Tyra Banks teaches you how to smile

If you're a top model, you apparently have 275 kinds of smiles on call, but for beginner models, Tyra "Smile With Your Eyes" Banks says you have to know seven. In a twisted turn of events, she proceeds to demonstrate said smiles and scares the shit out of me.

Indiana Jones t-shirt is all kinds of awesomeness

Only $18.90 at Forever 21

I would wear this with a large belt, skinny jeans and super high heels.

It's official: Supermodels are back...sort of

European ads for the Fall campaigns are foregoing celebrities and models du jour in favour of 90's Supes. The question is: Can they overthrow the celebrity saturation in North America? And will they last past this season? Still, it's fun to see the old faces return and not having to see Sasha P everywhere.
So far we have:

Eva Herzigova for Louis Vuitton
Naomi for YSL
Linda Evangelista for Prada
Claudia Schiffer for Salvatore Ferragamo
Kate Moss for Stella McCartney
Stephanie Seymour for Loewe
Christy Turlington for Escada
Claudia Schiffer for Chanel
Amber Valletta for DSquared

I want to see me some Cindy too!

Town Shoes likes to copy other designers

I stopped by Town Shoes on my lunch break and was surprised to see so many bags that were obvious copies of designer labels. Chanel and Prada "influenced" bags were everywhere. Not only where they ugly and cheap-looking, but they were overpriced. Bad Town Shoes!

Exhibit A:

Town shoes bag. It retails for almost $200 and is hideous in real life.


Prada Napa Stripes Multicolour Hobo. It retails for $1200 but is lusciously soft and gorgeous.

Exhibit B:



Town Shoes clutch. Ick. (Ignore that magnifying glass.)

Prada Bow clutch. Yummy.

Exhibit C:

Town Shoes shoulder bag. Hiss!



Chanel Coco Cabas. Yay!

The search for the perfect clutch

I feel ashamed that I am a self-professed bag-a-holic and I don't even own a clutch. I know, the horror! But I honestly can't find a use for one. I'm never walking on the red carpet at a movie premiere, so why do I need one? You may give me great suggestions like dinner, the movies, a wedding, a funeral, a fancy party. Ok I need something more hefty for all of these wonderful events that I never really attend (except for the movies and I need a massive bag to hide the food and drinks that I sneak in the theatre.)
For example, I'm bringing my Chanel classic flap (it's a medium which is pretty damn small but not as small as a clutch) to a wedding I'm attending in June, and it will hold my money, keys, tiny camera and an extra pair of underwear (yes, I'm expecting to get laid that night.) I don't think I could fit panties in a clutch. I also don't believe in this awful trend of carrying massive clutches that they might as well be bags. They are ugly and ridiculous.

And I never attend fancy parties.

So...why am I now thinking about getting one, besides the fact that every girl should own one just in case?
Well you never know when you will be invited to a movie premiere right? Or you may get the opportunity to attend a fabulous party (in which you aren't expecting to get laid so no stashing of underwear is necessary.)
So here are my choices of clutches that I would want to buy:

1. Cole Haan Genevieve Clutch
This one reminds me so much of Bottega Venetta, with the woven leather. But it's way cheaper. And I can be pretty cheap sometimes. It's very elegant and classic-looking, which is important because I wouldn't want a trendy piece for something I would be using forever.
2. Devi Kroell Gem embellished satin clutch
I like the crystals and how they aren't perfectly aligned. It's kind of funky but classy too.

3. VBH python box clutch
Normally I am not a fan of exotic skins, and I probably wouldn't buy this myself, but the colours alone make it an amazing accessory because it just pops out and would look amazing against an elegant muted evening dress.

4. Bottega Veneta Intrecciato pyramid clutch
Because it's BV and because you know the leather is going to be buttery soft. It's just understated elegance.

5. Louis Vuitton Limelight clutch
This actually fits a ton of stuff and is very soft and squishy.
6. Bottega Veneta Antilope Intrecciato Silk Knot clutch
It's timeless, it's beautiful.

My France/cute walking shoe

I'm going to France next week and I realized that every pair of shoes I own are totally unsuitable for the amount of walking I'm going to be doing. When I'm in Paris I know I'm going to be cheap and walk rather than take the metro. Unfortunately, I am too snobby to wear basic running shoes because I don't think they are "chic" enough. So I went on a quest to find really cute shoes that would be comfortable to walk a lot in.
Enter Cole Haan.

Last weekend I was persuaded to try on shit loads of shoes just for fun...of course that means that I would have to buy something. I nixed a pair of leopard print pumps (although I am definitely buying them later), I fell in love with a pair of patent leather black pumps but didn't think they would be suitable for walking for miles on cobblestones. And then I saw them. The cutest shoes that looked like I could run a marathon in. And they were flats. Not the usual flats that have no sole support, but had those cool Nike Air bubble things. The shoes are actually made with Nike Air "technology" on the sole to give your foot good walking support, and the rest of the shoe is a woven Cole Haan leather in silver. Even though I swore to myself I would never buy flats, I feel that I can be justified wearing these because they are so comfortable and are more of a running shoe/flat. In short, they are perfect for walking the streets of Paris!

The cast of 90210 wear awful clothes

The first thing I thought of when I saw this video promo of the new 90210 was "stripes...too many stripes."

I thought that this show would be like Gossip Girl: Filled with headbands, ridiculously large handbags, red tights and trendy dresses. Boy, was I ever wrong. Instead we are treated to jumpsuits, faux gold jewelry, pink and yellow 80's vests, and totally mismatched colours it makes your eyes hurt. I can just picture the stylists train of thought when trying to plan out the "look" of the characters: "Beverly Hills...Paris Hilton meets the 80s. Yes, my plan is complete! They will wear oddly-coloured vests. This show will be so fashion forward! Gossip Girl ain't got nothing on me y'all."

Real-life Gossip Girl!

I wish there was a Gossip Girl at my high school. Boy would they have a lot to write about. What with mysterious notes cut out from magazines appearing in lockers, Valentine's teddy bears from secret admirers and lots of bad sex, the would-be-blogger would have lots of material.
Turns out, there was a real Gossip Girl in New York City who blogged about the sex-fueled lives of Upper East Side eight-graders. The blogger was mysteriously shut down, but it turns out that there is a cached version of her site. And get this: She or he is actually good at what they do. Who knew that 12-year-olds enjoy sex as much as 20-year-olds?

"Thanks to a couple of little birdies, I'm here with my second post. Snaps for ITK and her gossipers? I think so. So to answer a question asked, it's official. Steven and Lucille are together, our very own Queen and King. Gone out? Of course. Hooked up? Most definitely. Gone all the way home? Only time will tell. Let's just say these two lovebugs aren't going to stop running when the ball is in the outfield, if you get my jist.

Let's see, what else is in the news? Riverdale girls being sluts? Yawn. Multiple hookups and Cat's party? Boring. Tommy Walker? Here's one. It seems that Tommy, previously the boyfriend of Georgie, came up with a plan he was SURE would sky rocket him to the top. Not too fast, boy. You might think breaking up with an A-lister could make you seem all that, but you cant jump to the next stone without proper footing. He fell so fast, even seventh graders won't hook up with him. Now that's GOTTA hurt. Dear Tommy, rip up those tickets to the top, because you're headed on a one-way trip to the B-list. Love, ITK.


Ooh, another top story. Rumor has it Sunny of Hewitt was rubbed the wrong way when BFFs Madeline and Clio started downing drinks. The girls made up, and were on good terms. Not for long, loves! Madeline and Clio caught drinking again? Silly girls, don't you realize that rumors SPREAD? Tsk tsk.
Well, that's pretty much it for today. Just remember that there's only a matter of time before everyone finds out, so don't do something you'll regret. Then again, it does make for a juicy post!

Love you all,
Miss ITK."


I have found my cyber soul mate. ITK, whoever you are, hopefully you will regain your internet privileges, and are able to wreck havoc among the budding elite.

The wronged woman wore a fabulous scarf

Silda Spitzer and Eva Herzigova as Silda in the Harper's Bazaar Spitzer spoof editorial both looked beautiful at the neck despite their husbands' infidelity.

ANTM's Whitney

From COACD

Despite my earlier comments about Whitney not really deserving to win ANTM, I think she looks amazing in these photos. A lot more natural and I like the new haircut. But she still reminds me of Anna Nicole Smith and that's not a good thing. Maybe she will be the new Guess? girl.

Purse Forum Louis Vuitton Meet

Yesterday, about 13 women and one guy met up in Toronto to shop on Bloor St. This wasn't your typical window-shopping, oh no, we all had one goal in mind: to find an amazing Louis Vuitton bag and/or accessory.
Most of us have never met in real life before, but we knew each other by our screenames on The Purse Forum, where we have shared our lust for all things Louis Vuitton and other designer bags.

It was a perfect day for shopping. Thank God we didn't need those umbrellas after all because the weather was sunny and hot. The day started off at 10 a.m. at the Windsor Arms Hotel for a yummy brunch, in which we passed around our bags, a home-made LV authentication guide and even fake LVs so we could get a good laugh.

After brunch it was straight to LV on Bloor to do some major damage to our credit cards. I ended up buying the Watercolour Speedy 35, while others purchases a Neverfull, a Batignolles Horizontal, a pair of shoes, a pastilles, a cles and some scarves. It was heaven.
We ended up spending the whole day on Bloor, going into Holts, Chanel, Prada, Hermes and Cole Haan where I bought a pair of cute flats that are perfect for my trip to France.
After shopping, we met up with some more ladies for dinner at Hemingways (the pad thai there is amazing).

It was a great day and I can't wait to do this again!

Jinath says no to fake bags!

Karinna loves Cindy's French Co. speedy

Cindy shows off her collection

The ladies organize our bags for a group shot. The hotel staff thought we were crazy.

Group shot!

My purchase: the watercolour speedy 35

Me with a tpf member's WC papillion

Loco for Coco

My favorite model. My favorite brand. What more can I ask for?

Whitney Wins 'America's Next Top Model'

So the first plus-sized, um i mean, "full figured" model in the history of the show won the prize. I was shocked because I thought that not only were her pictures mediocre at best, and the judges never liked them, but her walk was horrible. I predicted that Fatima would win but as soon as they kicked her off, I realized that the rules had completely been thrown out the window and that Anya would be done for.
Not to knock Whitney, she can be pretty when she's not sucking in he cheeks looking like Anna Nicole Smith, but Anya actually looked like a model. Her photos were beautiful, her walk was better than Whitney's (though not stellar) and she was a natural.
I believe that Tyra had an agenda since the beginning to have a plus-sized girl win the competition. My co-worker who wrote a blog about it, said that in retrospect, it looked like the producers were making sure Whitney would win because the girls did their go-sees in New York. If they did the go-sees in Italy, there would be no way the designers would be able to find clothes big enough to fit her (you know how those skinny-obsessed Italians are.) We can picture Tyra trumpeting on her talk show about how this season was groundbreaking and because of her, the modeling industry will change forever because a plus-sized model won. Well Tyra, wait until we see if Whitney will actually get real modeling work before you go on your show to talk about her success.

Like America's Next Top Model but worse

Clips from the new reality series, Stylista in which contestants fashionably battle it out to win an assistant position with an editor at Elle magazine. The worst part about it is the obvious Devil Wears Prada copycat scenes like when the editor gets drive up in a Town Car and stomps out in her high heels. Miranda Priestly does it way better. Wonder if they know the difference between blue and cerulean?

Model Ali Michael:"I hadn't had my period in over a year"

18-year-old model Ali Michael was on the Today show this morning, talking about her experience at the Paris shows this past February, where she was told that her legs were too fat for the runways. Last year she was a promising up-and-comer, having appeared on the cover of Teen Vogue and opened for Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel, Dior, Christian Lacroix and Galliano.
So what happened? When she was discovered, she was five-foot-nine and weighed 130 pounds. Her agent told her to lose weight and she dropped to a total of 102 pounds. After she lost that weight, she started getting noticed in the fashion industry and found runway success.
But her success came with a price.
"I was on a plane from Paris to Texas, and I ran my fingers through my hair, and when I took my hand away there was a dry brittle clump of hair in my hand. And that's kind of when I realized that this wasn't worth it anymore, and it had completely taken over."

She also said that many models suffer in the same way she does. When Ann Curry asked her if other models were sick, Ali said:

"Absolutely. I remember one instance when I was backstage at a show in Paris, and I was sitting in a group of four girls. I had mentioned to them that I hadn't had a period in over a year, and one by one all of them said, "Oh, me too."

After getting a bit healthier, she gained five pounds. When she went to Paris in February, she still was skinny enough (something is wrong with that sentence right?) to model but only Yohji Yamamoto cast her (walking with three other girls mind you, not by herself.)

Five pounds and she is cast out just like that. Ali said:
"It has to change. The fashion industry affects everyone."

But who is to blame? There have been countless stories tackling these issues ever since the death of a couple of models from anorexia. Ali says:
"It's the designers."

It is very rare that a model (especially one so young who has just started her career) has come out and spoken against the fashion industry and admitted that models are sick. I hope that this encourages other models and people in the industry to speak out about these issues. (Photo: Imaxtree)

Andy The-Anh’s Pre-Opening Shopping Event

Want 25% off of one of the best Canadian designers? RSVP to Luce at 1-866-939-7733 x.300
This Thursday until Saturday at the Windsor Arms Hotel.

"I'm Chuck Bass"

- From last night's Gossip Girl episode after he points out that he had sex with Blair in the back of his limo. More than once. I love you Chuck.

Vogue June 2008: We saw this coming

Sex and the City: The Movie comes out this month so of course Vogue decides to be original and put Sarah Jessica Parker on their cover. From what I've seen from Vogue in the past few months, they will do something uncreative like put her in Manolos, puff up her hair and stuff her in kooky outfits. They are just too fashion-forward for their own good. Also, is her head covering up Chris Noth's crotch? Now that would be an awesome photo to put on the cover. (Photo: The Fashion Spot)

The Hills finale recap

This episode was so anti-climatic and such a waste of time. No questions were answered, no plots lines were really tied up. It left me feeling unsatisfied and disgusted. Liken it to how Heidi probably feels after having sex with Spencer. Ok here we go...

- Audrina and Justin Bobby look at a massive loft together. Guess those nudie pics are really paying off now eh Audrina?

- Spencer looks like a shaggy dog with that beard he has going on.

- When Stephanie tells Spencer that Heidi is in Vegas he says that they are both going to the city of sin to get her. How spontaneous!

- Brent Bolthouse and Sam (the creepy owner of SBE) give instructions to Heidi in Vegas as if she actually works with them. But we know the truth. It's all lies! It's funny how Heidi pretends to know what she's doing. This is what is going through her mind while preparing to "work": "Pencil? Check. Clipboard? Check. Short skirt and see-through blouse? Check! Ok, ready to work!"

- I can't believe I take this shit seriously.

- Whitney returns! She mostly says a lot of "Ohhhs" and gives Lauren that open-mouthed stare but I love her. She's the most normal of the bunch.

- Lauren confides in Whitney that is she and Audrina weren't roomates, she doesn't know whether the would be friends. Well thanks to Rolling Stone magazine, we know that Lauren actually speaks the truth here. The producers found Audrina sitting by the pool, liked what they saw *snicker* and hired her to be their friends. That's Hollywood baby.

- Spencer interrupts Heidi's "business meeting" and they fight. Blah blah blah, like Heidi didn't see this coming. Sam McCreepo makes a lame joke that Brent should find a new project manager. Heidi as a project manager? As if. That's about as real as....oh nevermind.

- Lo starts tearing Lauren and Audrina apart very shrewdly and Lauren gobbles it up.

- Lauren confronts Audrina and it's as if she has never stepped inside Audrina's slave quarters. "You have good taste" she says awkwardly. Lame!
Lauren makes an ass out of herself again by making the problem all about her and not listening to Audrina's feelings. "It's not about you" Audrina says to her. Finally, a word of truth spoken!
But no answers about whether Audrina is officially moving out. But we know she will come season 4.

- Speidi is together at last. They go home for make-up sex. And now I have to get that image out of my mind or else I will vomit.

Well that was the Season 3 finale. Stay tuned for Season 4 in August!

I've surprised myself

Jenna Bush got married over the weekend and I was surprised to realize that I really liked her wedding dress. Designed by Oscar de la Renta, the curve-hugging dress is very elegant and modern. It's the detail of the organza gown that really stands out. If I ever got married (which I really don't ever want to do) I would want to wear something like this. It's too bad I can't call up Oscar to design clothes for me.
Women's Wear Daily asked 12 designers to design a dress for Jenna, and this is what they came up with:


1. Vera Wang
2. J. Mendel
3. Arnold Scaasi
4. Carlos Miele
5. Amsale
6. Carmen Marc Valvo
7. Angel Sanchez
8. Badgley Mischka
9. Nicole Miller
10. Lela Rose
11. Marc Bouwer
12. Oscar de la Renta

I got "the call"

For the Louis Vuitton Aquarelle Speedy 35 today. I am not sure whether I want to get this bag or not. I love the colours and how it looks like it's been painted. I'm not sure if I like how big it is because it might look like luggage but I do love a big bag. I'm going to go to the LV with other The Purse Forum ladies for our LV meet on Saturday to decide whether it's the bag for me. Hmmm...I could see myself walking around Paris with this bag!

Ever wanted to go to Fashion Week?

My co-worker's boyfriend, who is a photographer, popped by the office the other day and he started talking about this photographer he knows named Christopher Anderson who followed Karl Lagerfeld around taking photos of him for a fashion project he was working on. I immediately interrupted the conversation he was having and squealed "Oh my God! Karl Lagerfeld!" The boyfriend asked me "Oh, you've heard of him? Take a look at this." And he showed me the most beautiful photographs of Fashion Week I have ever seen. Featured in New York magazine, the photos are stunning and really capture the madness and beauty of Fashion Week. (Photos: Christopher Anderson)