A Luxury Blog With An Honest View
Discovering a new blog and going back obsessively to read their articles on the first day is a surefire indication that there’s something special. Indeed, since burying my nose in these luxury books (which I will discuss in another post), I have per chance stumbled upon a luxury blog called “The Luxe Chronicles” by a woman named Helene, a globetrotter who has lived in Montreal, New York, Paris, and recently London.
Her posts are a godsend. It’s like reading additional annexes of the riveting books on luxury, and her blog offers an honest and critical view of the luxury industry.
Although I personally cannot afford the so-called “luxury” of expensive clothing, five-star hotels and wines, I do find that world to be rather fascinating especially when it goes beyond the marketing and advertising facade. My luxuries are in the simple things, like enjoying rolling around in my comforter and spend an afternoon lying in bed reading. That’s the reality of my duality, a fond love for both the finer things and the simple things in life.
The Luxe Chronicles are of the finer, yet readily accessible, things in the blogosphere.
P.S. I love her writing style, I only wish that later on my writing can be as refined!
Forget Me Not Stores
Sometimes a forgetful self can lead to missing opportunities to seek and explore stores around the city. This happens to me quite often but luckily I frequent these quarters enough to jot them down in my memories for future trekkings.
Here’s the list of targets I want to check out:
Boul. St-Laurent
U&I
Vivienne Westwood, Ksubi jeans, 3.1 Philip Lam. It’s a higher end casual store tha always looks so somber on the inside, but the brands attract me enough to at least check them out.
Blank
Often referenced as the Quebec version of American Apparel. 100% made in Montreal and a good deal cheaper. Just don’t expect ads and posters of scantily clad women and men in their basic undies around the store.
Rue St-Denis
OLAM
Once reported as a featured store on Musique Plus, there is another one on St-Catherine as well. I passed by the one on St-Denis and saw that they carry a mix of Quebec designers and some high end imports like Miss Sixty.
Philippe Dubuc
Although I long though he had closed down due to money troubles, he still maintains a modest 2 story boutique. He’s been touted as a designer with a great eye for design and tailoring, but I really want to see with my own two eyes.
Muse
I just noticed yesterday that Muse is only two doors away from Philippe Dubuc’s store! Very small boutique from what I could see, only one window? I saw a sale sign, maybe I could find something there.
Declaration of Indie-pendence
Montreal is a real hubbub of indie culture. Fans of the underground and obscure have developed such a huge network of websites and blogs that it has become mainstream to be indie. Sort of an oxymoron. Indie artists are so numerous that it’s hard to keep up with the ongoings of their world appropriately on this blog.
But I have gathered for you some of my picks of those whom I find have done a great job in spreading appreciation and respect to fellow DIY (do-it-yourself) artists. They will thoroughly quench a part of your needs of anything that is out of the mainstream and out of the glossy fashion magazines, however their partying antics can be just as crazy.
Worn Fashion Journal
I’m not sure if there are any other magazine of its kind in Montreal, but it certainly is very polished. All of the cover art are made by local artists, whether they’re photographers or illustrators, they interview people with great sense of style, a love for vintage clothing, and tips and tricks to mend your threads.
Headquarter Galerie & Boutique
This pretty little shop in the Gay Village simply has a great collection of very unique pieces of clothes, accessories, trinkets, and artwork by local Montrealers. I love reading through their blog posts with their Look of The Week, and obsession with Etsy (Worn is obsessed with that store too btw).
Indyish
Perhaps one of the best known indie networks that gathers bloggers, writers, photographers, artists, fashion designers and musical artists under one roof.
Mesa Moda
A relatively new fashion blog, which in their own words, “is a Montréal-based monthly web-mag dedicated to the cause of original, artistic and ethically minded fashion.” Their written works are in forms of magazine-like layouts with tons of photos.
The Pregnant Goldfish - Shut Up You Twit!
A whirlwind of street style photos and zany comments.
The Plug-Post But Still Fashion-Related
Yay! My first front page featured article at Gloss! I’m actually quite excited about this since these were two interviews I’ve been waiting to see pop out onto this issue.
Go ahead and read my latest interviews of Aqua di Lara designer, Reyhan Sofraci, for her new Qiss Qiss swimwear line, and the charming Evelyne Dupuis‘ White Label interview of her sexy little numbers.
Global Warming Just Got Hotter (I came up with that headline and I’m really proud of it)
Also don’t forget to read the Glossip section of yours truly 
Finally, this is the last shameless plug, read me weekly at my column at Capazine, an online magazine for the social network Capazoo. The latest article is about Gucci’s little PR problems that happened during the opening of their 46,000 sq. foot flagship store on Fifth Avenue. And if you’re in for a little humor, I compiled a list of the Top 10 Wackiest Gadgets For Women, which I thoroughly enjoyed researching.
Image credits: AquadiLara/QissQiss, White Label
Haute Couture For Men in Montreal
I admit that writing about Men’s Fashion isn’t one of my strong points since I know nothing about it. I sort of wished we had our own Sartorialist photographing fashionable men around the city!
However, I’m glad to know that there is a boutique for the high end man and that’s Pellegrino Castronovo. I’ve actually passed by this shop many times by car as it’s hard to miss from its beautifully spacious interior and large windows. Montreal.tv did a nice little reporting clip about the store and showcased what the shop could do for you. It looks like a very nice store, but only if you have the funds to show for it.
Pellegrino Castronovo Couture is located at 5025 Avenue Papineau, corner St-Joseph.
Image credit: Pellegrino Castronovo
