Build-a-Boy

I can admit I've had my fair share of boyfriends. And most of them would rarely take any of my input towards what they wore. I don't think it was because they didn't think I was fashionable. I attribute it to the fact that I have a crotch. And of course, those with crotch's wouldn't know a thing about men's clothes. From the age of around 16 to 20 I worked at The Bay as a Sales Associate in Designer Menswear. This was probably one of my better retail jobs. Why? Because most men who came shopping by themselves seemed to turn to me for advice.Working in women's wear was a whole other story. Most women do not take advice from other women in clothing stores. And if they do, it's because they haven't a hope in hell, or they're buying for someone else. Most women seem to think that they know what's good for them in that department. Ask them what's good for them regarding the subject of men, and....
That's a whole other post.

Back on track. For the first time I've been dating someone who is quite fashion conscious...for a male. At work, he wears nice dress shirts with v-neck sweaters/cardigans. Black pants with bright plaids. Military style canvas jackets. He even has a closet full of shoes (he might actually have the same amount I do). And, he asks me whether or not I like certain items before purchasing them. He's even stepped out of his comfort zone and bought a hat that he'd typically never wear, but when he found out I loved it, well, it was a keeper. I always used to get push back from other boyfriends when it came to clothes. They hated that I wanted to dress them and wouldn't trust me to put together a wonderful masterpiece with their inventory.


Too bad for them.

I used to feel bad for guys when it came to fashion. But not so much anymore. Lately I've been noticing a lot of guys stepping up to the plate. Though, I see this more with teenagers. I like to observe the clothes younger generations are wearing. They're dressing outside the box and taking chances. I like this. Now, I just spent the last hour looking at men's blogs and fashions. And I have to say, it's far more interesting than I thought. They have much less to work with. Not to mention that with the little they do have, it can't come off as too much.


I can appreciate a man who likes to look good yet doesn't portray themselves as a try-hard. Kudos to you well-put together men. It can't be easy. Just so you know, we are watching you.
...And we notice.
..And it works.

I'll Whoopie your Cakester for a Cupcake

I was having a conversation last night with my sister about the Cupcake Craze. She quickly told me that it was over. So passé. Don't you know, Kenzie, it's all about Whoopie pies and cakesters. The difference between the two was a little unclear to me though. So I asked her to clarify and she told me that they were the same, except Oreo had branded the name "cakester". Apparently they are the latest fad in New York and Chicago? This was news to me.

Clearly I know nothing about food fads.

The Whoopie Pie

Oreo's branded version of the Whoopie Pie: Cakester

As yummy as those creamy filled saucers look, I have trouble accepting the fact that the Cupcake Craze is over. I think it still has a pulse, and will for sometime. What fascinates me is how it all just spreads like wildfire. I find food trends to have the biggest word of mouth promotion than of all the other categories. Take Krispy Kreme for example. The rise in population over those sugar-loaded holes of doughy crap was, to me, extremely astonishing. I cannot believe the line-ups I saw, how quickly the stores were popping up and, more noticeably, how much people talked about them. It was word of mouth that brought Krispy Kreme to the top. And I'd even say that eventually, it brought it down to the bottom, too.

Food fads can be far more rewarding than fashion fads, and have less of an effect on the bank account. As much as I love clothes, shoes, jackets and purses, I'm a real junk food junkie, too. And you certainly won't see me waiting in any lines for this stuff, no sir. But you can bet that I will try it at least once. So, my eyes are peeled for the next Whoopie pie (no fakesters please). If anyone comes across any in the greater Montreal area, I'd appreciate it if you let me know.

Teeny weeny cheap bikinis

Its taken me 1.5 years to earn 15 days of vacation. Initially I had planned a trip to Whistler, B.C as my getaway, but in recent months I've decided to change that. You see, my parents bought a three bedroom condo in Fort Myers, FLA. Situated in a gated community, Bonita Bay is a true gem of a place in the land of cotton heads. Now, I have to admit, I've always sort of turned my nose up towards the idea of going to Florida. But, during my recent trip there a few months ago, I uncovered a whole lot of goodness. Let's start this off with my favourite three syllable word: Miramar. Miramar is the ultimate outlet of all outlets. Miramar is hours upon hours of enjoyment. I could spend a half day ALONE at the SAKS FIFTH outlet. The sales and stores are incredible. The layout is perfect. And, quite honestly it has changed my entire view on shopping. Just when I'm about to buy something here in Montreal, I stop and think: Can this wait until Florida (meaning, can this way until Miramar?). http://www.miromaroutlets.com

There are, of course, more reasons why Florida is so great than just Miramar: The shopping is to-die-for, the food is sinfully good (and cheap!), there are plenty of activities and the weather is always nice. I have to say, I won't deny that there was this little part of me that was thinking about ways I could work there, perhaps try and get transferred or be a servant to the retired community. This 29 year old little flea was wanting a piece of that delectable tropical pie seemingly reserved for the wrinkly's. 

I'm going to end this on a happy note. My love for bikini's. Every spring the need for a new bathing suit starts to creep up on my list of clothes-to-buy. And, the last thing I want to do is spend a lot of money on those teeny weeny pieces of clothing (if you can call it that). I have recently discovered a great place to buy a decently made inexpensive bikini: Ardene. I know, you're thinking, what? The place that sells crappy earrings and accessories. Yes, THAT place. They actually have a wall of cute, stylish bathing suits. I bought mine for $20. Top and bottom. It doesn't get any better than that, does it? I went online and unfortunately I couldn't find the one that I bought, but here's one that I almost bought (and yes, it's $20, too!)

In-store shopping VS online shopping

I recently got addicted to an online shopping website based here in Montreal that a co-worker and fellow fashion freak introduced me to: www.beyondtherack.com. Very similar to ebay, the website posts items for sale and puts a timer on. You generally have 72 hours to purchase the item and can hold things in your "shopping cart" for up to 20 min. The feeling of urgency is apparent, and you even get a sense of it being a game. Each sale begins at 11:00 am. This gets the shopper into the habit of knowing that every day they can count on a sale being introduced at the same time. Prior to that, a mass email gets sent out around 10:00 am promoting those daily sales. This gets the potential buyer excited and ready to put their game gloves on. For me, just putting things in my "shopping cart" was fun in itself: The thought of knowing that I was preventing other people from getting what they wanted was a thrill.

A sneak peek of what it looks like inside

What gets me about this site is their marketing tactics. You can't just go onto the site. You have to be "invited"/ put on a waiting list, which is blasphemy, as just about any Jane can request to be put on the list, and in about 4-7 days time you'll get "accepted". This right here, is the hook. Knowing you can't just go there makes people want it that much more. Next is the email blasts featuring up coming sales, strategically sent out at a certain time. Followed by a sale starting automatically at 11:00 am, they are successfully getting you, the consumer, into a habit. They are able to unconsciously create a schedule in your head and by god, IT WORKS. For a few months I was hooked. I spread the word, I bought items, and I knew that when I looked at the clock and it was 10:47 am, that it was almost time to see the latest sales.

The drawback: As far as shipping and handling goes, this site gets a royal thumbs down. Of the two items I ordered, I had to wait 3 weeks for one, and 6 weeks for the other. If you don't get the item until weeks and weeks later, well, it loses it's appeal and I just don't care anymore. Frankly, it makes me downright angry. So, from then on I boycotted the system.


The conclusion:
I still love the feeling of walking in a store, surrounded by all things material, with neon, nausea-inducing lights and little to no air circulation. I love frantically looking for the next best thing, and finding it at a fraction of the price. I can be found in the back corner of the men's section at Forever 21 trying clothes on top of my clothes because I don't have the patience to wait in line for the change rooms. To me, shopping in stores will never die. It will take a long time for online shopping to come even close to satisfying my instant gratification. Take me to the outlet malls and show me where the sales are, for I'm an old school shopper at heart. 

Who is Rachel Ray?

I discovered the line while I was on lunch break downtown Montreal. And, low and behold, I stumbled across this very fashionable and, reasonably affordable line. Now, often times I see clothes I like, but in this case, everything I saw was wearable both for work and casual wear. This brought on the question: Who is Rachel Roy? Is it that cooking show lady? No, that would be Rachel Ray. Well who is Rachel Roy, then? And why haven't I heard of her? So, I went online to the website: http://www.rachelroy.com/ and was delighted to see all of the fashion lines and even online shopping! But, it still didn't answer my question. Nowhere on the website does it talk about Rachel, where she came from – and better yet, where she sees herself, and her line, going.

This right here is the Real Rachel Roy

I uncovered the Real Rachel Roy on Wikipedia; where she came from, who she married and what her story was (well, the gist of it). Rachel grew up in California, and then later moved to New York. She quickly landed a job as an intern at Rocawear and worked her way up to Creative Director. This is where she met her husband, Damon Dash. But, shortly after Damon went bankrupt, Rachel divorced him (smart girl). In 2005 Rachel launched her line and received a Bollywood industry award for her contribution to fashion. During summer of 2009, Rachel and Estelle, the Grammy-award winning star tweeted their collaboration of a jewelry line on Roy's twitter feed. Rachel Roy is sold in several high end department stores, including Bloomingdale's and Neiman Marcus. In August 2009, Rachel launched her diffusion line, RACHEL Rachel Roy, which is sold exclusively at Macy’s. Here in Canada, you can find both lines sold at The Bay.


Here are some of my favourite's from her spring / summer 2011 line: