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The Anthology

I was naive about Palm Springs

I had no idea how beautiful the landscape would be. What was I picturing? Flat lands and a million swimming pools. But now that I’m here, I’m in love. The desert, the mountains, the colour of the sky at sunset — it is so beautiful.

California desert

Which is why I am even more excited about Coachella.

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So what did I bring with me? This vintage, floral, fluttery number. Perfect for the desert, but it wasn’t always this way. Back in the day it was long. Like Rachel Zoe long. And it was gorgeous, but just too heavy to wear.

floral-dress

But back to Coachella. Lexie, you were wondering which bands I am dying to see (and re-see)? Today it’s Yeasayer (who will be playing in Vancouver on April 21), Passion Pit (even though I just saw them on Sunday), the dance-tastic LCD Soundsystem, the one and only Jay Z and my boy Erlend of the Whitest Boy Alive.

floral

And because my husband loves them, we’re also going to see the way-too-heavy-for-my-taste Dillinger Escape Plan. But we won’t go anywhere near the front of the stage for this reason.

Man, I cannot wait.

First photo found here.

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April 16, 2010 by

Miike Snow

Oh! Miike Snow. Their show the other night in Vancouver was so gat dang fantastic, they have me seriously considering re-seeing them at Coachella this weekend. Even though their set time conflicts with Phoenix.

vancouver-street-style-fashion

And you know how much I really,  really,  really,  really,  really,  really,  really,  really,  really love Phoenix. (Coachella, you are cruel for pitting these two against each other.)

vancouver-street-style

But Swedish pop powerhouse Miike Snow put on the second-best show I’ve ever seen. (What was the best show, you ask? It’s a tie between !!! (Chk Chk Chk) and that Britney Spears show where she threw a tantrum and stormed off the stage.)

street-style-vancouver

So what do I do? Stand by my old love, Phoenix? Or ditch them for my new love? Help!

P.S. I’ll be tweeting my face off from Coachella. So follow me.

April 13, 2010 by

Feast your eyes on these

These beautiful specimens have been sitting in my friend Melissa’s closet since the eighties. And when clearing out her closet one day she thought of me (biggest compliment ever) and generously handed them over.

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Notice the pleats…observe the tapering…

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It’s almost too much to handle, isn’t it?

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I’m getting them tailored as I type and I am praying to MC Hammer that they turn into rad, wearable shorts. Will let you know how it goes.

Want to see some other hideous “before” shots? Take a look here. And here.

P.S. Follow the Anthology on Twitter.

April 11, 2010 by

The more classic the look

the more fun it is to accessorize.

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Short shorts, long jacket and Frye boots? Sounds pretty classic to me. Which means it’s game on. Bonus points if the accessories hold memories.

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Take, for example, the gold bracelet I found during my recent trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. It reminds me of sun, sand and, well, shopping.

first-nations-beaded-bracelet

Then there’s the blue and gold bracelet I found at CRS Trading Post in Britannia Beach. Stopped there on our way to Whistler last weekend, which means it reminds me of sun, snow and, well, shopping.

dream-catcher-rearview-window

The Trading Post is also where I found my car’s newest accessory, the dream catcher. Which reminds me: I should start planning some dreamy roadtrips for the summer.

P.S. Follow the Anthology on Twitter. And get bonus bonus points.

April 7, 2010 by

La playa, oh, la playa

Wish I could spend all my days in Playa del Carmen.

playa-del-carmen-beach

I could get used to a beachy-keen lifestyle.

cenote-swimming-mexico

But my favourite spot to swim? It wasn’t the beach but a giant freshwater cenote (sinkhole doesn’t sound nearly as romantic, does it?). Cenote Ikil was cold, full of fish and dripping with Lost-style vines. Add to that the fact that it was a reported 54 metres(!) deep and you’ve got the coolest, spookiest swimming hole in the Yucatan.

mexico-playa-del-carmen

I’ve been back in Vancouver a few weeks now but I desperately want to head back to Mexico. Now.

My tangerine dress? It’s from Zara. My suitcase? It’s bulging full of ridiculously bulky sweaters and scarves.

rainbow-umbrella-playa-del-carmen

Seriously, who goes to a place like this and buys big woolly things?

P.S. Add the Anthology on Facebook.

April 4, 2010 by

A foolproof way to mix and match prints?

Look to Mother Nature. Because she know what she’s doing. And if a colour palette is good enough for her, then it’s good enough for me.

alice-hart-feather-headpiece

Let’s take the peacock feather for example. The forest green, the deep purple, the navy blue and, when the light hits it right, the splash of yellow. (The peacock headpiece, by the way, is one of two custom pieces made for me by Vancouver’s Alice Hart.)

mixed-prints

Stripes, florals, miscellaneous geometric patterns — they all work together beautifully when Mama N picks the palette.

wrap-dress

She makes the potentially disastrous practice of print-mixing as foolproof as can be.

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In fact, I’d say she’s the best stylist a gal could ask for.

P.S. Follow the Anthology on Twitter, tweeps!

March 31, 2010 by

Out for dinner the other night

And it was finally spring-y enough to wear a summer dresses (underneath a faux fur jacket, but still).

dress-from-antalya-turkey

This particular number I found in Turkey last summer. And it’s got everything I love in a dress — bat-wing sleeves, light material and a beautiful print. Makes me think I need to get a similar one made in a different print.

boots-from-umeboshi

My boots? Didn’t have to travel quite so far to find them. They’re from Umeboshi on Main Street.

P.S. Will you be my tweetheart?

March 28, 2010 by

It was like school!

The good kind, I mean. Where a lecture makes you fall so deeply in love with its subject that you want to switch majors. In this case, the subject was Vancouver Opera’s Nixon in China and the lecturer was Assistant Stage Director Stephen Drover.

vancouver-opera-fan-night-nixon-in-china

As part of the opera’s Fan Night, Drover took us through some of the highlights of the $1.4 million dollar production. It got philosophical. And interesting.

roy-husada-manga-nixon-in-china

Ponder this: opera is always seen from afar (hello opera glasses!) but we are living in the age of the close-up (hello HD TV!). So how did the fine folks at the opera bridge that gap? They brought cameras onstage to project visual close ups onto the backdrop and miked the performers (so often frowned upon in the opera world) to achieve audio close ups.

nixon_model_maoslibrary

But my favourite part had nothing to do with technical trickery and everything to do with dance. The second act — oh! The second act! — featured a beautiful sequence choreographed by Wen Wei Wang (whose work I’ve been a fan of for years). It made me realize it’s been far too long since I’ve been to the ballet.

nixon-in-china-vancouver-opera-fashion

So what did I wear? A beautiful, straight-out-of-the-eighties dress that my sister found for me. (Thank you, Rissa!) The vintage  clutch is one of many I have in my collection.

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A pendant necklace I also stole from her (how do those of you without sisters dress yourselves?).

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And shoes the colour of pink highlighters.

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Want to see more photos of Nixon in China? Take a look here. (The other gal in that photo? Kim Li of Delicious Juice.)

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Wondering what I wore last time I went to the opera? And the time before that?

The first three images are courtesy of the Vancouver Opera. Thank you again, VO, for an amazing evening!

P.S. I’m on Twitter. Are you?

March 24, 2010 by

There are things you expect to stock up on

When you’re in Mexico — beaded accessories, silver jewelry and tequila.

playa-del-carmen-mexico-beaded-jewelry

And then there are things you do not expect to stock up on when you’re in Mexico: oversized bat-winged sweaters…

mexico-sweater

and giant scarves. Both of which made it home in my suitcase. The sweater is from Shalom in Playa del Carmen, which you should stop into if you’re ever there. I have a feeling you’d like it.

llama-wool-scarf-mexico

The scarf is from a stall on Playa’s Fifth Avenue. And I should point out that it is made of — and I am not even kidding you — llama wool. Which might actually be something you would expect.

P.S. Add the Anthology on Facebook. Because it’s about time we were FBFFs.

March 21, 2010 by

Feels a bit seventies

Doesn’t it?

street-style-vancouver

Is it the leather vest? The just-below-the-knee skirt?

modern-seventies-street-style

Or the fact that I give off a psychedelic vibe, man?

March 9, 2010 by