The side shave is just as prevalent as two-years-ago, if not more. I loved this girl though with her little top knot and the side shave, and the bluest eyes. Also, the blazer with the half popped collar. I dig it.

My Fashion Mommy.
Georgina Yarhi

It’s no huge surprise that I ended up in fashion. My mom is a Costume Designer in film. My brother and I grew up on sets, on the wardrobe truck and in craft service. Way back then, the trucks were littered with polaroids, lined by racks of costumes and filled with fabulous people. My mom’s job was/is playing dress-up.

There were fashion magazines all over the house and FT was Saturday night’s antipasto.

My mom, made me dresses and hemmed all my pants and got me a beautiful lilac lamb skin coat when I was five.

So to the woman who made me who I am today. Who has more style than anyone I know. But, didn’t keep any of her clothes. I could have at least fit into your shoes!

Happy Mother’s Day!

The Photos:
-as a window/display dresser in the 70s for Simpsons
-vacay with her girls in the Bahamas (my mom’s on the right)

p.s. getting these photos was a stealth mission. success.

Gabby Jun, 1/2 of You Just Got Spotted. Got spotted at TFW studiously taking notes. Wearing a Marninière and showcasing the Céline Trapeze bag everyone wants, or has.

Faith Orfus of Rac Boutique on the run. This is the summer I will have a motorcycle jacket custom built pour moi. I’ll leave you to guess the designer, Toronto of course.

Rac Boutique 124 Cumberland St.

A new style of post for Textstyles debuting today. Chats with inspirational movers and shakers in Toronto and internationally. To launch this series I sat down with Gracie Carroll, 24-year-old fashion wunderkind. You’ll find out who she is, what she does and where she lives her life. I’ll shut up now, leave you to the Q+A…

As a freelancer who do you work with?
Writing: GracieCarroll.com, Post City, FILLER
PR clients: Jessica Mary Clayton, Eighty Seventh ST and The Coveteur (for their TO events).

I am a bit of a jill of all trades so I’ve got some other things up my sleeves, but we’ll just leave it at that to keep it less confusing.

When did you know you wanted to make a career out of fashion?
I was in high school and realized I didn’t want to be in school for another ten years (and nearly failed science and math) my ideas of being a doctor went out the window. I’ve always loved fashion and the Fashion Communication program at Ryerson involved a lot of areas in the industry that I was interested in—photography, journalism, art direction—but not sure exactly what I would focus on for a career. I concentrated on working on my portfolio and experience to get into the program. Over the four years, I was able to discoverer that my forte was in writing, pr and events.

Your mother Sanghun Oh owns 290 ION at 290 Queen East. What’s it like to work in the same industry as your mother?
Growing up in the fashion industry is the only upbringing I know and I’ve always thought of it as a very positive and, obviously, influential part of my life. Pros would include being able to include much of the Toronto industry as close family friends, and having access to great clothes. Cons? Feeling bad about always going shopping “on my tab” in her store.

What’s your ideal job in fashion?
In a dream world: Supermodel. In the real world: Magazine editor.

If you were reincarnated and could do anything you wanted, what would it be?
A Doctor in designer clothing

Favorite Canadian designers?
Jeremy Laing
Jessica Mary Clayton
Chloe Comme Parris
Obakki

Favorite Toronto boutiques?
The Narwhal
The Future of Francis Watson
Love of Mine
Fawn

Favourite area to window shop?
Leslieville for the dream home furniture

Brunch?
Lady Marmalade!!

Drinks?
416 Snackbar

Dancing?
Wherever there’s good music.

April showers bring, red galoshes. It’s spring, so to battle all the wet dreary weather you must use colour. Oh, and vitamin D, it’s still too dreary to stop.

A shoot for NOW Magazine with Colin Crawford, young strapping Englishman, mustache his own. Who better to model rain gear than a Britt?

Think Pink!

Easter egg hair colours, as seen on Rihanna and Katy Perry, are just so hot right now. I would never actually do that to my head though. My hair is virgin, and will stay that way, until, oh, the greys start popping up I guess.

But really, pink hair, pink iPhone cover and matching pink lips. Niki Saint, a tumblin’ young fashion gurl shows us that there’s no sense in going meekly into the domain of pink hair. Jump right in, says she. The result, so utterly de rigueur and sassily saccharine.

Grab a Toronto Star today to catch a glimpse of Catherine Dean as this week’s Kit Girl. It’s pretty, it’s glossy and doesn’t stain your hands like regular dino-media.

Love her pixie cut, the long legs and willowy babeness. Dean, who works as an independent art curator, daytimes at UofT where she’s studying landscape architecture.

I caught up with Dean, back in the fall in Parkdale. She was wearing a vintage Courrèges coat, Saint James Breton shirt, Nudie jeans, Dries Van Noten boots and a sparkly vintage rhinestone necklace that she wears everyday. Yes, yes, yes.

A fun shoot that I shot for Philip Sparks the other week, Meet The Neighbours. You may have heard that he opened a shop on Ossington a month ago. So we decided to photograph his new neighbours wearing Philip Sparks around the neighbourhood.

It’s always a pleasure working with friends, or hardly working, it can also be referred to as, play!

Viva to all the gorgeous people we bumped into that day (in order of slideshow appearance): Caroline Shaheed, Andrew Coimbra, Sarah Magwood, Andrew Mistry, Jen McNeely, and Zach Slootsky.

But seriously, go to Philip Sparks to see the fancy shmancy layout by Andrew Sardone.

My favourite looks from Jessica Mary Clayton. A name you should familiarize yourself with, because her pieces are so. good.

Especially with Prom season just around the corner, Clayton’s pieces are all Party, yes capital P. Although, without the frills or princessy flouncy gauzy yuck synonymous with most party dresses. So basically, you’d be a fool not to start collecting her pieces now.

As most everyone has heard, Fashion Television and InFashion were cancelled last week. Jeanne Beker tweeted it. A twenty-seven yearlong career merited less than 140 characters. I was shocked.

So there’s a bit more to my story than just being surprised at a TV conglomerate going out of business. The week before, I had scheduled two shoots with one of FT’s producers who I have worked with over the past few years. The cameras were booked to follow me on two shoots. I’d cleared it with the subjects I was going to be shooting and everyone was excited to finish a segment that had been in the works for a year.

Obviously, I was then really shocked to hear they got canned. Such is life right? Or is that just my luck? I just couldn’t believe it.

I have worked as a freelance writer, photographer and blogger in fashion for the past three and a half years. During that time, I have endured the following:

Work Travel
Panic attacks
Moments of cloud nine elation
Cold sweats
Paychecks for playing at what I love
Green envious jealousy and “bad thoughts”
Met some incredibly interesting and inspiring people
Met some incredibly lousy useless individuals
Lived off of swag
Cried, like, a lot
Drank my fair share of free Champagne
Worried about money
Worried about money
Worried about money

Luckily, I am someone who thrives off of hunger “for the job.” Because when you get paid to do what you love to do, you forget about the struggle, for a little over 45 seconds you are truly happy.

Working with FT made me that elated. I won’t pretend that I was getting paid though. I was getting exposure. Which in today’s economy pays the rent, apparently. The press was good, the recognition was great, and I do believe the work (however little) I did with FT helped launch me into the industry.

I was lucky to have gotten a break with them just a few months into my new career endeavor really. I found that they fostered talent and the producers were always working, finding new people, topics, places that they wanted to explore and share. I thought, “This is exactly where I want to be!” But, they had no money.

Nobody has any money. Or, as most will tell you, “We have no budget.” Money barely exists today. I luckily have landed a couple plum gigs for myself in the past year and thankfully was able to move back out of my parents home (another story for another day). Really, I’m not bragging. But, I have been pitched to work for gift certificates from major retailers, exposure has come up more than a million times and the illusory concept of commission was thrown into the mix too. Oh, and just plain free, as in “Will you work for free?”

I always respond, “Yes, because I work out of the goodness of my heart to make your job, that pays you bi-weekly, that much easier.”

The value of work, creative work especially, has diminished, been trodden over and then doled out to the interns. I wish I had known FT when it was just Chum, before CTV and Bell, when they actually produced content that broke molds and innovated the television industry. Because to do something great you need, time, money and support. I wish that not all projects had to be cranked out at break neck speed to fill a content quota. Now, I’m just belly aching though—moaning and complaining—I’m hoping to end this piece on a high note.

I’ve been mulling over this cancellation for one week now. Trying to not let this get the better of me. Because as much as it really sucks, I’ll get Pollyanna on you right now, “they wanted to work with me.” Which helps fill my emotional bank.

And, I’ve got to prep for a photo shoot today that is happening from my home for which I am paid for, in real money. Not bad, right?

p.s. I do hope that everyone who lost their job finds their feet. It really was an amazing group of talented people. Lots of love!

Sartorially inspiration.

Polka dots on polka dots, it works so well. I love a slight nuance like this.

Women photographers.

Here we have Hanneli Mustaparta, Norwegian model cum photographer and blogger. She now works for Vogue still models, ex. this editorial for Tank Magazine. Now, she’s also branched into retail signing her name to specialty tees for Zara.

An avid supporter of the garçon-manqué look (she both shoots it and wears it). Her eye is undeniable style-wise. Although, the lighting leaves something to be desired.

Ridiculous technicolor platforms in front of an even more ludicrous balloon tree. This shot makes me so happy!

You know that feeling when you look down and see something that just makes your heart sing? Like, the most fortuitous vintage find, shoes.

They’re perfect, it’s your size, and they’ve never been worn! As a rule, I can’t do vintage shoes, the dried and caked foot sweat of years gone by makes my stomach flip (even typing the image has me gagging). Yet, there are those special times, when you do see a pair that’s never been worn, in mint condition. You must buy them. Don’t think. Just do.

Walk out of the store with them on. It’s a classic move.

Which brings me to my favourite, best ever, vintage shoe find. United Colors of Benetton zebra print pony hair oxfords. Fashion is about the newest new thing, right? Each season there, in all the glossies, we see the covetable collectable cult pieces that everyone just has to have. That’s all well and good—it greases the commercial wheels and moves this industry along. But, huge but, it can’t just be about new, or what you’re supposed to have. Lest we forget the knee jerk reactions, that gut instinct that makes you whip out your credit/debit/cash throwing it at some poor salesclerk to make sure that those shoes, the ones your heart beats for, make it home with you.

p.s. RIP Apt 909 from whence came these treasures.