Season one of Revenge is coming to a close, and as sad as that is, Joe Fresh wants to keep the Revenge fire burning by throwing a party with Christa B. Allen (Charlotte Grayson) on May 23 at its Queen and Portland location. The event is a private affair, but getting in won’t be so difficult if you have the chops of Emily Thorne or a sensei like Satoshi Takeda. If you have either of those things, you should really be using your skills to get Madeleine Stowe (Victoria Grayson) to come to this party. Ah well, at least it isn’t Connor Paolo (Declan Porter)—better known as the actor with the worst Boston accent in the history of television (at least, we think it is a Boston accent).

The sweltering and humid Toronto summer is coming, and the promise of getting post-work drunk sitting outdoors is becoming mighty appealing. (It’s true, it is.) Back in December, a couple of local girls, Natalie Petozzi and Abigail Van Den Broek, threw together a Glory Box pop-up shop with 70 per cent off Le Creuset pots and designer denim. Now, they’re moving on, selling patio furniture from Andrew Richards Designs, Sunbrella, Enclover, Cana-Foam, Cabana Coast by Actiwin and more. All items will be on sale for 50 to 70 per cent off, which means you might not have to buy this season’s modular wicker chaise lounge from Restoration Hardware. (You still can, but you don’t have to.)

Glory Box, 99 Sudbury St., May 26 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and May 27 (12 p.m. to 5 p.m.)

Worn Fashion Journal is at it again with its kooky videos. This time it’s a sneak peek at its brand new issue, which features an homage to the film Ed Wood set at the Gladstone Hotel. The folks at Worn use a stuffed octopus, retro X-ray glasses and a bathtub to get their vision across. We were hoping to see Johnny Depp in a blonde wig, but this will do.

A frequent point of contention at Toronto Fashion Week is that a lot of what we see from Joe Fresh (Joe Freezy, to us) is never actually produced. Or if it is produced, a cheaper material is substituted for leather, and it just doesn’t look the same. But Joe Fresh has stepped it up this season. A lot of what’s in stores looks exactly like it did on the runway—and, like always, it’s pretty darn cheap (most pieces are under $100, including shoes). The runway collection dropped yesterday at Freezy’s Queen and Portland, Forest Hill, Maple Leaf Gardens and Queen’s Quay locations, and according to a Joe Fresh rep, Queen and Portland and Forest Hill will have the largest selection. Joe Fresh’s awesome printed pants are in-store, but sadly the colour-blocked button-up is not. And fortunately for womankind, these leather pants have not been produced (though for some reason, this monstrosity made the cut).

Check out all the available runway looks and how much they cost »

This episode is the worst yet. We have no trouble saying this, because, after the promise of an actual, legit conclusion to the series, we are still left wondering who won. Marcia is up first for judging, and every single judge says exactly the same thing: she’s a great makeup artist, but her two looks do not dazzle. Why on earth does this take five minutes to report? And why couldn’t each judge say something constructive? We don’t see Marcia rolling her eyes, but as soon as Lisa Tant takes her turn to offer her own variation of the hive-mind opinion (she says it doesn’t “razzle dazzle”), our eyes roll for her. At least when Caylee shows up for judging, there’s a somewhat constructed faux rivalry developing between Coco Rocha and Tant. Rocha apparently loves Caylee’s two hairstyles, while Tant is “overwhelmed and underwhelmed.” Caylee’s hair-noose is referred to as a beard several times before the judging is over, and then Rocha drops the bomb: the show is technically not over. The viewers (we’re not the only ones?) now have to vote for their favourite online. Let the record show that this reality web series knows how to appease its sponsors…but not our curiosity.

Canada’s Best Beauty Talent continues this week, and after last week’s elimination shocker (i.e., there wasn’t one), we were looking forward to finally finding out who won. Matthew and Jenna get the boot in the first few minutes, which leaves Caylee and Marcia to be named, respectively, best hair and best makeup talent. At this point in the episode, we make a triumphant sigh of relief because we think we made it to the very end, despite some moments when we just wanted to stop watching altogether. But we’re wrong: Coco Rocha tells the final two that there’s yet another challenge. Another challenge? Why? Please, for the love of humanity, send them both to Paris and end this thing.

In the for real final challenge, Marcia and Caylee are asked to create two looks on identical twin models. They each start working on one twin, and then, 45 minutes in, they switch models and finish their competitor’s look (they will be judged on both looks). Marcia (our favourite) aims for a champagne-hued brow on her first model, and decides to create softness in the cheeks by keeping them light and rosy. Meanwhile, Caylee also goes for simplicity with her first do, creating a structured runway ponytail. Caution, however, is thrown to the wind when they switch models: Marcia goes for lavender to contrast with the simple ponytail and complement the model’s green eyes, while Caylee gives the champagne-browed model an odd-looking yet beautiful braided-hair noose. (It is really the only way to describe it.) What we learned this week: just when you think something is over, it’s not. That’s all.

• Matthew feels like he deserved to win. No one deserves to win a reality show. It isn’t a basic human right. We think he did a great job throughout the series, but come on, man.

Only a mighty few rock a signature look for a lifetime. Introducing, from our inaugural Stylebook, 13 entries into Toronto Life’s best-dressed hall of fame
By Caroline Aksich

You may remember Maryam Keyhani from Stylebook’s Toronto’s Most Stylish feature, but on top of being a smart dresser, she’s also an emerging accessories designer whose pieces can be found at Holt Renfrew, Joyce in Hong Kong and other retailers. In addition to becoming a global brand, Keyhani took part in Vogue Italia’s new talent showcase last year, Frieda Pinto has been spotted sporting her designs and rumour has it Madonna’s stylist placed a call for a couple of the designer’s pieces. For her fall/winter 2012 collection, Keyhani has created insane shapes with folded silks, structured metal and strands of pearls. It’s certainly not for the kind of girl who tucks a bit of coin away every paycheque for a Tiffany and Co. tennis bracelet. Keyhani’s pieces are for women who can stand to look a bit ostentatious.

The Bay announced today that it will be opening up two new Topshop and Topman locations in Vancouver and Toronto in October—Vancouver’s shops are going to occupy a staggering 33,000 square feet of the Granville Street location, while Toronto’s new shop-in-shops will be hosted at the Bay on Queen, filling a much humbler 19,000 square feet of space. We spoke to a Topshop rep who says given the typical Queen West shopper, there’s a good likelihood that The Bay on Queen will be stocking some of Topshop’s edgier pieces. Perhaps that means Toronto will face a push for sequined Aztec leggings and, um, whatever this is.

Words by Kevin Naulls | Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, British coffee bars employed a rule: stick to one type of clientele. Suits hung out with suits and academics hung out with academics. Even café owners and coffee pushers mimicked the type of coffee drinker they served, sartorially speaking. This romanticized old coffee culture is extinct in Toronto, though, and the style code of today’s barista has become universalized. The person serving you your first, second, third, fourth or fifth daily cup at your local indie café is almost certainly dressed casually: for the fellas, a tee or plaid shirt, jeans and facial scruff; for the ladies, a vintage ensemble. Sure, it’s exactly what you’d expect; but we think there’s something comforting about receiving your morning joe from someone who isn’t wearing a workaday uniform. In this week’s instalment of our street style series, we look at Queen Street baristas (i.e., some of the coolest coffee fiends in the city).

As we journeyed along Queen, we noted, rather unsurprisingly, that dudes in coffee shops have a propensity toward indoor toques, and a washcloth is an ever-present accessory. However, our findings exceeded simple style notes. Unbeknown to most, there’s a network of travelling coffee professionals along Queen who have stopped in Toronto while wandering across the country, using their advanced coffee knowledge and café experience as a calling card. In Leslieville, we met a gentleman from Calgary and a girl from Nova Scotia—the former cut his teeth at Calgary’s Phil and Sebastian and is currently a barista at Dark Horse, while the latter, a Fairtrade advocate, says that a lot of the green, eco-friendly practices we’re seeing in Toronto cafés are something the East Coast has been promoting for years. She even joked that the plaid shirt–clad man is even more ubiquitous there, if you can imagine that. But amid the T-shirts, jeans and scruff, subtle tweaks on the prevailing style kept everyone from looking like a caricature—a sprawling beard (almost hiding the most welcoming smile), a Wonder Woman change holder accenting a lumberjack uniform and an almost Heidi-like, tightly braided high ponytail.

Check out 16 looks at Queen Street’s baristas from east to west »

Winner Anna Stephenson (Image: CNW Group/Sutherland Models Inc)

It’s no surprise that models are in their prime when they’re young, because they’re still, well, youthful, and have yet to develop massive egos. In a competition run by the Sutherland Models agency at the Convention Centre, 15-year-old Anna Stephenson, of Toronto, took first place and was named Sutherland’s supermodel of 2012. Ann Sutherland, the agency’s president, says she is “thrilled to have found such an extraordinary new face—the next Canadian supermodel!” The question now is: will Stephenson be able to maintain a proper work-life balance? We just hope she finishes school, on the off chance that this is just an annual publicity stunt for Sutherland Models. We’d hate to see her at an auto show giggling when gentlemen ask her if she comes with the car.

In this episode of Canada’s Best Beauty Talent, it’s judgment day for Marcia, Matt, Caylee and Jenna, and we finally get to see their red carpet looks. Caylee and Jenna create a Grecian-inspired look with lightly bronzed skin and an updo, while Matt and Marcia go for something softer with porcelain-white skin and a soft wave. However, though the judges are happy to offer up their opinions, we don’t get an actual result, because that’s being reserved for another episode. Why? We have no clue. Sigh.

Since there’s no elimination this episode, the judges get more time than usual to weigh in on the looks. Guest judge Alison Eastwood (Hello! Canada) loves pretty much everything about both looks, except for the fact that Jenna’s makeup makes her model look a little tired (we agree); Eric Delmonaco (L’Oréal) applauds Caylee for taking risks and actually showing technique; and Lisa Tant (Flare) tells Matt that if he’s going to create an Angelina Jolie–like look, it could stand to be more “wazoo sex kitten wah!” Caylee’s hair is praised, despite the fact that it looks a bit like a bird’s nest, and Marcia (the frontrunner by a long shot) “makes magic” with makeup according to judge Eddie Malter (L’Oréal). Caylee and Marcia are likely to win, if this show is as predictable as we think it is—especially since, given the way things have gone in the past, it seems likely that the two winners will probably be on separate teams. What we learn this week (courtesy of Matt): by adding a smoothing serum to the ends of your hair and blowdrying it, your hair will end up looking smooth and soft.

• Coco Rocha really likes to talk about herself. She explains in great depth how, when she’s on a red carpet, she has to “dramatize” her eyes. She also shares with us the plight of porcelain-skinned women like herself, who look sick on many runways.

Coco Rocha at the 2012 Met Ball (Images: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

Sure, the theme for last night’s Met Ball was Schiaparelli and Prada, and yes, Coco Rocha’s look-at-me pink dye job resembles the colour Elsa Schiaparelli is famous for, but for one of the glitziest events on the fashion calendar, Rocha opted for pants. Okay. We do think this vintage Givenchy pant and matching matador-style jacket demand attention, but it’s not because they’re inherently stylish—they’re just shockingly bright. As if Rocha didn’t already get enough press (have you read Cuckoo for Coco?), here are some of the ways she begged the cameras to look at her last night: tossing her pink tendrils over a shoulder; wearing a matching pink top (as if the canary just wasn’t enough); and alerting the world to the fact that Elizabeth Taylor once wore the jacket and that it has a wine stain that won’t come out.

It’s loud and fearless and showy. We like it
Photography by Liam Mogan | Styling by Meaghan Binstock and Daniel Onori/Plutino Group

2012 is shaping up to be a preposterously fun year. Spring showed up early. Bryan Adams is touring again (woot woot!). And the city’s tastemakers are all wearing super-bright colours. It’s a trend inspired by nostalgia for the sporty vibe of the ’80s and ’90s: neon is back, and while there aren’t any jumpsuits, casual is the thing (sorry, Mad Men). But this time around, it’s more sophisticated.