SPIDEY HO

This Spider-Man wannabe busked at John and Queen streets today. Have to admit that he was very nimble. A passerby told him to get a job. Everyone's a critic.

POP TARTAN

T’was a week of fashion and in-your-face pampering courtesy of an app. Now you can order hair and makeup just like you would book an Uber. My favourite app is still the flashlight on my iPhone.

But then I am a troglodyte.

This pop of colour in the windows of Wm. Prager Ltd., purveyors of rolling racks, mannequins and assorted retail display items at 391 Adelaide St. W. stopped me in my tracks.

On Tuesday, the beauty cognoscenti be-lined to the Thompson Hotel for free hair and makeup at the launch party of Toronto’s first on-demand beauty app beGlammed, which debuted in Las Vegas. This is the back view of the coif of one of the stylists, who has a way with chopsticks.  Check out the website www.beGlammed.com. I had my eye makeup done and thankfully, didn’t look like a drag queen. Only Dino Dilio does my eyes better.

This dapper cat in the hat was one of the few men at the beGlammed event. He could easily have been an extra in Guys and Dolls.

 

An impossibly hip duo who constituted the coolest kids in the room. Incredibly, they are not models but a stylist and writer.

Veteran fashion scribe David Livingstone demonstrates his first smart phone during the Pink Tartan fashion show at Holt Renfrew Tuesday night.

One of the runway pieces from Pink Tartan featuring a signature look: fur on suiting.

Singer Molly Johnson duets with fashion innovator Robin Kay at the Pink Tartan show.

Model Yasmin Warsame shines in gold Pink Tartan culottes at the fashion show. She allegedly gave birth a month ago but has no telltale bump. Wowsa! Did Fed Ex carry and deliver the child?

Among all the impossibly pricey “It” bags, this was the best of the night -- a whimsical “under construction” purse.

On Thursday I slogged through the ice storm to the headquarters of Faulhaber Communications to preview spring lines from Ted Baker London to Birds of North America. I was given a white tulip upon exit and it survived the whole day of schlepping until I arrived home when it was attacked savagely by devil cat Sammy Davis Jr. Jr., who even retrieved its battered remains from the recycle bin to inflict further damage. These are two of my favourite things from the spring offerings.

Loved the fringed cuffs from CB 1969, designed by OCAD grad Carineh Babyan. She even makes a delicious fuzzy pom-pom version.

Who doesn’t need metallic-leather fringed arm warmers? These from the edgy/romantic accessories line Uncuffed knock it right out of the ballpark. Uncuffed also does a killer tiara made of handcrafted leather roses perfect for prom.

SAKS AND SEGATO

It was a week of fashion and flashbacks. Last Wednesday I got to do the media preview of the Canadian opening at Vaughn Mills of Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5^TH, which is the discount portion of the high-end retailer.  Think Holt Renfrew’s Last Call.
  
OFF 5^th was a major schlep to Vaughn Mills but it was the night before the grand opening and there would be nibbles and wine (and complimentary Uber) so I was so there. We would get first dibs on the merchandise while snacking and sipping and there is no down side to that except that alcohol tends to wreak havoc with sales resistance – which explains some of my get-ups from the ‘80s I bought under the influence of cheap champagne at La Rue des Reves in SoHo, New York. 

On Friday we attended the opening of The Queen Street West: The Rebel Zone cultural exhibit at YTB Gallery at 563 Dundas St. East. It is the brainchild of singer/songwriter/documentarian Lorraine Segato, who is also not only the exhibit director but also Regent Park artist in residence.

The subtitle of the exhibit is “art & activism ignites a culture and transforms a city.” Segato’s aim was to “honour the cultural, artistic and political pioneers who emerged from the Queen Street West social scene. From 1975 to 1989 there was a cross pollination of art, music and politics that catalyzed change and transformed our city.”

To quote Carole Pope (featured in Lorraine Segato’s exhibit), I cop to being “a victim of fashion and accessories.” So I headed directly to the accessories area at OFF 5^{th .} The sunglass selection was incredible. A pair of Celine sunnies marked at $179 (from $400) was very Joan Didion.

I resisted this yummy fake fur chubbie jacket that is so Fendi. It was still a tad pricey in the $400 neighbourhood.

Signage urging shoppers to “sparkle like you mean it” indicates the jewelry display. There was a good selection starting from bijoux in the $30 price range to upscale John Hardy which can run well into the thousand-dollar mark. 

Two necklaces I lusted after by designer Loren Hope which didn’t cause sticker shock. They were a reasonable $159 and $129 but my heart belongs to designer Dandi Maestre. Google her and you can see why.

This selection of cool vintage designer bags including Prada and Miu Miu was unfortunately only available for three days, part of a pop-up. You need to snap up these bargains ASAP because they go fast. Also, when off-price outlets open, there is the tendency to top up on brand labels you will never see there again. I spotted everything from Sandro Paris to Rag & Bone and Haute Hippie. But there was also Free People. I saw the same silk Equipment shirt marked at $149 at OFF 5^th for $99 at Winners. Just saying.

Ahhhh, shoes glorious shoes. The space is 35,000 square feet with 25 per cent dedicated to shoes. There are allegedly 10,000 pairs. I didn’t have time to count them all or check out the menswear or kid stuff -- but I did interview the shoes. Footnote: Women’s run to size 13.

A paintbrush store-décor display at Anthropologie in Yorkville. It almost inspired me to paint the bathroom. Almost.

Lorraine Segato being interviewed at The Queen Street West: The Rebel Zone exhibit, which runs through March 31.

 

The exhibit features cultural artifacts including silkscreen posters, photographs, records, films and music like this menu from the late, lamented BamBoo nightclub/eatery. The Boo’s Pad Thai and cold spring rolls were legendary. Not to mention the upstairs patio. Sigh.

“Birds of a feather flock together” montage of snaps of Queen West denizens like Marcus and Mary Margaret O’Hara (Marcus’ Squeeze nightery was a ton of fun), Molly Johnson, Rosie Levine, Carole Pope, Micah Barnes, Handsome Ned and a cast of hundreds.

Lorraine Segato and her sister Carla, in from California for the opening.

BamBoo doyenne Patti Habib, posing under the iconic signage.

Rob Salem head to head with p.r. maven Joanne Smale, an integral part of the “Rebel Zone.” 

Me with legendary chef Greg Couillard, who whipped up the scrumptious snacks at the exhibit. Couillard is cooking at Saucy Affairs & Catering these days.

DAYS OF WINE AND POSES

This is Toronto Fashion Week. I am not ignoring it but I am not exactly parked in the front rows sharing prime real estate with professional socialite Ainsley Kerr. I cherry pick, always doing the shows from Bustle and Greta Constantine. (Alas, this year I had to bail on Greta because of a previous commitment). And I never ever turn down an invite for a wine tasting, especially top-of-the-barrel ones featuring product from Italy and California. Cheers!!!

An interpretation of the ladies who lunched, tippled and smoked in the Windsor Arms Hotel, site of the wine tasting on Tuesday hosted by Halpern Enterprises, importers of fine wines and spirits.  The artwork heralds back to the heady days of notorious table-hopping at the legendary Windsor Arms’ Courtyard Café, a.k.a. the “Yoo-Hoo.”

No, this is not my breakfast. It is a selection of wines and bubblies for the tasting.

This young fashionista is in line at Zara cashing out and multi-tasking by checking out more shopping options elsewhere on her smart phone.

Street shooters outside the tents at David Pecaut Square prior to the Bustle show on Tuesday. The paparazzi outnumbered the attendees.

Veteran photog George Pimentel snapping model Stacey McKenzie before the Bustle show.

The showstoppers at the Bustle show were Georgia and Griffith, the impossibly cute and best-tressed kids of Bustle designers Shawn Hewson and Ruth Promislow. They owned the catwalk modelling pieces from the label’s new Bustle Sprouts children’s line, launched because Georgia kept demanding a quilted track suit just like the ones Daddy wore. 

Ruth Promislow and Shawn Hewson taking a bow after the Bustle show. It is obvious where their children get their glorious heads of hair. Never mind runway modelling. Hair modelling could top up their college funds. Just saying.

Me in my camo coat bonding with a blogger in a fabulous faux fur number. Pattern on pattern is so au courant, sweeties.

ARTY PARTY HEARTIES

Art is everywhere in T.O., from AGO to graffiti in alleyways. I sampled it recently both on the TTC and in an opening reception in the boardroom of Ireland + Hall Communications at 266 Adelaide St. West for Art Nurture, a collection of the work of indefatigable Micheline Wedderburn, spinning instructor extraordinaire and owner/founder of Quad Spin by day and artist at night. The exhibit is still at Ireland + Hall and can been seen daily during working hours from 9 to 5.

This woman on the subway complimented me on my eyewear and I gushed over her floral hair accessory.  She then proceeded to show me a photo of her mom, who routinely wears a full garland in her hair. You rock, ladies.

I took this selfie in a Queen West alleyway only because the graffiti perfectly set off the oversized camo pattern of my coat.

Nobody puts Chanel in the corner. Two examples of Micheline Wedderburn’s  art, which includes cool painted furniture, toys and artwork in mixed media, primarily acrylic on canvas and coated with clear lacquer.

Hair ye, hair ye: Micheline Wedderburn goes head to head with her niece Wren.

Lowell Hall, cofounder of Ireland + Hall rocking a vintage black leather Versace vest. It is from the ‘90s and still fits!

Frazer Mac in a denim jacket which he has blinged up, inspired by the work of designer Evan Biddell, whose buffalo-plaid pants are seen at left.

Ride ‘em Miche:  The artist astride one of her creations, a winning rocking horse.

Naked mannequins on Queen Street West -- an example of window undressing. 

CALIFORNI (VA) CATION

My bad. I have been back from a two-week vacay in California for over a week now and have trouble getting acclimatized. It is glorious today but I returned to snow and slush and heavy clothing. To appropriate a Mamas and Papas lyric, “I’d be safe and warm if I were in L.A.”
  
My charming travelling companion was Wendy Zelsman, whom I have known for a gazillion years. Wendy is a former nurse and proprietor for 14 years of a charming and sprawling bed and breakfast in Lakefield, Ontario where she is doyenne. She stands out, because of her irrepressible personality and her fuchsia hair. In fact, on our trip, Wendy got raves for her hair daily. As did I for my Tom Ford glasses.

We started out in Los Angeles, where we squatted at the fabulous Westwood home of pal Alison Emilio Kleckner, her husband Jay and their teenaged son Daniel. We dog-sat their adorable pooch Taylor, who I persisted in calling Swifty. He didn’t seem to mind. He ignored me equally. 

Jay is a TV producer and Alison is director of Marketing & Strategic Partnerships. I have known her since she was svp of New Line Cinema in Toronto and we worked together during my previous incarnation as entertainment columnist. 

Then it was on to Santa Barbara where our long-suffering pals Tom and Victoria Ostwald put up with us for two weeks. Tom is a retired scientist who also directed university programs focused on schools and teachers and Victoria is a retired public/high-school orchestra teacher. They both hail from Berkeley and are total academics. For pleasure, they sight-read madrigals. Hell, I didn’t even know what a madrigal was. l had to look it up. “A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras.” You are welcome. 

We met in the early '70s when we all resided in a dilapidated house on Spadina Road, managed into the ground by a deranged woman who wore her hair in twin ponytails secured by clothes pins. What could be do but bond in perpetuity? 

Wendy and I spent our last night in California in Los Angeles, which coincided with the Academy Awards, bunking in at the storied Hyland Gardens Hotel, around the corner from the Oscar ceremonies.
  
Hyland Gardens is the ground zero for Canadian actors and assorted musicians, mostly of the notorious variety like Jim Morrison. In fact, I was reading the Joan Didion bio The Last Love Song and was fascinated to learn that not only did Didion live down the street on Franklin Ave.,  but that Janis Joplin OD'd in room 109 (when the hotel was called the Landmark) and we were staying in room 108. Cue theme song from Twilight Zone. 

We spent almost the entire day at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, held the second Sunday of each month and featuring a mind-blowing 2,500 or so dealers. This is a rare Rudi Gernreich bathing suit priced at $600 at the Fabulous Mess kiosk. I passed. No one needs to see me in a knit bathing suit, especially costing a whopping $600.

No, it’s not the Marlboro Man. It is Chris West, who makes cool leather goods including the fabulous bag he is modelling. Some of them are re-purposed from belt buckles and horse reins. West grew up in the foothills of Ventura California, where he rides his horse Magnum in the Ojai Mountains. All I can say is “yippie kai yeah.”

A coat I am still obsessing about from Danski Blue, a kiosk at the Rose Bowl with a shop based in Ojai. I visited the shop at 321 E. Ojai Ave. and did some damage. It is worth the schlep.

A mural of Lucy and Ricky from the legendary series I Love Lucy in Culver City where some of the series was shot.

Wendy and my suitcases vomiting clothing at the foot of the winding staircase at the L.A. home of Jay and Alison. We couldn’t haul them up the stairs so we worked from the base camp.

Two groovy Goth girls at the train station in Los Angeles, en route to Santa Barbara.

A pornographically phallic cactus on California Street in Santa Barbara.

Beautiful Butterfly Beach in Santa Barbara, our favourite beach. We even spotted porpoises frolicking in the waves.

Wendy and I having smart martinis and yummy fungi pizza at the luxe Biltmore Hotel opposite Butterfly Beach. We were in our beach cover-ups and flip flops and no one relegated us to the cheap seats -- even after we’d checked our tacky plastic beach chairs at the valet, those same folks who habitually park Maseratis and Mercedes.

Wooden traveler mugs at the fabulous Fig home accessories shop in Ojai, California, an amazing shopping destination. I lusted after one but they were priced at a hefty $100. I would only leave it on the subway.

The amazing silk art deco robe I succumbed to at Soul Tonic (I have totally embraced my aged hippie vibe) boutique in Ojai owned by an unapologetically flower-childlike woman named Shael who included a peacock feather in my shopping bag. It felt like an acid flashback.

What says California more than the obligatory photo of a majestic painted redwood?

The historic Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, a classic example of Mission-revival architecture that still screens first run films. We saw The Revenant in Santa Barbara but at another theatre. After the horrifically violent first 10 minutes which included the infamous bear mauling, I turned to Wendy (who was watching the film through clenched hands) and said, “Give Leo the fucking Oscar already.”

A display in the fabulouso Renaissance high-end designer consignment boutique on State Street in Santa Barbara where I scored a Moschino jacket for $40. Santa Barbara has excellent high-end and low-great thrifting including Unity Thrift Shoppe where both Wendy and I did major damage at cheap cheap prices. Thrifty even stocks plus sizing.

Inside the Tiendaho boutique on State Street, which is very “Come with me to the Casbah” and looks like it was staged by a film set decorator. Tiendaho specializes in generous sizing and a lavish colour palate so on trend with the Boho blitz in fashion.

A chair at Tiendaho that could easily have come from a Moroccan souk.

A Californian blonde sporting the ubiquitous “hun” hairstyle I saw everywhere on everyone young and blonde and Californian. This woman happens to be a ringer for The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco, whose hair is currently too short for it.

Flamingos at the Santa Barbara Zoo just because I love flamingos.

A pair of knock-out vintage jackets in the “Stars, Snapshots & Chanel” exhibit at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum which chronicled the city’s social scene in the ‘70s and ‘80s as documented by society columnist Beverley Jackson and featured everyone from Sean Connery to Truman Capote.

With Alison, Jay and Taylor the wonder dog sunning at Butterfly Beach.

A bottle of Zin-Phomaniac wine which turned out to be Zinfully wonderful. California wines range from four-buck Chuck at Trader Joe’s (which has an incredible selection of wines including Francis Ford Coppola’s yummy Director’s Cut cabernet sauvignon) to unaffordables. We took a lot of cabs – from Layer Cake Primitivo at Cost Plus to awesome vineyards including Andrew Murray and Stolpman in Los Olivos and J. Lohr in Paso Robles.

When you mosey on up to the bar at the Parkfield Café at the V6 Ranch in Parkfield, California you get to sit on actual saddles for bar stools. Giddy up cowboy.

Me doing a selfie with the cigar store Native American on the café’s deck.

Inside the mission at San Miguel, California there is an altar dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. We have a beaded curtain in our kitchen with the same icon. Amen.

Tons of elephant seals sunbathing on a beach outside of Santa Barbara. There were even new moms nursing their young. Awwwwwwwwwww. These creatures are almost primordial.

Inexplicably, this statue of Lenin with a bird on head resides on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles.

A Chanel backpack in terrycloth at What Goes Around Comes Around high-end vintage shop at 159 South La Brea Avenue. Who knew Chanel made bags out of terrycloth? Just the thing in the event you accidentally drop your bag in the tub.

All the cool kids in L.A. wear camo with buffalo plaid, sweetie darlings.

The 40-minute line-up was worth it. This is my hot dog from the legendary Pink’s “A Hollywood legend since 1939” at 709 North La Brea Avenue. It is the 9 inch “stretch” Emeril Legasse Bam Dog: mustard, onions, cheese, jalapenos, bacon and coleslaw and beyond yummy. To hell with the carbs and fat. Pink’s used to sell the coolest T-shirts featuring a Vargas girl straddling a giant wiener with the inscription “big wienies are best.”

I finally made it to The Way We Wore vintage boutique at 334 South LaBrea Ave. featured in the series L.A. Frock Stars, my guilty pleasure.  Wendy and I shopped at the original store in San Francisco way back in the ‘80s and we both bought black cocktail dresses from the ‘20s.