In a season far, far away

Hello everyone! Did you follow the recent presentations of SS15 at Fashion Week around the world?

I didn't. I liked the street style of my usual fashion icons (and I LOVED Phil Oh's coverage of street style at Paris Fashion Week), but we are barely into Fall, and Spring will come in such a long time.... (it will be cold, too, as usual).

In case you are interested though into what we'll be wearing after the Ice Age (I mean, winter) has passed....

Holt Renfrew has a good recap.

Full coverage over at Vogue and Elle, of course.

If the full coverage is a bit overwhelming, Erica's edits of the new collections are always my favorite.

Garance is always spot-on to spot emerging trends (if you pardon me the expression), when she is not busy being photographed by Tommy Ton.

And please, do not miss the chic moms of New York.



Photo: Phil Oh for Vogue.

Around my closet during our Indian summer

Hello everyone! How's Fall treating you?

Last week I was scrambling to find hats and mittens for the kids when we hit freezing morning temperatures. This week I wished I had not already put my sandals in storage. Do not get me wrong, I would never complain about summer-like temperatures. Perhaps I know that this was our last week of grace before temperatures continue their journey downhill.

Anyway, the week has gone by in a blur of dirty dishes and work deadlines, but also new makeup picked up taking advantage of a meeting downtown (more in this soon), and major home projects. The latter involved changing the bookshelf in my older son's room, which implied all his toys being scattered all around the house but also moving his old bookshelf in our bedroom and finally giving a dignified space to my fashion magazine collection. The jury is still out about whether we like this new bedroom arrangement, but I decided to give the final vote to my parents, whom are coming to visit in a few weeks. (Honestly my back cannot take another move of this furniture for the time being).

Aside from the makeup, the highlight of this crazy week has been the much awaited arrival of my new iPhone 6. After a couple of stressful days without a case (because there are no cases sold in stores yet!), Amazon came to the rescue with the anticipated delivery of this one, which I love and which has finally made me handle the phone like it was not made of crystal.

I was surprised to read in the New York Times how people are marvelling at the fact that the new iPhone does not fit in pants' pockets. Given those few extra inches I was not expecting it to. I can ensure you it will fit in your smallest bag though (in case you are following the mini trend). And even if it does take time to get used to those extra inches (especially in landscape mode), it is all worth it.

Enter #thenewBR

Hello everyone! Have you heard about #thenewBR?

The collection edited by Banana Republic's newly-appointed Creative Director Marissa Webb launched online and in-stores yesterday.

The pictures surfacing through Instagram and the magazines suggests that core to this change is a urban cool inspiration, and that's exactly the feel I got when I went to visit the brand's flagship store in downtown Montreal today. From leather pants to leather trim, urban cool is all about leather at #thenewBR. I got particularly excited by the leather pants, which come in a range of colours and are affordable. When I tried them on, they also felt soft and not too tight as other leather pants do. Perhaps because they have a more relaxed fit though they were baggy around my knees and looked weird overall. A bit like the Sloan pant, the leather pants seemed not to be able to find their identity as a leather pant rather than a wool pant.

That said, I like the new spin that Marissa Webb has given to the brand and I encourage you to check it out!


Photo: Monogram moto leather jacket, available exclusively in stores.

Pinterest binging on a Monday morning

Hello everyone and happy Monday! Are you addicted to Pinterest?

When I attended her presentation during Montreal FDM, I was surprised to hear that the first thing Garance Doré does in the morning is to check Pinterest. I am not a big pinner, so I could not understand that. 

I am glad to announce that this is a thing of the past. After two hours a whole morning of major binging, my Pinterest boards now are all in order and fully updated with my latest Zara faves, a few looks I love, and more home office inspiration. 

Because, hello?

Jacket perfection (backordered at usual-suspect Madewell) from my new favorite pinned. 

(Go on, and follow this board). I wish we would have more than three days of jacket weather 

in Montreal. (My wallet is, on the hand hand, relieved).

Pop of color perfection by Olivia. (Which has inspired me to take out 

of storage that pair of cage sandals... who cares it is almost winter around here)

New street style fashion icon. 

And I thought I did not like Marc Jacobs sweater-dressing for FW14. 

Now I want that sweater combo on the right. 

Favorite home office. (I am redoing mine this time for real).

 

Two things from this Etsy shop that I had no idea me and the kids NEED. 

Around my closet when Fall hit

Hello everyone! Did you have a good week?

Although the back-to-school routine (or search thereof) has been keeping me busy, I have not only been worrying about what to cook for dinner. Rather I have been waiting for Fall, for which is my favourite season. This is why the past week I worried. I worried that we were going to experience a cold spring in reverse, and go straight from summer to winter temperature. Because it was COLD.

Life went on though, in spite of the coats and puffer that I had to take out from my closet.

I committed to commit my daily outfits to (digital) paper with the help of DayOne (because, you know, I do not want to be the professor who always wear the same jacket!)

I discovered that the metallic shimmer in my Almay eyeshadow from last year is very FW14 -- which does not make me too sad that my sensitive eyes could not handle this one by Bobby Brown.

While I am eagerly waiting the delivery of my iPhone 6, I have been pondering what new case to buy. I love the gold contrast of this one.

I let myself be inspired by this interview with Lila Delilah of Madison Avenue Spy, which is one of my favorite blogs -- and I do not even live in New York.

Last night I cooked

   

     

Hello everyone! How are you doing with cooking family meals now that school is back in session?

I am in the constant quest for inspiration, but I find that suggestions out there can be quite off the wall. Like the shrimp linguini recipe that was supposed to get kids used to hot pepper (I wish I had bookmarked it to show you I am not making it up). My husband says I should stop looking, because my cooking is always a crowd pleaser, especially with kids (this is why we have a hard time having leftovers for the following day). For instance, last night I cooked a simple pasta al sugo (pasta with tomato sauce). It takes 30 minutes from start to finish, and it has the right balance of carbohydrates, proteins and vitamin. Here it goes (serves 4).

1. Start with a soffritto, that is, a mix of carrot, celery, and onion, all finely chopped. (I do not weight ingredients; here I use 1 stick of celery, 1 medium carrot and half an onion).

2. Lightly coat the bottom of a non-stick pan with olive oil (this is key), and stir fry the soffritto for no more than a couple of minutes.

3. Add 1 bottle of tomato puree (use one that has only one ingredient: tomatoes. It may seem obvious, but if you start paying attention you'll realize that there is always more than this ingredient in most cases).

4. Lower heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, cook the pasta.

6. Add sauce to the cooked pasta. Add also a small cube of butter (to make it creamier) and abundant parmesan cheese.

7. To make it more interesting for the grown ups, you can also add olives and a few cubes of buffalo mozzarella (like I did).

Enjoy!

The remnants of summer

Hello everyone! Has Fall arrived where you live?

Last week, when early morning and evening temperatures got cooler, I timidly took out of storage a few wool sweaters and put away the linen pants. I kept, however, a rack with a few pieces that I could have still worn if temperatures suddenly hit rewind.

Today I have come to terms with the fact that cold temperatures are here to stay, and the rack is going in storage...

The Buzz is back!

Hello everyone! Do you live in Montreal?

As part of the major redesign I completed in the early spring, I added a portal. From there, you can not only shop my closet but get news updates for the Montreal area. From collaborations, to news, product reviews and recommendations about the best places to shop, The Buzz got you covered.

After the summer hiatus, The Buzz is back! I bring you the latest scoop on the Alexander Wang for H&M collaboration, some news about Banana Republic, and the edit you may have missed of Sophia Bush for Joe Fresh.

And don't forget: you can share too! Just add #montrealfashionbuzz to your tweets and instashots.

Altuzarra for Target

Hello everyone! Did you shop the Altuzarra for Target collaboration?

If there is someone who got the memo about python-prints for Fall is Altuzarra, when he designed this collection. This is not the reason why it did not inspire me though. There is python-print and python-print, and these ones looked cheap in the pictures as much as in reality. I had the same impression of the other items when I checked out the collection at my local Target yesterday afternoon.

Judging from how much stock was left there, and how much is still available online (from Canada, you can shop the collection at Net-a-porter), there has been quite a widespread lack of excitement. Except for the two trench and the embroidered black sweater (the must-have items according to Vogue), you did not need to wake up at 4 am for this one.

C'est la rentrée!

Hello everyone! C'est la rentrée!

I think it sounds better in French than back-to-school does in English, right? (I certainly have a French obsession, but Porter magazine agrees). In whatever language, the expression we use refers to coming back to our lives after the summer holidays. Nonetheless, September is a moment of new beginnings (and closet reboots) perhaps more than January.

The pressure to start fresh took hold of me almost instantly after I accompanied my son to his first day of school. In my head, the list of things to do to accomplish such a renewal got longer by the second. Two items were at the top: change my blog's layout, and revamp my closet.

When I got to the office, I logged to this webpage and I had a "aha" moment. I liked the layout of this blog, which I have worked so hard on early in the spring (in case you missed it, I added a portal, too, which is pictured above). Sure, I still need to finalise a few things, but I was taken aback because I did not feel I had to change something immediately. The "aha" moment extended to my closet. After my second pregnancy, when I had to rebuild my closet from the ground  up because I had nothing to wear that fit me, didn't I discover that I am happier with a minimal closet? I do not need to buy 10 new items.

Commercially, it is more profitable to stress the need to start over, to buy new things. I am a bit sick of being asked to buy, buy, buy though. That's why I propose to embrace the original meaning of the rentrée, the here and the now. To embrace our perfect imperfections, the gaps in our closet, and everything else that makes us who we are. Three cheers for appreciating yourself and what you have! Who's with me?

Love the place you shop: Winners Alexis Nihon

Hello everyone! Do you shop at Winners?

Yesterday I went to my local Winners (the one at Alexis Nihon Plaza) to return my first pair of Celine pants, which I had paid only 100$ for. (Yes, you read it right. Celine. 100$. Returned. I was not even particularly upset about it. I do not know what is it with this year's rentrée, but it seems that minimalism is the new black. I am digressing though.)

I had scored the pants at Winners' bi-annual Fashion Week event on Thursday. (Last time, in February, I bought this pair of ballerinas by Balenciaga). As I was walking to return the pants, I realized I never shared with you this amazing shopping resource.

Not all Winners are created equal. There are only a few in Montreal that carry designer labels (you may want to check the website to find one near you). Aside from being conveniently located three blocks from our house, Winners Alexis Nihon is my favourite one because it is small and well-stocked, so you can be in and out without that feeling of frustration that (at least for me) most often goes with shopping at discount stores.

Winners Alexis Nihon is my go-to destination for designer jeans (you can always find at least a pair of J Brand or 7 for all Mankind for 59.99$), cashmere and sunglasses. If you shop early, seasonal finds can be great too (that's where I got the white puffer I still have not figured out how to wear around the baby, and the Add puffer I wore for the whole winter last year).

Did I mention that the lower level of Alexis Nihon plaza hosts the only Target on the island of Montreal? Keep it in mind when that collection by Altuzzarra will launch next week.

P.S. More great places to shop in the Montreal area here.

I fell in love with a Mexican

Hello everyone and Happy Labor Day!

We are celebrating by catching up with a never-ending list of household chores and catching up with work (I start teaching tomorrow!). If it wasn't for the fact that our teething baby kept us last the whole night last night, I wouldn't even mind today slow pace (OMG, I am really getting old).

Anyway, while I was styling my hair this morning I realized an important omission from last week's list of the favorite things I brought back from Italy: the Mexican.

I am translating directly from Italian, as I have actually no idea whether such a brush has a nickname in English. It is a roughly 5 x 10 cm flat brush by Jean Louis David that has made my flat iron almost completely useless since I discovered it last year at the beach. I am so in love with it that this year I picked up a new one to have a spare. How about you? Do you have a favorite brush?