The Always Inspiring Annie Leibovitz

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the Vanity Fair Portraits exhibition that was held at the ROM a couple months ago. Luckily however, through my daily Internet browsing, I was able to stumble upon these inspiring and beautiful shots by who else but, Annie Leibovitz.

The legendary photographer took some of these photos a couple of years ago and took inspiration from classic Disney films. My favourite Disney movie, The Little Mermaid is recaptured by the amazing Julianne Moore and the visually stimulating film, Marie Antoinette is captured in still life. Bon appetite!

Amanda

Luck be a Lady: LG Fashion Week Round Up! Part Deux

Nada, Pink Tartan and Joe Fresh weren't the only clothing lines that seemed to pick up the feminine and elegant memo for their spring 2010 collections. New York-based bridal wear designer, Romona Keveza, David Dixon and Project Runway Canada runner-up Jason Meyers each seemed to have a lady in mind when designing their springtime collections.

-From personal experience, I know that Romona Keveza is a woman that knows what she wants and always follow her instincts when it comes to her designs and boy does it pay off! Primarily known as a bridal wear designer, Romona Keveza has designed countless elegant, gorgeous wedding dresses (and recently evening dresses) that can make any woman feel absolutely beautiful. As a former intern in her design studio, I often spent days burried in her dresses and loved every minute of it. A Romona Keveza dress is not only a beautiful dress but a dress that has something special. Making her debut at LG Fashion Week, Romona Keveza did not disappoint. Showing a collection filled with her signature pieces such as the belted waist, sweet heart neckline and the silk satin fabric. My favourite looks from this collection include the gorgeous chratreuse one shouldered gown pictured above and the ruffled skirt cocktail wedding dress. Kudos to Romona!

-David Dixon apparently had yellow on the brain for his vision of spring 2010. His collection was filled with cocktail dresses in cream, bright yellow and black and evening gowns in bright blue, cream and yellow each adorned with a varied collection of embellishments. Several separates added a dose of glamour to the classic look including, a yellow belted ruffled coat with a black skirt and cream blazer reminiscent of Dior's New Look paired with a black and grey patterned skirt. My favourite part of this collection would have to be the colourful cocktail dresses, the cream and yellow grecian-inspired embellished draped dresses and the general ooozing of GLAMOUR!

-Jason Meyers was fresh and sassy with his spring 2010 collection filled with hot, sexy caged heels, plenty of leg, ruffles and a good dose of white. If you are in search of a fun party dress once the temperature rises, look no further, Jason Meyers has it cut out for you with his asymmetrical blue-grey and white fitted dress and soft pink dress with a bubble hem and sweetheart neckline. However it is the softer, understated looks that really caught my eye. The white shirt dress to the left, seems to be a warm weather staple that is showing no sign of slowing down and a simple white dress paired with a soft grey cardigan is a casual look that every girl should have in her wardrobe. Another favourite is the silk skinny pants worn with a slightly unbuttoned white collared shirt. This is one of my favourite looks of all time for it is absolutely classic, ladylike and sexy all at once. Meow!

Amanda

LG Fashion Week is Making Some Ch-Ch-Changes!

Last Spring, L'Oreal Fashion Week became LG Fashion Week Beauty by L'Oreal Paris and introduced showroom presentations. For the upcoming presentation of the spring collections, Toronto's fashion week also has no shortage of alterations.

1) The tents will no longer be at Nathans Phillips Square. Where is this new location? 1030 King Street West, just east of Ossington Avenue. This new space will include a permanent structure as well as the traditional tents. 

2) Many of the designers that had shows in past years, will not be debuting their spring designs this season. The list includes fashion week regulars, Zoran Dobric, Aqua Di Lara and Joeffer Coac.

3) On the bright side, that makes way for many new designers to show what they got! This includes, the very talented New York based designer, Romona Keveza, Project Runway runner-up Jessica Biffi and Stephen Frame and Yasmin Mahrous of the clothing line, Frame.

4) OCAD is the school of choice for this season and will be presenting their clothing in a practical and literal fashion. This presentation will be taking place at OCAD on 100 McCaul Street and admission is free!

5) Toronto-based clothing line, JUMA are the new guest contributors of the LG Fashion Week Beauty by L'Oreal Paris blog! They will be providing all their insights about fashion and their clothing line. 

Stay tuned for LG Fashion Week updates and if you are interested in attending or volunteering click here!

Amanda

Significant Moments Marked by a Dress: My Graduation from George Brown College

Prom, Sweet Sixteen, Semi-formals, Graduation and Weddings, all significant moments in every girl's life that is in most cases symbolized by a dress.

I have always been a dress girl. I remember being twelve years old and going shopping for my grade six graduation dress with my grandparents and mother. I chose a powder blue embroidered skirt and matching twinset. I felt very stylish. For my high school prom, I got the opportunity to wear a fancy dress. I was so happy. I loved (and still love) using any excuse to wear a pretty dress and no matter what it had to purple. I went on my search and was able to find a royal purple, satin dress with an interesting neck detail that dated it about 30 years. I looked like I was attending a prom from 1974 and not in a good way. Ever since then, I decided that whatever opportunity I had to celebrate a monumental time in my life, I must wear a beautiful dress. I feel that dressing up for such a significant occasion is very important, for it is a visual representation of that experience in your life.

Fast forward about 5 years and I am about to graduate from my fashion program, Fashion Business Industry, at George Brown College. Boy, does that feel good! I really enjoyed my time at George Brown for I was finally able to learn about all the ins and outs of the fashion industry. From sewing to pattern drafting to marketing to sourcing I have gained so much from my experience there and it wasn't always easy. That program was a lot hard work, late nights and stressful group assignments but all in all, it was definitely a very valuable learning experience. I learned more about the fashion industry than I could ever imagine in two years, had many excelllent teachers and met some great friends. When it came time for graduation I was relieved, excited and ready to embark on my future in the fashion world but before I could do that I had to find the right dress!

Since my horrifying prom dress experience, I knew that this time I had to ensure that I did all that I could to find the right dress. After browsing at a few stores I was unable to find what I wanted, a gorgeous silk colourful maxi dress, and decided that if I really wanted the right dress I had to get it made. Here comes in Andrea Whitehead, an International Academy of Design fashion design grad and employee at my internship with the Romona Keveza Collection. Andrea who makes custom eveningwear dresses seemed like the perfect person to make my grad dress and after she agreed to making it, I was so excited!

The very next day we began brainstorming different styles for my dress and compared our sketches. Finally, we were able to find a happy medium and soon began our search for the perfect fabric. We browsed along Queen Street West and visited every fabric store imaginable, King's Textiles, Leo's Textiles and the list goes on. When visiting one particular store I spotted the perfect fabric for my dress. It was a beautiful green, white and purple paisley print set against a deep, rich blue. It was a gorgeous silk charmeuse and absolutely perfect! I had to have it! I finally felt like my pretty dress dreams were coming true.

After I purchased the fabric, Andrea took my measurements and went on her way to begin making my dress. I anxiously waited for my first fitting and happily dreamed of myself walking to accept my diploma looking like a goddess in my beautiful dress. At my fitting, everything went perfectly. The dress fit wonderfully and Andrea added beautiful braided straps that crissed-crossed in the back and added a lovely purple cummerbund. I could not wait to wear my dress!

It is now time for my graduation and I am so excited. I feel so proud of myself for all that I have accomplished during my time at George Brown College and I have the perfect dress to compliment my current state of happiness. As I greet all my fellow graduates, I feel that not only am I graduating from school but I am also embarking on a new exciting chapter in my life as a fashion writer. Luck for me, I have the perfect dress to compliment what a satisfying feeling that is.

Amanda