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Cuckoo for Coco

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May 7, 2012 | 4:21 pm

Canada’s Best Beauty Talent, episode 9: how to sell hairspray in 12 minutes, 53 seconds

For the last challenge before the finale, the four remaining contestants—Marcia, Matt, Caylee and Jenna—are tasked with making a red carpet–worthy look. Coco Rocha looks like she’s checked out (seriously, could she sound more bored?), but the hair and makeup artists are eager and ready to go from the moment Rocha says “Ready, set, style!” for the last time. Since both makeup contestants go for a fairly clean look, tomorrow’s elimination may come down to the hair: Caylee opts for an updo, while Matt keeps it loose and lush. Past judges Eric Delmonaco and Eddie Malter return and pace the prep area, making suggestions about specific products the contestants should use. What’s with the hand holding? These people are the finalists. Tim Gunn would never cut a pattern for anyone on Project Runway.

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Shop Talk

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May 7, 2012 | 11:18 am

A small slice of Uniqlo is now available in Toronto

Fans of Japanese fast fashion label Uniqlo will be excited to note that Queen Street West’s Community 54 launched a small capsule collection of the brand’s Andy Warhol collaboration this weekend. The shop will be be carrying a limited selection of T-shirts ($50) and a sampling of Uniqlo’s popular—and relatively inexpensive—denim ($85). This is the second coming of Uniqlo to Toronto—last year, Lost and Found was selling the company’s plain T-shirts. Now it’s officially time for Community 54’s 15 minutes. Check out a selection of the Uniqlo collection »

Shop Talk

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May 4, 2012 | 4:21 pm

The Room at The Bay to host a party with Rodarte’s Kate and Laura Mulleavy in late May

Coco Rocha models a Rodarte dress for The Room (Image: The Bay)

The Bay announced yesterday that it is bringing the Rodarte sisters to Toronto for an intimate party at The Room on May 23. It is an opportunity for The Bay to showcase Rodarte’s Room-sold fall/winter 2012 collection, but also, we imagine, it’s a way to get back into the swing of things in a big way—we were at parties at The Room quite regularly last year, and lately we haven’t heard a peep. (Well, outside of the wait-in-a-line-and-pay-to-see-Kim-Kardashian opportunity.) Rumour has it The Bay is orchestrating a public appearance for shoppers on May 24, but no official details have been reported.

Gossipmonger

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May 4, 2012 | 2:59 pm

Linda Evangelista alleges ex Francois-Henri Pinault asked her to abort baby

Linda Evangelista (Image: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP)

Supermodel Linda Evangelista has been fighting for a $46,000-a-month child support settlement for a while now, and as of yesterday, it appears she’s still in it to win it. According to the New York Daily News, Evangelista showed up to the fight of her life at the Manhattan Family Court on Thursday in beige heels, a black pleated skirt, a floral blouse, an expensive gold watch and sunglasses. Almost immediately, the mudslinging began. Evangelista’s attorney William Beslow alleged that her billionaire ex Francois-Henri Pinault requested that she get an abortion as soon as she sprung the news that she was pregnant with their child. Pinault responded to the allegations on the stand, saying that he played no part in the decision to have the child, but told Evangelista that he’d “recognize the baby.” (It seemed like a fairly obvious point to us—if he’s taking part in the carnal act, of course he should recognize the child.) No settlement has been reached, but Evangelista is gunning for $552,000 a year, which includes $90,000 for one full-time and one part-time nanny and $175,000 for a bodyguard and driver. We guess she wasn’t kidding when she said she wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day.

• Linda Evangelista says former French flame Francois-Henri Pinault told her to ‘terminate’ her pregnancy [New York Daily News]

Tech Savvy

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May 4, 2012 | 9:27 am

A look at eight must-follow Twitter accounts from Toronto’s transforming fashion community

Illustration by Laura Antonik (Image: FAT)

Twitter is swiftly becoming a place where fashion news is broken. Case in point: when Jeanne Beker announced the end of Fashion Television, it was via a tweet, not a press conference. While most Toronto fashion news isn’t as big as the end of FT, when there’s news to share, the online community is there first—and first to offer its two cents. Sure, there’s a lot of fluff and navel-gazing from those who view themselves as the “bloggers on the front row,” but there’s also a network of commentators that are offering a window into the fantastical world of fashion and keeping the aspiring in-crowd informed and educated. Here’s a look at the eight Toronto Twitter handles you need to follow—the ones that are the most funny, irreverent, clever, informative and, well, aspirational.

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Shop Talk

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May 3, 2012 | 10:11 am

Anna Dello Russo to launch accessories collection for H&M

The last time Anna Dello Russo was in town, she told us that she likes “fantasy and garbage,” and now ADR is bringing her brand of fantasy and garbage to H&M with an accessories collection collab debuting October 4 at 140 stores worldwide. The collection of accessories will be available in Toronto at the Eaton Centre and Bloor Street H&M locations. A sneak preview reveals that the majority of the collection will feature rose gold (like an adorable whale-shaped clasp) with turquoise and tangerine accents.

Check out a video where ADR explains her motivations and shows off her personal accessories collection »

Buyer's Market

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May 2, 2012 | 1:31 pm

Check out Victoria’s Secret’s sexually suggestive Toronto Blue Jays–branded loungewear

Have you ever thought, “hey, I’m at a Toronto Blue Jays game, I wonder if the cute boy sitting behind me knows how much I’m into sports?” Not to worry, Victoria’s Secret Pink has decided to create a collection of Blue Jays–branded loungewear that bears sayings like “Play Ball” and “Three Strikes and You’re Out.” Not only will you be able to inform observers that you’re familiar with the sport of baseball, but you’ll be able to let a potential suitor know your personal philosophy on dating and indicate interest in having sexual intercourse. Innuendo—Victoria’s Secret gets it! Check out the Victoria’s Secret Toronto Blue Jays collection »

Cuckoo for Coco

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May 1, 2012 | 4:41 pm

Canada’s Best Beauty Talent, episode 8: the great side pony slip-up of 2012

The judges are at odds in this results episode of Canada’s Best Beauty Talent, which is kind of exciting. Coco Rocha loves Matt and Jenna’s wet hair and cat eye makeup, but “the mean one,” Flare editor-in-chief Lisa Tant, is not into it at all. YSL makeup artist Eden Bluestein and Tant think Marcia didn’t brow block correctly (they feel it doesn’t look smooth because she hasn’t combed the brows enough), while photographer Max Abadian digs the treatment. Everyone’s full of opinions this week—we even get to hear a post-judging rant from Isabelle, who thinks the judges are approaching the competition like it is some big joke. In full melodramatic mode, she goes so far as to refer to doing hair as her raison d’etre.

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Buyer's Market

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May 1, 2012 | 3:13 pm

How to dress like a camper, without having to suffer the cruelty of children and bad cafeteria food

After 20 years of slumber, the Bata Corporation–founded brand North Star has returned. Back in the day, North Star used to just make shoes, but according to this fall/winter collection video, it appears the brand has turned to making camp-inspired clothes for 20-somethings who do nothing but hang out, drink beer and roll around on their bikes and skateboards. All joking aside (these sweaters are pretty cool, and speak to the larger trend of dressing like a sporto), we’ve certainly noticed a big push for the Wet Hot American Summer or Meatballs look—even Roots has brought back its nostalgic Beaver Canoe collection. Sadly, whether it is North Star, Roots or something else, the clothes don’t come perfumed with the smell of burnt hot dogs on a stick or s’mores, so you’ll actually have to go to the great outdoors for a real romp-under-the-stars experience.

Gossipmonger

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May 1, 2012 | 12:46 pm

Is Bloomingdale’s coming to Toronto?

The Globe and Mail recently reported that the Hudson’s Bay Company is currently talking with Bloomingdale’s to open a “store within a store” at its Bloor Street location. Sources suggest that this is a pre-emptive strike from HBC CEO Richard Baker, who is attempting to capture a large chunk of the high-end fashion retail market before foreign players like Nordstrom arrive (it is rumoured that Nordstrom has been scouting real estate). Sources speculate that HBC is contemplating stores in Vancouver and Calgary as well, and this move could happen as early as the fall. Read the entire store [Globe and Mail] »

Cuckoo for Coco

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April 30, 2012 | 4:27 pm

Canada’s Best Beauty Talent, episode 7: Max Abadian to the rescue

Caylee fixes her model’s hair (Image: CBBT)

Let’s be honest: this show hasn’t been great so far. Sure, makeup contestant Marcia has taught us how to make a face beautiful (see here and here), and we’ve gotten a few giggles out of Coco Rocha’s robotic delivery (see here, here and here), but the show has been short on the kind of entertainment that keeps audiences begging for more. (Sorry, but intentionally flubbing the catchphrase “ready, set, style!” by saying “ready, set, don’t style!” is just painful to watch.) We were even thinking of giving up on it—and then internationally renowned photographer Max Abadian came on for this week’s Flare cover shoot challenge, and what a difference he makes. Abadian’s presence adds something to the show that has been lacking: action. The contestants are tasked with the challenge of creating the perfect high fashion cover look, which they have 45 minutes to finish before heading straight to Abadian for the shoot. The six remaining contestants struggle to keep their models’ head still enough to work simultaneously (turns out it’s tricky to do delicate makeup application while someone else is jerking her hair around), and when it comes time for the shoot, we witness some seriously impressive eye rolls from makeup contestant Cait. (We love you Cait!) Find out what we thought and what we learned »

From the Print Edition

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April 30, 2012 | 2:00 pm

The List: 10 things former CIBC insider and doomsday author Jeff Rubin can’t live without

Here, a few of his favourite things

Jeff Rubin 1| My ride
It’s a 12-year-old Audi A6 Turbo. I like driving, and I’ve always had a thing for European sport sedans. When they put a stick shift in a hybrid or a Chevy Volt, I’ll buy one.

Jeff Rubin 2| My hockey cards
I have thousands of vintage hockey cards. My most prized are a set of ’61–’62 Maple Leafs, which I remember from when I was a kid. They’re as close as I’m going to get to seeing the Leafs win the Cup again.

3| My anti-cottage
I love going to the Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve south of Algonquin Park. A German guy bought it from a paper mill in the ’60s, and now his son leases plots for $3,000 a year. I’ve rented one on Lazure Lake for eight years. There are no motor boats, no power—just an empty campsite.

Jeff Rubin 4| My water guide
A friend gave me HTO, a book about water in Toronto, in 2009, and I refer to it all the time. People don’t realize how many waterways there are in the city because most are hidden under infrastructure.

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Reel Fashion

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April 27, 2012 | 1:00 pm

The 2012 Met Ball red carpet will stream live for the first time ever

Karl Lagerfeld and Yoko Ono share a moment at last year’s Met Ball (Image: Dimitrios Kambouris/Film Magic)

The Met Ball, thrown by the Metropolitan Costume Institute at NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, is one of the splashiest fashion parties of the year. A-list celebrities like Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Yoko Ono, Beyonce, Rihanna, Anna Wintour and more get dressed in their best duds to fraternize with designers and the glamorously wealthy. While most people in Toronto don’t have a golden ticket to get inside, Vogue and Amazon will be livestreaming the red carpet for everyone to see, which means people on their computers will no longer have to wait until midnight to play Fab or Fug. The red carpet feed can be streamed live on May 7 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the Met’s website.

Street Style

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April 27, 2012 | 12:26 pm

Street Style: 21 spring looks from the men and women of the Financial District

Words by Kevin Naulls | Photography by Jenna Marie Wakani

The oft-portrayed boys club of law and high finance is not without its stereotypes—from Wall Street to The Firm, the style code of urban money has typically been fairly staid, with boxy suits, dressy shoes and an occasional pocket square (if you’re lucky). Working Girl took women out of their steno pool duds and showed them as executives in power suits with big hair—but even that look quickly became ubiquitous, and since the late ’80s, the archetypes of the man and woman who push dollars for a living never really changed. Hair got smaller, sure, and Cashmere Mafia attempted to prove that businesswomen were all this classy, but the combination of a pencil skirt and blouse, or conservative power dressing continued to run rampant into the early-to-mid noughties. These people, who wake up before most people have their first coffee, have always been viewed as conservative dressers, but here’s the thing: they’re not all like that anymore. Check out 21 looks from our stakeout of the Financial District »

All in One

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April 26, 2012 | 5:03 pm

6 in 1: a feminine ensemble with masculine touches from Dundas West’s Lost and Found

It’s time to head westward for All In One, fashion fans. Dundas West is swiftly becoming a favourite sartorial destination , so for our next instalment, we headed to coffee-shop-cum-contemporary-clothing-haven Lost and Found. This NYC-inspired cubby stocks all the cool-girl lines like Charlotte Ronson, Libertine Libertine, Erin Kleinberg and Joomi Lim, and dudes can find items by Robert Geller, Batten Sportwear and Unis. We sought out a look that is perfect for a spring saunter down the street, a first date, or a run through the sand on the beach (we recommend kicking off an old pair of Keds for this one, ladies). Total cost: $1,420. Check out all of the pieces and a full price breakdown »

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