Ben Mulroney ~ the Cowboy Edition

6 / 18 / 156 / 19 / 15

Oh, Ben. Ann didn’t get the joke about taking over our mourning PC party, but I thought it was funny. Besides, we all know you’re too busy living in Ontario. But maybe that’s the reason why you didn’t don your cowboy hat — the one you helped create for charity? After all, the Holt Renfrew event was billed as a pre-Stampede party — ten gallons are de rigueur dress code in these here parts.You must not have gotten the memo on footwear either. But those loafers (I’ll go out on a limb and say Gucci) don’t fall far from your Prime Minister dad Brian’s tree. Although you brought your own brand of sexy by going sockless. And is that a tattoo I see peeping out from your pants?Luckily, winning bidder Judy Mastromonaco understood the hashtag “HoltsHatsOff” means wearing one first. The private shopping event included an auction for celeb-designed hats, with proceeds going to the Calgary Health Trust. Ms. M scooped up this chapeau by Laureen Harper. Because politics make for fabulous hat fellows. The cowboy hats were donated by the iconic Smithbilt Hat company. Because if their hats are good enough for Kate Middleton, they’re good enough for Holt Renfrew. Smithbilt partner Cam Clark, of polo playing and Ford fame, shows me plans for the sleek new headquarters in Inglewood.A fashion show on the pink carpet promoted fringe accents for this year’s Stampede.

Sporting his own fringe (“I trimmed it today,” he assured me later) philanthropist and former Dragon Brett Wilson chatted with Ben about his Garden Party next week, in support of The Calgary Foundation / Mental Health.

Meanwhile, Ben, since you’re cowboying it up in that promo photo, we’ll let you off the hook. You know I’m just joshing about the whole hat thing, right? It was wonderful that you took the time to come out to YYC. Besides, your hat sold for $500!The evening was a veritable who’s who of give give. Olympic luger Sam Edney and Olympic skier Brad Spence normally sport helmets instead of hats in their charitable endeavor, aka Helmets For Heroes.Purple-haired and neon-favoring painter Miss Anna Hall will be auctioning off an original artwork for the Brakemen Foundation during Stampede. The other half of the dynamically colored hair duo, Ilana Rohwedder, on the left, puts charity full-time in her life, working for Big Brothers and Sisters.

In the spirit of the Dalai Lama, I had to give the white hat – not to mention a Smithbilt selfie – a try. Photo bomb courtesy of Roc Spence, Director of the Calgary Stampede. It already looks like it’s going to be a wild ride! Yeehaw!

Tanya Taylor’s Tickle Trunk

4 / 11 / 144 / 12 / 14

When Tanya Taylor brought her trunk show to Holt Renfrew Calgary on a recent Thursday, the highlight of her evening plans included spending some quality time with the television. “We haven’t had very much sleep, so we might do some room service and Scandal.”While she may love a show whose main character is known for wearing white, Tanya’s palette this spring is anything but. Her designs are driven by color, and the one she’s loving this year is poppy orange.That’s what Tanya calls it. I saw tangerine. But deep coral, peach, citrus zest, no matter how you interpret it, the color was a definite theme, spreading throughout the back room on Holts’ second floor.There’s a couture element to this off-the-rack collection, available in Canada exclusively at Holts. The New York based designer says fabric is an integral part of her process. “I paint all the prints originally, then print them on silk. There’s an original hand-drawn quality about everything in the collection.”Originally from Toronto, Tanya is painter at heart. With a finance degree. She found fashion to be the perfect intersection between art and business. “I liked the idea of starting my own company, similar to the entrepreneurship I’d studied, but also being able to sit down and paint on a canvas, then translate that into a dress.”Trunk shows tickle Tanya with the opportunity to interact with the customers. Visiting Calgary comes with the bonus of interacting with her extended family here.For those who need more than poppy orange, there are options. And while Olivia Pope has been branching out from her go-to color of late, Tanya Taylor’s Spring 2014 Collection has an outfit to bring her white wardrobe back.

The Schmanciest

1 / 31 / 142 / 9 / 14

With wind chill making it feel like -30, it was a cccold red carpet last night. Nevertheless, it was braved by hundreds of hatless fashion fans…… who crowded inside Belgo Brasserie, where their efforts paid off: everyone’s hair was fabulous. It was all in the name of the second annual Schmancy Style, which supports the Glenbow Museum. The crowd parted for the main event when the first model strutted like Moses through the Red Sea. Below are some of my favorite looks, all available at Holt Renfrew.

The crush of cameras at the end of the runway was as feverish as a New York fashion show. Except the dude kneeling in front of us who kept getting up to give his knees a break, blocking our shots. That would result in bloodshed at NYC’s Fashion Week. But we kept it injury-free in YYC.The finale flaunted fur, which we Calgarians will probably need to keep wearing until June.Silent auction featured many stylish items, including this Jekyll & Hyde Harness by FarLee Mowat.Stylish people included three quarters of the Vinegar Designs Lab. Vincent, where are you? The Schmanciest Man of the Evening Award goes to Jason Gogo, who executed a high kick during our photo op. Now that’s Schmancy Style!

Made With Love Project

1 / 16 / 141 / 19 / 14

Even though these waterproof bracelets were made in Mali, they were a marvelous accessory for meandering around Maui. Part of the Made With Love Project, the purchase of six bracelets provides a day’s care for a child at the Empire des Enfants — a center for homeless children in Dakar, Senegal. Fashioned from recycled rubber by women in Djenne, Mali, these flexible bracelets will roll over even large hands like mine. Available in Canada at Holt Renfrew’s H Project boutique. Also available at various boutiques around Maui.

AERIN Fragrance Collection

12 / 9 / 1312 / 9 / 13

With the unexpected pairing of rose and cognac, AERIN Evening Rose is not an innocent daytime dalliance for a fresh, girlish mood. It conveys a feminine knowing. Seduction. Capital W for scent of a Woman. My scent for December.Not content to rest on the Lauder family laurels, Aerin Lauder launched her own luxury lifestyle brand in 2012. Now she pushes her petal to the metal, taking her collection up a fragrant notch. AERIN introduced five perfumes in November, packaged in a bottle adorned with a gem-like stone. I’ve been wearing Evening Rose, a blend of voluptuous Rose Centifolia and Bulgarian Rose Absolute, with hints of blackberry and cognac. Deliciously decadent.

The AERIN Fragrance Collection can be found at Holt Renfrew in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

Fall Fashion… Already

8 / 30 / 139 / 4 / 13

Stopped by Holt Renfrew to check out some of their autumnal offerings in the middle of Calgary’s heat wave. Holts was happy to provide H2O so we didn’t dehydrate, but there was no stopping what came down the pink runway: tidings of winter, just around the corner.

Looks like those shiny skinny black leggings American Apparel made popular a few seasons back are still chugging along. Revved up with motorcycle deets and upscaled to pleather and other thicker materials for fall, we’ll be able to pair them with the oversized tops that will best hide our fall love handles. You can’t stop them — it’s a daylight savings thing. You can only work with them. I’m not a fan of this Theory jacket’s 80s sillouehette… but I might be in a month or so.

Pretty In Punk was one of Lisa Tant’s themes for the show. On a spectrum from Sid Vicious to Punky Brewster, I’d say this is somewhere in a safe middle ground for the department store consumer. The studs on this Alice and Olivia leather jacket are riding the motorcycle theme. More daring, the McQ pink plaid leggings. I have one word: yes.

Diane von Furstenberg, diva of the wrap dress, brings us a tweed trench. Dig it, DVF.

Fur! Don’t know if any of the sleeveless-dress-wearing audience members are ready for it yet, but I’m pleased to see that all my hats will still be in fashion. I’d like to keep them in storage until November. But here in the big YYC, that may be too much to ask. Marni fur-trimmed coat.This little cropped coat with thick knit sleeves (Holt Renfrew Fur Salon) is more palatable for forthcoming fall foliage. Meanwhile, if you have legs laroux leftover from summer fun, flaunt ’em. Glad to see we’ll be able to get our money’s worth out of last season’s OTKs. Boots shown here are Miu Miu. As for short shorts and skirts, I might have a closet full of them, but am always glad for an excuse to stockpile some more.

H Project Opens at Holt’s

5 / 25 / 136 / 10 / 13

At H Project, walking the walk means carrying the clutch

Alexandra Weston, Director of Brand Strategy at Holt Renfrew, brandishes her FEED bag given to her by Lauren Bush, who runs the charitable foundation of the same name. Pay $40 to buy one of the cotton bags, handmade by Indian artisans, and you’ll feed 25 schoolchildren in India.That’s the point of H Project, the new boutique at Holt Renfrew in Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto. Satisfy your need for retail therapy and you’ll be fulfilling the real needs of struggling folks around the world. Buy a WeWood timepiece at an affordable price point of $120 and a tree will be planted. A portion of your purchase of Proof sunglasses, made from sustainable wood, will go toward sight-giving surgeries to people in India.Many designers sell items with proceeds going to charitable causes, but rarely do they come together under one roof. Some, like Cornelia Guest and her cruelty-free handbags, were already selling their socially and eco conscious items elsewhere. Others, like Canadian designer Jenny Bird and her Guardian Tusk jewelry collection (proceeds go to the World Wildlife Fund) developed lines exclusively for H Project. In all, Alexandra has gathered thirty brands of apparel, accessories, home décor items and beauty products for the boutique, elevating fashion from style statement to ethics edict. In the midst of all this global artisan accomplishment, a local artist from the Alberta Printmakers’ Society strutted her silkscreen stuff.Limited edition bags, handmade in Calgary, free with purchase at H Project. Take a stand and self-indulge. It could help change the world.

Spring Trends Now Trending

3 / 8 / 133 / 9 / 13

A flash of daffodil down the Holts-hued pink carpet signaled that Spring Trends were trending at Calgary’s Holt Renfrew.By all means, do the white thing, but break it up with some green – or should I say absinthe, Tom Pecheux? Conveniently coordinated with an audience member’s pashmina.In between the runway sashaying, mavens, moguls (ok, only one… more on him later) and mannequins paid rapt attention to Lisa Tant’s powerpoint presentation of springalicious trends: Modern Geometry, Print Remix, In The Clear and What’s White Now. I’m guessing the mannequin is remixing a print. Like a DJ! Pay close attention to this outfit, because you’ll see it again on someone else. Then you can play Who Wore It Better, although perhaps the rules are different when one of the models isn’t human.As we admire What’s White Now, I have a confession to make. My focus was fuzzy on a lot of these shots. Cranky camera. I could wax rhapsodic about the ethereal inspiration of these dreamlike images, but… it’s not really what I was striving for. In the meantime, check out everyone’s footwear.Not only did all of these women brave the second blizzard of the week to learn Lisa’s trend lesson, they did it in immaculately well-heeled style. Sans salt and snow. Credit must go to the covered valet parking out front.Here he is! The one male specimen in attendance who wasn’t a fashion journalist or HR employee. Andrew Kondi, President of Cowtown Capital, is man enough to handle women’s spring trends. And smart enough to keep the guardian of winter trends close by. To his left is Cheryl Janisch, fashion designer and creative director of Frost Sportiva, secure in the knowledge that the fashion forecast in Alberta includes lots of snow.The hostess of the evening, Lisa Tant, Vice-President, Fashion Editor at Holt Renfrew with Vincent Law, fashion blogger.Shout-out to Rav, my favorite Holts hustler. We met when he sidled up to me as I was eyeing a pair of Prada suede OTK boots and whispered, “Silent sale.” Props. No event would be complete without the swag bags. In this case, parked perfectly by the escalator leading out of spring trends and back into winter. Thanks Holts!

Spring Trend Teaser

3 / 7 / 13

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night— oh, maybe I’m trying too hard with this one. Because first of all, we’re not US Postal Carriers. And second, there wasn’t any rain or heat going on last night, although the evening may have been a little gloomy. But mostly it was Just A Lot Of Snow, as Calgary was walloped with the second snowstorm in 4 days. But that didn’t stop the fashion faithful from flocking to Lisa Tant’s “Spring 2013 Trends” at Holt Renfrew.Sleeveless dresses make for sleepless nights, dreaming about midsummer. Check back tomorrow for more models strutting down the pink carpet and select soiree moments. Required reading.

Blogger’s Eye View

3 / 5 / 133 / 5 / 13

Us bloggers spend a lot of time staring at the keyboard — might as well keep the view fresh! Will Heavy Petals withstand Heavy Typing?

My nails are wearing Coral Cult and Absinthe from Heavy Petals, Estee Lauder’s newest nail lacquer line. These delectable shades derive from the left brain of Creative Makeup Director, Tom Pecheux.

Tom says he was inspired by the palette of pastels that fill Paris in the spring: “I thought of amazing bouquets from the flower markets, the pretty pastels of children’s carousels and the pops of color from macaroons.”

What? Not my laptop in Calgary, Tom? Oh well, different keystrokes for different fashion folks. I want to try that absinthe-flavored macaroon, by the way. Because I’m assuming you didn’t source that color at the carousel.

Limited edition – get it at Holt Renfrew now while you still can. You can also find Heavy Petal hues at The Bay and Sears. No hating on the self-manicure please. It’s not part of my personal skill set.Mmmm, Cult Coral. The alliteration alone whets my whistle. And my nails are still chip-free after fervent fashion tapping.