friendships

Lately I’ve been giving some thought to friendships; my friendships with people and friendships in general.

When you’re young, going through your educational career and essentially, your formative years, your friendships are everything, they’re a distraction and an escape from long nights of studying, they guide you through making choices about your future and they talk you through bad breakups.

But as we grow up, we leave school, start our careers, begin serious relationships – why do our friendships begin to disintegrate? Granted, we don’t rely on our friends as much to help us through every dilemma because at this point in our lives we have enough life experience of our own to guide us in making the right decisions. But is that enough of a reason to give up on our friendships? Shouldn’t your friends be there for you no matter what? Through your first real job, being let go from your first job, your first promotion, your first raise, your first serious relationship, your first apartment, possibly your engagement, planning your wedding? Even though you’re not all at the same place in your lives at the same time; you may have graduated first and embarked on your career before the others, you may be offered a job across the country and are the first of your friends to leave the comfort of your surroundings, you may be the first to get engaged – but, if you consider your friends your true friends, wouldn’t you want them there, by your side, helping you through it all? And even if they don’t have the personal experience to guide you through it, wouldn’t you want them there to hear you gripe about your boss? About the troubles of finding an apartment? About the headaches of wedding planning? Afterall, we’re brought up believing that our friends will be there for us no matter what, through thick and thin.

The reality of the situation is not that, however. We become engrossed in our own lives and caught up in pettiness and we brush our friendships to the side. It is my personal belief that life happens – we don’t have the time to give every single one of our friends a call every night to catch up on their day, but when it comes to true friendships; they shouldn’t hold that against you. Instead, you should cherish the moments you do spend together, and be able to talk and gossip as if you haven’t spent a minute apart.

xo

Versace for H&M

after Matthew Williamson, Sonia Rykiel and Lanvin, Versace has just been announced as the latest H&M collaborator - which is probably why Lady Gaga has been sporting some archived Gianni Versace looks!

The collection hits stores on November 17, 2011 and again on January 19, 2012.

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier; from the Sidewalk to the Catwalk

It was a huge coup for the not only the fashion community of Montreal, but for the city itself when in November of last year, l’enfant terrible de la mode, Jean Paul Gaultier announced he would be presenting a retrospective on his work, titled The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier; from the Sidewalk to the Catwalk at the Musée des Beaux Arts beginning in June of 2011 and running through October 2011.  Finally, the day has arrived and the exhibit is set  to open to the public this Friday, June 17. Monsieur Gaultier has been in town all week amid Grand Prix festivities, for a promotional tour of sorts – starting with a meet & greet with fans at Holt Renfrew Saturday, various press conferences and presentations of the exhibit to media and select invitees as of Monday of this week, and a second meet & greet with fans at the Baie’s downtown location to launch a new spin on his classic Le Male cologne; Le Male Terrible. 

We had the privilege of attending the vernissage for the exhibit on Tuesday, June 14 where Gaultier greeted and thanked his guests - among them; local celebrities Mitsou and Abeille Gelinas, Anne Marie Withenshaw, Rico the Zombie, celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch, designers Phillipe Dubuc and Eve Gravel, model Farida Khelfa and long-time JPG collaborator Tanel Bedrossiantz – and proclaimed his love for the city of Montreal. He then passed the podium to an emotional Museum director Nathalie Bondil who thanked Jean Paul for allowing museum staff to enter his home, search his archives and work closely with the designer in order to put the exhibit together. After some wine and mingling, it was off to see the expo – although the large amounts of people made it hard to properly examine and gawk and the 140 pieces from Gaultier’s 35 year career and various previously-unpublished prints from artists like Andy Warhol, Mario Testino and David LaChapelle (we’ll definitely have to go back!) – it was breathtaking.

The exhibit is organized in six thematic collections, including The Odyssey of Jean Paul Gaultier, The Boudoir, Skin Deep, Euro Star, Urban Jungle and Metropolis, and features talking, animated mannequins brought to life by video including one of Jean Paul Gaultier himself, long-time “Le Male” muse Francisco Randez and Melissa Auf De Mar.  Among the 140 pieces presented are the famed cone bras made famous by Madonna herself and corsets worn by Kylie Minogue and JPG’s childhood teddy bear, affectionately named Nana, on which the designer created his first cone bra made of safety pins and paper.

The exhibition runs from June 17 until October 2 at the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavillion at the Museum of Fine Arts, before it heads to Dallas and San Francisco - be sure to check it out!

  

jean paul gaultier at holts

saturday, june 11 fashion legend jean paul gaultier was in town to promote his upcoming exhibit at the montreal museum of fine arts and stopped by holt renfrew to sign autographs. i, like many of the other attendees, were super impressed with his niceness and patience! the event was scheduled until 4pm, but the designer stayed well past 5pm in order to sign as many of the 500 attendees' autographs as he could! 

gaultier has actually been in town since last friday (checking out the rihanna concert no less!) and will be in town all week promoting the exhibit, with the vernissage happening tomorrow for media & invited guests (like yours truly!)

if you missed him at holts, you can catch him at La Baie downtown on wednesday, june 15 from 12pm to 2pm.

here are some pictures from saturday's event & be sure to check back wednesday for my vernissage experience!:

montreal celeb-spotting

not only is it summer time in Montreal, but its grand prix weekend all over the city with festivities starting around this thursday, June 9 and running up until race day; sunday, June 12. as is the case every year, the race (and summer) brings many celebs to town and this year is no different. here’s a list of some of the celebrities in town this week and weekend;

·         chad ochocino; whos apparently in town for a while filming a movie. follow him on twitter (@ochocinco); he’s been tweeting where he is and from what it seems, encourages fans to talk to him!

·         rihanna; is performing on friday & saturday at the bell centre; we bet she’ll be spotted at a few F1 parties as well!

·         cee-lo green; opening for rihanna this weekend

·         drake; is hosting a party at terasses bonsecours friday night. table reservations will run you $2000 (but include 2 bottles & 10 admissions) & tickets start at $25.

·         nicole scherzinger; the new US x-factor host is dating F1 racer lewis hamilton and is a regular fixture on the F1 circuit

·         bradley cooper; is in town for 25 days as of june 5 with jeremy irons, zoe saldana, olivia wilde and dennis quaid filming the movie “the words” and has already been spotted around old montreal. if you spot him, be sure to talk to him in french!

·         jean paul gaultier; in anticipation of his museum exhibit at the MMFA (opening june 17), the designer will be signing autographs at holt Renfrew on saturday from 2-4pm.

·         julia roberts; is filming “snow white” in montreal this month alongside lily collins and nathan lane. 

·         backstreet boys & new kids on the block; are performing at the bell center on tuesday, june 7 – they’ve been in town for a couple of days already and have been spotted shopping and lunching in the downtown core.

keep your eyes peeled montrealers! it’s sure to be a great weekend in the city!

xo

the Proust Questionnaire

In the back pages of Vanity Fair each month, readers find The Proust Questionnaire, a series of questions posed to famous subjects about their lives, thoughts, values and experience. The questionnaire has its origins in a parlor game popularized (though not devised) by Marcel Proust (1871–1922), the French essayist and fiction writing genius, who believed that, in answering these questions, an individual reveals his or her true nature. So here is my nature:

1.What is your idea of perfect happiness?

The feeling of being full- full of life, love, knowledge and even full after an amazing meal.

2.What is your greatest fear?

Death. Not my own, but death of those that I love.

3.What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Shyness & quiet nature.

4.What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Lack of trust.

5.Which living person do you most admire?

My mother

6.What is your greatest extravagance?

Life.

7.What is your current state of mind?

Peaceful

8.What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Happiness.

9.On what occasion do you lie?

To avoid hurting someone.

10.What do you most dislike about your appearance?

My tummy and my thighs. Wish they were smaller. Oh, and probably my far from perfect eyesight.

11.Which living person do you most despise?

I don’t despise anyone. Despise is too strong a word.

12.What is the quality you most like in a man?

Honesty. A man should be able to love you and tell you your ass looks hideous in those pants.

13.What is the quality you most like in a woman?

The ability to look effortlessly cool.

14.Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

"like"//”I guess”//”Sure”

15.What or who is the greatest love of your life?

As selfish as this may come across, myself. I have great love, but none is greater than the love for myself.

16.When and where were you happiest?

When I received a phonecall, a week before my 24^th birthday telling me to pack my bags for Disney World the next morning.

During the summer of 2006.

17.Which talent would you most like to have?

I’d love to be able to draw.

18.If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Make myself taller. Oh, I guess that would be another trait I dislike about myself?

19.What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Finishing school. Staying true to myself.

20.If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

A man.  

21.Where would you most like to live?

New York City. Or Rome.

22.What is your most treasured possession?

My Tania ring, Fendi bag, Cartier rings given to me on my Sweet 16 by my godmother, a rock from the beaches of Nice…

23.What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Jealousy.

24.What is your favorite occupation?

As in ideal? Personal shopper. Fashion journalist.

25.What is your most marked characteristic?

Persistence.

26.What do you most value in your friends?

In my *true* friends, I admire their open-mindedness, willingness to listen and open heartedness.

27.What are your favorite names?

Venezia or Ximena (pronounced “Hi-mena”) for a girl. Unsure about boys.

28.How would you like to die?

Having led a full life. Peacefully. In my sleep.

29.What is your motto?

“Let it Be”

30. What is your favorite journey?


Anywhere that involves an airport.

You can read some celebrity Proust questionnaires here: Vanity Fair : Proust Questionnaire

Summer Brights

i love summer - okay, seriously who doesn't? but there's something about summer that just makes everything so easy; getting dressed, going out, barbeque-ing, staying out later... one of my favorite things about summer is the bright colors! i've always been drawn to bright colors (as you can probably tell from my Peru and macaron posts) which is why i'm loving this summer even more than usual...


here are a few of my favorite summer brights...

Essie Pink Parka - the perfect shade of neon pink

XL clutch; Zara $99

floral swim bandeau; Garage $18.90

J Brand colored skinnies

Victoria Secret swimsuit; $24 top & $16 bottom

satin platform sandal; Zara $99

Other inspiring brights....