Vanilla Cardamom

feel it break

2012-02-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

Hundred angles lost

Fleeing from the beat and the pulse

Laughing like a fool

Playing for the heart and the soul... And the soul

Capture something read

Paste it to the edge of your bed

Someone will be there

Someone who will know what it says... What it says

Feel it break, feel it break

Nothing's a mistake or you feel it break

Elevate your fingers

Motion makes it hard to write

Still words are abrasive

Yours are making me feel right... feel right

Feel it break
Feel it break
Nothing's a mistake, or you
Feel it break

Austra's Beat and the Pulse - Listen here

rose-coloured

2012-01-18T05:47:00.000-08:00

Lilogi.com has a wonderful feature called Design/Inspire, on which they feature various fashion students' work. I was lucky enough to be selected to contribute for their pink week!

Considering shades of rose are my favourite colours (you may have noticed), I was super excited to do a sort of self-portrait of myself in my favourite sweater...

I was also feeling a little Sonic Youth, given the best line ever from Dirty Boots is "pinking out the day/dreaming out the crazy way"

Dirty Boots - Sonic Youth

Here we go to another candle I know
All the girls there playin' on a jelly roll

Time to take a ride, time to take it in a midnite eye
And if you wanna go, get on below
Pinking out the day, dreaming out the crazy way
Finger on the love, it's all above

Everywhere it's six-sex-six by luck
A satellite wish will make it just enough
You'll be making out with a witch in a coffee truck

Time to rock the road and tell the story of the jelly rollin'
Dirty boots are on, hi di ho
Pinking out the black, dreaming in a crack
Satan got her tongue, now it's undone

I got some dirty boots
I got some dirty boots

Listen here

the ghosts of memories past

2012-01-14T19:12:00.000-08:00

I was debating whether or not I should post these, but I finally decided to...

I'm spending the year working on my thesis collection, which has grown out of an obsession with the french phenomenologist Gaston Bachelard. I'll admit to having only scratched the surface of understanding his writings, but what really hooked me was his link between the essential concept of the home and the experience of daydreaming. A sort of magical book, like a fairytale.

Anyways, after many months of editing, here are my final illustrations for the looks I will be completing over the next three months.

I hope you enjoy them.

Collection 01. The Solitude of Daydreams

Rare moments of self-reflection often come to us when we are alone.
In these moments, memories of people, places, feelings appear like ghosts and drift across one another. Like a montage in a film, these images of our memories become juxtaposed in a new and strange succession.

We relive intimate moments of home, feelings of comfort and safety, spaces where we have escaped into daydreams. As each new layer of memory becomes interlaced, a stream of vivid images constructs itself before our eyes. Familiarity clings to these images, until they are rendered unfamiliar in their juxtaposition.

Like a haunting from the past tinted with the colour of imagination, we experience

the daydream.

Adella

Minerva

Vertiline

Elvira

Philomena

Also, I have updated my portfolio a bit, if you'd like to take a look.

art for contemporary ladies #2

2012-01-13T19:12:00.000-08:00

Long raven hair and Raphael Kirchner

Perfect white and an unknown erotic nymph illustration

Gothic turban and an excavated wall at Pompeii

Calf length skirt and Harry Clarke

Rainy day outfit and Roger Rogue

Pink on white and Antoine Watteau

Ochre shorts and John Everett Millais

Jumping dove grey and black and Philip Alexius de Laszlo

All artworks via Lush Retina

christmas time is here

2011-12-26T06:20:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a delightful holiday

lilogi x chanel x me

2011-12-21T20:01:00.000-08:00

I recently did a collaboration for the launch of the online magazine, Lilogi in association with Maison de Chanel. I illustrated the love story of Boy and Coco for the piece on the iconic Boy bag. It was such a fun project to work on... I hope you like them!

graphite

2011-12-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

the beauty of a graphite pencil...

by and by white horses go

2011-11-19T20:55:00.000-08:00

By and by white horses go
By and by white horses go
When I was a younger child
When I was a younger child
When I was a younger child I was riding

Speak to me in a softer tone
Speak to me in a softer tone
When I was a little boy
When I was a little boy
When I was a little boy I was singing

I'd sing
I'd sing
I'd sing
I'd sing

When I was a younger child
When I was a younger child
When I was a younger child I was riding

dress - Line, jacket - H&M, bag & shoes - vintage

Doing a little photoshoot today for a competition... I'll let you guys know later on I suppose. But for now, please enjoy this song:

Listen Here

quietude

2011-11-14T20:26:00.000-08:00

Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again

Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping

And the vision that was planted in my brain still remains

Within the sound of silence.

In restless dreams I walked alone, narrow streets of cobblestone

'Neath the halo of a streetlamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp

When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light that split the night

And touched the sound of silence.

Listen here

contemporary artists for contemporary ladies

2011-11-08T20:37:00.000-08:00

If you were a work of art by a contemporary artist, what would you be?
Or perhaps... if your wardrobe was an element of an artist's work ... a colour, a line quality, a medium?

Anya's red bow and Philip Govedare's landscape

Hanneli's ochre and burgundy and David Derksen's mirrors

Elisa's turquoise prints and Michael Cina's smudge paintings

Style Sightings' skirt slit and Anthony Cudahy's colour palette

Ada's androgynous coolness and Lizzy Stewart's pencil landscape

Karla's rusty orange and Rikka Sormunen's Nine Lives

Anne Catherine and Madame Lolina's grey scale

autumnal

2011-10-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

Evading my homework to bask in the warmth of autumnal tones...

after the intermission...

2011-10-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

After a raaaather long absence (for which I am very sorry indeed), I have at last revived the blog!

I hope this post finds you all well! I, for one, have been busy doing all sorts of stuff... which has meant a bit of a hiatus from the internet.
BUT I am very happy to return to it.. of darling internet, place of wonder and excitement! How could I have neglected you so?

I'm opening this new phase of blogging with a little post inspired by one of my new favourite blogs Miss Moss. She does some rather lovely colour comparisons of fashion images and paintings, so I thought I'd try my hand at it (it's actually harder than you would imagine!).

Despite being a bit underwhelmed by the Spring 2012 collections, I sifted through the detail images to come up with some of what I think are the more interesting design details this season. I am always a fan of Erdem's spidery lace and cool colour mixes, while Jil Sander intrigued me with sequined paisleys and those funny little hats, which seem like some kind of modern hybrid of veil and hipster tuque...

I loved the understated blush palette of Tisci at Givenchy (neutral! my favourite colour!), and Philo at Céline is always a blockbuster of killer new proportions. Burton's spin on underwater creatures at McQueen was dark and airy like a ghost (and a bit creepy too), and the boys at Proenza turned 50's kitchen appliance colours into coolgirl neutrals...
Next to some of Edmund Charles Tarbell's romantic paintings of excessively feminine beauties, these looks take on a nostalgic charm in a way...
What do you think?

Erdem

Jil Sander

Givenchy

Céline

Alexander McQueen

Proenza Schouler

ghosts

2011-07-20T15:23:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my extended absence from the blog... too much fun in Paris + lack of internet = no blogging.

My exhibit at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs at the Palais Royal in Paris is tomorrow night so I thought I'd share a small selection of the inspiration images I used while researching for my projects...

I'll elaborate more later on my ghostly fascination, but for now I must get my beauty sleep (or rather spend the night engrossed in Hardy's The Woodlanders, I only have a few chapters left!)

Anyways, I hope these suffice for the time being..

paris bound...

2011-06-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

The last time I saw Paris
Her heart was warm and gay
I heard the laughter of her heart
In every street café.
The last time I saw Paris,
Her trees were dressed for Spring,
And lovers walked beneath those trees,
And birds found songs to sing...

The last time I saw Paris
Her heart was warm and gay.
No matter how they change her
I'll remember her that way.

-Oscar Hammerstein II

in progress: wet hair

2011-05-24T21:05:00.000-07:00

In progress closeup sketch for a larger graphite piece.

Jamelia - Caribou

slanted and enchanted

2011-05-22T16:56:00.000-07:00

via ffffound, dream walking society

Jackals, False Grails: The Lonesome Era - Pavement

red

2011-05-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

Red. With black, olive green, fuschia, and nude.

megan

2011-05-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

I just found this between the sheets of an old sketch pad...

I was in life drawing class and got a bit bored of drawing the model, so I did this pen and ink of Megan, who was sitting across the room looking oh so cool with her mussed hair, fair isle sweater and lace up boots.
She's one of those people who you see and think: "Who is that girl?".
I feel like this sketch kinda captures that... do you?

miss nicole

2011-05-05T05:53:00.001-07:00

Just a quick graphite sketch of the lovely Nicole. Please visit her sites, she is amazing at both photography and illustrations:

Find Jars
Nima

if i have made, my lady, intricate

2011-05-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

if i have made,my lady,intricate
imperfect various things chiefly which wrong
your eyes(frailer than most deep dreams are frail)
songs less firm than your body's whitest song
upon my mind-if i have failed to snare
the glance too shy-if through my singing slips
the very skillful strangeness of your smile
the keen primeval silence of your hair

-let the world say "his most wise music stole
nothing from death"-
you only will create
(who are so perfectly alive)my shame:
lady through whose profound and fragile lips
the sweet small clumsy feet of April came

into the ragged meadow of my soul.

- ee cummings

rachael

2011-04-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

Bored on a rainy day... so I decided to pick up the ol' marker and sketch some of my lovely lady friends!

I love Rachael's pink tinted blonde locks, perfect makeup, minimalist style and overall deliciousness, she is just begging to be drawn!
This hardly does her justice

I will post my other ladies soon... stay tuned!

self-portrait

2011-04-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

Conté eraser drawing.
Kind of a cool technique I totes forgot about... cover a page in black conté then use your eraser to draw and voila!
Gonna start using this more for sure.

underpinnings

2011-04-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd post a little mini-collection I put together... I think the approaching spring weather has got me craving light silks and cottons, lacy lingerie, pastels, hand dyeing...

Actually, I'm always craving all that...
Just a simple little wearable collection for romantic ladies like myself.

I'm especially loving this last look if I do say so myself. Dip dyed cardigan and maxi printed skirt? C'mon. Yeah. Too comfy.

in progress: deformities

2011-04-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

some in progress pieces for an upcoming art show..
keep em' black and white? or traces of watercolour? still can't decide, help me!

death and taxidermy

2011-03-29T18:34:00.000-07:00

via cherryblossom girl, souvenirs, unicorn diaries

shortie

2011-03-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

"with short hair you begin to crave pearl necklaces, long earrings, and a variety of sunglasses. and you brush your teeth more often. short hair removes obvious femininity and replaces it with style. when it starts growing out a little and losing its style, you have to wear sunglasses until you can get it to the hairdresser. that's why you need a variety. short hair makes you aware of subtraction as style. you can no longer wear puffed sleeves or ruffles; the neat is suddenly preferable to the fussy. you eye the tweezers instead of the blusher. what else can you take away? you can't hide behind short hair... you may look a little androgynous, a little unfinished, a little bare... but your face is no longer a flat screen surrounded by a curtain: the world sees you in three dimensions."

Joan Juliet Buck for American Vogue 1988 via The Glamourai

editorial

2011-03-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

The lovely Jennifer Keen recently styled this shoot featuring some of my pieces! I love the hair and makeup and soft lighting.
And all my favourite colours!

Photographer: Helen Tran, Model: Patricia Patrycja Buchner (Elite), Hair: Irina Lavrega , MUA: Jeya Singh

delicious drawings

2011-03-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

via ffffound, design sponge, krisatomic

beautiful makeup

2011-02-26T20:57:00.000-08:00

all Style.com

blush, brows and a touch of sixties!

prada f/w 2011

2011-02-25T14:38:00.000-08:00

beautiful. i want everything.

black and grey

2011-02-22T13:31:00.000-08:00

officiel Russia 2010, kim novak in vertigo, Dream Walking society,
JJJJound, Igor and Andre, We Are Bandits, Dream Walking society

telio!

2011-02-19T15:52:00.000-08:00

I had the unbelievable opportunity to participate in Telio's competition for Canada's Breakthrough Designers a few weeks ago and I'm so excited to finally see the video from the runway! Yeeee!

Telio absolutely pampered us for three days in Montreal, we got to meet so many incredible industry people, we were given an overwhelmingly (is that a word?) inspiring tour of their fabric warehouse, and were invited to show at Montreal fashion week. Seeing my dress on a real model on a real professional runway was... an out-of-body experience. I still can't get over it.

Take a look at the video! My dress is the all white simple one with fur cuffs and collar, about 2 minutes in.

Les créateurs mode de demain 2011 de Télio from Groupe Sensation Mode on Vimeo.

featured!

2011-02-02T15:40:00.000-08:00

I wanted to post these lovely images styled by Amarsana Gendunova featuring two of my pieces!
Photographed by Stephen M. Loban
Model Whitney Birch

destitution

2011-01-25T19:46:00.000-08:00

dream walking society, park and cube, garance dore, street fsn

Sleepily perusing some images, sipping orange blossom tea, painting my nails beige to match my beige sweater, wrapped in a wool blanket. Siiiiigh.

Also, someone please buy me these. Or tell my boyfriend that I NEED them. Thank you.

Also, also, listen to this song:

la gamine

2011-01-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

New hair! It feels lovely to have it all chopped off!
I promise to get some better pics of the new do, I was in a rush when I took these...

I'm wearing a vintage Glentana blanket as a cape, a vintage pin, Aldo booties, Dish denim skirt, Marc Jacobs fingerless gloves.

what i want to wear right now

2011-01-04T21:50:00.000-08:00

garance doré (?)

park and cube

clever nettle

stockholm streetstyle

When I go up to my room to "work" on a project, this is what I am actually doing...

Now that Christmas is over, I'm eager for spring florals, lace, sheer fabrics, and bare legs again! It's a new year, why can't it be a new season already?
I have decided to chop off all my hair in homage to the new year and in anticipation of my new spring clothes! Can't wait til they start shipping into the store... unpacking those magical boxes is just like Christmas all over again!

Well, I'm gonna try and squeeze in as much wintry goodness tomorrow on my last day off...
I smell a hot chocolate

Oh and stay tuned for the new hair...

a rose is a rose is a rose

2011-01-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

My friends are truly wonderful. They always amaze and inspire me. Here are some truly enchanting photos from my dear friend Nicole that need to be shared with everyone.

Me and Katrina snapped by Nicole at a Christmas party... wearing my mom's Betsey Johnson rose dress! I just may steal it.

danier top ten!

2010-12-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

So I've come to the last leg of the Danier Design Challenge!
We're down to the top ten and I need your support! Voting starts Monday December 13th at 7:00 pm!
Please vote for my jacket design by following the link below and rating my video five stars!

VOTE FOR M Y VIDEO HERE

Edit* me wearing my jacket this snowy morning!

annie and elia

2010-12-10T19:36:00.000-08:00

As I was sitting here working on a new portrait, I suddenly realized I never uploaded one of the adorable siblings Annie and Elia that I did quite a while ago.
It has long since been finished and delivered to its owner, Kate, their mum.
Well here it is, I love the circus font and their pseudo matching outfits!
(Excuse my off-center cropping)

ink, watercolour, and graphite.

oh darling

2010-12-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

via souvenirs, fashion gone rogue, the killing moon

My obsession with pink continues as my hair is yet again my favourite hue!
PS: EVERYONE on my Christmas list is getting their presents wrapped in lace and pink ribbon this year...
even my boyfriend.

white hot

2010-12-01T19:13:00.000-08:00

I am the worst blogger, I know, I know.
Partly because I have been busy tearing my hair out over my leather jacket, partly because I have been busy revisiting all my old Disney faves. Next on the list: Fantasia.
In other news, I love Ashley Smith's gap teeth and bleached eyebrows...
Can I get away with wearing white everyday?

via studded hearts

mood board

2010-11-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

Yes, in case you were wondering, I am a lame blogger.
I am so lame in fact, that I have to resort to posting my schoolwork on my blog.
Very uncool.
Anyhow, I was being the studious student that I am and was working on this mood board for one of my classes and I couldn't help thinking how perfectly the colours coordinated with the rest of my blog! Nothing groundbreaking, but some lovely images nonetheless from my jampacked inspiration folder.
And so, for that fact alone, my little mood board has made it onto the blog.

As usual, it is in pastels. Surprise, surprise.

the arctic wolf

2010-11-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

Although I should really be working on an essay, instead I am enjoying a leisurely night of falafel, sketching, and book reading (just started Tess of the d'Urbervilles... finally...). Sometimes I really do take procrastination to new levels of brilliance, if I do say so myself.

Anyways, I have been keeping busy applying for competitions, so at least I can say that. Here's my sketch for the Telio Competition. This year's theme being the Great Canadian North, I chose to look to one of my long standing fascinations for inspiration: the arctic wolf.

Telio's fabrics this year included a cute little white faux-fur and a cream jersey rib-knit which I have decided to use for a body-con fur trimmed dress. I plan on including tan leather straps and tiny gold buckles to add some edge to all that white. And of course I had to throw in my pal the peter pan collar for some girlish charm... you know how it is.

Do you like my wolfie?

*just realized my technical says acrtic wolf, not arctic wolf! ha!

apple pickers

2010-10-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my absence... school makes me incapable of having any energy left to post... (since uploading things onto the internet is soooo strenuous).

I've been working on a group project inspired by 1920's magazines and fashion journals, so I thought I'd post some of the amazing interiors of the famous La Gazette du Bon Ton.
I wish magazines still had beautiful painted pages like this! Why not? They're so stunningly executed, and creative and still manage to communicate the garments. So why is illustration dead? Must we all be confined to be graphic designers? Bane of my existence.

Here's my piece, inspired by the one above:

hey little lady!

2010-10-16T07:29:00.000-07:00

So after an especially stressful week (that unhappily happened to be my birthday week...), it is an absolute pleasure to able to dress up for work! I know that sounds crazy, but feels wonderful to able to put on a nice dress and my new little lady hat and have a nice stress-free day at Frock!
Valerie Dumaine coat, Club Monaco dress, Aldo shoes, vintage bag, Danier gloves

Valerie Dumaine coat, Club Monaco dress, Aldo shoes, vintage bag, Danier gloves

inspired: david remfry

2010-10-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

While working on my History of Illustration essay, which I am doing on David Remfry, I found myself sketching crazy-haired naked ladies like the ones he did for Stella McCartney's campaign a few years ago.
I just love that the images aren't even about the clothes at all, and yet they are plastered across massive buildings with nothing but a luxury label attached to them... kinda funny.
Well, I still adore his work. I love the awkward blatant nudity and the flat washes of watercolour and the loose graphite sketchiness of it all!

David Remfry for Stella McCartney

So, do you like my Remfry girl?

streetwalkin'

2010-10-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

Lame post, I know. But some days, I really do not have time for this bloggin' business.
And since I have access to this wonderful thing called the internet, I can be lazy and upload photos other people took to my blog and call it a post. Hooray!
Anyhow, I was featured in the Eyeopener for my wicked awesome super cool street style.

Yes. Lame post. I know.

Nougat silk blouse, Kensie pants, BC loafer wedges, Missoni sunglasses, vintage bag,
and my fave BlueQ butterfly tote (it holds everything AND looks cute!)

photo by Chelsea Pottage

danier competition!!

2010-10-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

I have been selected as a top 30 finalist for the Danier leather competition! Please help me out by rating my design at Danier.com!
You have til October 7th to vote so make sure you rate me 5 stars!!
Thanks everyone! Love!

the art of fashion

2010-10-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

So last night was the Nuit Blanche Art of Fashion! So exciting, such a blur, so tired.... hence I am not capable of forming sentences and will just upload some of the photos my sister took from last night!

Watch the film I projected behind my display!
Filmed and edited by Michele Ayoub
Dancer Zoe Anderson-Jenkins
Makeup and hair by Natalie Kaine

the dress trench

2010-09-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

So, all of the third year fashion design majors are part of this super exciting competition with Danier leather this year! Our sketches are due tomorrow, but I'm too excited to wait to post my sketch.. hehe. Plus, I think I'll probably end up forgetting... the rest of this week is lookin' pretty crazy! Arrrgg
Anyhow. Here's my design. I like to think of it as a leather dress trench!

nuit blanche preview

2010-09-25T20:43:00.001-07:00

So you're probably all curious to see what I've been preoccupied with for the last few weeks whilst being a very bad blog poster (you're probably not actually curious, but I'll overlook that).
I've been madly trying to finish my Nuit Blanche mini collection for today so I could put together a little something fancy pancy for my exhibit.... Here are a few preview shots of the collection coming along!

Photos by Michele Ayoub
Makeup and hair by Natalie Kaine
Model Zoe Anderson-Jenkins

the Degas dress

the Seurat top and Margot skirt

the Toulouse coat dress

the Sylphide dress

Hope you guys like it! You better come to my exhibit next Saturday at the King West Fitness center in Liberty village if you wanna see what else I've been up to!

sweatshop stef

2010-09-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

So I've been selected as a top ten finalist for Nuit Blanche's Art of Fashion competition!! Whoohooo!
Hence, my room has now turned into a sweatshop, littered with teacups, yards of tulle, and hundreds of pins hiding dangerously in my carpet. My parents have actually started referring to me as Sweatshop Stef. Nice.

Since I still have to go to school and make myself look presentable, here is my outfit for today:

Vintage silk blouse, Mango jeans, vintage jewelery, random leopard shoes.

fall is just around the corner! streetstyle faves

2010-09-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

Stockholm Street Style

Jak and Jil

hanneli

I don't care what anyone says, i can't wait for fall!

flying circus

2010-08-29T18:33:00.001-07:00

souvenirs, dream walking society

auburn and ivory

2010-08-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

Sooo much to do... I am really just procrastinating by sitting around uploading photos of myself onto the internet.
Anyways...
Wearing a Covet dress, Aldo shoes, La Mer watch.
Okay, okay, I'll go do my work now.

belle époque pt 3

2010-08-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

the Balanchine velvet/chiffon gown

I've finally finished my Belle Époque collection and can't wait to mail it off tomorrow!
I think I'm happy with it... although I might change my mind the next day and think its all complete crap. Evidence of this phenomenon: the first illustration is actually on a background of another piece I did a few days ago. Realizing that I actually hated it, the poor drawing met its sad ending when I spontaneously ripped it from its background. Ripped with hatred.
Well, the Nuit Blanche judges better not think its complete crap...
On the other hand, I haven't even allowed the thought that if I get selected I might have to actually make any of these pieces to enter my brain... All I'll have is one month to sew up a damn complicated mini collection! Any sewing volunteers?

the Pierina velvet coat dress

the Degas organza/lace dress

Seurat organza tunic & Margot velvet/chiffon skirt

the Sylphide chiffon dress

the Toulouse wool coat

portraits

2010-08-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

I'm off to the cottage for my last little vacation of the summer before school starts YAY!
Just wanted to post some commissioned pieces I'm finishing up before I go...

Cathryn's dad... i love his posture in this!

Annie and Elia, the cutest siblings ever.

belle époque pt 2

2010-08-19T19:48:00.000-07:00

Just a couple more sketches for my Belle Époque collection.
As I type this, my keyboard is becoming increasingly covered in pink pastel... oops.

the society cup

2010-08-18T18:10:00.000-07:00

Monday night was the Society Cup, a lovely little old fashioned lawn party which required guests to be dressed in their most pristine whites for an evening of such prep school classics as croquet, badminton, bocce ball, and tiny cucumber sandwiches a plenty!
I was lucky enough to get to tag along with the crew of Greta Constantine, dressed in one of their perfect little white dresses! So little was this dress that I couldn't quite bear to have my bottom hanging out and was forced to wear my white denim shorts with my outfit... Oh well! It made playing badminton that much easier!

The Gretas! I loved that crazy wing on my dress! So perfect for dancing to 80's pop songs!

Enjoying cupcakes and finger foods while watching a rather hilarious bout of potato sack racing...

Click for more photos, including one of my lovely Greta Constantine dress!

style stalker

2010-08-15T14:32:00.000-07:00

My current fave style blog has got to be Variacje. I've been loving her sober and sophisticated combos of nautical stripes, black, white, and almost always just a touch of red. Her wardrobe is so well edited that she always looks completely herself, which is a strange thing to say since obviously I've never met her... but there's something about having a 'signature look' that exudes self-confidence and ease in one's own skin...
Her uniform of slick trouser, ladylike handbags, and chic Parisian stripes is so simple and masterful! Always impeccable.

travellin' soul

2010-08-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

via clever nettle, fashiongirl

summertime and the livin' is easy

2010-08-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

It's crazy how fast the summer is just slipping away, I feel like it's barely even begun! To repress my sadness over the end of summer (and beginning of school arg) I was nostalgically going through old photos of summers past and I found a couple of gems.
Good memories of potato salad picnics, midnight dress up parties, biking through the city, and just doing pretty much nothing overall. Makes me wanna jump in my car with a suitcase full of bathing suits and head to the ocean for a month. Oh well. I'll have to be content to sit around on my porch all day instead. Can't wait for tomorrow, hooray for having Sundays off!

Me today wearing my mom's lovely new lace top that I couldn't resist stealing and her black satin heels, Mango jeans, and Chanel sunglasses.

prom dress

2010-08-05T17:11:00.000-07:00

I don't really believe in buying things for occasions... I think it's always better to stumble upon a beautiful piece and wear it to death as opposed to buying something you're only gonna wear once. What's the fun in that?
Plus, I can neeeever wait to wear something for a special occasion, I've always gotta crack it out early and ruin it for myself! Besides, "special" dresses should get worn after their occasion! If you love it so much, why not wear it everyday?
Therefore, I have unearthed my old prom dress, a lacy vintage thing I got for almost nothing, so I could wear it to work today (which, may I add, I have done several times).
I think it goes especially well with black and baby pink (like my ballet-coloured bun?), so I paired it with some Aldo platforms and old H&M jacket.
If only I were wearing a corsage!

designer portrait series

2010-08-04T15:41:00.000-07:00

Pink Tartan

I've been working on this designer portrait series thing for a while.... though I must admit it has been on the backburner as of late. I'm sticking to Canadian designers for this project, and I was trying to do a few lesser known labels that were just showing at FAT in Toronto. I finally scanned in some of the sketches and have been adding some touches of colour in Photoshop... still deciding whether I liked them better just left in black and white. Anyways, these are just a few in progress. Waddya think?

Ado Les Cents

Jessica Mary Clayton

David Dixon

Greta Constantine

black on black

2010-08-04T07:20:00.000-07:00

Black and black with just a hint of pink and jade.
I love this Valerie Dumaine silk jumpsuit I got last summer, it's so easy and light... and its got a touch of something YSL as well. And c'mon, the fact that it's backless just makes it 100 times way better.

Valerie Dumaine jumpsuit, vintage jacket and bag.

little pinkie

2010-08-01T16:16:00.000-07:00

The pink hair is back! OH how I've missed you pastel sherbet coloured hair...
Why not indulge in sugary colours every once in a while, after all it IS the summer.

Listening to She & Him, daydreaming of ice cream.

Free People sweater, Revlon nail polish.

throw back

2010-07-27T07:49:00.001-07:00

Is it crazy that I'm still obsessing over Olivier Theysken's SS09 collection for Nina Ricci?
It's just so utterly wonderful, I can't help coming back to it for inspiration! The layers of sheerness, the textures, the prints, the rippling movement of those layers, the cutaway hems! Sigh....
What's not to love?

all images Style.com

sweet thing

2010-07-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

more illustrations

2010-07-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

belle époque

2010-07-19T20:52:00.001-07:00

So I've been busy researching for a new project I've set myself to do.... seems I keep adding things to my ever-growing list of projects. Who knows if any of them will ever see their final day?
This project is a mini collection for a competition based on the theme La Belle Époque, which just so happens to be one of my favourite periods in art! Can-can dancers hand in hand leaving the Moulin Rouge, fashionable ladies sipping brandy in Parisian cafés, all wonderful! But most of all, the soft, often bleeding, overlays of colours - matte pastel shades crosshatched to create a stunning and almost graphic effect.
This method of rough sketching has been influencing my little brain, and when I kept coming across Elle Rogers's work, I couldn't help but think they were contemporary versions of 19th century paintings.

Below, my Ellen Rogers inspired piece for the collection... I hope they all turn out well!

A more detailed piece for the collection...

obsessed with givenchy

2010-07-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

From my sad place behind a computer screen, I have been looking through the new couture collections, wishing I had some sort of magical ability to reach through the internet and actually touch some of these pieces. The tactile brilliance of Givenchy was especially alluring, and the fact that it was all done white on white somehow makes the various textures that much more exciting. Not to mention, as Susie Bubble recently pointed out on her blog, there are BACK VIEWS. Thank God for being able to see something more than a flat frontal. And a lot of the time, the back view is the more interesting of the two!
Anyways, I am enamored with this collection. The anatomical/skeletal references, the use of fringe to create crisp shapes, the gradated sheerness.... I hate to be boring, but it makes me think of a wedding dress I could actually wear...
Not that that's an issue anytime soon.

Love.

etsytastic

2010-07-07T07:11:00.000-07:00

Please excuse my lame title. I couldn't think of anything else...
I'm excited to post that my friend Sarah has finally uploaded some of her amazing vintage finds onto her Etsy! Now there are even more beautiful clothes for me to covet and potentially pull out the darned credit card for. Sigh.
She asked me to model a few of the pieces over the weekend and here are the ones she's posted so far but look forward to loooots more. She's got quite the treasure trove!

A crazy printed poodle skirt cut from an old dress. C'mon. Too good.

I literally adoreddddd these shorts. They're the cutest summery colour, the waist can be adjusted with hidden buttons and they're just the right ratio of high waisted to longer length. Love 'em.

I'm almost gonna be late for work, so here is a little piece I'm finishing up for my friend Brooke's zine.

Angelika J. Trojnarski

2010-07-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

Okay so I'll admit to having been a terrible poster as of late but I really owe it all to having been too preoccupied trying to come up with a strong concept for a design competition....
ARG.
Thinking can be annoying.

Anyways. I came across these wonderful pieces by Angelika J. Trojnarski and was inspired by the way she collages images of 'imperfection' onto one another using machine stitches. I have always been drawn to the concept of flaws when it comes to design, I always enjoy a good frayed edge... For now I am content to stare at her work and be inspired for my mini-collection. The purposeful distressed element of these pieces could really lend itself well to clothing.

ballet dancers and veils

2010-06-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

Current inspiration: ballet costumes ripped and worn after a performance, a dancer's metamorphosis into a character, face covering and veils that mask one's identity, smudged unclear pastel lines of a degas drawing, imaginary creatures and beings.

all images via the Dream Walking Society

resort 2011 faves

2010-06-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

Valentino

Erdem

Givenchy

feathers and wings

2010-06-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

I found this illustration that I did a while ago while I was designing my dress inspired by insect wings. The drawing is in ink and I created the background by masking the white areas and then going over the entire thing with a watercolour wash.
You can't see it too well as a scan, but it's a cool little effect that lets you get clean(ish) lines with a large wash of water that would normally be hard to control.
Anyhow... thinkin' of using it again for some new pieces...

F

introducing the frockettes

2010-06-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

Annie Frockette

Brooke Frockette

Me and Annie at Frock snapped by Brooke!

brooke part 2

2010-06-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

So Brooke has commissioned a little piece from me and I've been busy working on it all night... I only just looked at the clock to see that it's 10 30! Already!
The piece is lookin' good so far and I'm about to add a little background interest... perhaps a faded liberty print. But I must say that I just love those freckles!

I'm wearing a blouse I stole from sister that I believe she got in Kensington market for about 10 bucks! Also wearing a pin I bought at the Worn party, and my favouritest necklace: a dark purple enamel and gold Chanel that I got in Paris.

And I felt like snapping a lame picture of my new little vintage bag I got today beside my black Joe Fresh heels that have clearly been tossed off neglectfully after having been worn all day...

À plus tard mes amis

dawn

2010-06-17T07:28:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to post Dawn before I run off to work!
I hope she likes it!

what i'm doing

2010-06-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

I've decided that since all the girls I work with at Frock are just about the cutest people eveeeerrr, I'd do some little watercolour portraits of all of them!
I've been hard at work all night on my Frockettes. Here's some of my work in progress...

Annie in rough sketch form.

Brooke is barely there...

Brooke is starting to take form!

Brooke is finished!
Is she too messy?
I got kinda sick of trying to make it all perfect and just went crazy and scratched it all up. I can't tell if I ruined it. I might've.
Oh well! That's what making art is all about, I guess!

Edit: I just finished Dawn too!

Goodnight!

what i want to wear right now

2010-06-11T20:08:00.001-07:00

Jason Wu's Resort 2010 collection was so lovely I have decided to wear nothing but boater hats and girlie dresses starting now.
Official uniform?

all images Style.com

real life watercolours

2010-06-09T07:25:00.000-07:00

I just fell upon these incredibly moving photographs by Susanna Majuri on Lancia Trend Visions.
The ambiguity of the images makes me think of a dream that you can't remember when you wake up in the morning: all strangeness and hazy mystery.
The soft bleeding colours and dark subject matter also remind of Pre-Raphaelite paintings... like Ophelia drowning herself in a lake littered with wilted flowers.
There's something about these that just makes me want to throw on a dark silky gown and run barefoot into a forest.
And besides all that, how the hell did she create these??? How are those stunning images projected so perfectly onto the surface of the water? Perhaps this is really obvious to you Photoshop wiz kids out there, but to me it is completely mysterious!

Anyways, I just love them. Somehow scary, somehow fascinating, somehow magical.

oldies but goodies

2010-06-08T16:48:00.000-07:00

I must admit to having been a bad poster as of late.... I guess I've been too busy to actually make anything new to put up. So instead here are a few oldies I kinda like. They are part of a series inspired by dead insects.
Let's hope I come up with something else to post soooooon!

2010-06-03T07:23:00.000-07:00

I recently noticed Stretsis's lookbook on Style Bubble and thought it was just incredible.
I love the way the little platforms give the models the appearance of those tacky porcelain figurines, and the way the fabrics move in some of the images is just stunning.
The pictures themselves are a little tacky, but I feel like it still somehow works... The sugary sweet colour palette, the fake roses, the cat, the giant bow... such girlish elements, but it all seems somehow strange and ghostly when their hair is fluttering around like that.
Well, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ps: now I want BLUE hair!

paper craving

2010-06-01T10:38:00.000-07:00

via Unicorn Diaries

So I have been a bit obsessed with paper sculpture as of late...
Maybe it's my inner seven year old who yearns for the days of paper dolls, cutting out those tiny little perfect outfits and folding the tabs and all that meticulous work that tiny little seven year old hands seem to be so good at.
I've always been really interested in paper (maybe it's because I'm constantly drawing on it), but I never really looked into the ridiculously huge range of creative projects done with paper.
Once I started looking, I really couldn't stop! These are just a select few of my growing collection...
I feel inspired to create some sort of paper sculpture. Maybe an old-fashioned doll house with little paper dolls for grown-ups who miss fiddling around with teeny bits of paper (although I'd hardly call myself a 'grown-up')...
Anyways. Stay tuuuned

poems found in the pages of old books on Altered Books

Daniel Sean Murphy

Benign Objects

Graphic Exchange

via Twig and Thistle

Peter Callesen

all images via Paper Crave and Twig and Thistle

quick post before i run off to worrrkkkk

2010-05-30T07:48:00.001-07:00

Alexa on Stella magazine

Lyell

Chloë!

Abbey Lee in Vogue Russia

Pink hair!

Fudge Mag via Clever Nettle

Me at the Worn party Friday night!

Off to work!!

workin' hard/hardly workin'

2010-05-24T13:51:00.001-07:00

So basically I spend my only day off supposedly hard at work on my new graphic novel. I know what you're thinking. What a loser.
But I did take a lil' break to traipse around the backyard in my official outfit of the summer. I swear, I will be wearing this every single day. Not joking.
The denim romper is from Elroy, and the shoes are.... wait for it.... Joe Fresh! I know, I know, total Céline knockoffs. But hey, I figure I'd rather not spend five million dollars on something that is CLEARLY just a trend and to have it go out of style in about two months.
And honestly, who can tell? I seriously got about a thousand compliments on them! So I suggest you all run out to Joe Fresh and acquire a pair. Très comfortable.

The fabulous Céline clogs.

A mysterious cat appeared in our backyard, much to the aggravation of my dog.

And here's a page from the comic, coming along slowly but surely.

prints for sale!

2010-05-23T08:27:00.001-07:00

Good morning!
I'm off to work, but I'd thought I'd let you guys know I'll be selling my work on Etsy soon! Yay!
They are all limited edition prints (one of five), and they all come framed and signed. The frames are 12 x 10" and come in two different styles. The frames all have stands and hooks at the back so you can either hang them or stand them up.
They will be for sale on Etsy for $59 plus shipping.
OR if you live in Toronto, you can come by Frock (Roncesvales and Pearson) where they will also be for sale soon!

Just wanted to give you guys a heads up! Also, if there is any piece on either my portfolio website or older blog posts that you would like to order, please send me an email and I'd be happy to send you a framed print!
stefanie.ayoub@ryerson.ca

*Edit : If you're in Toronto, come to Worn journal's Pin up Party Down issue 10 release!!! I'm so excited to say that BOTH my pin designs will be for sale!
Also, Worn was recently mentioned on Style Rookie as one of her favourite magazines... yay!

"a beautiful tear"

2010-05-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

Sonia Rykiel

While working on my distressed project, I've been feeling rather inspired by Zandra Rhodes as of late... and I don't think I'm the only one!
Her 'conceptual chic' collection inspired by punks in the 70's is probably the most amazing in my mind... Her incredible shredded garments were held together by 14k gold Cartier safety pins and pearls, and holes in the fabric were embroidered with beads.
The fact that she laboured over creating "a beautiful tear" is kinda fascinating but also totally relative to today's fashion industry! If you're wearing jeans right now there's a good chance that someone somewhere laboured over making them just faded enough, or just a little ripped at the knee or whatever.... And I'm sure there are A TON of very specific 'quality' standards that have to be met for those ripped stone-washed jeans.
i.e. those tears on your jeans must be beautiful by some standard or else you wouldn't be wearing them.

Anyways. I've found that lately a lot of designers seem to be inspired by Zandra in some way as her influence seems to be popping up everywhere in the details. Pleats, pearls, holes, rips, cutaway hems, tie dye, faded prints, etc etc.... They're suddenly everywhere!
So my point is that Zandra is awesome and everyone should love her. Yay!

vintage Zandra Rhodes

Sonia Rykiel

Nina Ricci

Givenchy

Rodarte

3.1 Phillip Lim

Alexander Wang

Givenchy

Giambattista Valli

Nina Ricci

Marc Jabocs

clothes i love

2010-05-19T17:13:00.000-07:00

When I'm having a bit of a crap day, all I seem to want to do is stare at beautiful clothing.
Surprise surprise.
When I look at my closet, I feel that the once hundreds of hangers are now shrinking to a select few, maybe because I've finally curbed my spending habits (but I don't think that's it... ) or maybe because I find myself editing when I shop. I think part of it's to do with getting older, we
begin to selectively analyze what appeals to us and why it appeals to us.
I discover more and more as I sift through my closet (and the huuuugeee inspiration folder on my desktop) that I lean towards simple anomalies I guess. Normal but weird. Weird being something somehow unusual and unexpected.
Weirdness is what I think makes fashion exciting.

new illustrations!

2010-05-14T14:58:00.001-07:00

freckles and lace

cherry blossom girl

bows bows bows

polkadot

New pieces up!

I hope you guys like em'!
I wasn't sure if I should leave the third one black and white, or if I should colour it on Photoshop... whaddya think?

Anyways, hopefully some of these will be for sale soon as limited edition prints at Frock in Toronto! I'll probs put some on Etsy too.

See ya lata!

distressed part deux

2010-05-10T22:17:00.001-07:00

via Park and Cube

Stockholm Street Style

Chanel

Opening Ceremony

Sea of Shoes

Lyell

via Souvenirs

Elle US

Susie Cowie

I am now obsessed with this new distressed idea

PS: Please check out my new super fancy portfolio.... whooooooo!
And by 'fancy' I mean very very bare and minimal... But in a good way.

Here's one of my new pieces:

do i spot a trend?

2010-05-10T21:58:00.000-07:00

Cato Van Eein The Room

Krisatomic

Dree Hemingway

Givenchy Fall ad campaign

Tim Barber

I was here first, right? Riiiiight?

:)

blossom

2010-05-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

A few more from my dear friend Katrina.

I love the quality of these images, but apparently the woman at the photo place felt bad that they "didn't turn out". Ha!
The last two are from the other day when it was sunny and warm out and we took a little trip to Liberty Village (although everything ended up being closed.. lame). I'm wearing my new favourite Elroy denim jumper! Elroy is an awesome Canadian company that uses entirely sustainable and socially responsible materials. I'm down.
AND I wear it every day! So comfy!

Anyways, please take a look at Katrina's portfolio, it's stunning.

Love!

inspiration: distressed

2010-05-08T16:20:00.001-07:00

Nastasia Dusapin

Cobra Snake Helmut Lang

via Dream Walking Society

Juan Vidal

Mr Newton

Dazed and Confused May 2010

Gary Graham Fall 2010

via Wartime Recess

My current inspiration for an upcoming project: Distressed.
Why is it that ripped jeans cost more than unripped jeans? The handcrafting of a pair of distressed jeans is parallel to that of an haute couture gown - slashing, whiskering, bleaching, fading, stoning, washing, razoring, softening.... etc etc all extremely time consuming manual finishes. Entire subcultures in Japan are devoted to the art of destroying clothing.
Interesting, no? I like the idea that 'destruction' is now something that actually adds value to clothing. Perhaps my slashing project of a few weeks ago sparked this interest.

Would you pay 10 000 dollars for a ragged pair of jeans over a hand-beaded gown?
Net-A-Porter says so.
All their Balmain jeans are sold out.

whiter shade of pink

2010-05-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

What better way is there to express my undying love for pink than to dye my hair the perfect pink shade? Pun intended. har har
I can't think of a better way, to be perfectly honest. Hair dye seemed to be the most natural step towards utmost pink worship. I will be soooooooo sad when it finally fades.. Perhaps I should just refresh it every three washes. But that might be a little much.

Anyways... Please ignore my ridiculous posing.

My new favourite ring: a molded feather from Erica Weiner

Zara boots, Urban Outfitters dress, vintage jewelery.

girlish frame

2010-05-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

Rachel Comey by Hanneli

Miu Miu in Because Magazine

Sonia Rykiel

Alexa Chung by Hanneli

Nastasia Dusapin

Susan Cowie embroidery

Nastasia Dusapin

Marie Claire May 2010

Did a photoshoot today and the doll-like makeup made me want to be extremely girlish all of the sudden. I want delicate, fragile, little breakable things that fly, flutter, and fade. Like paper dolls and swimming in a dress and wearing clogs (!!??) and an outfit completely covered in tiny kitties.
Ps: those miu miu kitty print clogs just may be the only ones I can condone. Actually, I have to admit that I spent the other day trying on about seven pairs of Swedish Hasbeens and am currently talking myself into the Braided Sky High clogs! I've held out against clogs because of their apparent 'trendiness', but my ridiculous unyielding and sudden desire to own a pair has convinced me that I am in fact
a sucker.

Ah, gee.

something wearable

2010-05-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

Worn Journal is releasing their upcoming issue 10 with an adorable exhibition titled Pin Up, Party Down!
For those of you unfamiliar with Worn, it is a refreshingly original and... I want to say modest - modest because it doesn't flaunt itself - fashion journal that features fantastically creative artists, designers, writers, etc etc. I don't know if Worn is available outside of Canada, let alone outside of Toronto, but I highly recommend picking up a copy.
So for their little launch party and exhibition, they are auctioning off limited edition pins designed to the theme of 'something wearable'.
I was so excited when they asked me to design one for them!

Here are two little designs I put together, I thought I'd share em'. I'll post the party details soon, so you Torontonians can come out and party with Worn!

Love Goes, Style Stays - 17th Century stays drawn in ink and Photoshop colour

All Worn Out - Tap shoes drawn in ink and Photoshop colour

Which one do you like better?

nothing to do

2010-04-30T08:12:00.001-07:00

This post is a bit pointless, but I've really got nothing to do.
The other day, me and Katrina went and had lunch at Luna, easily the most adorable place ever created. Its tucked in on a little neighborhood street where you would never think to look unless you knew where to go. If you live in Toronto, please please please go to Luna. Its just on Dovercourt a few blocks up from Queen.

I love the old Pepsi ads still stuck at the tops of the windows. Somehow utterly charming.

A new pair of Gianfranco Ferré sunglasses. They're almost too much.

I loved Katrina's tree necklace! It's so cute and tiny!

Anyways. Promise to post something more interesting next time.

cute things from design sponge!

2010-04-26T18:57:00.001-07:00

Since I seem to be doing nothing of interest, I will post things of interest that other people are doing!
Design Sponge is probably my favourite online resource of adorable, handmade, creative home decor and diy blog out there. I pretty much just sit around checking their site about 50 times a day. Those tiny letters from World's Smallest Postal Service kinda just make me want to turn into one of those awesome insects from James and the Giant Peach and send my insect buddies love letters.
Sooooo, in the vain of loving Design Sponge and all their amazingness, here are some especially cute things.

Beatrice Holloway

Shanna Murray

Molly Hatch

DS diy

Mel Robson

Ilot Ilov