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.
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February 9, 2010 | 9:01 am | Carley Fortune
Trend Alert
Toronto Star takes on skimpy underwear
February 8, 2010 | 3:00 pm | Karon Liu
Gossip Monger
New ad doubles as fashion mag dumping ground
The NEDIC ad at Queen and Soho
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.
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February 8, 2010 | 2:29 pm | Fraser Abe
Trend Alert
Canadian figure skater Patrick Chan makes modelling debut
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.
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February 8, 2010 | 9:00 am | Toronto Life Staff
From the Print Edition
Super Shopper: the ultimate aphrodisiacs for V Day
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 >>
February 5, 2010 | 2:46 pm | Karon Liu
Gossip Monger
905 faces off against the 416 in fashion battle
Memo to 416ers: the 905 is not like the Jersey Shore (Photo via MTV)
They walk among us to learn our language and customs. They could even be in the next cubicle. They’re everywhere, and nothing can be done about it. That’s right; despite our best efforts, 905ers are infiltrating the city’s chicest restaurants and clubs unbeknownst to downtowners, writes Kim Izzo in her latest column for the Star, which chronicles her move from downtown to uptown.
Since November, Izzo has been documenting the pains of moving north as if she’s dealing with a terminal illness or moving to the other side of the world (Richmond Hill, to be exact). Now that she’s fully integrated into suburban society, she feels that 905ers get a bad rap from their downtown counterparts, who think people living north of Bloor have big hair, fake tans and souped-up cars. (When did Markham become Jersey Shore?)
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February 5, 2010 | 9:30 am | Toronto Life Staff
From the Print Edition
Biker chic: six affordable leather jackets
Leather motorcycle jackets were big on the 2010 runways, and we’ve found six affordable takes on the trend.
February 4, 2010 | 3:41 pm | Fraser Abe
Gossip Monger
Olympic merchandise naming rights resulting in unsportsmanlike behaviour
The sporty offerings from Aritzia (tank), The Bay (top mitts), Roots (hoodie), Lululemon (bottom mitts) and Birks (cufflinks)
The Winter Games are fast approaching, and VANOC, which oversees Olympic naming rights, isn’t happy with the slew of Olympic-themed merchandise hitting the market—nor are official sponsors, like The Bay and Birks. Such companies as Roots, Lululemon and DSquared2 are offering Canadian-themed wares by carefully avoiding using off-limits logos (like the rings) and words (like “Olympics”), and the vitriol is flying.
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February 4, 2010 | 2:42 pm | Natalie Goldenberg-Fife
Required Reading
Luxury goods consumers are selfish, DSquared2 designing opening ceremony costumes, Bloomingdale’s in Dubai
The same-sex marriage tee that Urban Outfitters took off shelves
• Beautiful things happen when fashion and athletics collide, and we’re not talking about Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen’s baby. Designers Dean and Dan Caten of DSquared2 have designed, in honour of the Olympics, a $350 maple leaf–logo fleece hoodie to be sold at Holt Renfrew. The twins are also designing the costumes for the Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, which means plenty of sexy lumberjacks and brooding hockey players. [WWD]
• A study from Harvard Business School says luxury goods consumers are more likely to make inconsiderate, selfish decisions that harm others. The findings are detailed in an HBS paper called “The Devil Wears Prada? Effects of Exposure to Luxury Goods on Cognition and Decision Making.” It seems money can’t buy love or a conscience. [Harvard Business School]
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February 4, 2010 | 10:01 am | Karon Liu
Gossip Monger
Stockwell Day loves his murse
Parliament is prorogued until March 3, so in the meantime, we’re concentrating on other, more important aspects of politicians: their accessories. Treasury Board president Stockwell Day was spotted carrying a leather bag to a cabinet meeting at Meech Lake yesterday and explained that it’s not just women who need a purse in which to carry all their gadgets and documents.
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February 3, 2010 | 12:15 pm | Alanna Davey
The Find
Feet first: slippers that double as art
Mjölk has been open only a few months, but the Scandinavian lifestyle shop is already on every Toronto design nerd’s list of favourite decor stores. For the uninitiated, here’s another reason to visit: ultra-comfy slippers from Sweden’s Pia Wallén, a brand-name designer and artist in her home country who works largely with felted wool. Available in several bright colours, the unisex slippers are inspired by winter boot liners and are one of Wallén’s best-known creations. They’re just the thing for keeping feet warm on polished concrete floors.
$75 at Mjölk, 2959 Dundas St. W., 416-551-9853, mjolk.ca.
