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FONDUES (AND DON’TS) Chef Bonny Reichert melts down a hot Valentine’s Day dinner Page 14
SAT U R D AY , F E B R U A R Y 1 3 , 2 016
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Think coordinating
your cocktail dress
with your partner’s
suit is challenging?
For Toronto DJs
LIZA KELLY and TAI LEE,
getting ready to go out
on the town means
fashioning identical stage
get ups. Arguments,
occasionally, ensue.
e
t
u
c
o
tw
Plus A lovelorn
lad taps a Toronto
boutique for an
online dating
makeover
er
your partn
s
a
h
s
li
y
t
ss
oupled-up
looking a
c
f
o
o
t
s
s
e
r
lk
u
a
t
s
res
ew
t
Can the p
aitlin Agn dandy DJs – abou
C
?
ip
h
s
n
tio
to
sink a rela from society duos
–
Canadians ir mates Page 12
the
matching
S AT U R D AY , F e b ruary 1 3 , 2 016
the buzz
test counter
2
3
T h e g lo b e a n d m a i l
3
Lip service
4
The Product
CoverGirl Oh Sugar! moisturizing lip
treatment, $7.99-$9.99, mass market
retailers and covergirl.ca.
The Promise
Get softer and smoother lips in seven days
with this product that nourishes and protects
while delivering a delicate wash of colour.
1
5
How it works
Grapeseed oil, avocado butter, and vitamins C
and E repair lips and leave them feeling renewed.
The oils absorb quickly into lips while a thin
protective layer locks in moisture. Available
in 10 shades, they have a fresh citrus scent
and a sweet sugary taste.
6
How to use it
Swipe on lips as needed. For more colour
saturation, apply multiple coats.
7
The bottom line
We’re always being told to give lip products seven
days to see their full effect, but being an instant
gratification kind of gal (and a beauty commitment
phobe), I gave this product one daunting day-long
test. I applied it just before boarding a five-hour
flight. To give you some context: When I emerge
from an airplane, the texture of my lips resembles
that of a well-worn pair of leather riding boots.
(Preferably Gucci ones.) That was not the case
this time. After five very drying in-flight hours,
I stepped off the plane with soft and supple lips.
This product glides on easily, provides intense yet
lightweight moisture, and delivers a subtle pop
of colour. Although the
scent can be a bit cloying
when you raise the balm
to your nose, it’s barely
detectable when it’s on
your lips. Bonus: Your
kissing partner will
appreciate the sweet
taste and minimal colour
transfer. Go ahead and
test it for seven days,
but I’ll bet that you’ll be
using it for a lot longer
than that. And at this
price point, you can
also save for some
new designer footwear.
inspired by
Love hurts
At a time when lovey-dovey declarations are on high volume, there are still gifts that cut through
the amorous noise and convey that you’re out to poke fun at the dating game. Wearing your heart
on your sleeve – or feet, in this case – is easy with Stance’s cheeky candy heart socks that brandish
sassy sentiments like “Bite Me” and “As If.” For those with emotional baggage, Stay Home Club’s
sleepover bag is an ideal way to warn potential partners of your predilection for moodiness. Prefer
to keep your inner turmoil under wraps? Jonathan Adler’s quirky jar stores cookies and, of course,
those things better left unmentioned. Or get straight to the point with Said The King’s impolite
pillow cases. No doubt your apathy for affection will be loud and clear. – Odessa Paloma Parker
– Marilisa R acco
1. Secrets canister, $128 (U.S.) through www.jonathanadler.com. 2. You Had Me At Merlot sweater, $58 (U.S.) through www.bowanddrape.com.
3. Get Up, Make Out pillow cases, $65 through www.saidtheking.com. 4. Notebook, $10.35 through www.alfamarama.etsy.com.
5. It’s You socks, $16.50 through www.stance.com. 6. Gemma Correll Emotional Baggage sleepover bag, $60 through www.stayhomeclub.com.
7. No stranger to pithy protests about relationships, comic star Cathy is a lovelorn icon for the romantically challenged.
Special to
The Globe and Mail
MARKET EDIT BY odessa paloma parker. CATHY © Cathy Guisewite. Reprinted with permission of UNIVERSAL UCLICK. All rights reserved.
The substance of style
Mad
as hell
The unbridled release
of frustration, whether
caused by childcare
or clothing, is having
a moment
Nathalie Atkinson
natkinson@globeandmail.com
@NathAt
R
obin Williams used to do a
great bit about fictional
wonder drug Fukitol (“the
closest thing to a coma you’ll
ever be”), and 2011 saw the arrival of
storybook juggernaut Go the F--k to
Sleep, but it would seem today that
the profane release of pent-up
frustration is becoming a winning
business model as much as an
attitude. Take former book editor
Sarah Knight’s The Life-Changing
Magic of Not Giving a F*ck, the
no-but-seriously-folks parody of
decluttering guru Marie Kondo’s
international hit, which became a
runaway bestseller in January soon
after it was published.
Our bucket lists are getting shorter
but our F-it lists sure keep growing.
We praise the no-nonesense attitude
of Viola Davis on How to Get Away
With Murder, buy F-you stamp kits
and embroider subversive crossstitch. There is a cultural shift from
political correctness to people
expressing that they’re fed up with
bull, says fashion designer Mark
McNairy, “but change is not gonna
happen overnight.” McNairy himself
is diving into the uncensored fray
with F**k Ivy: **And Everything
Else (Harper Design). It’s a how-to
men’s-wear scrapbook takedown that
detonates F-bombs all over the cult
of retro-preppy that Take Ivy, the
1965 book documenting Ivy League
men’s wear, celebrates, all while
dispensing shouty but fundamentally
encouraging common sense. An
oxymoron of a style guide that only
iconoclast McNairy (or McNasty, as
he’s nicknamed) could have written,
F**k Ivy strikes a tone somewhere
between Howard Beale and Howard
Roark.
“My idea was just a book of all
the things that, growing up, made
me what I am,” McNairy says of his
original draft. “As far back as I can
remember, it started with The Andy
American ambassador to Vietnam
Griffith Show, my favourite TV show,
Henry Lodge has appeared as an
and the camo question that always
exemplar in a men’s style manual
comes up [in interviews about my
(and likely the last). Cary Grant,
love and use of the print] – it and the
staple of many a men’s-wear guide,
clothing, I’m sure, started with G.I.
is in this context featured more as a
Joe.” When the founder of American
“don’t” lesson about tie bars.
men’s clothing and shoe company
It sounds corrosive but, like
New Amsterdam presented the
Knight’s recent hit, it’s real talk with
initial mock-up, an early editor told
an absence of malice except at the
him to try again. “And I was like,
fetish of heritage forms, be they
f--k you!” (Of course.) This, McNairy
western, military or
explains in a soft North
Ivy League nu-preppy
Carolina lilt over the
try-hards. Most
phone from Los
American men wear
Angeles, where he
them slavishly, he says
relocated in August
– too tastefully but all
after 30 years in
too literally.
New York.
Enter the sacred
Some of McNairy’s
(cow) and the profane.
understandable
“Ralph Lauren is one of
frustration comes from
my heroes,” McNairy
the lack of basic fashion
explains, “but I love
familiarity he
Ralph because of the
encounters every day
individual pieces of
from male shoppers,
clothing, the detail put
and even buyers and
into it. The whole image
people who work in
NO HOLDS BARRED
thing about…Well,
fashion. When he
Designer Mark McNairy’s book
did you see the Oprah
praises the classic
is as much a takedown of yuppie
interview with his
oxford-cloth buttonculture as it is a men’s-wear style
family at their ranch in
down shirt, for
guide. But his last rule is, perhaps,
Colorado? They’re all
instance, he often has
his most important: Ignore
dressed in cowboy
to clarify that the
everything he’s written.
outfits. And it’s just
“button-down” refers to
embarrassing to me.
the collar, not the front
That’s what I’m rebelling against.
placket. “It drives me crazy!” he says.
Ralph Lauren has absolutely no
“It’s changing, but before, men
sense of humour whatsoever.”
could tell you everything about their
Another attention-grabbing
golf clubs – what kind of metal it was
parody that isn’t, F**k Ivy is a
made out of, blah blah blah – but
reaction and corrective to the way
their wives picked out their shoes.
men now take the cult of the
They couldn’t care less about how
gentleman or dandy, too far – with
things are made.” His book is like
a big exception for the admonition
Strunk and White’s terse The
against Happy Socks (“They make
Elements of Style for clothes, because
you look like a [jerk],” he writes).
you must first know the protocols
“I just don’t like fun socks. I like
and rules before breaking them.
sober socks,” McNairy confirms. To
McNairy also chose atypical
suggest otherwise would be uncouth,
photographs to demonstrate his
yet he does: The guide’s parting shot
points. For a lesson on how to wear a
is to disregard everything he’s said.
poplin suit, it is surely the first time
andrew Sardone EDITORIAL DIRECTOR • Odessa Paloma Parker FASHION EDITOR • Maryam Siddiqi MANAGING editor
BRYAN GEE SENIOR ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR • BENJAMIN MACDONALD ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR • JANICE PINTO PHOTO CO - ORDINATION
anya georgijevic contributing design editor • marilisa racco contributing beaut y editor
4
T h e g lo b e a n d m a i l h a u t e co u t u r e
S AT U R DAY , F e b ru a ry 1 3 , 2 016
rami
al Ali
SCHIAPARELLI
ALEXANDRE
VAUTHIER
ZUHAIR
MURAD
COUTURE confidential
After seasons of sketching ready-to-wear collections, Danielle Meder landed in Paris to take on January’s round of haute
couture shows for the first time. Here, she recounts the experience, which highlights the connection between her craft and
the fashion industry’s hand-made creations – and the sense of status and competition that makes both as vital as ever
A
s a fashion illustrator, I feel an
affinity for haute
couture. Both are
anachronisms,
remnants of a bygone
media-industrial complex
based on hand work.
In Paris just before World
War Two, there were 70
accredited haute couture
houses. By definition, they
had Paris-based ateliers and
all the clothing produced
was made by hand for
individual clients. To have
custom-made dresses and
suits was not as unusual as
it is now. Being a seamstress
was a common career for
women, and the couture
industry in Paris employed
a lot of them.
At that time, you could
open any fashion magazine
or newspaper and see illustrations. Since photography
was expensive and didn’t
reproduce well on newsprint, fashion illustrators
were legion. It was touted
as a respectable career for a
young woman to do before
marriage, so many of the
names and biographies of
early 20th-century illustrators are lost; those that
are remembered tend to
be men. These men – Carl
Erickson, Christian Berard,
Rene Gruau and Erte –
made a very good living
doing it. That’s why it was
called the golden age of
illustration. There was real
money in it.
After the war, photography eroded the dominance
of illustration in magazines.
Still, in the 1960s, Women’s
Wear Daily, Fairchild’s
fashion newspaper, had an
entire department of fashion illustrators. The most
prominent of these workers
was Kenneth Paul Block,
who was routinely sent to
Paris to attend and draw the
haute couture shows. He
worked so fast he could beat
photography for timeliness.
This season, there were
only 12 official houses
showing during haute couture week at the beginning
of January. For venerable
houses like Chanel and
Christian Dior, couture is
intended to create the prestige needed to sell perfumes
and other products. Actual
clients are few in number.
As for fashion illustrators? There are only a handful who now make a fulltime living from it, and for
those who do, like myself,
it is not such a comfortable
one. But regardless, I carry
on – and so does haute couture. We’re not dead yet.
________________________
For nine years now, I’ve been
travelling to London, New
York and Paris as a freelance
illustrator, sketching at the
ready-to-wear shows during
fashion weeks. Initially, I
approached it as an exercise.
Like many fashion students,
my drawings were overly
precious. I knew that in
order to develop a mature
style, I would need to loosen
up. Drawing runway provided a high-pressure situation
that would force my hand to
let go because there wasn’t
any time to think about
what I was drawing.
Initially, the sketches
were scribbles and my
commitment was lackadaisical. As seasons passed,
I became addicted to the
thrill of nailing a successful
sketch in just a few moments. Even the logistical
challenge of getting access
to the shows (not easy as
a freelancer) has been an
incredible education.
I’ve had to make sacrifices to do what I do. One of
them has been abandoning
a permanent home. For my
first couture shows in Paris,
I’m living out of a suitcase
while figuring out what stop
is next.
Haute couture week in
Paris has its own wonderful
little anachronisms. Obtaining a photographer’s accreditation requires a paper
cheque or, since I didn’t have
one, an exact amount of cash
paid in person at the offices
of the Chambre Syndicale,
which oversees the shows.
Tickets are delivered by
courier a day or two before
a presentation. You don’t
know what you’re attending
until you open your mailbox
– full of disappointment and
surprise. This time, the surprise was pink – a ticket to
Schiaparelli. Under the clear
Paris sunlight on Monday
morning I walked to Place
Vendôme, where I encountered the former first lady of
France, Carla Bruni, amidst a
halo of flashes, working the
crowd like a queen in leather
pants, wishing us well –
“Merci, bonjour, bonne journée,
bonne année!” I was led to my
seat, in the first row at the
end of an aisle (my favourite
position) with a note reading
“A1 Madame Danielle Meder”
written by hand in beautiful calligraphy. I’m not used
to such a warm welcome in
Paris.
The first show of the
week is always a bit of a
challenge – I’m just warming up. The fact that this was
the biggest ticket I had was
intimidating, too. I did my
damnedest. As the models
turned by me, I gamely
tried to reduce the intricate
gowns to a few swift strokes.
When the curtain call came,
I dropped my pen and gaped
at silk prints in countless
colours, the finest basketryinspired weaving, glittering
beadwork, precise pleats, all
within arms reach. The journalists around me hurriedly
ILLU S T R AT ION S BY Da n i el l e M ed er
tapped notes into their
phones, but I was incapable
of critical thought. I had
seen haute couture – really
seen it.
________________________
Later that day, my friend,
a photographer, arrived
on the Eurostar and
dropped off her luggage
at the chambre de bonne, a
tiny one-room apartment
that we were sharing. We
didn’t have tickets to the
Dior show, but we went to
see the scene. Outside the
Rodin Museum, the narrow street was thick with
security guards and crowdcontrol barriers. Celebrity
watchers and street-style
photographers abounded.
Later, we had access to
an off-schedule designer,
Rami Al Ali, in the prestigious Le Meurice salon. As
it was a presentation rather
than a runway show, I had
more time to capture the
models in architecturally
structured gowns. I was so
pleased with the sketches I
was suddenly feeling more
confident.
Afterwards in the lobby,
my photographer friend
and I discussed our schedule for the next day, and she
surprised me by mentioning Chanel. “I got confirmation for access to the
photographer’s pit by email.
Didn’t you get a ticket, too?”
she asked. I hadn’t.
The baroque lobby suddenly felt airless. I abruptly
excused myself, telling my
friend I would see her later.
I found a sandwich shop
and sat down, stuffing a
sandwich in my face so
that, hopefully on a full
stomach, I would be able to
compose a reasonable lastminute email to Chanel.
“You can’t be mad at
me!” my friend texted me.
And of course, I couldn’t, it
wasn’t remotely her fault. I
had hoped and prayed for
at least one big ticket (Dior,
Chanel, Gaultier) so I could
have a real centrepiece for
my work this week. Knowing that we were probably
not getting it was killing me.
I had one more show that
evening – Alexis Mabille.
Under a very bright, hot
light, I sketched my heart
out. Across the runway from
me was David Downton –
indisputably the greatest
living fashion illustrator.
He gave me a short nod of
recognition – he’s seen me
before, our world is very
small. I’ve talked to him
before but I didn’t want to
bother him this time. After
the show, the journalist
next to me Instagrammed a
time lapse of my sketch. The
flowery caption described
illustration as an ideal way
to represent haute couture.
Below the video, @DavidDownton commented:
“Agreed.”
________________________
Back at the chambre de
bonne, I laid in bed next to
my friend, not able to sleep.
My mind was burning with
uncomfortable thoughts. I
wanted to take her Chanel
access from her. It wasn’t
fair. I had spent years attempting to get access to
one of the label’s shows,
and she got hers on the first
try. Why was photography
always privileged over
illustration? Could I take
her access for myself, and
sketch from the pit?
I wished that she had
offered to let me take her
place, but she hadn’t. Honestly, if I was her, I wouldn’t
have either. It was true that
security in the wake of the
terrorist attacks in Paris
was extra tight. Names and
IDs could be checked, and
if I tried to punk Chanel
maybe neither of us would
get in.
As I drifted to sleep, I
thought, what would Kenneth Paul Block do? And I
remembered an anecdote.
Block’s boss, John Fairchild,
was a notoriously bitchy
critic. WWD was often
banned from shows. The
story goes that Block was
so good he could illustrate
from dictation. He would
call a friend who had gone
to the show and sketch the
story second-hand.
The next morning I woke
up to an email from Chanel.
My request hadn’t been received, it had been a mistake,
and it was far too late to allocate an additional seat.
I told my friend not
to worry about shooting
Chanel. Her job now was
to watch the show closely
and pick an outfit or two to
describe to me afterwards.
At the Grand Palais, I
stood among the crowd of
street-style photographers
and fellow gawkers, while
my friend went inside.
Though my hand was freezing, I sketched some of the
arrivals. When she came
out, we went to a café and
I attempted to draw from
dictation. While the sketch
was something like Gigi
Hadid’s actual outfit, it also
looked cold and bitter, perhaps because that’s how I
felt. How did Block do it? He
must have been much more
gracious than me.
The next show was Julian
Fournié. Fournié’s designs
are not the tastes of international fashion editors. The
models walked so, so slowly,
and I barely had energy to
lift my brush.
Next up was Alexandre
Vauthier, for which (with
some persuasion) we managed to get backstage access.
h a u t e co u t u r e
Sketching Vauthier was a
rush. The clothes rocked,
the models were hot and
my brush was wet and
fast. At the end of the
show, I had three great
sketches and was feeling
happy again.
________________________
One of the reasons I came
to Paris is to understand
how fashion is driven
by status. Paris upholds
a type of status granted
by wealth, tradition,
official branding and
expert public relations. Haute couture is
like Champagne; there
may, in fact, be a better
sparkling wine, but if it’s
not from Champagne, it’s
not Champagne. While
official membership at
the Syndicale may seem
like a glamorous seal of
quality assurance for a
designer house, it’s really
only indicative of a steadfast grip on traditional
techniques. Merit, on the
other hand, defies regulation, so its place is not so
assured.
Does illustration
deserve a place in modern
fashion? Yes, but not just
because it’s done by hand.
Modern illustration has to
be so beautiful, so alive,
that it can convey a level of
emotion that photography
can’t. When pitted against
innovation, traditional
techniques have to rise
above the occasion. It’s
what I’m trying to do, too.
That evening my friend
and I tried our luck at a
final show: Zuhair Murad,
from Beirut, a member of
the Syndicale since 2012.
Going through the backstage entrance, I bothered
the security guard to let
us both in until, exhausted, he waved us through.
ALEXANDRE
VAUTHIER
ZUHAIR
MURAD
(I had a backstage pass
– my friend did not.)
Then I had a similar
conversation with a PR
girl, explaining I was going to sketch the models
backstage and my photographer had to come
with me. “Okay, only a
few minutes though,”
she said.
Backstage, I found
some idle models. I told
them to relax, drawing
them while they bandaged their blistered
feet, complaining to each
other.
Walking back through
the grand venue was
like a maze. From the
makeup and hair salon,
we went through a series
of smaller mirrored
rooms where glittering
gowns hung, each with
their own protective
attendant. The dresses
had shape even without
people inside them, like
ghostly entities. The
runway wound through
several grand rooms. At
the end of the runway on
the riser, the photographers packed themselves
so closely they resemble
a giant cyborg with a
thousand eyes.
To get our shot, both
my friend and I had to
claim positions we did
not officially have rights
to. I took my place in
someone else’s seat, “losing” the numbered card
that had been sitting on
it. She tucked herself under the elbows of another
photographer.
Watching the guests
at Zuhair Murad was
something different.
There didn’t appear to
be many members of the
media. Instead, we were
surrounded by clients.
These wealthy women, of
all ages and shapes and
ethnicities, were swathed
in plush furs and sparkling
diamonds, hair perfectly
blown out, makeup exquisitely applied, heels
impossibly high. The air
shimmered with expensive
perfume.
Finally, the chandeliers
dimmed and the show began. I struggled to sketch
– I was being pushed off
the edge of my seat by the
designer’s clients, eager
swans who kept standing
up and sitting down, jostling around, telling each
other to get out of the way,
dumping fur coats on top
of my sketches.
On the runway, the
show ignited the imagination of the little girl inside
me. Beautiful princesses
with delicate features
and silken hair crowned
with silver laurels, wearing grand gowns that
seemed inexplicably light,
as if they didn’t have to
conform to the laws of
physics. When the finale
bride came out, backlit
and glowing like an angel,
her panniers as wide as
the runway, her veil, the
length of a stretch limo,
trailing after her, everyone
hushed.
And then it was over.
The audience spilled
onto the runway, effusive
with pleasure from this
wonderful dream. As we
exited the venue, dodging women taking selfies,
playing out their own
fashion model fantasies,
we were walking through
an improbably flashy fairy
tale world where conspicuous displays of wealth
were frankly celebrated.
It seemed so unreal, yet it
was real. Clearly, couture
still is, too.
Special to The Globe and Mail
5
6
T h e g lo b e a n d m a i l G lo b e S t y l e
Stylesetters
‘I wish people
would take risks
a little more’
Celebrated for her whimsical aesthetic and dynamic
work as a stylist, Shirley Kurata speaks about being
both a collaborator and a muse
designer Peter Jensen. For his spring
2016 collection, Kurata was cited as
Jensen’s muse. I spoke with Shirley
recently about her retro aesthetic
– dubbed “futuristic folky” – her
celebration of individuality, and why
she thinks people should take more
risks.
Was this a career that you aspired
to from the get go, or was there a
different fashion career that you
initially had in mind for yourself?
From the age of 10, I wanted to be a
fashion designer and I actually went
to fashion school for that. But being
from L.A., I felt like it wasn’t really
the place at that time to start my
own line and be a fashion designer.
And there was something about
working on TV and films and com-
mercials and styling for print and
editorials that appealed to me; that
world seemed to be a little bit more
what I was interested in. So it wasn’t
a direct path. I went from studying
fashion design to going into costuming on TV and film and learned the
ropes that way. I do some celebrity
work, some editorial work, some
commercial work, and I like that
variety.
You had some great styling adventures with the Rodarte sisters,
and were instrumental in terms of
pushing them and celebrating what
they were doing. I imagine a great
kind of synergy goes on there.
They’re very talented, intelligent
girls, and they’re pretty clued into
what they want to do in terms of the
Jeanne Beker
jbeker@globeandmail.com
@Jeanne_Beker
A
t this frenzied time in fashion when eclecticism rules
supreme, the role wardrobe
mix-masters play has taken
on new gravitas. Designers, editors
and celebrities alike depend on a
stylist’s astute eye to bring unique
looks together and inspire us all to
new sartorial heights. Enter Shirley
Kurata, a spirited young JapaneseAmerican stylist from Los Angeles
who’s become iconic in style circles
for her “mod secretary” mid-century
references, her cinematic sensibility and her keen attention to detail.
Beloved by her ultra cool clients
from Lena Dunham and Zooey
Deschanel to Beck and Pharrell, her
simple, whimsical approach to mixing unexpected, carefully curated
pieces is regarded as both cheeky
and compelling. Kurata has styled
collections for the celebrated label
Rodarte since its debut over 10 years
ago, and regularly styles collections
for Danish-born, London-based
A LEAGUE
OF HER OWN
Stylist Shirley Kurata
(far right) pictured at the
spring 2016 presentation
of London-based designer
Peter Jensen. Kurata
served as muse for the
quirky collection that
boasted an eclectic mix of
colour and prints.
IMAXTREE.COM
Love blooms
It’s not the colour of your Valentine’s Day bouquet, writes Marjorie Harris, but its size that really matters
M
ichael Pellegrino
and Shawn Gibson of Toronto’s
Teatro Verde have
been setting horticultural
benchmarks since they introduced their design sense
at The Royal Agricultural
Winter Fair’s winter garden
show in 1997. The buzz they
generated inspired the city
to leap forward in blooming sophistication. Since
those early days, they have
experimented with tantalizing new ways to use flowers.
And, since flowers don’t
change much over the years,
how to re-interpret them
becomes paramount. With
Valentine’s Day looming,
Teatro Verde is a good place
to look for something enticing for lovers.
Pellegrino sees Valentine’s
Day with slightly different
eyes than the rest of us. Skip
the eye-searing red roses,
he says: “My clientele is not
buying into this any more.
There are so many great new
introductions with variety of
size and colour. Now they are
asking for these new plants
by name and demanding
other options such as hot
pinks and oranges.” Rosa
“Pink Floyd,” for instance,
has a very large head, a slight
fragrance, and is a hot seller.
To get away from clichés
this Valentine’s Day, Teatro
Verde is adding vanda
orchids (lots of colour) and
cymbidium orchids (yellow,
acid green). They are both
striking and scented. “You
could put them with tulips,
hyacinths, even daffodils. It’s
flirtatious, more whimsical
and not as serious as roses.”
When arranging, cluster
LAYERS UPON LAYERS Be bold this Valentine’s Day and prepare your own bouquet. Eschew roses for other flowers and opt
for colour blocking. Most importantly, don’t be shy about the size of the final product.
blooms for a more linear
contemporary look. Colour
blocks make it easier for the
eye to process all the colours,
which should complement
each other. For instance,
there’s an orange tulip called
“Adrien,” which he mixes
with the intense blue of
hyacinths. “I love such an
effective way of showcasing
the beauty of two elements.
It’s casual and appeals to the
eye immediately,” Pellegrino
says. While there are no
rules for such an arrange-
KEVIN VAN PAASSEN for the Globe and mail
ment, he tends to do them
in multiples of 10 using a
couple of bunches of tulips
and up to three bunches of
hyacinths for something very
informal. When using a taller
vase, with a wider opening,
include a more dramatic
element. He suggests pussy
willows, which not only add
height and structure but also
give the promise of things to
come.
Pellegrino’s designs usually evolve in the vase and
he’s not afraid to mix things
up with tulips that only last
a few days because they can
then be removed and substituted later on. The darker
the tones of the blooms, the
more serious and grounded
they seem to be. Consider
this when you are figuring
out what kind of thought
or feeling you want to communicate.
“You have 10 seconds to
know if someone likes your
arrangement or not,” he says.
“Flowers provoke a mood
when they hit your senses of
sight and smell. Use striking
combinations and vibrant
colours that tell a story and
you end up with something
happy, bright, filled with joy,
and uplifting.”
And for the record, he is
not discouraging a Valentine
lover from using blood red
roses – but a dozen is not
enough. “Find a flower you
are attracted to, one that
you think is beautiful, then
buy 20 or 30 stems,” he says.
“This en masse approach will
jump right out to express
both love of the bloom and
for the recipient.”
In these dull days of winter, anything with intense
rich colour will restore even
the most jaded eye. Happy
Valentine’s.
For more plant information,
visit www.marjorieharris.com.
direction of their clothing line.
I think because of that, we get
along. I’m not like one of those
usual stylists that will try to direct
them into something that they’re
not comfortable with. Sometimes
there is a power play where a
stylist comes in and pushes a
direction that a designer might
not always be comfortable with.
I think that the Rodarte sisters
already have an idea of what
they want to do. And we all think
outside the box. We’re kind of the
outsiders of the industry because
we came from L.A., which didn’t
have a big fashion scene. So we
were all a little separate from the
mainstream world.
There’s a sense of playfulness
and whimsy in your work, and
your style is so distinctive. Is
that something that takes a long
time to cultivate?
I think it just sort of comes naturally. You have something already
within that you’re drawn to. And
yes, you can cultivate that. But
there’s also something innate
or intuitive about it, too. I try to
work with things that I enjoy, and
work well together. I don’t know
if it’s always so deliberate – it just
sort of falls into place for me. It’s
hard to explain because it’s an
abstract thing. A lot of styling is
about what your natural aesthetic
inclinations are, and working off
of that.
How good do you think people
have become at styling themselves? And what about the risks
people take when it comes to
mixing it up?
I wish people would take risks
a little more. I know it’s hard
do when people are so prone to
criticize you on the Internet or in
magazines, so I can understand
that caution because it comes to
a point where you can only hear
so many personal attacks on the
way you’re dressed from strangers. And I find that unfortunate
because you have to take risks. I
admire the people that want to
do that, and aren’t so bothered by
all the negative comments that
might come out of it. Sometimes
G lo b e S t y l e
ROCKING THE VOTE Actor, director and producer Lena Dunham shows support for Hillary Clinton in a Kurata-styled look. MIKE DAVIDSON FOR HILLARY FOR IOWA
in the “What Was She Thinking?”
section of magazines, I actually like
the outfits being criticized! At least
it’s fun as opposed to a very safe
gown that you’ve seen a million
times before.
Well, the red carpet has, in some
ways, watered down individual
fashion statements. There’s an air
of propriety and good taste that
prevails that wasn’t there when
I was a kid growing up. What are
your feelings about the red carpet?
I agree. Like, as crazy as that Björk
swan dress was, it was so much
Björk’s character that I loved it. And
I’m not saying we should all wear
a swan dress on the red carpet, but
sometimes you need to express
something fun. I think people are
just too scared to do that now on the
red carpet. There are a few people
that take the risk and that’s great,
but it would be great to see a little
more spirit.
We’ve been seeing a lot of irreverent, unexpected mixing going
on. Take Gucci’s last collection,
for example. Do you see that as a
trend that is just going to keep on
growing, with people embracing
it more and more, or do you see a
nod towards minimalism creeping
into the fray?
It’s sort of like a yin and yang. I
think there’s going to be both –
that’s the way the world runs. I love
what Gucci’s doing because it’s my
world. But I also appreciate the
minimalism of Calvin Klein, or
what Helmut Lang did. Not everyone’s going to be able to pull off a
Gucci head-to-toe ensemble, but
then there are people like me that
would love to wear it.
It’s great that we’re living at a
time when anything goes. But
does that threaten the role of the
stylist? If anything goes, why do
we need an expert eye to put it
together?
I wouldn’t say anything goes.
There is a limit to what looks
good together. I think stylists are
needed but I think that there’s
room to play around with things.
There’s also a need to make sure
that it’s done tastefully or appropriately, I guess.
Your vision serves as a source of
inspiration for many. You were
even a muse for Peter Jensen’s
recent collection.
Yes, I was very honoured and flattered, especially because his past
muses have been women that I’ve
been a huge fan of, like photographer Cindy Sherman and actress
Shelley Duvall. It was definitely a
great honour to be one of his muses, and I was very excited to see
what kind of collection he would
come up with with me in mind.
How did it make you feel to see all
the looks that you inspired?
It was exciting and I loved it! I’ve
always been a big fan of his work,
and to see a Shirley collection was
definitely a big treat for me. It struck
me as maybe “Shirley-on-the-go”…
but I know it’s always hard to describe your own style. I like to say,
“If Harold and Maude had a child,
maybe she’d be dressed like me.”
Were you always confident about
your style sense when you were
growing up?
I went to a school with school
uniforms, all the way from kindergarten through 12th grade, so I think
when you’re stuck wearing uniforms
you want to get out of that and start
experimenting with your own outfits. I think that kind of started the
path for me.
Do you ever project about fashion
in the future and the way we’ll be
dressing? There was a time when
people speculated that we would
all embrace a uniform because it
would take up less time.
No, I don’t think that’ll happen. I
think we’re all too individualistic
to ever want to dress like everyone
else. There are enough of us who
have a desire to not want to dress
like everyone else. There are enough
rebels out there.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
7
8
T h e g lo b e a n d m a i l DESIGN
FAVOURITE ROOM
Working
from
‘home’
Editor Imran Amed settled
Business of Fashion’s first
office in London’s Fitzrovia
A
lmost a decade since he
launched Business of Fashion
from his makeshift home office, Imran Amed finds himself in a 2,000-square-foot
space in Fitzrovia, a former garment
district in central London. Setting up
the company’s new headquarters last
summer felt like a seminal moment.
“For the first six years, I ran BoF from
my apartment in Notting Hill. We had
a small office in Kingly Court in Soho
for one year and a half before we moved
here. This office feels like our first real
home, and we love it when visiting CEOs
and designers from out of town come to
see us,” explains Calgary-born Amed.
Due to his intense travel schedule, the
editor cherishes his time in the office,
having created a “home away from
home” with a cozy atmosphere and
personal touches.
The bright and airy space provides
ample room for both work essentials
and decorative items. Amed’s slick desk
by Vitra was, by good fortune, acquired
through one of BoF’s investors, Index
Ventures, after the company underwent
an office shuffle. “We’re a start-up, so
nice office furniture is a real treat.”
Aside from the practical workstation,
Amed eschewed the cold corporate
look, adding warmth to the room
with a handmade rug from Srinagar,
Kashmir, acquired while on a work trip.
“In the summer of 2013, I made a trip
to attend the bridal couture shows in
New Delhi, India. I like to mix my work
trips with some personal diversions, so
went to Kashmir for a few days to soak
in the mountain air. The region
is known for its beautiful
carpets and rugs, and I picked up
several of them while I was there.”
Displayed on the walls are key
BoF accomplishments, including the
publication’s print editions hanging proudly on the wall next to
the fifth-anniversary poster from
a 2012 celebration in London.
“Since then, we have had similar celebrations in Shanghai,
3
New Delhi, New York and Florence, and we always put the
flag of our host country
into the BoF logo as
a reflection of the
truly global nature of our
community, which is based in over
200 countries and territories around
the world.” BoF readers will recognize the striking portrait of Gucci’s
Alessandro Michele and Marco Bizzarri from last September’s BoF 500
print edition, by the London-based
artist Helen Downie (who goes by
the moniker UnskilledWorker).
Jim Ross FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL
1
2
4
Get the look
1. Atomic matte black table lamp, $179 at CB2
(www.cb2.com). 2. Herman Miller Nelson Swag Leg
table, $1,874 at GR Shop (www.grshop.com). 3. Avoca
lambswool throw, $195 at Amara (www.amara.com).
4. Kilim Dhurrie Rug, $199 through www.rugs.ca.
5. Gallant drawer unit, $179 at Ikea (www.ikea.com).
While working on the issue, the editor
was honoured with his portrait by the
artist, as a personal memento from the
collaboration.
Amed, who came from a traditional
corporate environment, cultivates a
team-based office culture that is
reflective of its spatial organization, where all the departments
work together in one large open
5
space. In between breaking the
next big headlines in fashion,
the team gathers for lunches
and informal meetings in
the communal space,
aptly named “The
Huddle.” As he
leaves London for weeks of fashion presentations, the founder is content to have finally created an authentic
home for his growing company. “The
space feels like the BoF brand – open,
fun, intelligent, stylish and filled with
people holding 17 different nationalities. We are a global team, located in the
most global city in the world. It’s very
stimulating!” – Anya Georgijevic
fa s h i o n w e e k p r e v i e w
9
On with the shows
imaxtree
imaxtree
The international fashion week circut has its fair share of repetition: the street-style stars
trying to out-do one another with quirky ensembles; the label on the cusp of its breakout moment.
Yet each season also promises a refresh of ideas and icons. Odessa Paloma Parker shares
her must sees (and must haves) for the upcoming show schedule
ones to watch
New York
London
Milan
Paris
Although NYC is dubbed the most
commercial of the four major fashion
week venues, that doesn’t mean it
lacks surprise. Toronto-based label
Vejas, which is already stocked in chic
boutiques such as Opening Ceremony,
will set up a showroom and present
its wares to an audience craving their
gender fluid, luxe streetwear sensibilities. It’s season three on the circut for
the brand and given that it’s already
been featured in former Vogue Paris
editor Carine Roitfeld’s publication,
CR Fashion Book, it’s clear the third
time’s the charm.
If you follow the Instagram
accounts of style setters from Susie
“Style Bubble” Lau or Yasmin Sewell,
you’ll be familiar with the neoVictorian, very sweet and somewhat
cheeky work of Molly Goddard. (She
was also nominated in the emerging
women’s-wear designer category at
last year’s British Fashion Awards.)
Her frothy, feminine designs were
showcased last season in a conceptual
sandwich-making presentation at
London’s Institue of Conceptual Arts,
and there’s little doubt this season’s
fare will be equally as tasty.
For several seasons, Massimo
Giorgetti of MSGM has positioned
himself as the designer most tapped
into what a new generation of
style-hungry citizens are searching
for: nostalgically underpinned
pieces, but thoroughly modern in
their use of slouchy, unusual cuts
and embellishment. With Milan’s
establishment experiencing a
shakeup thanks to Gucci’s recent
renaissance, it’s up to voices like
Giorgetti to propel the city’s ability
to push design to the edges of
wearable fashion.
It’s no small feat to bring a brand
back from staid status to cuttingedge cool. British designer Jonathan
Anderson has managed just that at
the helm of Spanish label Loewe,
which in a few seasons has gone
from under-the-radar to leading
the pack thanks to its modernist
approach to luxury. The brand’s key
achievement is the revival of
the “It” bag, which Anderson accomplished with Loewe’s coveted Puzzle
style; the interest comes from the
way he positions these goods against
often-outrageous garments.
DRIVEN
ATTITUDE
HEY, GOOD LOOKING
To achieve photo-worthy status outside a show, style setters are looking less to conspicuous
consumption and more toward pieces that speak to clued-in taste. With the right punchy handbag
and an air of casual ambivalence, you can already hear the cameras clicking.
Clockwise from top left: Ottoman top, £450 through www.j-w-anderson.com. Wwake earrings, $380 each at Easy Tiger Goods
(www.easytigergoods.com). Lou Lou jeans, $305 through www.paige.com. Paula Cademartori Petite Faye bag, $3,068 (U.S.)
through www.net-a-porter.com. Repetto Cottilon Clark chelsea boots, $475 at Gravity Pope (www.gravitypope.com).
For more on-the-go Fashion Week coverage, follow along via Twitter and Instagram @globestyle and @odessapaloma.
Getting from show to show in the busiest,
buzziest cities in the world is no easy feat.
Luckily, Mercedes-Benz offers a car service to
London Fashion Week invitees. For the cars’
occupants, it’s not only a chance to re-charge
phones, answer emails and scarf down some
lunch (in my photo above, I snapped up a
sandwich from a café in Hyde Park after exiting the preview for McQ) but a time to make
new friends in what the outside world probably views as the unfriendliest of professions.
Last season, I talked about our potentially
new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, with the
editorial director of Paper magazine, Mickey
Boardman; you’ll be unsurprised to know
that Trudeau’s appeal was already trending
south of the border. Boardman and my other
car mates (including Document Journal’s
Ronald Burton and Preetma Singh, formerly
of Nylon) also diverted our attention from
the runway to the Thames on a brief jaunt to
the amusement park beside the London Eye.
While everyone’s favourite front-row motto
in other cities may be “You Can’t Sit With Us,”
you could say the phrase most accurate for
LFW is “The More, The Merrier.”
12
T h e g lo b e a n d m a i l Va l e n t i n e ’ s D AY
SHADES OF GREY
After 15 years together, Suzanne and Mark Cohon (co-founder of
AWOL Entertainment) have a style that’s perfectly in sync – and
definitely haute. No surprise, considering Suzanne’s Toronto-based
PR agency has Tiffany & Co. and Saks Fifth Avenue as clients.
A
and he thought I looked like
Crystal Bernard from Wings,”
she says. But opposites attract
and it was only a matter of
time before their fashion
sense fell into perfect harmony. After 15 years together,
the Toronto-based couple has
landed on the same fashion
wavelength, unintentionally coordinating whenever
they’re photographed together events – he favours classic
tuxedos by Zegna and Armani that are complimented
by her wardrobe of Burberry,
Max Mara and Roland Mouret
cocktail dresses. Now, they
say, their only disagreements
occur over credit card bills
and mirror hogging.
DJs Liza Kelly and Tai
Lee, who met seven years
ago after an evening at a
dive bar led to an attempt at
organizing an AC/DC cover
band, share a love of get-
ting dressed up in colourful
vintage pieces like fifties
frocks and retro blazers. But
crafting elaborate ensembles
for their co-DJ nights can lead
to disagreements, especially
as their ensembles become
more involved. “Some of our
outfits require getting a lot
of pieces together in a short
amount of time,” says Kelly.
“We can get stressed about
it and argue a bit. It’s mostly
me though. I take longer to
get ready!”
Closet conflicts take on a
different character when one
half of a couple doesn’t neccesarily prioritize personal
style as much as his or her
significant other.
A fashion disaster at a bar
on Dundas West in Toronto
first brought newlyweds
Nicki and Paul Podvalej
together. “He sat down to
talk to me and spilled his
entire pint of beer all over my
Asilio dress,” she says. Nicki,
founder of the online shop
Curriculum, says that her
approach to fashion is worlds
apart from that of her engineer husband. “His stance is
that he doesn’t want to waste
time thinking about what
he wears, à la Steve Jobs,”
she says. Still, Nicki admires
Paul’s regular rotation of
oxford shirts, crew necks and
jeans, even if it means there’s
a graveyard of items – such as
a pink short-sleeved Gitman
Vintage shirt – in the back of
his closet that she’s unsuccessfully tried to convince
him to wear.
In newer romances, sartorial discord becomes a visual
representation of a relationship’s development. Take
documentary filmmaker and
landscape designer Joe Clement and his New York-based
Are you fit to be swiped?
E
LIK
E
P
O
N
OPPOSITES ATTRACT
Nicki Podvalej, founder of new online
boutique Curriculum, says her engineer
husband Paul’s utilitarian approach to style is
decidedly different from her own (think
fashion plate glam versus “Steve Jobs”
practicality).
Whether you and your significant other share a signature fashion sense or couldn’t be more stylishly opposed,
dressing to the sartorial standards of a chic partner can rattle a relationship.
Caitlin Agnew talks with Canadian couples about wardrobing a deux
partner Manuel Mendes,
who’ve been together since
last summer. While Clement
prefers a uniform of steel-toe
boots, jeans and T-shirts,
Mendes’s career as a celebrity
assistant requires him to
be constantly aware of the
minutiae of trends. Although
Clement says he doesn’t feel
any pressure to keep up with
his Margiela-clad counterpart, he admits that Mendes
has helped him up his glam
factor by taking him shopping or pointing out stylish
guys on the street. “I think
that we have maintained our
own style, but when it comes
to dressing up for social occasions my friends will tell you
that I have definitely been
picking it up,” says Clement.
Of course, a couple’s style
evolution can also relax over
the years. Chef Susur Lee
and interior designer Brenda
Bent first met three decades
ago while working at Peter
Pan Bistro, she in a pair of
overalls (“Think Dexy’s
Midnight Runners,” she says)
and he in Eddie Bauer cords
and a pressed shirt. Over the
years, they’ve refined their
wardrobes to a relaxed mix
of designer pieces with casual
staples from Uniqlo, Topshop
and Forever 21. “He is way less
stuffy. No ironing T-shirts or
jeans anymore,” says Bent,
a former fashion designer
with an eye for Céline bags
and Fendi coats. Despite
their high-profile careers, the
two never compete for the
spotlight, although Lee will
ask for Bent’s advice before
heading out to an important
event. “I am more stylish and
he is more fashionable,” she
says. Close enough.
MATCH POINTS
While imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, looking like a mirror
image of your partner proved to be a fashion flop for these celeb couples
Britney Spears &
Justin Timberlake
Victoria &
David Beckham
Kanye West &
Kim Kardashian
Ah, the heady days of the early
aughts when denim was dissected
and reassembled in a variety of
ways. This ill-fated pair woefully
worked the trend head-to-toe on
the red carpet of the American
Music Awards – and the dawn of
the celebrity stylist quickly
followed suit. Coincidence?
We think not.
Before her fashion empire was
launched and his lucrative H&M deal
was inked, these two crazy kids were
living life fast and furiously – at least
according to the faux-biker
ensembles they rocked at a Gucci
show in 1999. Considering her knack
for understated glamour in her own
collections, we’re surprised Posh the
Former ever looked this revved up.
This duo’s love of french label
Balmain knows no bounds – they
starred together in the brand’s spring
2015 ad campaign; but their fanaticism
reached new heights with this his ’n’
hers look starring similar navy blazers.
While Kanye looked cool, Kim
appeared as though she forgot the rest
of her outfit in her dressing room.
Photo BY Mark J. Terrill/AP
Photo By Rex Features
Photo by James Devaney/GC Images
– Odessa Paloma Parker
After two unsuccessful years of online dating, photographer Mark Binks decided to conduct an experiment.
The 37-year-old visited Toronto men’s-wear store Gotstyle where, for $99, he was styled and photographed in three
different looks to use on his online dating profiles. Here, he tells Caitlin Agnew how upping his fashion ante via the
shop’s It’s a Match service affected his appeal on apps like Tinder and Bumble
I
E
LIK
13
UPPING THE ANTE
Joe Clement, a Toronto-based
documentary maker and
landscape designer (above
right), lets his partner Manuel
Mendes – a celebrity stylist
living in New York – take a
starring role in the wardrobe
department. Clement admits
that his new beau’s fashion
savvy has encouraged him to
step up his own style game.
Till dress do us part
soul mate. More recently, the
magazine conferred fashion
icon status on Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau and his wife
Sophie Grégoire Trudeau,
praising their shared “stylishness, good humor, and
friendly garrulousness” via
a tender, Oscar de la Rentaified photo shoot. The Beckhams, the Carters and the
Jolie-Pitts have all similarly
benefitted from well-dressed
wedded bliss.
But being one part of
a dapper duo – famous or
not – isn’t without its challenges. When public relations
maven Suzanne Cohon met
her husband Mark Cohon,
former commissioner of the
CFL and co-founder of AWOL
Entertainment, in 2001,
neither was wooed by the
other’s fashion choices. “I
thought Mark looked like he
was dressed to be on Seinfeld
OLD SCHOOL COOL
At the start of their relationship, chef Susur Lee and Brenda
Bent exemplified the minimalist look of the 1990s. Though
Lee’s style has become “less stuffy,” Bent (a former fashion
designer) recently rocked a coat from London label-du-jour
Shrimps for the launch of Lee’s latest hotspot, Fring’s.
SOUND AND VISION
DJing duo Liza Kelly and Tai Lee complement their
music sets at locales like Toronto tequila bar Reposado
with flamboyant, retro-flecked ensembles that often
match in colour choice and daring use of print.
ccording to British
tabloid lore, it was
a dress that made
Prince William fall
madly in love with
a commoner. When Kate
Middleton wore a transparent, strapless number down
the runway of a 2002 charity fashion show (not her
greatest sartorial moment
to be sure, but she redeemed
herself with that McQueen
wedding gown), she sealed
the fate of young Wills, and
the United Kingdom, too.
The greatest love stories of
our time often qualify as ménages à trois, where the frisky
third in the mix is fashion.
One need only to look at
Kanye West, Kim Kardashian
and their controversial 2014
Vogue cover to understand
the astronomical increase
in chic factor that comes
from finding your sartorial
VALENTINE ’ s D AY
was on OkCupid for a little
bit. I have Tinder because
everyone does. And I got
Bumble in the summer.
I’ve been on a few dates, maybe
three or four OkCupid dates
and five or six Tinder dates. I’ve
never been on a Bumble date. I
will say this – I’m very picky and
I don’t love dating.
For the last four months on
Bumble, I haven’t received one
single like. Maybe it’s because
there wasn’t enough people
on there, maybe my photos
weren’t very good – they were a
little goofier.
In all my pictures, I was
wearing jeans and a T-shirt. I
don’t think I’m the best dresser;
I’m somewhere in the middle.
I am aware of the fact that you
have to have a certain level of
style if you’re interested in girls
being interested in you. Men’s
fashion has picked up a lot in
the last four or five years, and
it’s now a thing to want to look
your best.
At first, I thought getting the
Gotstyle makeover was kind
of funny – I don’t like being
the centre of attention. They
have one person who does
it, Moe Kelso. She was super
sweet and very open to me
saying yes or no, but I also let
her do whatever. She was really
good at gauging what kind of
person I was. She knew what
kind of suit I’d like over other
suits – something a little more
cool. We looked at different
ties, and she asked my opinion
on everything. It’s a nice idea
that there’s someone out there
who can guide you in the right
direction. Maybe guys want to
look better, but they just don’t
get it. I think it’s no more or less
duplicitous than girls wearing
makeup.
I went a little bit more
ostentatious than I would dress
normally, just because I was
curious to see what would happen. For instance, this jacket is
a little out there but I was like,
“f--k it.” I loved the Tiger of
Sweden suit. That I’d wear, and
I chose the shirt in one shot.
You can have one crazy shirt,
but everything else should be
plain.
I finessed the photos a bit.
I feel like if you have a completely curated profile, it looks
like you’ve paid to have a
photo shoot done. It’s obvious.
I didn’t want that. I also took
‘I don’t think I’m
the best dresser. I
am aware of the
fact that you have
to have a certain
level of style if
you’re interested
in girls being
interested in you’
all my other photos down
because I wanted to see what
would happen with just
these three. But I’d probably
add more candid, casual
shots back in. And if I went
on a date with somebody
because of this, I would 100
per cent tell them about the
makeover.
Since I’ve gotten my
updated makeover profile
photos, my Bumble has been
more successful statistically.
The last girl who messaged
me was on Nov. 23. Then,
I had a good six weeks of
nobody liking me. I’m not on
every day, but I’ve been on it
more last week for the sake of
the experiment. I think I had
seven swipes saying yes to
me and four who’ve actually
messaged me. I would say the
matches I’ve gotten since are
more age appropriate, more
sophisticated. I responded to
one yesterday, but it didn’t
go very far. I looked at her
Instagram and she’s into EDM
and music festivals.
This interview has been
condensed and edited.
Stylin’
and
profilin’
Gotstyle’s It’s a Match
program launched in
January of this year; the
idea came to the boutique’s
owner, Melissa Austria, after
noticing how many
undesirable profile pics
were circulating on dating
apps. With the expertise of
model and “makeover
specialist” Moe Kelso (who
has engaged in online
dating in the past), men can
spruce up and be snapped
in outfits that far exceed the
$99 price tag attached to
the service (no purchases
are necessary to take part in
the program). For example,
Mark Binks’s “smart casual”
ensemble (middle),
featuring a Tiger of Sweden
blazer, Zanerobe jeans and
Gotstyle scarf, cost more
than $1,000 – a way to look
in the know without
spending much dough.
14
T h e g lo b e a n d m a i l e n t e r ta i n i n g
The tines that bind
Who says Valentine’s Day is a couples-only celebration? Grab some friends, some forks
and a fondue pot. As Bonny Reichert writes, it’s hip to dip Photography by Hudson Hayden
T
he problem with Valentine’s Day, if
you believe there is a problem with
Valentine’s Day, is not so much the
construction of a holiday about love,
but the weight of expectation surrounding it.
Like New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day can be
fraught with pressure. Who will you celebrate
with? Where will you go? Will there be gifts?
As any relationship counsellor will tell you,
expectations are not sexy, and pressure is no
fun. Why does Valentine’s Day have to be just
for couples, anyway? We love lots of people
– our parents, our children, our friends.
Keeping V Day exclusive to two year after year
is boring.
So, forget it. Forget the romantic dinner for
two, and the fight for the reservation. Forget
the sappy cards, the droopy flowers, the lastminute chocolates. Instead, do something
cozy, social and fun. Invite the people you love
into your home and serve the most convivial
meal imaginable. Make fondue.
It would be extreme to serve all three of
these fondues – cheese, meat and chocolate –
in one night, but it could be done, and it would
no doubt be unforgettable. An alternative
would be to choose the meat or the cheese, add
a great salad and lots of wine. Chocolate fondue
is a perfect finish in either case. Fondue is so
easy going, you can even make it vegan (read
more in Alterna-dips. below). There is really
only one rule, and it comes from the Swiss:
If you drop your bread from your fork while
dipping, you have to kiss someone at the table.
So pucker up and get a roaring blaze going in
the fireplace. 1970s togs optional.
Sierra fondue sets provided by
Swissmar (www.swissmar.com).
Cheese
Fondue
The original fondue, this luxurious
cheese fest has a proud history as
Switzerland’s national dish. It was also
the centrepiece of many a swingin’
seventies soiree. It’s fun to laugh at
cheese fondue until you realize how
seriously delicious it can be. This
combination of cheeses is perfect – the
gruyère is slightly sweet and nutty, the
emmental smooth and mild and the
comte a bit stronger with just a tiny
bit of funk. Kirsch, a cherry brandy, is
traditional in cheese fondue and you
can add a dash if you like, but I prefer
the flavour without it.
Ready time: 20 minutes
6 ounces (150 grams) gruyère
6 ounces (150 grams) emmental
4 ounces (100 grams) comté
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 clove of garlic, cut in half
1- 1½ cups white wine such as dry
riesling or sauvignon blanc (choose
a decent quality one and serve
with the meal, as well)
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 large baguette, cut into
bite-sized pieces
2 cups mini potatoes, pre-cooked
and cut into halves
1 cup steamed snow peas or
green beans
1 cup French cornichons
2 Granny Smith apples,
cored and sliced
Remove rinds from cheese with a
sharp knife and discard. Shred all three
cheeses in a food processor or on a
box grater. Combine in a large bowl.
Add cornstarch and toss gently with
fingertips to distribute evenly.
Rub inside of a fondue pot or a
medium-sized enamel-coated cast-iron
saucepan thoroughly with cut piece of
garlic. Discard garlic. Add 1 cup wine
and heat on stovetop to just below
a simmer. Begin adding cheese, one
handful at a time, stirring consistently
with a wooden spoon over mediumlow heat. At first cheese will appear
stringy, but continue adding cheese
and stirring until sauce comes
together and makes a smooth ribbon
when dropped from spoon. (Increase
heat very slightly if cheese is not
melted evenly but don’t let mixture
get too hot; warm additional wine in
microwave and add, by the spoonful,
if sauce is too thick.) Stir in lemon
juice, salt and pepper.
To serve, transfer pan to table atop a
fondue burner or heatproof surface
alongside prepared bread, potatoes,
vegetables and other dippers. Give
guests long-handled forks, and
encourage them to start dipping.
If not using a fondue burner and
reheating is necessary, return pan to
medium-low stovetop heat and stir in
a couple more spoonfuls of wine for a
smooth consistency before bringing
back to table for a second round.
Serves 4 to 6.
Fondue
Bourguignonne
A later addition to the fondue family, the
beef variety has the added excitement of
letting guests actually cook their meal at
the table. A full fondue set with tableside
burner is helpful here because cooking
oil should remain at or above 375 F in
order to keep food crisp and greaseless.
Don’t forget the dipping sauces, which
add a ton of flavour after food comes out
of the oil.
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon horseradish
1/3 cup soy sauce
½ lime, juiced
2 teaspoon sesame oil
Chili flakes
Bernaise, chimichurri, barbecue
or other sauces, if desired
4 cups safflower oil or other
vegetable oil with a high smoke
point (not olive oil)
2-3 pounds (900 grams to 1.35
kilograms) high-quality steak such
as striploin or rib eye, cut into cubes
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups quartered mushrooms
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 cup mini-potatoes, pre-cooked
and cut in half
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and
cut into 2-inch lengths
In a small dish, mix together mayo,
Dijon and horseradish until smooth.
In a separate dish, combine soy, lime
juice, sesame oil and chili flakes and
mix well. Place homemade sauces
along with any desired prepared
sauces on table for later.
Heat oil in a fondue pot over medium
until it reaches between 375 and 400
F on an instant-read thermometer.
Meanwhile, season steak cubes on
all sides with salt and pepper, and
arrange steak and vegetables on
platter at the table.
When oil is hot, set up fondue
burner according to manufacturer’s
instructions and safely light burner
tableside. With everyone seated,
bring hot oil to table. Using longhandled fondue forks, spear meat
and cook in oil for about 90 second
for medium rare. (Vegetables can be
cooked any amount of time, to taste.)
Dip cooked meat and vegetables in
sauces, as desired, before eating.
(If fondue forks are metal, they will
be hot so use caution before eating
from them.)
Serves 4 to 6.
whiskyChocolate
Fondue
Alterna-dips
When the meat, bread, veg-
Here is your chocolate fix – it is
Valentine’s Day, after all. Try to find
a chocolate that is over 50-per-cent
cacao without being crazy expensive
(look for brands like Callebaut, Lindt
or Valrhona).
1½ cups heavy cream
1 pound (500 grams) high-quality
semi-sweet chocolate, chopped up
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Irish whiskey
or brandy (optional)
3 cups fresh strawberries,
pineapple, mango, grapes,
kiwi or other fruit
Cubed pound cake, biscuits or
cookies, as desired
Bring approximately 4 inches of water
to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Choose
a metal mixing bowl that sits nicely
over the top of saucepan, turn burner
down to a simmer and heat cream in
metal bowl. Once cream is hot to the
touch, stir in chocolate, a bit at a time,
until smooth and silky. (Take care to
keep water out of chocolate bowl; even
a drop can make chocolate seize up.)
Stir in vanilla and whiskey or brandy,
if using.
Arrange fruit and other dippers on
platters at the table. Transfer melted
chocolate to fondue pot, if using, or to
a pre-warmed heatproof dish. The best
way to keep chocolate warm tableside
is to perch above a votive candle or
very gentle flame as chocolate burns
easily. Using long-handled dipping
forks, dip fruit, cake, cookies and other
treats until chocolate is all gone.
Serves 4 to 6.
etables and fruit are all gone,
what else can you dip? As it
turns out, a whole lot.
Amp up your cheese fondue
choices with bits of hard salami,
tortilla chips, edamame or
blackberries (trust me).
Instead of plunging beef into
hot oil, go vegan with tofu
cubes, chick peas, eggplant
slices or balls of sticky rice.
Seafood fondue is delicious:
Heat the oil as you would for
beef, but lay out raw shrimp,
squid rings, oysters and cubes
of raw fish. Serve with cocktail
and tartar sauces for dips.
Chocolate fondue gets interesting when you go with salty
dippers like pretzels and potato
chips instead of more expected
sweets. Also great and a little
bit different: dried fruits like
figs and apricots that have been
soaked in brandy, hunks of
fresh coconut, walnuts
and dates.
wine & spirits
Warm
wines for
cool climes
Even if you’re stuck at home this month, you
can still travel via your taste buds
A
beppi crosariol
wine@globeandmail.com
@Beppi_Crosariol
ccording to the
romantic script of
wine appreciation,
the best place to
enjoy a bottle is near the
source. As in the region
where it was grown or,
better still, beside the
winery itself, preferably
on a picnic blanket next to
the vines. I tend to concur.
Those bottles we thirstily
haul back from vacation
often seem to lose their
soul in transit. Or so the
cliché goes.
But there’s a contrarian
and less-romantic script
that I think holds equally
true. Wines grown in warm
regions tend to taste better
in cool places, whereas
cool-climate wines are often best flattered by warm
surroundings.
It’s a matter of biology
– the vine’s as much as the
human’s. Cool conditions
preserve fruit acidity and
hold the brakes on sugar
development, resulting
in lighter, more refreshing wines on the whole.
Regions with intense sunlight and dry heat, in contrast, accelerate the ripen-
e n t e r ta i n i n g
ing cycle, making it easier
to farm berries with high
sugar and flavour intensity. That translates into
higher-alcohol wines with
bigger body, the sort that
can hold mighty appeal in
the middle of a Canadian
February. (The food on
the table can, of course,
change everything; I’m
merely generalizing.)
So. how about some voluptuous “winter” wines
from sunny climes?
Domaine de la Colline St-Jean
Vacqueyras 2012 (France)
SCORE: 92 PRICE: $24.95
The Mediterranean scrub of
wild herbs known collectively
in France as garrigue comes
through undeniably in this classic, succulent and bold southern
Rhône blend of grenache, syrah
and mourvèdre. The wine is
dark and concentrated, with
blackberry and raspberry syrup
flavours infused with lavender,
thyme, leather and black pepper.
Awesome for braised, saucy red
meats. Drink now or let it appreciate for up to a dozen years.
Available in Ontario.
Planeta Chardonnay
2013 (Italy)
The Mediterranean island of Sicily
is home to many indigenous
grape varieties. Chardonnay is
not one of them. Yet the same
grape that can yield nervy, flinty
whites way up north in Chablis in
France can shine in the southern
Italian sun – at least in the right
winemaking hands. Planeta, one
of Sicily’s modern pioneers, hits
the mark with this full-bodied,
smoothly oaked example. Rich
tropical fruit and apricot notes are
carried on a soft texture along
with butter and vanilla. Food suggestion: creamy, buttery dishes.
Various prices in Alberta, $40 in
Quebec.
Cave de Roquebrun La Grange
des Combes Saint-ChinianRoquebrun 2013 (France)
Think of very fine Côtes du Rhône,
then be glad you’re not paying
$25-plus for the pleasure. Located
in the southern Languedoc region,
Cave de Roquebrun crafts this
medium-full-bodied red with
50-per-cent syrah plus grenache
and mourvèdre, a classic Rhône
combo. Concentrated yet juicy,
with spice and bright acidity and
more lavender in your face than a
good scrub with fine hotel soap.
Try it with anything involving
lamb. $20.10 in Quebec.
Tinhorn Creek Gewürztraminer
2014 (British Columbia)
Gewürztraminer calls Alsace its
spiritual home. The French region
is pretty far north, but it enjoys
uncharacteristically dry, sunny
conditions for its latitude. One can
say the same of the south Okanagan
Valley, where Tinhorn Creek ably
teases out luscious flesh from this
musky, aromatically exuberant
grape. Medium-bodied, the 2014 is
round and veers toward off-dry, with
a sweet midpalate of classic lychee
and stone fruit joined by citrus,
rosewater and gingery spice. Perfect
for spicy stir fries or curries. $15.99
in British Columbia, various prices in
Alberta, $19.98 in Saskatchewan.
Rustenberg RM Nicholson 2013
(South Africa)
One of South Africa’s venerable
estates, Rustenberg, founded 1682,
sadly suffered serious damage in
January as wildfires raged through
the drought-stricken Simonsberg
district of Stellenbosch, destroying
12 acres of vines at the estate and
potentially polluting more with
smoke taint. This 2013 was picked
long ago, of course, though you’ll
still find a completely coincidental,
and pleasant, smoky note on the
finish. The smartly blended mix of
shiraz, merlot and cabernet sauvignon is full-bodied and polished
in texture, showing jammy
black currant, black pepper and
charred-meat characters against
dry, gently sticky tannins and
fresh acidity. Outstanding for the
money. Ready to drink now with
steak, it should evolve well for at
least six years – even under that
handy screwcap. Various prices
in Alberta.
Boutari Naoussa Xinomavro
2013 (Greece)
Under Greece’s sunshine, the red
xinomavro grape manages, unusually, to retain firm structure.
Think of sturdy, earthy nebbiolo,
responsible for the big reds of
Barolo in Italy’s Piedmont. This
offering from a large, prominent
producer is medium-full-bodied
and very dry, with a chalky
texture counterbalanced by
mouthwatering acidity, revealing
notes of cherry juice and leather.
A fine, affordable match for the
leg of lamb you splurged on.
$15.99 in British Columbia, various prices in Alberta, $16.99 in
Saskatchewan, $15.05 in Quebec.
Tiago Cabaço Premium
White 2014 (Portugal)
The full name of this enticing
white from southern Portugal’s Alentejo region is “.com
Premium.” The Internet-inspired
suffix is our clue that the hands
behind the bottle might be
young. Tiago Cabaço, from a
winemaking family, launched his
own wine business and prides
himself on being at the vanguard
of his country’s new age. Light
and crisp, as one might expect
from a Portuguese white, it’s
nonetheless surprisingly fleshy,
an unusual blend of roupeiro,
antao vaz, arinto, verdelho and
the oily-textured French grape
viognier. Ripe and mouthwatering, with suggestions of apple,
peach and herbs – and much
more interesting than most
Italian pinot grigios at the same
price. Available in Ontario.
15
16
T h e g lo b e a n d m a i l society
ON THE SCENE
1
2
Sparkle
and shine
Vancouverites toast a revamped Van Cleef &
Arpels, while in Toronto, architecture enthusiasts
gather for Dinner by Design
3
NOLAN BRYANT
nbryant@globeandmail.com
@NolanBryant
V
an Cleef & Arpels, the
venerable French jewellery
house, recently unveiled a
new and improved shop
inside Birks’s West Hastings Street
mecca. To celebrate the occasion
on Jan. 27, it was dinner in-store for
a handful of Vancouver’s top Van
Cleef collectors. The new space
packs a well-jewelled punch within
its just-over 1,400 square feet:
Inside, the shop within the shop
is lit by sparkling chandeliers,
walls are appropriately gold leafed,
furnishing are covered in fine
fabrics and, tucked to one side is
an area where, should the mood
strike, one could order something
special from the house’s Place
Vendôme workrooms in Paris.
Freshly lacquered cases and
glass cloches house precious
creations. In one display, the
brand’s familiar Alhambra clovers
surround a substantial hammered
gold cuff similar to those worn by
Jackie in her Onassis years. Nearby,
under an illuminated cloche, an
unassuming-at-first-glance broach
is a standout piece featuring a fairy,
one of the house’s reoccurring
emblems, first introduced in the
1940s. But what makes this one
special is that it’s perched on a
rock crafted of perfectly matched
sapphires in the “mystery setting,”
a technique patented in 1933 that
gives uniform stones on intricate
tracks the appearance of being a
floating grid, a favourite of magpies
like the Duchess of Windsor and
Elizabeth Taylor, and an innovation with which Van Cleef & Arpels
became synonymous.
The jewellery, though steeped
in history and linked to stylish
ladies of yesteryear, is as lively
looking and wearable as ever, and
desirability for the whimsy-filled
wares from a new generation is
high. Proof of the latter could be
seen around the necks, fingers,
wrists and, if you can believe it,
ankles of the fashionable Vancouverites in attendance, which
included Joyce Gong, Lin Zhou,
Grace Gong and Tiffany Liu who
were all out for a first look at the
new space. On hand, too, in from
New York was Alain Bernard,
Van Cleef & Arpels CEO of the
Americas and Birks’s Montrealbased president and CEO JeanChristophe Bédos, who spoke
of the long-standing relationship
between the two houses. Also out:
Organic Eco-Centre Corp. CEO and
philanthropist Paul Oei and his
wife, Loretta Lai; Lululemon’s
vice-president of public relations
and global communications
Kate Chartrand and Lululemon’s
director of innovation Brian
Peterson.
Monogram Dinner by Design,
the do-good event with annual
happenings in three major
Canadian cities, returned to the
Design Exchange on Jan. 20 for
the 2016 Toronto edition. This year,
the event, which has become an
unofficial kick off of sorts for
design week in Toronto, saw 11
celebrated interior designers rally
together under one roof, each
tasked with devising one-off
dining spaces that would later be
shown to design enthusiasts and
then feasted in by a select few, all
in support of local not-for-profit
organizations. Funds raised from
this latest occasion benefitted the
Design Exchange and Casey House,
Canada’s first free-standing HIV/
AIDS facility (and the first organization to be on the receiving end of
the initiative’s funds back in 2011).
The 11 spaces inside the Design
Exchange ranged from the trèsmodern to the weirdly whimsical.
Bortolotto, the architecture and
interior design firm tasked with
the revitalization of the Ontario
College of Art and Design’s Rosalie
Sharp Pavilion, created a faux
construction site overlooking a
city skyline, scaffolding and all.
In another space, architects from
Moriyama & Teshima, co-architects of the Aga Khan Museum’s
Ismaili Centre, brought the
outdoors into their space too,
by surrounding their table with
translucent beads, leaving guests
to feel as though they were dining
in the rain. The Design Agency
created a playful setting with the
use of neon lights and plenty of
mirrors that allowed those seated
at the table to see new sides of
their tablemates.
Among the designers and design
enthusiasts that came together at
the DX for a cause: dermatologist
Dr. Sandy Skotnicki; Bottecchia
Artistic Group partners Hal Eisen
and Andrew Bottecchia; Sportsnet
host David Amber; restaurateur
Janet Zuccarini; Manulife’s vice
president of branding Jeronimo
De Miguel; AyA Kitchens and Baths
Ltd. CEO and DX board member
Dave Marcus; The Drake Hotel’s
Jeff Stober; Spafax CEO Raymond
Girard and his husband, photographer Laird Kay; and Design
Exchange president Shauna Levy.
Birks and Van
Cleef & Arpels
unveil a
revamped space,
Vancouver
1. Grace Gong.
2. Jean-Christophe
Bédos at dinner.
3. Loretta Lai.
4. Alain Bernard.
5. Kate Chartrand.
6. Lin Zhou.
7. Annie He and
Flora Song.
4
photos by
Nolan bryant
5
6
7
8
9
Monogram Dinner
by Design, Toronto
8. A Vitra screen in
front of designer
Guido Costantino’s
space. 9. David Amber
and Emma Thompson.
10. Françoise
Turner-Larcade and
Christian Vermast.
11. Melissa Millar and
Jeronimo De Miguel.
12. Robbie Metherell
and Alexandra
Stoewner. 13. Tess
Roman and Derek
Price. 14. The Design
Agency’s mirror- and
neon-filled space.
photos by Ryan Emberley
10
14
11
12
13
18
T h e g lo b e a n d m a i l E N T E R TA I N I N G
in the kitchen
Angry bird
This spicy chicken arrabbiata, featuring
fresh chilies, is packed with flavour
Chicken
arrabbiata
Jamie Oliver
jamie@globeandmail.com
@jamieoliver
I
Photo David Loftus
Q&A
“
What’s a simple dessert I can have ready way ahead of dinner?
@AliWali888
Tiramisu springs straight to mind. Use good coffee, shop-bought biscuits, beaten mascarpone and grated
quality chocolate and it’ll be beautiful – and it can be made a day in advance. Keep things simple with fresh
seasonal fruit macerated in sugar and a dribble of lemon juice, served with good ice cream. And while we’re
on the subject of ice cream, you can’t go wrong with smashed-up Maltesers scattered over your favourite
flavour – it’s the quickest, naughtiest dessert ever.
Have a question for Jamie Oliver?
Email jamie@globeandmail.com or tweet @GlobeStyle with the hashtag #jamieatglobe.
For more information, go to www.jamieoliver.com.
Horoscope
enjoy all meats,
but I have to say,
chicken is a wonderful carrier of flavour.
From the skin and the
breast, to the wing and leg
meat, it really does offer
lots of different flavours
and textures to work
with. So this week, I
wanted to give you one
of my favourite weeknight
dishes that embraces the
most popular part of the
bird: the breast. Bashed
until thin, seasoned and
grilled quickly, this is
a great way to get tender,
tasty meat in no time
at all.
I’ve paired it with
arrabbiata (literally
translated as “angry”
in English), which is
basically a spicy tomato
sauce from Sicily. It’s
punchy, flavour-packed
and a proper sinus
cleanser. Instead of
making it with crushed
dried chilies, I’ve fried
whole chilies in oil (be
careful to prick them with
a sharp knife first, or they
will explode in your face)
to get a fantastic robust
chili sweet flavour, which
I think is what arrabbiata
should be all about.
Together, this is a great
dinner that’s guaranteed
to be an instant hit, if
your family is anything
like mine.
Just a bit of advice
when it comes to buying
chicken: I recommend
looking for organic,
pasture-raised or certified-humane chickens,
rather than the basic birds
found in so many restaurants and shops these
days. I’ve been to farms
of both basic and higherwelfare standards, and
there’s absolutely no way
I’d feed basic chickens to
my kids – if you’d seen
the conditions, you
wouldn’t either.
4 organic, pasture-raised or
certified-humane chicken breasts
Sea salt and black pepper
Olive oil
5 fresh red chilies
6 cloves of garlic
1 bunch of fresh basil
3 398-ml tins of plum tomatoes
10 black olives (pits in)
1 ¼ pounds (600 grams) mixed
ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons small capers
2 handfuls of arugula
½ a lemon
Parmesan cheese
Place the chicken breasts between
2 layers of parchment paper
and bash with a rolling pin until
thick. Season the chicken with sea
salt, black pepper and rub all over
with a little drizzle of oil. Set aside.
Prick 4 chilies, finely slice 4 cloves of
garlic, then pick the basil leaves. Heat
a good lug of oil in a medium pan
over a low heat, then add the chilies,
garlic, basil stalks and half the leaves.
Cook gently for 15 to 20 minutes, or
until softened but not coloured.
Remove the basil leaves (which
should be beautifully translucent)
and save them for later. Fish out the
chilies, scrape off the skins, then
slice them open and remove the
seeds. Return the flesh to the pan.
Turn the heat up to medium and
add the tinned tomatoes and
remaining basil leaves. Break up
the tomatoes with the back of a
spoon, then allow the sauce to
bubble away for at least 20 minutes,
or until it has thickened and the
tomatoes have broken down.
Pit and tear up the olives, roughly
chop the tomatoes, then add to the
sauce along with most of the
capers. Season to taste.
Place a griddle pan on a high heat
and allow it to get super hot. Once
hot, place the chicken breasts on
the griddle and cook for a couple
of minutes on each side, or until
golden and cooked through.
Leave to rest for a couple of
minutes, then slice the chicken
into long strips.
To serve, peel and finely slice the
remaining garlic and fry it in a little
olive oil along with the remaining
capers until crispy.
Pour the tomato sauce onto a platter
and lay the chicken slices on top.
Deseed, finely chop and sprinkle
with chili, along with the garlic,
capers, arugula and basil leaves.
Finely grate over some lemon zest
and Parmesan, then serve.
Serves 4 to 6.
If SUNDAY is your birthday: Cosmic activity on your birthday will
stimulate your creative side but there is also a danger that you could
fall prey to senseless fears. Aquarius is a sign that likes to work with
others, so hook up with those who share your outlook.
SALLY BROMPTON
If SATURDAY is your birthday: The message of your birthday chart
is that life isn’t all about earning and consuming, it is about less
material things as well. When it comes to generosity of spirit you
have no peers. The more you give this year the more you will receive.
ARIES (March 21 - April 20):
Stay focused and keep your ultimate goal in mind at all times. If
you let your attention wander you will find
it very hard to get back to what you should
be doing. You know what it is you desire, so
don’t let anything distract you.
CANCER (June 22 - July 23):
You can force through changes if
you wish over the next 48 hours
but is that really such a wise move? You may
win in the short term but it will also create a
lot of ill feeling in the long term. Persuasion
is always better than coercion.
LIBRA (Sept. 24 - Oct. 23):
You will be even more forceful than
usual this weekend but while you
will no doubt get a great deal done you will
also make a few enemies. That’s OK. Later
on, when you get the chance, you can turn
on the charm and win them round.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 20):
You will have to work hard to keep
your emotions in check this weekend. But if you do lose your temper don’t
feel too bad about it because most likely you
will have suffered the kind of provocation
even a saint would find hard to ignore.
TAURUS (April 21 - May 21):
You will be put to the test this
weekend and it will be the kind of
test you come through with flying colors.
There may be a few bruises and scratches
to show for your struggles but you will wear
your wounds with pride.
LEO (July 24 - Aug. 23):
You are not the only one with a
stubborn streak and you will find
yourself up against an equally determined
foe this weekend. If you both keep pushing
something will sooner or later break, so use
common sense and meet them halfway.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22):
Mars in your birth sign makes you
a bit argumentative and with Mars
linked to Jupiter, planet of excess, this weekend there is a danger you will go way over
the top. But what of it? At least people know
where they stand with you.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 - Feb. 19):
You need to come to terms with the
fact that you alone are responsible
for the events of your life. Ultimately there
is no such thing as coincidence – everything
happens for a reason. Accept that fact and
find ways to make it work for you.
GEMINI (May 22 - June 21):
If you are carrying a grudge against
someone then it’s time to let it go.
Yes, of course, they deserve your displeasure
but that’s not the point – the point is that
you are the one who is suffering from it, so
forgive and forget and move on.
VIRGO (Aug. 24 - Sept. 23):
You have been pushing yourself
extremely hard of late and could do
with a rest. You can do yourself a massive favor over the next few days by turning down
any extra offers of work that come your way,
even if they pay well.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 - Dec. 21):
You can, if you wish, ignore a
problem of some kind but if you do
it will return with a vengeance later on. Relationship issues, in particular, must be dealt
with promptly. The longer you leave them
the harder it will be to kiss and make up.
PISCES (Feb. 20 - Mar. 20):
The more others demand that
you change your ways to suit their
needs this weekend the more you must dig
in your heels and refuse to budge. You are
right to be stubborn. Let the world know you
will not be bullied, not now, not ever.
Discover more about yourself at sallybrompton.com
Saturday, February 13, 2016

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