Get Your 'House of Harlow' Here...

 

Question: What do you, me and other Kelowna-based fashionistas have in common with celebs like Rachel Bilson, Miley Cyrus, and Kim Kardashian (although I may be using the term celebrity rather loosely here) have in common? 
Answer: We all have access to the uber-fashiony line House of Harlow 1960.

Designed by Nicole Ritchie (yes, the daughter of Mr. Easy-Like-Sunday-Morning), House of Harlow 1960 is an accessories line available at big city fashion meccas like Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Selfridges. However, I'm happy to say that House of Harlow has also touched down in the Okanagan at La Bonne Vie, who are stocking some of her fabulous sunburst rings and necklaces. From $69, it a much cheaper way of staying on trend than having to fly to New York.

Love em.

   

La Bonne Vie: 2942 Pandosy St, Kelowna, BC V1Y 1W1; (250) 762-8325; www.labonneviedecor.com

koLu-licious...

I LOVE a good boutique, me.  

At different points in my life Melrose Ave, King's Road and Spring Street (to name a few) have all held a magnetic attraction for me, for this very reason, and I have spend many delicious hours (not to mention significant chunks of my paycheck) indulging in my passion. Luckily, Kelowna is no slouch in this department. There are loads of great shopping experiences to be had, and my only (small) complaint is that I can't believe I have somehow managed to live here for a whole year without koLu popping up on my radar.  Luckily, this was recently rectified while doing research for the spring issue of ICON's fashion pages.

The boutique is a bit tucked away in Spall Plaza (perhaps why it escaped my attention for so long), but if you look for London Drugs and then jog to the left, you will find a truly big city shopping experience, with good reason; Kolu also has a location in Venice Beach, LA and is soon to open a new store in Calgary. 

KoLu is filled to the brim with great labels, and offers both more casual as well as full on fashion looks, and also has some of the best shoes in Kelowna. The boutique brings in hand picked footwear, clothing and accessories from labels around the globe, with merchandise arriving weekly from NY, Paris, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Toronto, Germany, France, Belgium, LA, Australia, and Korea. Sarah Pacini is one of my new favs, and I am super-stoked that Sigerson Morrison shoes are to be had.

One of the other great things about koLu is that it is manned by great 'stylists' who are totally a) knowledgeable and b) helpful, while being very pleasant indeed. And let's face it, we pretty much always need an educated second opinion when buying clothes, no?

koLu: 118-1950 Harvey Ave; Kelowna, BC; V1Y 8J8
Phone: 250 861 5658
Hours: Mon - Wed10:00 am - 6:00 pm; Thu - Fri10:00 am - 7:00 pm; Sat10:00 am - 6:00 pm; Sun12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Website: http://www.kolu.ca/shop

European Style in the Okanagan Valley...

Nussbag. You saw it here first.

Okay, well, second... as I have just featured gorgeous Austrian accessories company Nussbag in a fashion shoot for the Spring Issue of Icon Okanagan.

Nussbags are the creation of Austrian designer Florian Nussbaumer, who imagines, designs and creates these one of a kind designer bags, belts and cell phone accessories by hand. Each piece is handcrafted using only natural wood and veneer products from the sustainable timber industry and a high quality leather lining.

To quote the website:-  "European craftsmanship and lots of creativity turn these high quality materials into beautiful designer pieces. The goal of each piece produced is to achieve maximum style with maximum quality". The result is practical objects d'art which would look as good hanging on your wall as they do hauling all your bits and pieces around town.

The company is new to the Okanagan and has been brought in by Vernon entrepreneur Simone Kashuba - thank you Simone! Handbags range in price from $175 to $475 (for a large briefcase). 

I, personally, am now the proud owner of the 'Classic Light Macassar' (pictured above). I wore it out to a private view earlier this week, and it looked as lovely on my arm as the art on the wall.  The result was a flurry of compliments and questions about where it was from - fashion result!

You can find out where to get a Nussbag at www.nussbag.ca.

~

PS the gorgeous fashion shot above is by Kelowna photographer Caitlyn Chapman - but that is a whole other blog entry! (See Spring Forward, April 10, 2014).

Inspired Words....

To steal a (mis)quote from Forrest Gump: 'Poetry readings are like a box of chocolates... you never know what you are going to get'. 

The Inspired Word Cafe - which gigs around Kelowna at a variety of locations and venues - aptly illustrates this. At the recent downtown Bean Scene gathering, poetry, beat-boxing, a capella vocals, break dancing, storytelling and even debate on topics like 'authenticity' and whether or not 'ignorance is bliss' made for a lively and provocative evening.

Led by Rawle James, an ex-Torontonian financial trader turned Kelowna poet, speaker, spiritual mentor and life coach, the evening was a wonderful melting pot of artistic and intellectual ideas and ideals. Inspired Word Cafe is a chilled, cabaret -styled evening of spoken word and other artistic endeavors (see list above) that brings people together in a great melting pot of artistic creativity.

Good, bad or ugly, I have the ultimate respect for anyone who gets up and shares their innermost thoughts with strangers, and I have yet to go to a poetry evening where at least one poem didn't utterly make my soul sing. Indeed, I have been to some wonderful readings, and some of the nights I have spent at the Urbana Poetry Slam at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York have been the most exhilarating and inspiring ever, so I have been hoping to find some good spoken word here in Kelowna. Inspired Word Cafe could definitely fit that bill, and is certainly getting added onto my social calendar. 

To steal a(nother) quote off one the evening's performer's trucker's cap - the evening was 'dope'.
~
Remaining 'Inspired Word Cafe' shows of the 2013/14 season:

Sunday May 4th, 3-4pm: Starbucks Willow Park Plaza

Wednesday May 14th, 5-7pm: Rotary Centre for the Arts

Tuesday May 27th 6-8pm: Winfield Curling Club

Thursday May 22nd 6-8pm: Kelowna Art Gallery 

Friday May 30th 7-9pm: Bean Scene downtown

Check out their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inspired-Word-Cafe/141033639291820

Karoshi:Bringing 'Death by Overwork' to Life...

When I lived in Vancouver, many moons ago,  I worked for The Georgia Straight (Vancouver's weekly entertainment paper) at a time when guest lists and free tickets to various things were still very much a perk of the job. 

Because of this I was able to attend some really wonderful events, and also to broaden my cultural horizons, trying things I might not normally have done had I had to pay for the privilege of doing so. One of the new things I was turned on to during this time period was modern dance. I was lucky enough to see 'La-la-la Human Steps' perform at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and that was it.  The physicality of their movement, and the emotional charge that was created by it, introduced me to a new art form and I have been hooked ever since.

Tonight, another (last minute) set of free tickets found me at the Rotary Centre for the Arts, at a performance of 'Karoshi', by a Vancouver dance company led by Shay Kuebler, choreographer/director and performer of the work.

Karoshi is a Japanese word meaning, quite literally, 'death by overwork'. The piece examines this cultural phenomenon - completely unique to Japan - whereby death is caused from illness, stroke or heart attack brought on by extreme working conditions (giving new meaning to the term 24/7) or from suicide brought on by depression caused by overwork. "What I found was the necessity to speak about the conflict between societal need and human need as well as the conflict of traditional and modern values" says Kuebler, of his creation.

The performance mixes martial arts, modern dance, physical movement, music, sound, lighting and Budo drumming to create a piece that is both provocative and evocative, sad and funny, emotionally charged and cathartic. Even better, after the performance the company came out to talk to the audience and answer questions about the piece; it is always wonderful to be able to peek behind the scenes of creation. 

Well done RCA, for bringing Karoshi to Kelowna. It really was quite wonderful. 

...

PS: After the opening sequence of this performance, I swear that I will never interact with my computer in quite the same way again. ;-)

Rotary Centre for the Arts: 421 Cawston Ave, Kelowna, V1Y 6Z1. Ph: (250) 717-5304. 

Website: RotaryCentrefortheArts.com

Designer Digs: Another Fashion Friday...

If my previous Friday was all about photographing fashion, this past Friday was all about looking at fashion. Well... make that Fashion and Interior Design. April 4th saw the event 'Designer Digs' giving people a chance to get a sneaky peek at three of Kelowna's most beautifully designed homes followed by a fashion show and after party, all in the name of charity.

The houses ranged from modern and minimal, to 1200 square feet of cozy white bliss, to utter decadence and luxury, in tones of black purple and metallics - and all were to die for. I came away with so many great interiors ideas, my poor husband may well be doing DIY every weekend for the next ten years. And, as if the home tours weren't enough, it was followed by a fabulous fashion show featuring clothes from locally raised/Vancouver based designer Jason Matlo and local boutique La Bonne Vie.

The event was conceived and organised by La Bonne Vie's owner Tracey Wikenheiser to raise money for the 'Wish Come True Society', which is raising money to open a Respite/Hospice House for children here in the Okanagan.

So... great interior design, fabulous fashion, yummy wine from Ex Nihilo and canapes from Cabana, a silent auction of lovely luxury items, tons of beautifully dressed people having a wonderful time... all for a good cause. At the risk of repeating myself, really, what better way to spend a Friday night?!

Spring Forward...

With spring comes sunshine, daffodils and a whole new fashion season. What better way to celebrate the latter than by shooting some of the best that Kelowna has to offer, with some of the best that Kelowna has to offer, for some of the best Kelowna has to offer.

I love a good fashion shoot, and when it is promoting local talent and products, even better. The clothes came from local boutiques koLu, La Bonne Vie, Justin Paul Fashions, Jigsaw, and MacDermott's Men's Wear, topped off with some great eyewear from Wink i Wear; we also sourced a great new wooden handbag line being distributed locally called Nussbags.

Then we got together local talent like photographer Caitlyn Chapman, make up artist Sheleah Jay Bradley from SJB Make-up, hair stylist Alyssa from AMP Hairstyling, and models Emilee and Dayton from local agency Deja Vu Model Management. And all of this in aid of creating the spring fashion pages for the next issue of Kelowna-based lifestyle magazine 'Icon Okanagan'.

How great is it that the Okanagan has this kind of talent pool, and these kind of resources to pull from. The results were fabulous and the photos will be featured in the next issue of Icon, which will be out around town (and towns up and down the Okanagan) in mid-August.

Really... What better way to spend a Friday night?!