My VMAs fashion thoughts!

My VMAs fashion thoughts!

How can I not start with Lady Gaga? I love that she continues to outdo herself. She really is a unique individual. Lady Gaga ruled the night by winning 8 awards! But who cares about that.. let's talk about her wardrobe! She had 3 wardrobe changes and keep the worse for last! First Lady Gaga paid tribute to the amazing RIP Alexander McQueen by wearing one of his ART piece from his fall 2010 collection with her 10-inch Armadillo shoes that she wore in her "Bad Romance" video. GaGa’s look was completed with a gold feather hat by Philip Treacy. She wore that same dress for the September's British Vanity Fair issue. Stunning dress!



Her second outfit was a black leather dress and spiked black headpiece designed by Giorgio Armani. I loved it!

Finally, to accept her award for video of the year, Lady Gaga wore a meat dress by Franc Fernandez. I like Lady Gaga for her fearless creativity but that meat dress was gross! I wonder if she had a freezer instead of a garment bag?

PETA already reacted to her dress “Oh, Lady Gaga’s job is to do outlandish things, and this certainly qualifies as outlandish because meat is something you want to avoid putting on or in your body,” PETA’s President, Ingrid Newkirk, told the Daily News.

Here Gaga poses in a raw meat bikini for the cover of the September issue of Vogue Hommes Japan photographed by Terry Richardson. Also gross.

This is a really nice dress Katy.. if you are going to do a figure skating performance. I think she was shooting California Gurls with Snoop Dogg prior to her wardrobe consultation/fitting and had one to many drag! Her dress is from Marchesa from the Fall 2010 Collection and she wore Jimmy Choo heels completed her look.



Katy put miniature photographs of her fiancé's face, Russell Brand on her nails.. no comments!!

Ke$ha looked like a garbage warrior. Really.. she looks very uncomfortable and she's got such a cute style that she really could have done better. K$ wore Walter Steiger shoes, Charles Albert jewelery, and a Swarovski clutch. Her dress was designed by Marjan Malakpour and custom made by Lauren Bradely.

Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams and Shay Haley of N.E.R.D. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pharrell!






My favorite performance of the night was from Eminem and Rihanna. "Not Afraid." Accompanied by an orchestra, chorus of gospel singers and drummers, he was joined later on by Rihanna to perform "Love the Way You Lie."



And yes.. I also like Kanye West performance.. I know he is a jerk but I still think he is amazing and the beat was so great! If I can be a jerk myself.. I would of add more ballet dancers on stage!





He wore a red suit, black low-cut shirt, gold chains, and his red Louis Vuitton collaboration shoes, the Don’s. You can get Kanye's shoes here for $870!

Ganja yoga ? Peanut butter and jelly?

Ganja yoga combines marijuana and meditation!

Following on the barefoot heels of hot yoga, circus yoga and hip hop yoga, cannabis-enhanced classes offer a way to cut through inhibitions!

Yoga instructor Dee Duss teaches to participants of her "ganja yoga" class, where people smoke marijuana before starting their yoga session at her studio on Grange Ave., Toronto Ontario September 01, 2010.

For the past year, she has run ganja yoga out of her home studio as well as at the Hot Box Café in Toronto’s Kensington Market. The class takes place on the last Friday of the month, after work, and she charges $15 for each session. Often, she invites a musician to play some relaxing tunes during the 90 minutes, and she gives out munchies – fruits, nuts, tea – after the class.



“Yoga and marijuana, together,” Ms. Pillay says, “it’s like putting salt on your food. It’s just a little enhancement.”

All this information come from today's Globe and mail.. Read the entire article here!

Santé et beauté pour tous!! The Meaning of Life!!

Be happy
Show up
Follow your heart
Find a new perspective
Have a sense of wonder...
Find people you love...
Set Goals
Help others
Dance
Pamper yourself...
Face your fears...
Go to a museum
Exercise
Limit television
Get in touch with nature
Lighten up
Get a good night's sleep
Read books
Buy yourself flowers
Don't compare yourself with others
Don't beat yourself up
Be open to new ideas
Don't focus on negative thoughts
...Focus on creating what you desire
Make time just to have fun
Keep the romance in your life
Make a gratitude list
Love your Mother Earth
Want what you have
Be true to yourself.

The illustrations and the captions are from the book "Be Happy: A Little Book to Help You Live a Happy Life" (2007) by Monica Sheehan.
The music is "Cuore di Sabbia" (Sand Heart) by Pasquale Catalano, from the soundtrack of the movie "Mine Vaganti" (2010) (Loose Cannons) directed by Ferzan Ozpetek

Exploring Our Roots

Photo shoot for Roots in NFLD!

L'Art Du Deplacement

This is amazing!

Have you ever heard of Parkour? PK? Art Du Deplacement? Freerunning? People doing insane jumps between buildings.. What ever you call it.. I freaking love it!!! Many questions are raised between the differences of parkour and freerunning but it is quite similar.. I read that freerunning is expressing yourself within your environment and parkour is aiming to get from A to B the fastest. Parkour is often combined with other forms of acrobatics, such as free running, street stunts, tricking and traditional Chinese martial arts like Qing Gong (light body skill). It is amazing and is becoming more and more popular.

Parkour has appeared in various television advertisements, movies such as the film Casino Royale, documentaries, comic books, video games and music videos. Remember Madonna's video for her song "Jump"? Also her music video "Hung Up" contains some clips of free running. For Madonna's Confessions tour, free running was used for the choreography of "Jump". Even the Militaries from different countries are looking for ways to incorporate parkour into training such as the British Royal Marines, they hired parkour athletes to train their members.

I think that this new sport kinda reflect our lives. The buildings and fences represent the obstacles that we face and that we see impossible to overcome.

I can't help asking myself.. what kind of shoes are they wearing to do this? I believe one of them is wearing Kalenji running shoe.. Kalenji has become a firm favourite in the scene as THE shoe of choice amongst Freerunner’s and Traceur’s alike. The shoes are ugly!.. but they seems to be the best! Free running founder, Sébastien Foucan (The Casino Royale dude) helped K-Swiss develop the first shoe for free running and parkour. The shoes are called the Ariake. Sébastien appears in a commercial for K-Swiss, free running. You can see it here.

Want more? Here is 2 great documentaries about Parkour and Free Running:

"Obstacles are found everywhere, and in overcoming them we nourish ourselves."

Quote by David Belle, Parkour founder.

Pam Lostracco

Pam is an amazing Toronto base artist that have capture the soul of many art lover over the years. In fact, the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley just purchased some of Pam's art for their spa! I guarantee you will fall in love for her delicate style of expression!

This will be Pam Lostracco's first exhibition with the gallery. Lostracco's mixed media work is created through a process that echoes the natural transformation of the urban environment through time, a transformation she sees as similar to the way that a visual impression evolves in the memory, continuously changing in terms of how it is remembered and how it is forgotten.

The opening night is this Thursday, August 5th from 7-10 pm. You can meet the amazing Pam and enjoy a few light refreshments.

Rememorations runs August 1-31 at Shopgirls.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=112965475422975&ref=ts

Shopgirls Gallery Boutique
1342 Queen Street West,
Toronto, ON
416-534-7467
http://www.shopgirls.ca

More about the lovely Pam:

http://pamlostracco.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pamlostracco/
Pam Lostracco | Zatista

The best of Phantasmagoria!!

Me.. in LOVE!!

Ray Caesar
"Ecstasy"
www.raycaesar.com




Kris Kuksi
www.kuksi.com



Paul Laffoley
"The Geochronmechane: The Time Machine from the Earth"
www.laffoley.com



Dean Chamberlain
"Light Body (flames)" & "Light Body (frost)"
www.deanchamberlain.com



Andrew Jones
"Datura"
www.androidjones.net


http://metagallery.com

Julia Roberts and hooker boots!

PRETTY WOMAN

Pretty woman turned 20 this year! Yes, it already been 20 years and I remember like it was yesterday. Julia was only 21-22 years old! Great fashion statements in this movie that will mark the fashion history forever. Did you know that the original script was titled $3,000 ?


A then 21-year-old Julia Roberts sitting for two of her many color test shots
for Vance’s red opera dress.
Photo courtesy of the amazing costume designer Marilyn Vance.

A detailed sketch of the famous dress designed by Marilyn Vance, along with a swatch of the final color selection. More on Marilyn Vance here:
http://www.marilynvance.com/

Vivian went from thigh-high patent boots to a floor-sweeping gown. The wardrobe is amazing in this movie! Julia Roberts was probably the first woman to make these F@#k me boots famous. Over the years, these hooker boots left the set of Pretty Woman to walk the top runway show in the world of fashion!


I love hooker boots.. my only advice is don't dress like a hooker while wearing them! :)


Here is a brief view of the thigh-high boots coming up this Fall 2010!!



On the Right: Haider Ackermann LASER CUT LEATHER HIGH BOOTS $1600.00

On the Left: Versace 120MM STRETCH LEATHER THIGH HIGH BOOTS $1280.00



Right: Nocholas Kirkwood 120MM SUEDE KNEE HIGH BOOTS $1133.86
Left : LD TUTTLE WASHED CALF CUISSARD BOOTS $674.14


Left: Dsquared 160MM STRETCH NAPPA SPINE CUISSARD BOOTS $1309.86
Right: Roberto Cavalli 120MM EMBROIDERED SCUBA THIGH HIGH BOOTS $1053.86

More on Marilyn Vance here:
http://www.marilynvance.com/

ideaCity 2010

Inspire me ideaCity!!!

50 Presenters, 3 Legendary Parties, a Ton of Inspiration!

ideaCity, also known as 'Canada's Premiere Meeting of the Minds', is an eclectic gathering of artists, adventurers, authors, cosmologists, doctors, designers, entertainers, filmmakers, inventors, magicians, musicians, scientists and technologists.

Fifty of the planet's brightest minds converge on Toronto each June to speak to a highly engaged audience. Only 700 are privileged to attend.

Produced and presented by Moses Znaimer, ideaCity is not themed around any one topic, issue or business. There are no scripted speeches or, breakout or parallel sessions. Rather, everyone is in one place and in on the same narrative.

Margaret Artwood
Canadian Literary Icon.. Hillarious!

Travi Gevinson - Fashion Wunderkind
14 years old blogger
http://tavi.thepop.com/

Adora Svitak - Teacher, Youth Advocate and Author. She is now 13 and is world's youngest teacher and published author. Her first book at age 7!



Vanessa Hidary AKA “The Hebrew Mamita” (Def Poetry)
Spoken Word Artist. She is awesome.
www.hebrewmamita.com/



Ukulele weeps by Jake Shimabukuro
This Youtube video stated everything for him.. has gotten over 5 million hits!

Natalie Tyler Tran- Video Blogger and Youtube Sensation
She is really funny and her video have been getting over 213 000 000 hits!!

Adam Cohen, son of Leonard Cohen.



Alex Cuba
Cuban-Canadian Singer-Songwriter.



Melissa Auf der Maur- Musician and Artist
Spend 1994 to 1999 as a songwritter and base player of Hole. Then in 2000 she join the Smashing Pumpkins for their farewell world tour. She is now a solo artist and been doing photography exhibited internationally.. Awesome!

http://www.ideacityonline.com/

Pop up stores!

Roots has opened 2 pop-up stores for the fabulous Roots X Douglas Coupland Collection. I had the pleasure to attend the launch on July 7th in Toronto and it was a HUGE success! Douglas had plenty of fans showing their love including The Most Serene Republic that performed their song "Pink Noise".

Douglas introducing "The Most Serene Republic"!

The Toronto pop-up store is located at:
680 Queen St. W.
Toronto, ON
Phone: 416-916-1874

Vancouver pop-up store is located at:

36 Powell St.
Vancouver, BC
Phone: 604-677-0614

Shop online!
http://canada.roots.com/

Happy shopping!!

Janelle Monáe - Do I hear album of the year?

Ahhh I ADORES Janelle Monáe !! She is the future. A little MJ.. a little James Brown, a dash of 3000 and a hole lot of uniqueness! Do I hear album of the year? Her style is.. Pop, Indie Pop, soul, Afro-punk, funk, dance-punk.. all of that with a bow tie! She is toxic, once you start to listen to her.. you are hooked! I first found out about her when she made a brilliant appearance on the Idewile album of Outcast back in 2006.. "Call the Law" and "In Your Dreams". Her album, The ArchAndroid was released on 18 May 2010 and I highly recommend it.. It is great! She plans to shoot a music video for each song on The ArchAndroid and create both a movie and graphic novel based on the album.

This bitch is only 25 and I really think she is here to stay!! Singer, songwriter, amazing dancer.. a great performer. I love her!.. can you tell? She's confident in her talent and have an amazing "strictly black and white" sens of style. Fashion icon in the making if you ask me! She's freaking beautiful and unique. I cannot get enough of it!

See it for yourself.. she makes me happy! :)

^{http://www.jmonae.com/}

Pink Noise by Most Serene Republic

Pink Noise by Most Serene Republic
Roots x Douglas Coupland

http://themostserenerepublic.com/

http://www.roots.com/douglascoupland/

http://www.rylanperry.com/

Phantasmagoria

RAY CAESAR

Ray Caesar ~ Ecstasy ~ 24" x 48" ~ 2008

Meta Gallery is a great little gallery on Ossington.. they always have AMAZING artist. From emerging photographer to internationally established painter. They just show cool stuff! For some time now, I have been infatuated with Ray Caesar. This amazing artist that think he is a dog.. Yep. Anyways, my good friend Ana and Joanne introduced me to his creativeness and it was l♥ve at first site! I was very excited to find out that Meta Gallery was going to show Ecstasy, a piece from Ray Caesar and I cannot wait to see it! I want it! I wonder how much it is ..?

Phantasmagoria will be on view from July 9 to August 25, 2010.

Gallery hours are Wed through Sat from 12-6 and Sun from 12-5.

The opening reception will be on Friday July 9th from 7-10pm.

Cathie Bleck, Ray Caesar and Kris Kuksi will be in attendance.

Phantasmagoria refers to among other things, “fantastical imagery in art”, an appropriate entry point into the wild and imaginative realms explored in the dark and hauntingly beautiful works of Ray Caesar and Andrew Jones, the futuristic and intricately detailed creations of Kris Kuksi and Paul Laffoley, the luminous and ethereal art of Dean Chamberlain and Mars-1 and the fluid and poetic scratchboard work of Cathie Bleck.

Meta Gallery
124 Ossington Ave. Toronto ON M6J 2Z5
info@metagallery.com
t 416.955.0500

http://metagallery.com/exhibitions/14/phantasmagoria/

http://www.raycaesar.com/

Ray Caesar ♥

Here is a retrospective of Ray Caesar's amazing work!

Born in London in 1958, Ray emigrated to Toronto with his family. He has spent the last five years working solely on his own artwork. A freaking genius if you ask me!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVm-y3Y63GA

For those of you who happen to be in jolly old England… Ray Caesar is exhibiting at the Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery in collaboration with the Corey Helford Gallery from May 14 – August 22, 2010

www.raycaesar.com