '12

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

On TV...

I forgot to share with you my segment on CityTV's Breakfast Televsion Calgary for FASHION, where I was dishing on the best in winter coat fashion for 4 whole minutes (which seemed like a lifetime!)!

Yes, I was totally and completely shaking in my boots, and am relieved it's over, but am, surprisingly, looking forward to the next time!

Not sure if I'll be blogging much over the weekend (although, I've had time to update my Press page in the navigation bar above, as well as this here Photo Diary, with all that I've been up to over the last few months), because, didn't know know, it's CHRISTMAS, so here's wishing you a wonderful celebration with your family + friends!

xox

Avenue...

At Avenue Magazine's Christmas party with Style Guy and Fashion Editor-at-Large, Jared Tabler.

In the December issue of Edmonton's Avenue Magazine, a contributor photo for my cover story/Style Q&A with actress/musician Molly Flood. 

Sunday Morning...

Breakfast and blogging, and the perfectly poached egg with ham + cheese on an English muffin.