SECOND COAT

I haven’t really been slacking off. I was felled by the plague for most of the holiday season and have only recently emerged having coughed up a lung or two. That said, a girl needs to dip her toes into the retail pool even if she just does the dog paddle. A real score can put a rosy glow back on the old cheekbones and it doesn’t screw up the system as much as antibiotics. Because I had a 30 per cent off coupon for Value Village that expired on Dec. 31^st, I simply had to head out to the Logan location on New Year’s Eve before the bubbly was uncorked.

I always prowl through the sleepwear department in search of Chinese robes that are oh so boho when paired with jeans.  I found this amazing royal blue satin robe that cost $11.99 before the 30 per cent discount. It was in perfect condition and felt regal. If nothing else, I could wear it while binge watching The Crown.

When I went to cut off the price tag, I noticed a fancy-schmancy golden thingie that is routinely sewn to the neck of high-end merch for the purpose of intimidation. I couldn’t make out the name so I got out the trusty old magnifying glass and it turned out to be Adam Lippes. Hmmmm, sounded familiar. I Googled and discovered he is a U.S. designer who worked with the late Oscar de la Renta and has his own hot line.  My robe is actually an opera coat that retails for $2,750. Ka-ching!!!!

One of my fave designer resale/vintage shops is Thrill of the Find at Queen St. just east of Jones Ave. Owner Mireille Watson has such a great eye and Gallic sense of humour. I gravitated to this cheeky checked coat by the Canadian label Kk Bre Couture, based in Oakville. I loved the outsized yellow buttons. They made me smile. And it was a bargoon at $70! Not as much of a bargoon as the Adam Lippes opera coat but what is?

Watson is very low key but she does have quite the celeb following, especially since she posts on 1stdibs website. It attracted Gloria Vanderbilt, who arrived unexpectedly one day accompanied by a pair of strapping young men, none of whom was her son Anderson Cooper. 

Another score at V.V. This is a bouclé jacket with a matching fur collar that screamed out to me because of the fuchsia colour. I love me a good fuschsia. The label was Alessandra Boni Italy so it was a no brainer. It had me at “Italy.” The price was right: $19.95 less 30 per cent discount.

I Googled the label but it was all in Italian and even when translated the site is way too difficult to manoeuvre so Ms Boni remains a mystery. I can live with that.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPERS

It has been getting to look a lot like Christmas ever since Halloween. Now get a grip; that is total overkill. Having said that, I confess to dipping my twinkle toes into the early festivities.  Anything with an open bar and I am there.

Oyster bar, beauty boutique, prosecco flowing – and hello, sailor. On November 23^rd, OverCat Communications hosted Shoppers Drug Mart’s beauty boutique holiday party at Malaparte on the sixth floor of TIFF Bell Lightbox. Here I am with OverCat president Audrey Hyams Romoff, one of my all-time fave p.r. mavens.

Romoff is traditionally the chicest chick in the room, and that night was no exception. I lusted after her velvet booties, which she scored at Topshop. Alas, I don’t have a Topshop foot. It’s the reverse little-red-riding-hood curse: too big or too small but never just right.

  

Here are two young glam gals at the beauty party just to make you feel bad about yourself.

The folks at Michael Kors previewed some of their spring 2017 line – and we haven’t even got through winter 2016! Michael Kors makes the best straw totes around and I love these platforms which work if you don’t go anywhere near a spring shower.

A pair of vertiginous floral Mary Janes that are so sweet and serviceable as long as you have an Uber hovering. My back hurts just to look at them.

These bejeweled skinny jeans are way off the cool meter but are not available in Canada. Just as well. How would you launder them anyway?

I was circling this Dries Van Noten sleeveless feather duster coat at Holt Renfrew. It went on half price but I still couldn’t justify buying it. It is such a knock-out show piece that you wear it once and everyone remembers it; wear it twice and the feathers trail behind.

Rob Salem at broadcaster turned entrepreneur Gene Valaitis’s 60^th birthday party at the Spoke Club on November 18^th.

Gene and me at the party, which included happy gang members like Jesse Dylan, Gene’s fellow Morning Zoo keeper starting way back in 1987 on Q107; Lorraine Segato, Gene’s sister in law; Kid Rock; Geoffrey Dawe and Wendy Muller; John Gallagher; Rosie and Michael Levine; and Joanne Smale.

No, it’s not me but a resident at Labdara Lithuanian Nursing Home putting up her feet near the Christmas tree. Give me 20 years and it’s me in fuzzy slippers.

Some members of our unofficial whine club doing a photo op at the Distillery. The gaggle includes gal-around-town/real estate person Val Dooley; journo Rosie Levine; photographer Biserka Livaja; and irrepressible BamBoo-who Patti Habib.

You know it’s a great bash when the shoes come off. These belong to Sheila McCarthy and they were resting comfortably last Saturday in the kitchen of party hosts nonpareil Colin Mochrie and Deb McGrath.

FROM V.V. TO CHI-CHI

In fashion, there is no room for snobbery. You need to hit the highs and lows, from The Room to Value Village. Even iconic Iris Apfel will bargain with frankly-fake jewelry dealers in market stalls in New York. It’s not just for the sport of it, it makes sense.

Nobody needs to ever pay full price. If you wait for it, it will come. That’s how I scored those $1,000 Alexander Wang man-repeller sandals for $169 last summer. It was vigorous exercise and makes for a great story. I even kept the price sticker on the bottom of the shoes until they peeled off as evidence.

I stupidly left this coat behind at 290 Ion at Queen and Parliament, still a sketchy ‘hood but getting upwardly mobile now the former Marty Millionaire is becoming condo-ized. 290’s owner Sanghun Oh has superlative skill in ferreting out genius pieces at non-bankrupting price points. Like this coat, priced at $400 but so amazing I would want to tear it off the back of someone wearing it. It haunts me still.

Me and Jo-Ann Dodds, a former co-worker at the Toronto Star, foraging for treasures at Value Village. Dodds is such a master at bagging bargains at V.V., where she shops habitually, I had her write a column for the Star’s erstwhile Shopping section called Dodds and Ends, in which she chronicled her finds of the week. It was brilliant.

A fabbo and funky jacket in The Room trimmed in marabou and styled cleverly. There was apparently a pair of pants to match but why would you? You would look like you were moulting.

A glitter girl Christmas window at Saks Fifth Avenue that speaks to me way more than the terminally cute traditional ones featuring cartoony critters around the corner at Hudson’s Bay. But that is just bah-humbuggy me.

A pair of sweet rescue greyhounds outside Ed’s Real Scoop in The Beach. Note how stylish they are in their Hudson’s Bay coats. They need them; they have zero body fat. I will never know how that feels.

Boot maker par excellence Rocco P (as in Pistonesi) and George C (as in Corbo) at the 10^th anniversary cocktailer for George C. boutique on Scollard in Yorkville. Rocco P, carried exclusively at George C, created a stunning assortment of styles for this event. I own a stable full of Rocco P’s addictive cowboy boots.

These boots are not Rocco P’s – they are Fauzian Jeunesse -- but they keep calling my name. I will definitely go back to George C to interview them.

And while I am at it, I will definitely get up close and personal with these Rocco P silverados. How yummy are these?

Lisa Corbo, stylist, jewelry designer and clothing buyer for the boutique, and arguably the chicest woman in Toronto, poses at the party with TV producer Al Magee.

This parka is part rhinestone cowgirl and part bedazzled Canada Goose and all this fabulousness goes for $2,000! It’s all mine if I win a lottery or if it is drastically reduced.

Makeup artist/model/muse Myles Sexton is inevitably the most interesting guy in the room. I bow to his swag.

TRAVELLING COACH

The fashion brand Coach, noted primarily as a starter line for bags for young women before they even begin to aspire to Prada and Gucci, has re-branded with funky oversized collegiate bombers, sweaters and Mr. Rogers cardies with goofy dragon insignias.  There was a party on November 9 to celebrate the launch with a guest appearance by actor/model Dree Hemingway, whom I missed because I was on nursing home duty. 

How white am I, bookended by Traci Melchor and her sister Grace, who was on the hunt for a purse?

Bustle Clothing creative director/designer Shawn Hewson is the coolest dude in the room in his “naked ladies” brogues by Jimmy Choo and purchased in London. That’s London, Eng., not London, Ont.

Samantha Beckerman, half of the hot blonde blogger twin set, rocks a Coach Varsity jacket she’s accessorized with even more pins.

A funky faux-fur chubby jacket by Coach reminiscent of the vintage sheared-beaver I scored at Value Village one hot summer day for $40.  Gotta love V.V. Last week I bagged a chocolate brown suede coat in mint condition made in Europe for $20. Not that I was exactly coat-less – it’s like they breed in my closet -- but how could I resist?

These fine-feathered beauties are part of a collection made by jewelry designer Rita Tesolin. Seriously, how amazing are they? You would upstage everyone in the room wearing one of these. Tesolin is having a sample sale Friday November 18 through Sunday November 20 at her studio at 63 Wingold Ave., Suite 110. Well worth the schlep.

NORDSTROM, HERE I COME

I was one of the 2,000 guests at the gala grand-opening fundraiser at Nordstrom at the Eaton Centre last night and was blown away. It was 213,000 square feet of fabulousity. Holt Renfrew must be quaking in its stilettos. There were two traffic-stopping fashion shows staged at a tented facility across the street at Dundas Square and it all went off flawlessly. No fashion roadkill; kudos to the planners. The food and booze flowed, the staff was plentiful and attentive without being obsequious, and the entertainment rocked. Who knew a band called Dwayne Gretzky was so cool? And I even bought a pair of sneakers. I am not a sneakers girl but they were black Michael Kors with faux-fur magenta accents. Besides, how could I not? Nordstrom started out selling shoes and morphed into this department store with a Barneys vibe minus the attitude.

A view from the red carpet lineup of real, live mannequins posing in the Nordstrom window.

A greeting from Nordstrom staffer Dale, who I have known since he worked at Holt Renfrew, then at The Room in Hudson’s Bay. He has defected from the Bay to become personal shopper at Nordstrom. There is a lot of that going around.

Another dapper Nordstrom dude, who works in the handbag department.

Maybe he can help me track down this amazing Mongolian fur tote bag, as seen on the runway in the fashion show. I had asked a staffer on the floor, who consulted her boss, who found out that it was a Stella McCartney bag specifically brought in for the show but she would go on-line for me. I didn’t wait around, figuring she would blow me off, and went about my business of checking out the store but she actually searched me out in the bar area (safe guess), took my contact deets and promised to call when and if it came in. Now that is customer service!

Another dramatic runway look. The designers included Alexander Wang, Burberry, Marc Jacobs, Marchesa, Missoni, Lanvin, Loewe, Simone Rocha and Sonia Rykiel.

Fun faux fur on parade on the main-floor accessories department.

A trio of sassy femmes in quirky chapeaux poses for the paps.

The second-floor bar complete with banquettes, is a welcome watering hole but wreaks havoc with sales resistance. It also gives the store a grown-up vibe without being stuffy.

The catering included pizza in what looks like a cigarette box. The smudgy glass (don’t judge me, the pizza was a tad greasy) gives you an idea of the scale.

A tray of devilled eggs, minus the one I scarfed down. Why was I the only one eating them? What is wrong with people?

The biker jacket I so lust after that I stumbled upon on the second floor, which carries labels from Madewell to Marchesa. 

The coolest guy in the place had to be stylist Luis Rajiv, who is wearing an ensemble consisting of hand-cut brown leather trousers on the bottom and Japanese obi at the back, topped by layers of neck pieces.

Moi and Derick Chetty, current fashion director at Zoomer and former Toronto Star colleague, sit one out.

Footnote: This is how it's done. The gold medalist in the shopping Olympics is John Maloney, Oakville transplant to Dallas, where he is a mild-mannered accessory designer. This haul was in London, England, and he claims it's all for research.

FEST DRESSED

Egads, it is the beginning of the end of summer. You can’t feel it in the fetid humid air but there are ads for the CNE on buses and TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) held its media press conference last week. The Room at the Bay is holding its last-gasp sale where things go up to 85 per cent off which make them affordable to mere mortals. I snapped up a killer pair of Armani linen slouch pants originally marked $800 for just a hair over $100. Did I need them? Get a grip. What’s need got to do with it? But they were the cost of a snack and cocktail in some overpriced and snotty eatery. You know who you are. So I have been keeping an eye out for goodies to wear at TIFF parties – presupposing that you are on the list.
 

I wandered into Avec Plaisir (or Avec Brassiere as I like to call it) on Friday to get a new white bra because my current fave spazzed out on me very publically at the corner of Broadview and Queen recently. I was waiting for a Queen streetcar (what else is new) and put my hands together behind my back to stretch out and my bra unhooked. Yikes! When I tried to discreetly hook it back up I had to hike up my white shirt in the process, which gave the rummies drinking behind me in front of the convenience store a free show.

Avec Plaisir owner Vasilia Panagakos is a genius. She remembers your “shape” and magically produces a dozen bras to try on and they all fit. While there, I wandered over to the half-price rack (what am I, a newbie?) and unearthed a couple of pieces meant for night wear that would be perfect for TIFF, including this exquisite black silk coat by La Perla that looks like a tuxedo from the front and on the back is a graphic that to me references the classic 1927 Fritz Lang film Metropolis.

The front of the coat, which is classic/sexy. All you need is a black camisole, black leather leggings and fuck-me shoes. Or you could dress it down with ripped jeans and black booties.

Another TIFF possibility is this La Perla Chinoiserie-inspired jacket that reflects the Boho trend that isn’t going away any time soon. The arms are cut like a kimono and the piece would be brilliant with flowy pants, jeans or even over a LBD, which jacks the look up a notch and prevents it from being safe and easy. It’s a film festival for god’s sake. Crank up the volume.

I love the signage on the back of a step sitter on Cumberland St. I have no idea what it means but who cares. It made me stop, look and snap.

One of the cool kids at Zara, where the summer sale is fizzling out but the fall merch is coming in fast and furiously. Note the metallic sneaks on the young woman and the cute on-trend fuzzy red ball accessorizing her purse.

Me with Deborah Ingram, personal shopping and image consultant at Hudson's Bay. Deborah is brandishing the highly coveted Lanvin purse, which I am plotting to steal from her. Also I want her job. Imagine getting paid for dressing people with merchandise pulled from The Room and neighboring Sak's Fifth Avenue. I am holding a Lanvin box which houses a killer necklace reduced from $2,200 to $400.

A brilliant knock-off at Zara of the coveted Givenchy satin bomber jacket that retails about $3,000. Zara’s is under $200.