Margiela Revisited

Every individual personalizes their apparel based on who they are as human beings. There are obvious variations of what I am about to bestow upon but it only seems fitting to segregate and stereotype various styles according to looks recollected from all spring 2014 Fashion Weeks based on how I see fit. After all I have witnessed most of these catwalks front row of my computer screen. Jealous? Probably not.

Girl #1 is one who runs slow motion in dainty dresses through blustering meadows towards prince charming(s) or adventures off on her Moped through Parisian side streets while eating freshly baked macaroons and macaroni. Yes, WHILE. She prefers blended metallic pastel dresses and skirts over instead of pants any day of the week and who specifically defines her personal style with "feminine", "flirty" and "sweet like sweet potato pie". She awaits for designers like Alice&Olivia, Valentino, Diane Von Furstenberg, Jill Stuart and such to progress the romantic and comedic lifestyle that comes so naturally.

Contestant #2 requires zero classification as her outfits fully demonstrate the minimalistic and class intended, entirely cloaked in monochromatic white, black, grey, marble, and creme ensembles from designers who nail the concept so perfectly; Calvin Klein, Chadwick Bell (Really stepped up their game this past season, check it out!), Jil Sanders, The Row and Ports 1961 to say the least. Okay fine! Her backstory: She recently started her own magazine company, receiving a lot of recognition and publicity but no where near where she'd hope so in order for her to maintain her 8th floor office space in the heart of Soho, she takes on a second job on evenings and weekends as a teacher's assistant at NYU.  

Then you have your everyday New Yorker. A woman who doesn't anticipate her outfit until 1hr before her big presentation and merger she's been working on for over a month. She slips on an assortment of pieces from 10 Crosby Derek Lam (possibly an art deco printed knee length skirt), silk shirt, an intricate Helmut Lang Knit and an embroidered Robert Rodriguez coat over it all. The shoes will certainly be a neck to neck battle between black calf Alexander Wang mules and green suede Saint Laurent pumps. She'll also bring a garment bag to work in which holds her Jean Paul Gaultier flapper dress for the cocktail party she'll later attend in the evening. We all secretly want her life.

The bold and risk taker steps in. She's probably 20 yrs old or so and is in school full time, majoring in something extreme like photonics and astronomy. One who also rarely contemplates on her outfits and acquires the odd finds from the men's or children's section of consignment stores. She rarely has the time to do her hair so she'll just leave it as is. One day she'll slip on a plain white short sleeve structured blouse and pair it with Acne oversized navy shorts with its extremely thick and stated yellow belt (nonchalantly shrugging off any resemblance to a teenage boy admirer of Sailor Moon). The next day she'll completely change it up with athletic pieces from Y3, a scarf she turns into an asymmetrical skirt, alongside a pair of stella McCartney black pebbled & matte wood heel pumps. You never really know what to expect from this girl. We all openly wish we had her life as well.
Then you have combinations of these personal styles stated above alongside the thousands of other hypothetical personas I have saved and purposely withheld to spare you the misery. Why dream about designer clothing when it's unattainable?

It's not everyday one can walk into a store and pick up a triple digit "high end" brand without having the cashier ask "are you sure?" when all you really want to say is "yeah I can terminate my internet and phone service providers" when in actuality you say "Uhhhh, yeah thanks, please, I mean sorry". That sounds about right.

These dream items are specifically targeted for those with more than 1 plastic card and have no need to worry about limits and splitting the cost among your credit card, debit card and the jewelry on your wrists. These items are not for ordinary John's and Jane's like you and me (JUST ME) who hopelessly do such a thing. We can admire from a far and possibly wait until the exact replicas hit Zara that simply substitute polyester and acrylic for cashmere and japanese cotton. Even general retail stores lack generosity in pricing, where one item alone costs $100 or so. At this point, where can one shop?

Ideally I want to believe I hold the you like it you buy it attitude but I don't. I need my sales, my steals, my saves. I'm satisfied to know something that once cost a lot of money will eventually hit rock bottom and come into my arms when it's most vulnerable. Does that make me awful? There are few exceptions to the rule, of course. For one my Margiela for H&M debacle. So here's the story (I'll keep it short or try to at least):

Once upon a time I walked into an H&M on the grand opening day for the collaboration with Margiela. I'm a fond believer of designers who pursue collaboration for retail stores genuinely hope to give back to people who absolutely love their runway collection so dearly but are nowhere near capable of purchasing yet alone touching their runway collection at higher end stores. They're giving us (ME!) a chance to freely swing through racks, play dress up and possibly purchase pieces they've used their blood, sweat and tears to create.

The black duo dress ultimately caught my eye instantaneously. Even though it took 15 minutes to understand the logic behind the design and double the time to actually slip it on, the stress alone was worth it. Because in life nothing comes easy and I sensed ultimate potential with this piece. It's not everyday you come across a dress with an elephant trunk sticking out of its front. Plus overtime the accomplishment of dressing without any external help deserves recognition alone. That's right, I'm a big girl now.

Photos (of me) by: Anil

Dress- Margiela for H&M

Leather tights

Jacket- Adidas 

Platforms- Aldo

Bag- Pleats Please

Urban guideline

Whether we like it or not capitalism is embroidered in our cultural background. The monetary value of living expenses have increasingly escalated over the past few years and have explicitly shaped the lifestyle one lives, especially living in an agile city such as Toronto. The lifestyle i'm referring to can either pan out in one of 2 ways:

Scenario 1:

"Go big or get out of the city" is the motto for most habitants who lead luxurious lifestyles. They tend to wear badges or have tattooed across their forehead "I come with a side order of richness, class and prestige". 

-The food

A vie de duck fat fries served in snooty closet size restaurants with only few tables and chairs for the 20 people or so who patiently wait outside in the cold while the restaurant owner proclaims one should have requested for a reservation weeks ahead of time. 

-The shopping

Fine dining follows other elemental perks of "living the life" such as shopping at secret boutique sales through invitation and invitation only. One might shop at boutiques in and around the city and purchase multiple pairs of vegan leather jogger pants at $100 a pop (even for faux) to have a variety of colour staples in the closet just because. Others like to roll with the big guns (or larger limit credit cards) to pick out the latest graphic sweater by Kenzo at TNT or Holts. Destinations are unbounded for the shoppers of leisure.   

-The entertainment

Another necessary lifestyle perk includes fine entertainment; musical acts, operas, plays, comedy shows that costs no less than $45, an entire week's grocery bill for some.

Scenario 2:

2) "Fundamental living in one of the most expensive cities in North America" is the essential guideline for the poor living in the city, especially targeting the student population.

-The Food

(i) It starts with a grocery shopping run with full intention to eat healthy for the entire week. Walking halfway across the city to your prime destination, Food Basics, because you'd rather treat yourself to a box of Hagen Daaz than pay $3 streetcar fair, to collect the essentials; Arugula, tofu, avocados, bread, eggs and canned goods. Naturally, these protein resources exhaust within the first few days and you're left with arugula salad (with no other ingredients apart from the leaf alone) for dinner 7 days in a row. (ii) Following another run to the grocery store, only this time to purchase the worst food imaginable (however many packages of hotdogs, microwave dinners and frozen meat pies you can fit in your basket). Then the cycle restarts all over again as your sulky self becomes overcrowded with guilt from your last grocery outing. Amidst your daily home cooked prison meals, you're tempted to eat out for dinner one night with your friends or brunch on the weekend. You'll suggest the cheapest restaurant you know and solely browse the appetizers without even considering the entrees. 

-The Shopping

If you ever have the time or money to buy new clothes, you'll ONLY allow yourself to browse the sale sections of any retail store. Or in reference to the boutique secret sale by invitation and invitation only many people from scenario 1 attend, you may pretend to be someone else in order to get the 50% off sale, like your sister who happens to be on the list. Yeah, you do what you have to do. Ultimately your goal is to advise others to purchase exceptional pieces you have hoped to obtain but couldn't afford so that one day they'll essentially make their way to your closet FOR GOOD. But then again this rarely ever goes according to plan, exclusively leaving value village/garage sale shopping/friends&family hand me downs all for you. Once these free or remarkably cheap items are in your possessions, you can lie or bend the truth or whatever you want to tell strangers the whereabouts of your purchase that closely resembled an bulky felt Celine Jacket. "Of course it's Celine, I just decided to tear off the tag immediately after purchasing it at the cash register". Or better still it's best to choose an oversea's destination where you know people will never visit, like Hong Kong, a common I like to use. 

-The entertainment

Your idea of entertainment rests only on illegally downloading a dozen or so sitcoms and tv dramas on wifi you illegally steal from your neighbouring Starbucks. You realize the amount of gigabytes given is not nearly enough, but this is something you must learn on your own. 

So what do these pictures below have to do with the context above, you ask? Believe it or not, you don't need money to look like a million bucks, or in your eyes what looks like an even 10. Every piece of clothing on my back is either borrowed, gifted, inherited or thrifted. It's for you to determine which is what.

Photos by: Anil

Turkey(less) Day

Today is the day before Canadian thanksgiving, a holiday that dates back to 1578 where English settlers gave thanks for surviving the long journey from England over the Atlantic Ocean through monstrous storms and icebergs. French settlers within Nouveau France of the 17^th century on the other hand gave thanks for a successful harvest crop and shared feasts with indigenous people in the area. The true essence of thanksgiving is marginally enrooted in modern day traditions, though seems to diminish each year as it appears increasingly outdated and irrelevant. Now a days people try to one up traditional thanksgiving with “minor” alterations and rather substitute in place something a little more relatable and avant-garde. Though some people may prefer preserving traditional aspects of the holiday, evolution is an inevitable and funny thing. Let me enlighten you with some of these apparent transitional components added to Turkey(less) day.

1)  Feasting and giving thanks for the growth in harvest crops once manifested the elemental aspect of the holiday, which is translated and equivalent in modern day for giving thanks for the new iphone5, satellite cable and the ability to "pvr" breaking bad while one catches up on other deeply committed shows.

2)  Perhaps instead of roasting the entire turkey, families substitute apparently dry and tasteless turkey with pork loin, mincemeat charlotte or even turkeyless feasts that include vegetables, tofu and sugarless cake. The original cranberry sauce, stuffing and steamed greens is substituted with cranberry glazed sweet potatoes or brussel sprouts with pecans. I for one am not a fan of traditional thanksgiving dinners, so these alterations are welcomed in with open arms.

3)  A day where we are not ashamed to eat in excessive amounts requires napping intervals in between each food round. Though one will remain overwhelmed and deprived from rest as the ipod, ipad, iphone and macbook pro is bundled in front of the device holder, taunting them to play bejewelled or check updates on their instagram and twitter every 5 minutes or so. Try letting go of all devices today, but then again I am writing this post and you are reading it.

Furthermore thanksgiving marks the kickoff to my favourite season; fall. Where the lively green outside turns a blended mélange of red, orange and brown. Summer wear is neatly tucked away into a polyethylene container, and the light jackets and knits are worn until expended, or simply altered and fixed. After purchasing a pair of boots at a 50% off fire sale this past summer, you are given the chance to break into them once and for all. Leather pants. My god the leather pants. A climate where it is finally appropriate to slip on a pair of leather pants without feeling heated and slightly light headed. I will wrap up this party as I myself would like to indulge on some thanksgiving foodtivities in my sweats and t-shirt. Tomorrow I will be 5 pounds heavier, I'm willing to live with that.

Photos by: Anil

Knit Sweater- Club Monaco

Plaid Shirt- Wings & Horns

Leather pants- Urban Outfitters

Jean Timberlands

Creatures of Comfort

Sometime ago an eager high school student sat in a cold air-conditioned banquet hall ready to be given away by the nurturing hand of high school to an unfamiliar and overwhelming guardian by the name of university. As most senior students sat in the 3 and a half hour graduation ceremony teary eyed and what felt like a big ball in their throat, the girl I’m speaking of had a reaction that was far merrier than the rest. She never considered high school as the worst years of her life, come to think of it she enjoyed it for the most part. Her only distressing memory was the monotonous uniforms she painfully endured throughout her four years. Though some may say she never really followed the school dress code to begin with as she substituted leather pants for regulated McCarthy navy blue panty hoes almost every single day. She stubbornly rejected the notion of “uniforms” altogether regardless of how many teachers called her out on it, even kicked her out of class for breaking school policy. Deniably so she abided by their rules and immediately changed into proper gear when they asked but in her mind she did no such thing. An anarchist, rebel of modern day is the role she holds to this day. So do not argue with her.

With this painted picture you can probably imagine her train of thought graduation day while she sat twiddling her thumbs and playing with the tassel on her graduation hat, burning all 5 of her white sweat stained polo school embroidered shirts has always been at the top of her list. Followed by a day of binge shopping to make up for her long withdrawal of normal everyday wear. It was not simply a case of withdrawal though, it was more severe in her head, more so an unrecoverable transition from prison wear to personal wear.  Gladly she got right back on her feet and overcame the dramatic lifestyle change.

It’s her first day of university. Settled into her apartment, feeling like a fully qualified adult, she stared at her biggest masterpiece yet, a closet filled with skirts, shirts, knits and pants of various textures, colors, prints and slits. Her mantra was “go big or go home” and that included no jeans, sweat pants and you get the rest.

Second year came along. Scars attained from hours of walking downtown in platform heels and shoes a size too small (purchased on a whim because of aesthetics) had taken a toll on her feet. The idea of coming out of this experience with apparent skin-recovered blisters and battle wounds enforced her to introduce the idea of comfort into her personal style. From that point on her life transitioned from heels and uncomfortable souliers to sneakers and high tops, unbearable tight and sweaty leather pants to fancy sweat pants and jeans. These components she never envisioned in her life before became gratifying and normal. With that being said, today her jean collection reaches an unhealthy count. It’s hard to stop a sucker when they find prominently odd and questionably looking denim, like these Rihanna x River Island two-toned jeans down below. Anyways I hope you enjoyed my little short story on the girl who graduated high school to do many great things with the most atrocious looking feet. 

Photos by: Anil

Jeans- Rihanna x River Island

Angora sweater

Backpack- Beaver Canoe

Go go boots- Mother's