HBC's Olympic mittens went from torchbearer uniform to best-seller (Photo by Delaney Turner)
While the ubiquitous red mittens haven’t reached the status of the blue Roots berets everyone wore during the ’98 games (which, in retrospect, were kind of a fashion don’t), the Hudson’s Bay Company’s woolly mitts have become the must-have item for the Vancouver Games.
The Starinterviewed a bunch of Torontonians who are praising how the mittens, which are made in China, make them proud to be Canadian. News 1130is getting people in a frenzy by declaring that last week’s shipment of one million mittens was the last, and once they’re gone, they’re gone. The Vancouver Sun dismissed rumours that the gloves are in short supply (there’s an entire wall of them at The Bay at Fairview Mall and a pile on the second floor at the Yonge and Queen location, for those who are looking). CTV even reports that the mittens’ popularity has already led to counterfeits. Read the rest of this entry »
With little happening in food news last week (well, before the Mildred’s story broke), such media outlets as the Toronto Star and Montreal Gazetteresorted to reporting on Heinz’s new single-serving ketchup packets. The New York Daily News travelled from the Bronx to Bay Ridge to collect reactions to the barely newsworthy packaging. One Brooklyn woman, who said she would “relish” getting a decent serving of the red stuff in one go, hates the old version: “You got to squeeze it so hard to get it all out, and it’s not enough.” The Canadian Press hit Covington, Kentucky, to hear this tepid commentary: “Maybe now you won’t have to use your teeth to open them.” Read the rest of this entry »
We interrupt Valentine’s Day gift hunters with this important announcement: the thong is over. Or at least that’s what the Star is arguing. Sarah Barmak takes aim at the string underthings, noting that Valentine’s Day lingerie displays are featuring lacy boy shorts and culottes instead of the barely there bottoms. The nail in the coffin: Cosmo magazine (which gets credit for popularizing G-strings) calls them as “predictable as the celebrity sex tape” in this month’s issue. At Secrets From Your Sister, one of Toronto’s premiere undergarment boutiques, sales of thongs have never compared with those of bikinis, shorts or briefs, though the store does offer a class to educate women in thong-wearing techniques. But despite signalling the end of Sisqo’s favourite garment, Barmak doesn’t want them entirely discarded. Read the rest of this entry »
The rainy 2006 weather produced lean, elegant reds, while the blistering hot summer of 2007 was perfect for bold bottles. Here, the best of both vintages.
Rosewood 2007 Pinot Noir Reserve (Photo by Daniel Shipp)
Shinan Govani finally had some food gossip to dish up this past weekend. Rumour has it that renowned chef Scott Conantis coming to Toronto to set up a restaurant at the much-hyped Thompson Hotel on Wellington West—the hospitality chain’s first location on non-U.S. soil, due to open this spring. Conant is the man behind Manhattan’s celebrated Scarpetta and will be importing its high-end Italian ethos, trademark polenta and foodie cult appeal to his new Toronto digs. His local partner on the project, Tony Cohen, tells Govani that the hotel will also house a 24-hour diner, which should be “perfect for both night owls and Spoke Club members alike.”
Funny that, not long ago, this was the spot from which Thompson Hotel Group poached great Toronto chef Susur Lee. Perhaps the family-owned luxury hotel group is back to make amends.
After settling the tabs of Friday parties, Saturday pub crawls and Sunday brunches, a segment of Toronto gears up to celebrate the “other weekend”—Sunday and Monday. On those evenings, business owners cater to hairstylists, musicians, event planners, promoters, bouncers and other members of the service industry. “They don’t get to experience the weekend nightlife,” Mathew Tsoumaris, marketing director at Uniq Lifestyle, which owns Cheval, told the Star, “so we give them a discounted night.” Read the rest of this entry »
The war on thin models is playing out on the streets of Toronto. A new streetcar shelter ad from NEDIC, the National Eating Disorder Information Centre, is getting its message across with help from fashion magazines.
At the corner of Queen and Soho, the words “Shed your weight problem here” appear on a bright fuchsia box with a slot through which women can dump their lady mags, which have come under increasing fire in recent months for glorifying ultra-skinny body types. We wonder if there is a male-targeted version of this with discarded copies of GQ and Men’s Health. After all, it’s not just women who are held up to unrealistic (and potentially unhealthy) beauty standards. Read the rest of this entry »
Marc Thuet and Biana Zorich: courage of their Convictions (Photo by Karon Liu)
Marc Thuet and Biana Zorich are leaving Toronto to take on Vancouver and the United States. Following the success of their two major projects of 2009, Convictionand Conviction Kitchen—restaurant and reality show, respectively—the couple is heading to the west coast next week to scout real estate for the second location of the restaurant. Like the King West version, the Vancouver outpost will be run by reformed criminals whose trials and tribulations will be broadcast on TV. Read the rest of this entry »
Patrick Chan for Harry Rosen (Photo courtesy of Harry Rosen)
Last year, figure skating became the stuff of reality television dreams, and now figure skaters have become the stuff of fashion inspiration. The men of skating are proving to be a fashion-forward bunch, scoring modelling gigs, taking on PETA and acting as muses to designers.
The leader of the pack is Johnny Weir, the dramatic American singles skater, who’s created controversy with a staunchly pro-fur stance, saying he wouldn’t stop wearing fur until he saw “a chinchilla wearing me.” Weir also played model in the New York Times Magazine recently, wearing a revealing crocheted costume made specifically for him by Rodarte, the avant-garde label known more for quadruple-digit prices than quadruple lutzes. Designer Vera Wang, a former figure skater herself, has created outfits for her new muse, U.S. skater Evan Lysacek, in Vancouver for both his short and long programs. Read the rest of this entry »
In the latest installment of Super Shopper, Alanna Davey tracks down the ultimate lace dress, raspberry-rose truffles and other assorted erotica for a fruitful—and fully accessorized—Valentine’s Day. See the picks here >>
Hub 14 - The postage stamp measurements of the Hub 14 space will ensure close encounters with the performers taking part in the new series Under a Paper Moon
