October 17, 2007
So this is my last post as the indie artist in residence for the "style" issue. I hope some of the things I've rattled on about have sparked a new or renewed interest in all things style related. If you want to catch more style ramblings from me on a regular basis, check out the blog I have for the gallery/boutique my partner and I run here in Montreal. It's at www.HQgalerieboutique.com Farewell friends!... Read more.
October 11, 2007
I hate to be the one to bring up Christmas so early, but it's the middle of October somehow, not sure how that happened so quick... Finding special gifts for family and friends can range from fun and easy to gut renchingly painful. Now that my partner and I run our own store things have gotten a lot easier, but for a couple of years before that we got into going to indie craft fairs to find handmade items. Montreal has a few fairs coming up (Souk at SAT, Les Petits Pain Chaud), Ottawa has it's holiday version of the Ladyfest Craft Sale, and I'm sure if you get Googling you can find some local sales in your area. Just make sure to do your research or you may end up at some old school craft fair with lace angels, tea cozies made out of old scraps of yarn and animals made of popsicles. To be clear, I'm talking new, young, creative crafters and designers, part of the modern crafting movement lovingly covered in the last issue of Broken Pencil. So to help you in your shopping adventur... Read more.
October 1, 2007
Get the most out of those summer favorites
Now that September has flown by and we're heading into October, it seems that the fall weather will truly be upon us soon. I think most people like to splurge on a few new items for the coming season, but I don't know anyone who can afford to (or even sees the need to) do a total wardrobe overhaul. So why not look at your spring duds with fresh eyes and work them into some fall looks. Here's my shortlist of fall items that will help you layer up your more summery clothes and begin the preparations for hibernation season. One of my favorite accessories is a good pair (or ten) of tights. Footless or footed, they're both incredibly useful. I keep my eyes open for special colours, textures, and of course good deals. H&M has a pretty great selection of tights, as does your local Zellers, Bay, etc. If you're looking for some fun colours or weird patterns (ie. floral lace, etc) check out your local Value Village. I always find great never-worn-still-in-the-package nylons in amazing colours... Read more.
September 25, 2007
September is one of the busiest times of the year in the fashion industry, all the major companies and designers are going nuts finishing off their spring collections and preparing to present them to buyers and editors. From the small teeny little local companies (like the one I work for) to the high end designers in New York, London, Paris, Milan etc., everyone is going nuts trying to get everything done in time. New York fashion week took place 2 weeks ago, London fashion week was last week, Milan is happening right now and Paris is coming up soon. I was lucky enough to be in London, Rome and Stockholm last week traveling for work, and happening to be stopping in London for 2 days during fashion week. Although I wasn't there to see the shows, the energy of these events was vibrating throughout the city. Special window displays, fashion related parties at clubs, articles in papers, TV coverage on morning shows, the local support and excitement was palpable. With this kind of s... Read more.
August 30, 2007
Sometimes I find the average glossy mag that's floating about to be a little conservative in terms of style inspiration. Either the clothing is highly styled to the point that it looks great in the mag, but is highly unwearable, or the outfit is so boring in that "must have/everyone is wearing it" kind of way. So where to turn when looking for true fashion inspiration? The streets of course. There is a theory in fashion studies called "trickle up/trickle down", which refers to the effect of either runway fashions "trickling down" to the masses, or street fashion "trickling up" to the high fashion runway designers. Not a fan of being dictated to ALL the time, I find a great source of inspiration in watching people out and about town. The internet has made this past time oh so much easier with a plethora of street style blogs and personal blogs featuring the musings of the fashion/style obsessed. Here are my favorites, enjoy! Style Bubble: Based in London,Suzie Bubble post... Read more.
August 20, 2007
Like most people, I like to make the most of my wardrobe, but I also have this "thing" where I don't like to wear the exact same outfit twice. It's not that it bothers me when other people wear the same things all the time, its more a matter of me getting dressed in the morning and going "come on, you can do better than that, you already made up that outfit last month, you're cheating unless you think of some new, creative masterpiece". Talk about pressure. So rather than keep buying clothing at an alarming rate (which is not an option for a variety of reasons) I've mastered the art of multi-function clothing. Some of my favorites are: - Knee length skirt becomes mini with a roll of the waistband (didn't we learn this in junior high? Hike up the skirt after leaving the watchful eyes of mom and dad?) - Elastic waist skirt becomes tube dress or top - Cardigan sweater becomes skirt. Arms can be twisted around the waist or folded inside out to make pockets, as per the attached pic... Read more.
August 15, 2007
I have a bit of a beef with people whose clothes are too tight. As well, I have a beef with people who only wear tight clothes all of the time. I'm all for variety in style, so of course tight things do factor into my wardrobe in their various ways (actual tights come to mind, great vintage tees, tanks, skinny jeans, etc) but I'm talking about head to toe, "check me out I'm such a hottie" tight. I have to admit, it is often the "young kids" who are commonly guilty, and maybe I shouldn't fault them for wanting to show off their newly shapely bods, but I just wish more north americans would put a little more variety into the way they wear their clothing. Is that so much to ask? Through various trips to Asia in my designer travels, I have fallen in love with the way the kids in Hong Kong throw it together. These are some of the tiniest girls in the world, with great figures to show off if they so choose. But instead, they layer it up, throw on gorgeous drapy jersey tops over co... Read more.
August 9, 2007
Making a list, checking it twice
I'm not usually one to stick to a shopping list per se, I'm a little more, shall we say "freeform" than that. But I just happened upon a decent list from a blog I've been checking out recently entitled "I Want a Job in Fashion". The blog writer is determined to get a job in the fashion industry, and has given herself 365 days from the beginning of the blog to do so. Along the way there are many style musing, declarations of adoration over a new style, etc. As I said, normally I'm not a huge fan of lists that preach, but I think this girl is pretty bang on with this one and points out that it is just a starting point. Good bones for your closet basically. Check it out at: http://iwantajobinfashion.blogspot.com/2007/08/back-to-basics.html... Read more.
August 8, 2007
Where the hell did you get those weird pants?
So how do we develop our personal "style"? When does it start? HOW does it start? WHY does it start? I've had some interesting conversations with people about how their personal styles developed, either slowly over time, or influenced by some sort of teenage passion (Nirvana anyone?) I have to say, it tells a lot about a person, and is possibly one of the most non-intrusive ways of figuring out what makes a person tick. Growing up in a small town in rural Manitoba, I lived close enough to the "big city" (Winnipeg) that I could pick up the odd fashion magazine and see what the city kids were wearing, but I was also separate enough to begin developing my own weird little style. I credit a lot of my fashion sense to a mixture of reading Vogue at age 12 while being surrounded by a slightly out of touch country environment. READING VOGUE is probably not the right term though, since most of the articles were way out of my realm of understanding at that age, but I quickly developed ... Read more.
August 6, 2007
Good morning to all of you, from a dreary, rainy Montreal. Thank goodness I have the joy of blogging to raise me up out of this wet mess. I love public transit, but sometimes... Over the next month or so I'll be blogging about my experiences in the world of fashion and design (see the bio for a detailed history), as well as pondering random thoughts on personal style, how we develop it throughout our lifetime, and how the styles we run into here, there and everywhere feed into the development of our own styles. I'll also be listing some other fun style related blogs for you to check out. If anyone has any fashion/style related questions throw them over, I'll be happy to oblige. Angie... Read more.
Angie Johnson
Angie Johnson grew up in rural Manitoba, running around naked in the backyard and making mudpies. As she grew, she developed an interest in fashion/design, sewing tiny dresses for dolls, and constantly playing dress up in her grandma's slightly mildewy basement. This interest in all things fabric-related led her to believe that one day she could become a big time fashion designer, and the quest began. This decision came around age nine.
By age 16 Angie decided that, as much as she enjoyed shopping in Winnipeg malls, there must be more to fashion than what she was seeing, so she began experimenting with patternmaking and draping, and began her first clothing line. With a few rough sketches and samples in hand she began selling this line around town, and enjoyed it very much. Some would say it even kept her out of trouble.
A few years later the University of Manitoba Clothing & Textiles program came and went, ending in 2002 with a nice piece of paper. During this time Angie also began working for Silver Jeans in Winnipeg, one of the only remaining denim design houses and manufacturing combos left in North America. Many wonderful skills were learned here, under the guidance of the great design team. She also managed to find a little time to continue sewing her own line, which was sold in a few boutiques in town. It still helped keep her out of trouble... pretty much.
In 2003 after four years with Silver Jeans Angie was yearning for a bigger challenge, and headed out to Montreal to become a "real" designer. First stop, assistant designer at Industry Clothing, a great experience that sent Angie on her first whirlwind trip to Hong Kong. Working with a great design team here as well, Angie met many of the people she is still inspired by today. They also still go for lunch once in awhile. After a year and a half it was time to move on, and she became head designer at Manager Jeans/MX Jeans. In 2006 Angie and her partner Tyson Bodnarchuk decided to open a boutique/gallery in Montreal. They named it "Headquarters Galerie & Boutique" and first opened their doors in June 2006. Angie still sews her own line called BLUEprint, which is now sold exclusively at HQ.
In the past few months Manager Jeans/MX jeans has divided into two new companies, one of which she calls her new home. It is top secret right now, but sleep soundly knowing she is happy, excited about the new collections and has a nice shiny new MacBook to keep her busy.