Vintage Spot - Ugly Luggage

This vintage store in Brooklyn has amazing finds at very reasonable prices. Walking through it brings you back to a simpler time when things were made with passion and quality. I instantly fell in love with this little shop. They have everything you're looking for - from beautiful vintage furniture to old typewriters. Go check it out if you're ever walking around on Bedford avenue in Williamsburg, NY.

Give Away - The First Issue of The Fashion Press

We're giving away the first issue of The Fashion Press to 10 of our readers. Email our editor LeeJones@thefashionpress.org with the names of your favourite mags to enter. Open to Canadian residents only.

Event - Hand Down Your Pants Friday Dec. 17th

Something exciting is happening this coming friday night in Ottawa: Hand Down Your Pants is having their 5th sale at Babylon Nightclub from 8 to 11 pm (with no cover charge). There's going to be a ton of stuff up for grabs at prices that suit a party kid's lifestyle! There are men's jackets, ladies shoes, sweaters, accessories and much more. I recommend you to go as early as you can, because all the good stuff will sell quickly, and I say this from experience. After 11 pm, the December edition of Mindgames is also kicking off at Babylon, so make sure you don't leave too early!

The models are wearing clothes that will be on sale this friday at Babylon. The photos were taken by Walker Tamblyn with his film camera and the styling was done by Jessica D'Angelo. To see more of the photo-shoot and the selection of clothing that will be available, click here to check out their blog.

Remember to bring a non-perishable food item for the food bank, because you will receive a discount on your purchase. So come on over to Babylon on friday, and get ready to shop & party!

Blogger Spotlight - Ania B.

Ania from Calgary has modeled in Paris, Tokyo, and New York and has wicked style to boot. Her fashion blog features quips from her daily life and beautiful photos. When asked about how her blog began she states " We started doing a lot of creatives with my friend and photographer extrodinare Jason Eng. Unfortunately Calgary is very conservative and there are not a lot of places that are easy to submit, with ongoing frustrations as to what we should do with all our work I created my blog www.aniab.net. I was fascinated with the possibility of laying everything out (like in a magazine) myself and being in total control of the content. It started off mainly focusing on my inspirations from daily living but it evolved into being mainly about fashion. " The pictures within her blog look right out of a magazine and are full of inspiration.

Her style is very fashionable yet she can go from trendy to casual and still look amazing. When asked about her style Ania states "I am so very all over the place. I love black, I feel most comfortable in it but I also love dressing up. I don't think I have a set style as you would call girly or hipster... maybe trendy? I love following trends and try to stay on top of what's going on in magazines and on the runways. I know a lot of bloggers try to say they have individual style but really, looking around a lot of people take inspirations from each other and i'm not saying that's bad. I'm actually a big fan of it, it's easier to spot like minded people this way. It's amazing to know that in a city with so few fashion conscious people that there is a whole world of ones who get it. "

Calgary isn't exactly fashion central yet Ania and others are trying to change that. "I think there is amazing talent in Canada and there are a lot of people who really love and do fashion well. That said there is probably more of those people that really don't have a clue. It really sucks going to places like Amsterdam or London and seeing the city burst with style, but the good news is that even in places like that there are people who don't get it, so, if they, surrounded by fashion 24/7 don't know, we are not so bad off. I can speak from experience of being in Calgary, that the city's priorities are as far from fashion as can be. I get recognition everywhere else but here, it's quite disappointing, but blogs like calgaryfashion.ca are really trying to bridge that gap. I trully hope we can all collectively succeed together. "

Her favourite trend for this season is the oversized sweater. "I wait impatiently every year to get to wear those beautiful things (and then of course the winter is endless) but this year I got really into platform shoes. I never used to wear high heels until I started my blog, I always bought lots of them because of modelling and the occasional time when i'd use them for shoots. But those platform wedge shoes that became so popular this season are so comfortable I don't ever want them to go away (keep your fingers crossed)." To see more of Ania's awesome style click here.

Taylor Mali on Language

Another good video on language today.

Blogger Spotlight - Spencer of ProprPostur

Spencer, a student in Fashion Marketing from Ottawa, has an eclectic and vintage style. The name ProprPostur comes from his definition of posture. Posture defined as: A frame of mind affecting one's thoughts or behaviour; an overall attitude as well as a characteristic way of bearing one's body. When asked to describe his style Spencer states "I would describe my style as very open. I always like to experiment and try new things. As well as mix and match different styles and looks together and try and add my own personal flare to it. I tend not to limit myself".

In Ottawa, his favourite places to shop are the thrift stores and the boutiques through the Byward Market, a chic part of town. When asked about Canadian fashion Spencer states "Canadian fashion is great especially out in Montreal. Montreal stands out to me mainly because there is such a vibrant culture throughout the city. Which seems to be what many Canadian cities lack. Designers should never be afraid to be different and to experiment , never close yourself within a box or the norm". Spencer is a big fan of layers, combat boots, and overall military chic, and it suits him well. To see more of his awesome style click here.

Jeannie Phan Give Away!

Jeannie Phan is one of our new favourite artists. Recently I got her mini-zine Roleplay in the mail and it's kinda fantastic. Her artwork is definitely cute and cool, playing up the roles we take. We're giving one away to our readers, just email leejones@thefashionpress.org with the name of one of your favourite artists to enter. To see more of Jeannie's work click here. Contest is open to only Canadian residents. - Contest Now Closed

Mark March 30th on your calendars, in our next issue of The Fashion Press we'll be featuring an interview with cool cat Jeannie.

Art Sale at Gallery 115

The Gallery 115 of the University of Ottawa has organized its 2nd annual art sale! It's happening monday and tuesday (6th & 7th of december) from 11 to 7 p.m. It's a fundraiser, so 40% goes back for renovations and improvements of the Gallery and 60% goes back to the artists. It's a good way to support the artistic community, the university's Gallery and do some christmas shopping at the same time! The Gallery 115 is located in the Visual Arts building at 100 Laurier Ave. East (corner of Laurier and Cumberland). For more information, click here to see a link to the event.

So much amazing art pieces have been dropped off this weekend. It was quite the work to set it up, but now it looks fantastic and it's all ready for the opening day tomorrow. Hope to see you there!

Stephen Fry on Language

A very interesting take on language today.

Ottawa Fashion Week 2010

I got the opportunity to check out Ottawa Fashion Week at the end of october and it was definitely worth it. I caught the shows: Sugarbum Designs, Yola Couture, Soltys & Snajdr and Adrian Wu. It was super fun. Unfortunately, all the photos I took came out blurry (a photographer's nightmare) because of my stubbornness against using digital. But, I'm lucky to have a good friend who let me post his amazing photos. Andrew Szeto has a sweet website.Check it out by clicking here.

All the shows were impressive, but the one that really caught my attention was Adrian Wu on sunday night. It was poetic, timeless and romantic. The lights were dimmed down, it gave a dreamy atmosphere to the runway. The music in the background was also surreal and absolutely perfect for the show. Here is the video of the song. And check out the designer's website by clicking here.