fashion is religion

I've been waiting for this for a long time now, ever since I read about it on fashionologie. A documentary, directed by RJ Cutler, takes the camera behind the doors of Vogue magazine as Anna Wintour and her staff prepares for what has now been referred to as the "bible" of the fashion industry: The September Issue. Anyone who is a follower of fashion or has the slightest inkling about fashion, will know who Anna Wintour is and what she represents: the glamour, the fantasy and the fashion. It's all about the fashion.

With her trademark bob and dark sunglasses, Anna Wintour is a constant at the front row of fashion shows, displaying her approval (or displeasure) with the slightest of facial expressions. She has ruled over Vogue magazine with an iron fist and over the past two decades, and amidst rumors of her rival Carine Roitfeld coming to America to take over the reins of Vogue, or Conde Nast pushing her towards early retirement, Anna Wintour is an immensely influential figure in the fashion industry. Watching Anna Wintour in her element with the editors and the passionate people that make up the Vogue team, dictating what will ultimately be the trends, colours, silhouettes and styles for the fall season will be exciting to watch.

The documentary will also look at the cat and mouse relationship between Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington, the Creative Director of Vogue magazine, who has been described as one of the greatest stylist in the industry. Coddington stepped into her role as the creative genius the same day that Wintour begin her reign as the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, so it will be fun to watch how their interaction is portrayed in the film. I'm guessing there will be large amounts of drama, frustration and gnashing of the teeth... can't wait!

If you want to know what to expect, check out this review from the 2009 Sundance Festival.

Remember: September is the January in fashion.

through the looking glass

After attending the festival, I'm quite excited about the latest Disney movie, Alice in Wonderland, coming out next year. Directed by Tim Burton, famous for his dark, quirky films (Sweeny Todd, The Night Before Christmas and the Corpse Bride), it's a more mature take on the classic, as a 19-year old Alice returns to Wonderland, a place she visited 10 years ago but doesn't remember.


The cast includes newcomer, Mia Wasikowska, who plays the lead character, Alice and frequent Tim Burton collaborators Johnny Depp (as the Mad Hatter), Stephen Fry (the Cheshire Cat) and Helen Bonham Carter (the Red Queen) are also make an appearance in the movie. Anne Hathaway plays the White Queen, Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit and Alan Rickman (Snape from Harry Potter) takes on the role of the Caterpillar.

Johnny Depp is the perfect match as the Mad Hatter. It vaguely reminds me of his character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but dipped in makeup from the MAC counter and wearing a clown wig. While Depp's character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was eerie, Depp as the Mad Hatter looks absolutely scary.

Tim Burton's wife, Helen Bonham Carter, plays the Red Queen. Her head will be digitally expanded to three times its size for the movie. I guess it's to give her that comical outraged bobblehead expression when she screams, "Off with their heads!"

The visual imagery of the above photos are absolutely gorgeous. They look more like pieces of art that should be framed and hung on the wall in your living room. It's all about the fantasy, the exaggeration and the magic that Tim Burton brings to the film, creating a richly textured world full of surprises, darkness and the bizarre.

Take a tumble down the rabbit hole and follow the White Rabbit to another world as Tim Burton's movie, Alice in Wonderland hit theatres on March 10, 2010. Click on the link for the official movie trailer: Don't be late!

Images from www.wired.com

i don't think katie holmes can dance

I'm not an avid viewer of the television show, So You Think You Can Dance, but I did make sure to tune in last night. Why? 'Cause Katie Holmes is performing "Get Happy," a song and dance routine choreographed by Tyce Diorio, an homage to the great Judy Garland. I won't chew her out too much, since it was for charity (dizzyfeet foundation), but it was very robotic.
Which makes sense when you really think about it...

It was mostly her (looking great, by the way) prancing around, doing a few spirit fingers (refer to the movie, Bring It On!), a few high kicks and some hat tosses. The back-up dancers picked her up, set her down, wham, bam, thank you m'am, and she's done. Maybe if it wasn't pre-taped, lip-syned, over-directed and over-edited and just overly robotic, it would have been more dancey. But, hey, you don't have to take my word for it. Click below to see her "perform."

burn a hole in my pocket

Bused my way downtown after work today to check out the Yaletown Summer Shopathon, hosted by the Style Spy. The first 250 attendees at the registration table received a free I Love Yaletown swag bag full of products and coupons and everyone gets a complimentary ticket for a free Thai Sangria cocktail at the new Charm Modern Thai. Participating retailers were also offering discounts for one day only, so of course, I had to go and get my shopping on!

The registration table where earlier in the day, hundreds of fashionistas were jostling for a free swag bag.

My friend arrived early, hoping to be one of the 250 attendees to get a free swag bag. However, they gave out the free swag bags about half an hour earlier and it was all gone before it even started. So my friend waited in line for 45 minutes in the blistering 40 degree heat for nothing! They didn't even give out bottled water for the people waiting in line! I thought that was a bit of a bummer for her. A bit of a mess for sure, on the part of the organizers.

However, I still managed to get my shopping on, and bought a few pieces of jewellery. Most notably a stack of silver bangles from Lola Home and Apparel that I've been eyeing for some time now, but now 15% off! Fine Finds always has good stuff and so does Atomic Model and Vasanji. If you're looking for one of a kind gifts for a friend (or for yourself!), these are the shops to go to.

About a block away, Yaletown was hosting Hot Heineken Fridays which featured a beer garden, a hot DJ from LA spinning the tracks for the night and a bar-tending contest at Goldfish Kitchen.

The beer garden about a block away from the shopathon. It's only 4PM and it's already full.

Some words of wisdom from the streets.

down a rabbit hole

... and into Wonderland! Today was the 15th Annual Alice in Wonderland Festival, and while the sun was playing hide and seek amongst the clouds, it turned out to be a nice (but windy) day to follow the White Rabbit down the hole.

I'm not sure what Humpty Dumpty was doing in Wonderland, but I didn't want to wake him up to find out.

Friendly jousting amidst the knights.

The Mad Hatter's tea party!

Follow the White Rabbit!

Oh noes! Alice has been captured by the Red Knight!

It's the White Knight to the rescue...

with a spray bottle?

Oh well, it worked.

The Chestershire cat came down the tree to say hello.

The Pink Flamingo

Queen Victoria made an appearance.

In case you need directions in Wonderland...

"Off with her head!"

Twiddledee and Twiddledum! Or was it Twiddledum and Twiddledee?

The Carnival band.

The White Knight taking a break before he goes off to slay imaginary dragons... or dung beetles.

People were encouraged to dress up as their favourite Alice in Wonderland character and there was no shortage of Alices: there was classical Alice, anime Alice, goth Alice, punk Alice...

Would the real Alice please stand up?

I've never heard of this festival until this year, and it's been around for 15 years! But better late than never, right? I loved the Alice costumes. There's something about the petticoats that just makes you want to twirl around endlessly. It's given me some ideas for Halloween...

like a kid in a candy store

Sephora is here! The grand opening was yesterday, and there was a private VIP party the day before (which unfortunately I couldn't attend as it was a friend's birthday), but I managed to make up for it by dropping $200 on cosmetics, skincare and beauty tools. What can I say, they have everything and anything a beauty hound needs/wants! For more info on this 7000+ sqft gem, clickity click click.

Here's a picture of my makeup haul. Damn, I bought a lot of lipgloss. Again. I need to stop. Seriously.

stop being so koi

Kinda wandered all around today: went downtown, then Chinatown and in between. Me and my sister went into Zara and checked out their summer sale (they had chunky sweaters for fall already!) and tried on floral dresses and beach clothes. Didn't find what I was looking for and the purple fan silk dress that my sister tried on had a hole in it, so that was a no. Sucks, 'cause it was a pretty dress. I should have taken a picture but I'm pretty sure the sales people wouldn't be happy with that idea. Afterward, we stopped by the Chinese Cultural Centre and said 'hello,' to the sea creatures that live in the pond:

Mama chick teaching baby chick how to dive for food.

This one kept dodging in and out of the water plants.

So pretty!

Looking for something to nibble on.

Mr. Tortoise is trying to get a tan.

"Hello, Mr. Turtle"

This was the biggest, fattest koi in the whole pond.

Turtles like the sunshine, too.

jurassic park in my hood

I just happened to be at the mall today for a spa treatment when I came upon this:

This is what a baby T-Rex looks like. It comes out of the womb looking ferocious. See that deranged look in its eyes? Yeah, it wants a piece of you. For dinner.

Not something you see everyday when you're shopping for t-shirts and underwear. The exhibition is free and features moving, roaring, life-sized animatronic models of dinosaurs. A young feathered Tyrannosaurus-Rex will be on display for the first time in Canada (pictured above). The exhibition will be from June 12 to September 20, 2009. For more info, just click.

happy 142nd birthday!

Off to take part in my country's birthday celebrations around town. Will post pictures!

First stop was Canada Place, where they were kicking the festivities off big time since it was also the grand opening of the new Convention Centre.

He's our star goalie on Team Canada. Watch out for him in the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Being interviewed by the media.

I wanted to give him a hug, but there was a big lineup, so I just waved and took a picture instead.

Circus performers stalking the grounds around Canada Place.

This picture was taken while I was inside the new Convention Centre and it just shows half the crowd that just congregated at Canada Place.

After a quick lunch, we headed off to Granville Island to check out the Canada Day events:

This kid was totally getting into the song and dancing along. He was quite the scene-stealer.

Honey bear!

So cute! And tasty...

*Drool*

The tomatoes are showing off their patriotic colours.

Street performers all over Granville Island, keeping the crowds entertained.