LKisEvents: Le Chateau Media Party

I remember the first time I set foot in a Le Chateau store:  I was 13 and bought a long black blazer that had plaid patches and the most fabulous silver buttons all the way down the front.  It was the cat's meow.  Le Chateau used to be synonymous with trendy club wear, but the brand has since moved to a new level: meet affordable luxury, Le Chateau-style.  I had the pleasure of attending the Toronto Le Chateau media event, which was a lovely intimate party, celebrating the brand, their media supporters and their amazing new e-commerce website (http://www.lechateau.com/).  

The party was at a restaurant in Toronto's trendy King West neighbourhood.  Huge flat screens demonstrated the fab new website and I went through a great demo from Le Chateau public relations coordinator extraordinaire, Rachel Walters, only to discover that the site is clean, fresh and totally user friendly (they actually create outfits for you and make recommendations according to your selections).  

The food was delish (and pretty!) and the bar was strewn with Le Chateau baubles and a cute shoe display.

 A few mannequins wearing sophisticated and understated looks, embodied the fresh vibe seen on the new Le Chateau site.

  

There was a mix of attendees, and speeches given by Le Chateau's stunning public relations manager Nour Al Hammoud, and the effortlessly eloquent TV personality, Melissa DiMarco.

I got to chat it up with the totally fabulous Traci Melchor from eTalk Daily and Le Chateau's Amanda Ellis.

After this wonderful evening and as I peruse the web today, Cyber-Monday, I am happy to add the Le Chateau site to my list of places to go.

LKisObsession: New Shoe Purchase

I don't need new shoes... ever.  But once in a while, I get something in my head and then a new shoe purchase becomes inevitable.  I think most of you know that I am huge fan of Jeffrey Campbell and it's no secret that I have been searching far and wide for two pairs of JC boots (the Lady K and the Back Off).  What exactly am I hunting for?  Height, JC-cool factor, and walking comfort that can only be had in a pair of platform wedge shoes.  The solution? The (appropriately named) Throwdown boots. 

Perfect for winter, these lace-up, platform boots totally float my boat.  So, as expected, I clicked "purchase" on the awesome site  http://www.shopnastygal.com/ and soon they will be a-knockin' on my door.  The obsession, it seems, never ends...but I am totally ok with that ;)

LKisStyle: Breaking the Fashion Rules, Part 2

I have never been a real rebel.  I was a good kid, a good student and while I can have a bit of a mouth on me, when it comes to the rules, I generally abide by them.  Exceeeeeept, when it comes to fashion.  I am the first person to wear what I want, when I want to, popular opinion be damned.  Do not get me wrong, I love fashion and mass trend.  In fact,  there are a lot of styles that I adore, even when they are at the height of their popularity.  You see, I don't need to be different...I just need to be free.  And here is style rule number two, broken down to give us all a little more fashion freedom: 

You cannot wear brown with black. 

Really? 

No. 

Brown can be gorgeous with black, and here a few fun examples of this cracked fashion commandment: 

When in doubt consult high end footwear:  Dolce and Gabbana slingbacks (that is for you, VI) are spectacular in brown and black.

These Prada sandals combine brown crackled leather and black trim with great stud detailing.

This rule is broken on the runway by tons of designers, as evidenced by looks from some of the F/W 2010 collections:

Gucci does brown and black in one of the most classic ways: leopard print.

Burberry Prorsum has aviator-chic with tons of rule-breaking down pat...brown and black all over.

What about combining black and brown accessories, you ask?  Check out Rebecca Taylor for this look done right.

Finally, a personal favorite, MaxMara, exudes sleek confidence with a triple whammy: Brown, black and navy (oh my). 

So, fashion rule number two busted, and broken, by yours truly.  Brown with black can be a delicate balancing act, but it works.  Why be constrained by fashion rules or customs?  Instead, reinterpret them and create your own.  Break free of this age-old fashion faux-pas; Trust me, it'll feel good.  

LKisStyle: Breaking the Fashion Rules, Part 1

How many times have you heard:  When it comes to fashion, there are no rules?  While one would like to think that is the truth, we are taught by the fashion conscious influences in our lives (our mothers, magazines, fashion-forward girlfriends) that there are decrees when it comes to what can, or cannot, be worn, and these notions tend to really stick.  I have started a side-business with a partner doing personal shopping/styling for the too-busy or fashion-frustrated person and we adore it... it is also informative; it seems that it is those people who do not feel comfortable in the fashion realm, who utterly cling to these fashion rules.  I am making it my job to eradicate the stringent adherence to these somewhat random and often dated credos and rule number one is being broken down today: You can't wear navy and black...um, folks, that rule is done.  Officially.  And you don't have to take my word for it.  Here are a slew of amazing navy and black looks:

Both the new and the established designers seem to agree with me.  The prodigious Alexander Wang makes the rule totally breakable by mixing these allegedly incompatible colors perfectly.

Classic designer Oscar de la Renta highlights this rebellion in the form of a spectacular navy dress with black accents.

Accessories can also showcase this rule being broken: Lady K navy and black go-go boots by my love, and the generally celebrated, Jeffrey Campbell. 

This notion has trickled down to the affordable mass-market: a Forever 21 ruffle-front navy and black blouse that would be perfect under a black boyfriend blazer. 

Over the course of this new personal shopping/styling venture, I have had decrees such as the "no navy with black" rule relayed back to me repeatedly and I am quick to respond that fashion isn't about rules.  Now, maybe it is like the thing school teachers used to say to me about writing: you can break grammar rules only once you have truly mastered them.  But I think that when it comes to getting dressed, we should all be more concerned with enjoying the experience, rather than whether or not we have followed the rules.  So, go ahead, live a little and break 'em.

LKisWedding: Judith Leiber Bridal

When you decide that marriage is for you (cuz you found that one person to be your true partner for the rest of your life), suddenly you totally care whether the cake will be two tiers or three and whether the flowers have a tinge of blue or yellow...all these tiny style details become momentous, because, frankly, the day is momentous....

And, as I have become, ahem, preoccupied with such things, I am constantly finding cute fun wedding-related items that make me appreciate the romance and whimsy of this somewhat archaic and trite (albeit pretty dreamy and potentially fabulous) tradition. 

Such is the case with Judith Leiber's new bridal collection of purses coming out in Spring, 2011. 

I think these pieces hit the nail on the wedding-cake-handbag-head with a great sense of humour.  All lined with blue (you know the old "something borrowed, something blue" thing) and totally light-hearted, these accessories manage to do what I have realized everyone should do when it comes to all the wedding details- let go and enjoy it.  You see, it is imperative to take the idea of a lifelong romantic partnership seriously, but the wedding: well, that should just be a whole lotta fun!

LKisObsession: Why Self-Tanner Stinks...

I have a love/hate relationship with self-tanner.  It saves your skin from sun-damage, but it stinks, literally.  Now, they all promise that they won't.  That somehow this tube-'o'-tan will magically be odorless (I have yet to encounter lotion that is odorless- I actually think it is an oxymoron), and that somehow your guy won't lean in to nuzzle you on the neck and state:  what is that, with his nose all scrunched up...Why?!

So, I am on a mission.

My mission is to uncover the way to have a lovely glow in mid-November, without lying on a tanning/cancer bed.  Here are the three products that I have discovered that make it all, well, bearable (and bare-able):

St.Tropez:

This tanner is the cream of the self-tanner crop and the smell is negligible.  I have yet to see St.Tropez anywhere in Canada (except for an amazing cosmetics store in Vancouver's Yaletown called Beauty Mark), but head to a well-stocked Sephora in the US and you can snap it up.

Vichy:

I pretty much like anything Vichy makes. Their self-tanner gives a natural glow and overall I find the smell tolerable...

The Professional Self-Tan:

After witnessing multiple Mystic Tan disasters, I had the pleasure of experiencing an airbrush tan for the first time on a recent amazing trip to Las Vegas.  The product that was used by the lovely ladies (adorably, a mother and daughter team!) of Classic Tans was applied flawlessly, colored beautifully and smelled for the first 20 minutes, and then quite perfectly dissipated.  I am sure the champagne helped, but overall this private and professional experience took the cake.

I love sitting in the sun: the Vitamin D, the dusting of freckles across my nose and that healthy glow...but I also love my skin and want to take care of it as I get older.  Self-tanner is the (unspoken) way to mitigate sun-damage, stinky as it may be.  But, alas, my quest for a totally odorless sunless tan continues...

LKisObsession: 442 McAdam...bag it

Every now and then you meet someone and you just think, this person could be my friend.  Now, does it help that this new potential friend is also a brilliant bag designer?  Yup.  Does it help even more that while you are chatting with said newbie, that she is sporting a fabulous bag and that you are slightly distracted by how cool it is.  Yup and Yup. 

I met Sarah Shell, owner and designer of 442 McAdam, at this October's LG Fashion Week Beauty by L'Oreal Paris and immediately, I knew I would be friends with her and her accessories.   

So here is the deal with Sarah and 442 McAdam bags: You know how sometimes when a bag is semi-reasonable (I realize that that is a relative term, but let's say for our purposes here, in the $200-400 range) it sometimes lacks in quality and detail?  Well, Sarah's designs are brimming with gorgeous hardware and have a major brand vibe, making spending the money on these awesome pieces of arm-candy, totally worth it.

I think it takes a lot for me to stop and give both a person, and a bag, a chance...in this case, on both counts, I was happy I did!