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Style and Fashion

The scent of a man

…isn’t always pleasant (hello gym socks!). But this scent for a man is downright delightful. To celebrate the Canadian launch of Marc Jacobs BANG, I asked some of my favourite gentlemen to weigh in and tell us what this feisty, spicy, soon-to-be-released-in-Canada scent reminds them of.

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And their thoughts, well, they speak for themselves:

“It smells like a horse saddle after a man made of cedar and peppers rode it, but in a really good way,” says Justin.

“I smell hints of thyme and rosemary. Add a pat of butter, and you could smell like dinner,” says Tre, of Noshwell, as only a food critic could.

Graeme from One More Gadget says “It smells like the interior of my ‘82 Trans Am after the rain. And ladies, moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty. But seriously, it’s kinda addicting. I keep smelling myself. I think people in the office are starting to think I’m on crack.”

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But what does a lady think? My friend Sonja, came out of left field with this observation; “It smells like butterflies. If butterflies smelled.”

You’re dying of curiosity, aren’t you? You know what they say — smelling is believing. So stay tuned for a Marc Jacobs BANG giveaway, friends!

P.S. Get a leg up on the competition and add The Anthology on Facebook.

It takes one heck of a bride

To put you in a bridesmaid’s dress like this.

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A bridesmaid’s dress that you’d actually wear again.

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This is that bride. (Love you, Bri!)

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Each one of our dresses was custom made of a slightly different tone of raw silk.

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How gorgeous do they all look together? (And how adorable is that little girl? She had absolutely nothing to do with the wedding — she was just the cutest bubble-blowing bystander you’ve ever seen in your life.)

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Earrings? They’re H&M.

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Man, I love weddings. Take a look at another beautiful one here.

P.S. Love Twitter so much you want to marry it? Me too!

Got the bluuuuuues

It’s everyone’s favourite colour, isn’t it?

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Love when tone on tone on tone comes across as anything but monotone. Like, say, with this dress.

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‘Tis vintage. And pleated. (And belted.)

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And my earrings. Those cheap, cheap, cheap (and cheerful) feather wonders from Forever 21.

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And my go-to blue shoes. (Which I also wore lawn bowling. They may not be flats, but they’re wedges. Which means the bottom of them are flat. That’s allowed on the greens, right?)

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It’s all perfect for a day when the sky is bluer than blue. (I love you, summer!)

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P.S. Got a case of the Twitter blues? Follow the Anthology and cure ’em.

If you could wear one thing…

And only one thing every day for the rest of your life, what would you pick?

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I’d opt for a saree.

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It’s bright, it’s colourful, and it can be wrapped in a million different ways (if you know what you’re doing. I don’t. But I’d like to think I could learn).

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Wore one as a bridesmaid for my ladyfriend’s wedding.

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It, like Anji’s saree, earrings and necklace, was lovingly hand-picked in India.

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As were all the bridesmaids’ sarees. (Not the dress on the right, mind you. That’s a Diane von Furstenberg beauty.)

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Is seven metres of silk a bit much for casual Friday? I think not.

Some things are better with your girlfriends

Bard on the Beach being one of them.

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Saw Falstaff with my most theatrical friend Katie, instead of my non-synopsis-reading husband. And had the best night ever.

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Her favourite things about the play? Dean Paul Gibson, who played Falstaff, for one. “He was so on point with his comedy but also drew us in so well with his more dramatic speeches.” Such wise words from a theatre aficionado.

“And the barrels near the wine and beer,” she added, “Made me wish I lived on a winery in France.” That’s my girl.

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My favourite things? The courtyard, the live music, the ambiance, the close-to-the-beach-ness. It’s such an amazing way to spend a midsummer’s night.

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And Falstaff as a play is entertaining, accessible, and action-packed. In the photo above, Prince Hal (Alessandro Juliani), Bardolph (Bernard Cuffling), and Ned Poins (Kevin K. James) laugh with Falstaff (Dean Paul Gibson, centre). Shot by David Blue.

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Wore a reworked vintage dress. (Remember this? Yeah, well, it was nothing a little tailoring couldn’t cure.)

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Had it altered at Oakridge Tailors on Cambie. And now it’s perfect for events. Shakespearian and otherwise.

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Earrings from Mexico.

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Shoes are Marc by Marc Jacobs from Ogilvy in Montreal. Shoe shopping! Another thing that’s so much better with your girlfriends.

P.S. Want to support Cystic Fibrosis research? Watch this terribly embarrassing video by my lawn bowling team (so sorry I missed the recording). And pledge us here.

They should rename it Festiville

Montreal is easily the most vibrant city in Canada, non?

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We arrived last week when Just for Laughs was in full swing (which, for the record, follows closely on the heels of the city’s outrageously huge Jazz Festival).

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Out of more than 200 English performances, we caught only two. (We would have attended more had we figured out earlier that we actually like stand-up comedy.) The highlight? Mike Birbiglia’s one-man riot My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend.

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I had been to Montreal before, but only in the dead of winter so it was a treat to be able to roam the streets in a vintage t-shirt (bonus points for coordinating with the graffiti!).

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And the vintage belt that I wore all over Quebec.

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Speaking of graffiti, I have no idea what the story is behind this tag (maybe it’s as straight forward as it looks) but I kept spotting it all over the city. And it hit close to home because there’s nothing I heart more than a slice of emmental.

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And speaking of a nice slice, Marche de la Villette in old Montreal serves up cheap(ish) breakfasts and lunches with great cheeses. L’Express on Saint Denis lives up to its hype. And, across the street from the Opus Hotel where we stayed, is Tequila Taco House, which looks like a hole in the wall but serves up amazing Mexican food.

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Ah, the Opus. It’s right smack dab between the shops and festival grounds of Saint Catherine and the funky boutiques, restaurants and bars of Saint Laurent and Saint Denis. Which makes its location pretty much perfect.

(Just make sure you book a room that’s not facing the hotel bar because its patio is as packed and party-full as the city itself.)

P.S. Get festive and add the Anthology on Facebook.

Quebec, je t’aime

I knew Quebec City would be beautiful. But I never knew it would be that beautiful.

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Cobblestone streets, acres and acres of parks, the dramatic Saint Lawrence River. It felt like another world and yet, my loonies and toonies were taken at par.

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Attended the Festival d’Ete de Quebec, the 11-day showcase of Anglophone and Francophone artists. And were some of the few attendees to come from out of provice (only 5% according to the National Post).

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Why is that the case, when you can buy beer from people roaming around with coolers and see acts like Arcade Fire, Black Eyed Peas, Santana and Passion Pit?

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For only $50.

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When we weren’t at the festival we explored the city on foot.

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Grabbed some brie, baguettes and grapes from Epicerie Richard in the old town (42 Rue Des Jardins if you have a hankering).

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And headed out to the historic Plains of Abraham for a pique-nique. (Wore my paint-splattered cutoffs and vintage belt.)

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Oh Quebec, I miss you already. J’espere que I’ll be back soon! If only because I desperately need to improve my Francais.

P.S. Follow moi sur Twitter (and pardon my Frenglish, s’il vous plait).

Sporting!

Kind of. Lawn bowling is more about socializing, costuming and leisuring than it is about athleticizing. At least when you play it like we do.

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The second annual Vancouver Leisure Society lawn bowling extravaganza kicked off this week at the Stanley Park Lawn Bowling Club (the world’s most beautiful venue). 

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In honour of Eva Markvoort, the month-long tournament benefits the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

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Last year, they raised $11,000. This year, we’re hoping to beat that.

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My powerhouse team? The Bowlden Girls. (With Kim Bowie, Dana Rudelier, and Larissa Dundon.)

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Headless wonders that we are.

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Wore an asymmetrical jungle print dress.

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‘Tis vintage and ’tis as close to a white dress as I have (unless you count my non-wedding wedding dress).

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The night was packed with more prep than you can shake a polo mallet at. My favourite dude outfit? Cuffed pink pants and Toms. So stylin. So good for the world.

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As the Leisure Society says, why club when you can country club?

P.S. Add The Anthology on Facebook for more photos and fun times!

Now with even more geek!

Rihanna opened her “North American and Canadian” tour  in Vancouver. And as part of their N97 Mini Tour, Nokia was there. Guess who they brought with them…

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Heather of Urban CowgirlSherry Lu and Michael Fashionista. And the Anthology!

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Ke$ha opened. And I hate to admit it, but I love her. I mean, Tik Tok? It’s a classic.

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Sherry wore the perfect shoes — Ke$ha’s Dinosaur is terrible, but terribly catchy.

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Rihanna brought all her hits: Disturbia, Live Your Life, Umbrella (her encore). She sang live(!) at times. But it wasn’t her voice I was mesmerized by. She is freakishly gorgeous.

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Wore a vintage dress, which is actually my sister’s (thanks Rissa!).

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And a vintage necklace, which is the gaudiest fake gold, even by fake gold standards.

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And my trusty Frye boots, I’d wear them every day if I could get away with it.

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Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go try to figure out how to work my new N97 Mini.

P.S. Get super techy and add the Anthology on Facebook.

That’s Marcus Antonius to you

Bard on the Beach has brought the epic Antony and Cleopatra to the shores of English Bay. And I’ll be there this weekend through the battles and the betrayals, the wigs and the eyeliner.

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And I am pretty darned excited about it.

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The story of the Queen of Egypt falling in love with the first Emperor of Rome is so meaty, even the SparkNotes are beefy (have I read the complete play? Not yet.).

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But I have Ancient Egypt on the brain. So I started gathering stills from 20th Century Fox’s 1963 epic Cleopatra for inspiration. And Elizabeth Taylor, in her 1960s costumes, does not disappoint.

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Seriously, how gorgeous was she? And how much do you want that headdress?

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I’m all for any production filled with love, lust and lots of fake gold. And Bard on the Beach promises plenty of that. Antony and Cleopatra plays until September 24th.

I’ll be tweeting while I’m there so follow me here.

(Images from 20th Century Fox.)