Kickstart these Kicks!

I love me a good shoe. Even though these are only for the boys, I have to say hats off to these hand-crafted, yet affordable, toe-tapping tootsie toppers.

Marketing an Italian-made $600 luxury shoe for $200, the Kickstarter Campaign for Ace Marks begins today.

Not only is Ace Marks aiming to help the modern male professional step up his swagger, the company will take back worn pairs and give customers a $60 credit toward a new pair. The oldies are donated to help men in need get back on their feet and rejoin the workforce.

Those look pretty comfy, Ace Marks! Perhaps you could build brogues for the ladies.

If the Ace Marks campaign is successful, I predict some happy feet. Indeed. Besos

[photos submitted]

Golden Year of the Monkey

2 / 8 / 16

Celebrate the Year of the Monkey in 24 karat! This isn’t a sponsored post, it’s obviously not my photo and I haven’t seen this personally. But since this breaking news rolled through my inbox, I thought I’d share.

To commemorate one of the luckiest years in the Chinese Zodiac, Goldgenie has launched a special limited edition iPhone 6s, featuring a laser-engraved Monkey symbol on the actual phone. Although just 99 are available, you can also request rose gold or platinum finishes. A luxury cherry oak display box is included, in case you don’t actually want to use your gold phone.

I haven’t upgraded my 5s yet, which is still sporting a case from Tmart, so I’m glad to know I have options. However, I hesitate. But if you’re feeling the gold monkey, good news — only 50% deposit is needed up front:

£1,248.50. Even though they offer it, don’t cheap out with the 16 gigs.

Putting on the Ritzville for Xmas

12 / 24 / 1512 / 24 / 15

This was supposed to be a holiday gift guide, not a story about my unexpected visit to the town of Ritzville, Washington.But when you see a dozen accidents on I-90 in an hour, the black ice starts to speak to you. Go forth and find a motel.

The wifi, mini fridges and Direct TV at the Top Hat joined the conversation.I have never been so happy to see a $48 room. Family owned, the people who run the Top Hat Motel in Ritzville are super-friendly. Although the walls are paper-thin, the rooms are clean, with a homey Holly Hobby thing going on with the decor.

Which became the perfect backdrop for this jolly Crabtree & Evelyn holiday gift set. Nothing is better to counteract extreme winter dryness than C&E ultra-moisturising (spelled with an S to honor the brand’s British roots) hand therapy. This box brings it to you in three scents — Caribbean Island Wild Flowers, Pear and Pink Magnolia and Evelyn Rose.Another last-minute stocking stuffer idea: more hand lotion, Apple Snow this time, tucked inside this Christmas cracker.With time on my hands and a delightful dinner of Spokane Trader Joe’s takeout the future reward, I decided a brisk walk was in order, despite the blizzard. The aptly named Ritz Theater was one of the first historic buildings I passed. A walking tour sign informed me its smooth stucco is a sample of 1930s modern style.But if you missed out on the Star Wars sleeping bag action this week, don’t go thinking you’ll be able to do it here, just because it’s opening a month later.With church bells peeling as I walked the deserted streets, it seemed like everyone was off praying for the blizzard to break. But further down the road, I found a Carnegie Library. And if you’re wondering, yes, that Carnegie.Inside was the loveliest library I’d seen since the one I used to frequent in Gates Mills. Except that one didn’t have birds of prey guarding every shelf.Back outside, a tumbleweed was headed for the Railroad Depot Museum. It was time to get back to the Top Hat…… where thin walls don’t matter if you’re the only one staying there. One more shopping day everybody! Are you ready?

Luxe Leather Line Inspired by Calgary

12 / 5 / 1512 / 7 / 15

Kensington was the style destination today for designer Aleem Arif, who stopped by Kismet Clothing boutique to offer a sneak peek at his spring collection. But despite the fact that his leather label Bano eeMee uses 100% sustainable, vegetable-tanned leather, there’s no silver lining here. That’s because Aleem amps up his linings with images, either inspired by his travels or collabs with other artists.

Bano eeMee is the brainchild of Boston-raised banker Aleem Arif, whose label is a hybrid of his mom’s name, Bano, and his nickname, eeMee. Formerly an algorithmic stock trader, he moved to Calgary and discovered his passion was actually fashion. Who says Calgary is all about Stampede? Bano eeMee is now based in Toronto, with supple lamb leather jackets in 30 stores across Canada. Oh, and Galeries Lafayette is pressuring Aleem to do a special line in Paris.PR powerhouse Ellen Parker wore her own Bano eeMee jacket from last season, but this jacket won’t be her last Bano eeMee.Yes, Ellen. Get this one.

Spring and Summer look fabulous, Aleem! Glad to have you back in YYC, even if it’s just a quick jet set. Although I’m predicting that your visit will be more stylish than social: us high-fashion Calgarians will inspire your fall collection.

Champagne Shopping with the Upside

11 / 26 / 1511 / 26 / 15

How do you launch a luxury shopping website? Obviously, you throw a party. For the Calgary-based Upside, it only made sense to have it in an upscale Mount Royal home — with some of the most beautiful walk-in closets you have ever seen.The Upside is Canada’s largest online luxury consignment retailer offering authenticated designer goods. Yes, that means they’re second-hand. It also means prices are in Canadian dollars. With no obscene shipping duties.Normally, buying used items online would make me nervous. But after getting the chance to see the merch myself, I can confidently say they are more pre-ignored than pre-loved. Dirt-free. Unscuffed. Some items still have their tags.I wasn’t the only one who was intrigued. The party was packed with power shoppers, like philanthropist and political campaign manager Cynthia Moore, who take their clothes seriously. With a capital ‘S.’Unforch for the male guests, the curated inventory – comprising 250 + designers – only caters to women. But the soiree offered a chance to peak inside an abode that may have been home to Leonardo DiCaprio when he was filming The Revenant in Alberta. I couldn’t quite confirm that, but the good news is that luxury realtor Gordon Ross will be happy to assist you in acquiring it for yourself — it’s for sale.Downstairs, in the living room, while watching Upside founder Lauryn Zhukrovsky on the mic, I got the distinct impression that partygoers were being encouraged to tweet about it. Meanwhile, like all good parties, everyone ended up in the kitchen.

Wishing you’d been there? There’s another chance to get up close and personal with the Upside’s high-end goodies with the Black Weekend Pop-Up Sale, November 27-28. A selection of retailers will be under one roof in the former Domicile space on 11th Avenue S.W. Meanwhile, you can shop til you drop online — 20% off everything tomorrow.

Home is Where the Goldgrass Is

11 / 15 / 15

Remember Riva’s Eco Store, an eclectic collection of organic, pesticide-free, non-toxic … stuff? A guilt-free general store in the heart of Inglewood. That shop is no longer — Riva has rebranded with retail editing and a new name — a perfect excuse for a party.

Now called Goldgrass Home, the products are still as eco as you can get, but more streamlined, focusing on home design, with both authoritative and emotional aromatics on offer.

Goldgrass has furnishings, decor, a design center that offers natural, non-toxic and specialty wall finishes…

… and a sleep spa downstairs, complete with mood lighting, to showcase a Calgary exclusive: the hand-made Hastens Mattress. With the most expensive beds going for more than $60,000, it’s a whole new way to stuff money in your mattress, but you’ll sleep like a royal. As the only store I’ve seen whose manifesto includes a list of mortal enemies, Goldgrass Home, I like your style.

A Day for Mittens

11 / 2 / 1511 / 2 / 15

If I was jazz-handing it in my Red Mittens, the future would be clear for all palm readers: CAN-ADA. Still, hands down, the Olympic symbol is the Team Canada giveaway… or give to: 30% of all red mitt sales go to athlete development.

I wore the new 7th edition handwarmers field-side on the final day of the season at the Calgary Polo Club, but with the first snow today, I’ll need to keep my mitts on hand at all times. Oh, I crack myself up. Find this year’s design on sale now at Hudson’s Bay.

The Dish on Duer

10 / 29 / 1510 / 29 / 15

Got a chance to check out Dish and Duer’s performance denim recently. The Vancouver-based brand has developed N2X – a proprietary fabric – combining Tencel, made from eucalyptus trees, with polyester, spandex and cotton. The result? Denim that looks like a dress pant on the outside (with a sublet, satiny sheen) and feels like a sweat pant on the inside.The breathable, stretchy fabric is so comfortable, they’d be great for riding in.However, in the interest of not getting my dusty rose “Dish N2X Skinny Skimmer” dirty, I decided to let them ride solo on Simon. He went easy on them and took it slow.The sun may be setting at the Calgary Polo Club, where these photos were taken, but the day is just beginning for Dish and Duer. You can find their complete line for sale online and at their pop-up shop in Vancouver. Meanwhile, they have a Kickstarter campaign that begins today! Show your support and receive your own pair of jeans for almost half price.

Curated by Paul Hardy

10 / 24 / 1510 / 24 / 15

How much better can life get for Paul Hardy? Calgary’s internationally renowned fashion designer can now add museum curator to his list of couture accomplishments. I caught up with him last night at the VIP opening reception for his new exhibit, Kaleidoscopic Animalia, which opens at the Glenbow today. Through a feat of accidental iCamera magic, his head appears to almost float away from his dark-colored clothes, in a dramatic echo to brain beside him, culturally influenced by animals. Also available on a scarf in the gift shop — the kaleidoscopic brain, that is, not Paul’s head.Even though Paul was double-booked, expected at a party at his own studio (which tend to be fabulous) he took time out to give a Kaleidoscopic personal tour. The displays are a mashup of his original designs and artifacts he found languishing in Glenbow’s vaults. As the museum’s Artist In Residence this year, he had special access.You’ve got to see the exhibit in person to experience the true hustle of a Bay blanket bustle. Anyone who knows their Canadian history realizes those blankets weren’t originally a branding brainwave — they were all about the fur trade.My fave is “Homestretch,” which sent me off into a trippy polo fantasy. But Paul told me it was inspired by the Run for the Roses, aka the Kentucky Derby, in which the winning horse is draped in a blanket of roses. Besides being inspired by the mannequins, the exhibit reminded me of the opulent department store window displays that seem to be nearing extinction. Grouped around themes instead of strict museum sorting by date or place of origin, the creativity is easy to consume, yet complex in meaning. In Everything Isn’t Black and White, Paul delves into a time when the Haida created argillite art for Europeans, in reaction to a declining sea otter trade.

Everyone is welcome to the Launch Party tonight, with admission by donation and a specially curated cocktail to celebrate. Congratulations, Paul!