Femme et Filles du Monde: The Gift of Hope Fashion Show

Women and girls of the World is launching a project called the Gift of Hope, to come to the aid of girls living in the streets of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo. For more information on the Gift of Hope Fundraiser Fashion Show please visit http://www.womenandgirlsoftheworld.org

Advanced tickets can be purchased online at Eventbrite

Canadian Designer Sample Sale

I apologize for the delay in getting this post up, but here it is!
The weekend of June 26th-28th was the first ever Canadian designer sample sale. It boasted over twenty five known Canadian designers in the Burroughs building (639 Queen st W)

Shoppers were chilling out to the sounds of DJ Roland Csach who blessed us with an eclectic mix of reggae, soul, oldies, electro and more. I really don't even know how to classify some of the music he was playing, but it was a relief to hear something other than the usual. I was working the door for Saturday and Sunday of the sale since I was helping out Michelle Turpin of Karamea (see previous post for more on her work) and got to wear some of her clothing. It was a lot of fun getting people to come inside, and despite the gloomy weather on Sunday there was a great response.

There was a vast array of belts (Susanna Erazo and Cha Cha), Jewellery, (Biko and our friends at Psalms jewelery to name a few), of course Michelle Turpin of Karamea, Desperately Different by Katya Revenko,

popular names such as Evan Biddell, Lucian Matisse, Philip Sparks and Joeffer Caoc. Some of the designers that really caught my eye however were the girls from Las Valentias who had a great, modern, classy yet slightly edgy look to them.

Biko-Hand-crafted jewellery

My mom made that - a unique new line that features dresses reconstructed from old vintage pieces

and finally, a line of hand-crafted leather bags and clutches from designer Jessica Jenson.

The prices were a fraction of the regular price, and despite my efforts to not spend money, I
gave in and bought a necklace from Biko that I absolutely LOVE.

A special treat was that a majority of the designers were personally there, allowing for networking and a chance to actually talk to the creators. Nancy Rosa of My mom made that was very personable, as was Corrine Anestopoulos of Biko designs.

I talked to her for a good half an hour just discussing starting a small business on your own, the joy of entrepreneurship and about Ryerson. I love that I can talk to designers that are doing what I plan on doing in the very near future-creating their own business from scratch.

Plan on visiting the Canadian Designer Sample sale very soon because this was the first (fingers crossed) of more to come! I will keep you posted on events like this in the future, and hopefully with some warning so you all can come visit this truly incredible event!


Michelle and I in front of her section; both wearing Karamea.

Andrea G.

PLuSH ♥'s Vintage!

So PLuSH set out on a fun mission around our city to come up with a Vintage Article for the upcoming issue of Luminosus Magazine. On our hunt we visited a store called Cabaret Vintage, on Queen West, whose inside has seen the likes of celebrities such as Andre 3000 and Erykah Badu.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Tao, a CV associate. We must have left quite the impression, us vintage connoisseurs, because before we left we were snapped by vintage paparazzi! Here is the picture, of Andrea and I, that I just found on the Cabaret Vintage website...


Here are some of the well kept Vintage items we found @ several stores across the GTA:

Courage My Love ~ Kensington Market
Headpieces

1920's flapper dress


Vintage Depot ~ Kensignton Market
1980's inspired dress

Of course we have to save our exclusive picks for the magazine but here are some "vintage buyers tips"

A little wear and tear is ok. But things to check for and consider, when purchasing vintage, are:
-scratches
-stains and rips in material
-colouration (check that it isn’t badly faded)
-stitching (look for straps that are stitched together, not glued)
-lining (should have no mildew, rips or holes)
-frame (the structure of the bag, does it allow for the habit of overstuffing?)
-hardware (re-plating can be an expensive, check for warps or peeling)
-designer (look for bags that are most iconic to specific design houses and thus retain a better value)

PLuSH Empress...is vintage obssessed!

PLuSH Visits The Art Gallery of Ontario

It's open again after a long hiatus of construction!!!

AGO reconstructed...

Yesterday Andrea and I visited the AGO. The museum has a number of interesting galleries ranging from Canadian, Contemporary and European to Oceanic, Photography, Prints and Drawings.

But my Favourite Exhibit had to be 'Sureal Things' like this mouth full of ruby & pearls


Also very interesting was an Inuit Tipi...paying homage to Canada's roots.

Inside the Tipi was a beautiful chandelier...how PLuSH!

Nearby skyline...

If you can, try to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario this summer!
The gallery is free Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:30pm.

PLuSH Empress...says our city is sorta like a BIG DEAL!