Browsing Tag

fashion

Women Who Should Be Famous

Songstress-turned-humanitarian Mandy Moore’s entrance onstage at The Carlu on Tuesday night was a walk to remember. Dressed as conservatively as her character Jamie Sullivan, Mandy was an excellent host for Dove’s first ever live-streamed event.

Dove could’ve easily called for a dress code of “girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes” because the featured guests donned Dove’s colour scheme, and anyone in a LBD stood out. Complete with hors d’oeuvres, photo walls and mocktinis, Dove and its agency partners hosted a classy event for a good cause.

I’ve supported Dove’s self-esteem project for many years. In fact, I got into an argument with a professor last semester after she screened the Evolution and Fotoshop videos, mainly because Ben Barry’s speeches about how the concept came to life turned me into a brand advocate. That class helped me identify a conflict between my MIT and Women’s Studies programs: in media classes, Dove’s campaign has been discussed (and praised) ad nauseum, whereas in the Women’s Studies culture jamming class, discussing the benefits of the campaign from a business perspective was not a priority whatsoever.

Speaking of school, the honoured women reflected on their high school years and shared what young girls can do to achieve their goals. Spoken word artist Toni Blackman made a great comparison between internal and external confidence. She was a homecoming queen who climbed the social ladder, yet lacked self esteem inside, despite what her prom photos imply. Her recommendation is to “write out a plan and put that plan to action with determination and absolute focus.” Likewise, Fahima Osman admitted to being a nerd growing up who decorated her bedroom with A+’s to remind her of what she needed to do for medical school entry. Fahima is now a general surgeon and Canada’s first Canadian-trained Somali physician at that.

Inspired by the statistic that second to Mom, 32% of Canadian girls cite celebrities as their top role models, Dove felt compelled to recognize admirable women working outside of Hollywood. During the presentation, scientist Arlene Blum modestly shared tales of climbing the world’s tallest mountains and David Suzuki’s daughter Severn described how she scrambled to prepare notes last minute for a speech to UN officials when she was merely 12 years old.

After Mandy Moore formally introduced the four women, Sharon MacLeod, vice-president of marketing, Dove Canada, led a Q&A session. Preteens barely old enough to have Facebook accounts quickly formed a line and articulately posed questions. Thankfully the girls never said the word “like,” and that confidence will definitely help them stand out as eloquent public speakers someday. What would truly be incredible is if the 4 featured role models spoke at upcoming Canadian graduation ceremonies.

Within just a few months, I shook Nicholas Sparks’ hand and sat a few rows away from Mandy Moore. When’s Shane West coming to Toronto? He’s cute…

Facebook Connects Music Lovers

If you want to star in a music video, there’s no need to respond to a semi-sketchy casting call posted on Craigslist.

Derek Blais, art director at Tribal DDB, helped lead the creation of a music video that suits today’s narcissistic culture and sedementary lifestyle, where people want to invest minimal effort to become stars. Thanks to the “Facebook Connect” function, anyone with a Facebook account can star in Young Empires’ new music video, alongside young actors who look like tastefully dressed Abercrombie models.

I won’t bore you with the details of how the music video works. Slow internet connection? Try playing it on another computer. Director Miles Jay’s vision ensured it’s just that spectacular.

I first learned of Young Empires when fashion retailer FCUK named them artist of the month, following a competitive event promoting unsigned Canadian bands in September 2011. Little did I know that months later, they would achieve international buzz thanks to a creative interactive music video.

Behind the Books: Kim Izzo

Photo: The Globe and Mail
 

Name: Kim Izzo

Best Known ForThe Jane Austen Marriage Manual (2012), The Fabulous Girl’s Guide to Decorum (2001)

Education: Screenwriting, York University

Employment: Deputy Editor/Beauty Director for Zoomer Magazine

Favourite mobile app: My Fitness Pal

Favourite magazines: Vanity Fair and Tatler

Professional role model: Suzanne Boyd, Editor-in-chief of Zoomer Magazine

Describe Jane Austen’s influence on your life in 140 characters or less:

Jane Austen made me understand at an early age the importance of manners, subtlety and being witty.

How do you choose your outfits for public appearances?

I try to pick colour because it’s better for television. I like dresses because it adds a touch of glamour and that’s never a bad thing.

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The Lucky One

What’s a Toronto visit without an Indigo event? This time, I went to Indigo Yorkdale (thankfully much closer than alternative locations) to see author Nicholas Sparks promote The Lucky One. The film adaptation of The Lucky One will be in theatres April 20, starring heartthrob Zac Efron.

Arriving early to wait in line ensures you’re close to the pre-event excitement and hype, which included a dance off between three fans to Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” right outside Starbucks. Once the line moved closer to the stage, a group of young girls enthusiastically took to the stage to jump up and down singing One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful,” which possibly delighted them more than meeting Sparks himself.

I also snagged a periwinkle blue tee with the film’s name and release date printed on a sleeve, which I’m wearing now as I write this. A girl behind me who also received a t-shirt commented she could see herself wearing it under a blazer, discreetly celebrating her pop culture interests at work! Another giveaway was branded lip gloss, which I think was very fitting for a romance novelist’s signing.

Sparks briefly said a few words to fans thanking everyone for coming before signing 500+ copies of The Lucky One, including none other than former Maple Leafs player Curtis Joseph! He was as charming in person as expected.

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Reading Off-screen

As much as I love digital technology, there is something comforting and enjoyable about reading newspapers in print, so when The Globe and Mail offered me a free subscription, I signed up.

Since the periodical has started showing up outside my front door six days a week, I’ve changed my morning routine. It’s motivated me to wake up about 20 minutes earlier, so I can get ready and then read it with a coffee while everything’s quiet before heading to class. On the mornings I don’t have class and I’m not tempted to watch CityLine Fashion Friday, it feels like an additional luxury, as I anticipate how many hours during the day will be spent in front of a screen.

Upon checking Facebook and Twitter feeds in the morning, there are only so many worthwhile links to click that were posted since the night prior. The Globe, however, always has articles piquing my interest and more importantly, in print, there are thankfully no distractions, such as flashing colourful ads leading me to open a new tab, which will inevitably lead to more unnecessary and unproductive Internet browsing.

Last week, a colleague told me about the rush amongst her Ivey classmates to pick up a free copy of the Globe at school before they run out and now that I’m a subscriber, I can understand why. I like to read The New York Times too, but since they limited access to online content to ten articles per month, instead of the twenty permitted previously, I’m more grateful for the Globe’s convenient availability.

As the exam period approaches, I know that it will be a nice break to read the newspaper rather than a textbook. Also, just as course material tends to overlap across my different classes, I welcome the chance to read about the same topics on the syllabus in a more relevant context in Globe stories, such as those about Gen Y versus baby boomers in relation to my sociology of work class and current political scandals that will provide examples to theories about politicians’ increasing invisibility.

I find that when some of my profs point out that they still read a hard copy of the paper, they date themselves in a room of twentysomethings, though I can understand why they proudly announce this habit. Proclaiming that you read the paper in print needn’t be done in a self-deprecating or teasing tone. There are great journalists out there and I think taking the time to read their work, without distractions, is a wonderful way to pay respect, whether they write about fashion, business, tech or anything else.

Take the time to read sans screen and you may be surprised how much you like it.