This week, we’re test-driving Daisy Buchanen’s favourite cocktail: The Mint Julep. Not familiar? It’s the drink she makes her husband when they have their blow out in the Plaza Hotel: “I’ll make you a mint julep,” Daisy says to Tom. “Then you won’t seem to stupid to yourself.” Ouch!

But don’t worry–this afternoon, we’re drinking under much happier circumstances: because hey, it’s a Friday afternoon, and it’s almost June. Cheers!

You will need:
2 oz of bourbon (We love Bulleit Bourbon!)
2 tsp of simple syrup
mint leaves

Click through to see how to make the Mint Julep…
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Photography by Barbora Simkova

Elizabeth Kurtz, snapped in Toronto

Style: Summer retro

Wearing: Zara dress, vintage jean jacket, shoes from Gravity Pope, Duney and Burke purse and family heirloom rings

Summer must-have: “I have been seeking unique prints that are colourful and tasteful, i like mixing them with classic and vintage pieces that aren’t so loud and modern to make them my own.”

Click through to see our Montreal street style pic of the day!

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A promotional feature from ©

If you recall, Oakley Canada recently hosted a contest to find their next Oakley Ambassadors for 2013.  Women from across Canada submitted videos and written stories on why their positive and active outlook on life, would be a great fit with the Oakley Canada brand.

Lauren Pilszek, 2013 Oakley Ambassador

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Photography by Barbora Simkova

Jaehee Lee, snapped in Toronto

Style: Simply summer-ready

Wearing: Tom’s shoes, Current Elliot shorts, Roberto Cavalli tank, Claeson sweater

Styling motto: “I like more variety in my fashion, some days I keep it casual but I try and think outside the box, repurpose my clothes and make use of my clothes that I have.”

Click through to see our Montreal street style pic of the day!

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Photography by Barbora Simkova

Julia Kim, snapped in Toronto

Style: Casually kilted

Wearing: Mom’s vintage uniform kilt, American Apparel bandeau, vintage Levi’s jacket

Styling method:“I like to do my makeup and then plan my outfit around the makeup look I’ve created.”

Click through to see our Montreal street style pic of the day!

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I was recently in Singapore to attend Chanel’s cruise collection. It was a fabulous affair, but after a few days of subsisting on canapés and champagne (hey, I’m not complaining), I was craving something more substantial than a postage-stamp-size piece of smoked salmon on rye. I was also in serious need of some comfort food as I was bracing for a four-hour night flight to Hong Kong, a 10-hour layover there followed by a 15+-hour flight home to Toronto. Several people—including the woman who had recommended I try a Malay abdominal massage—suggested Pollen. (I figured this was a solid tip coming from someone who clearly had a heightened sense of the need to care for one’s stomach.) But as a seasonal allergy sufferer, I flinched when she first told me the name. “Do you mean ‘Poland’?” I clarified. “No, Pollen,” she replied. “As in the flower.”

Entrance to the Pollen restaurant in Singapore.

Pollen restaurant is located inside the Flower Dome.

I thought it was a curious name until I Googled the place and learned that it was located in the Flower Dome in the new Gardens by the Bay. The gardens, which span 250 acres of reclaimed land and reportedly cost SGD $1 billion, are a rare gem in a city whose bland skyline has a certain Ottawa-government vibe to it. (The notable exception being the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and its jaw-dropping infinity pool on the 57th floor.) For Pollen’s chef director, “Michelin” man Jason Atherton, the name is a metaphor for the growth of new ideas or “the birth of newly invented recipes and ways of cooking.” Atherton—who is a former protege of Gordon Ramsay— has a similar venture in London, called Pollen Street Social.

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel dominates the Singapore skyline.

The spectacular Marina Bay Sands’ infinity pool.

Foodie hype or divine dinner: Did the restaurant deliver? Read on…

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Dateline: Singapore Chanel Cruise Collection

The quick recap in 10 words: Circa 1913 boyish chic with a ’50s colonial cricket-inspired twist.

The inspiration: Karl Lagerfeld said that Coco Chanel—and how she looked when she opened her first boutique in Deauville in 1913—was the main inspiration for this collection. The night before the runway show, Lagerfeld invited guests to the courtyard at the famed Raffles Hotel to screen his short film, Once Upon a Time. The black-and-white 18-minute movie, which reflects his reimagined idea of Coco’s life back then, starred Keira Knightley alongside Chanel model muses like Stella Tennant, Saskia de Brauw and Lindsey Wixson. (Historical note: The Singapore Sling was invented at the hotel in 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon, a Hainanese bartender working at the Long Bar in the hotel.)

When in Rome… I tried my first Singapore Sling at the hotel where it was invented.

The palette: Beige, white, ivory, black and navy blue.

 Key silhouettes: High-waisted, wide-legged pants, jumpsuits, long belted knit tunics, short jackets, pencil pleated dresses, graphic black-and-white jogging pants and pleated tops.

The fabrics: Cotton, tweed, latex-gilded lace, knit, crepe de Chine, beaded and lacquered straw.

What’s the shoe everyone will covet; plus the Chanel bag that stole the show? Read on…

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Cruising along…

I haven’t read Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians yet, but I feel as if I got a glimpse into the fabulously OTT Asian jet-set scene when I attended Chanel’s recent cruise collection in Singapore. Unlike other fashion spectacles—where the front row is lined with international press and A-list European and American starlets—this outing felt more like a gigantic love letter/trunk show for Karl Lagerfeld’s seriously committed “Chanelites.”

Chanel “superfans.”

There were some notable style scribes (Carine Roitfeld and André Leon Talley), one American celebrity (Dakota Fanning) and some Asian film stars (Rinko Kikuchi, Fann Wong, Zhou Xun and Gwei Lun-Mei), but the majority of the 1,200 people at the show on May 9 appeared to be A-list shoppers who wore their loyalty literally from head-to-two-toned pumped toe. While some travelled from Hong Kong, Bangkok and Malaysia, many of the moneyed set were from Singapore—a city The Wall Street Journal recently called the “world’s richest city.” According to Global Language Monitor, it also ranks eighth in the world’s fashion capitals.

At the afterparty held at the Loewen Cluster—a collection of buildings that at one time housed a nutmeg factory as well as British army barracks—I sidled up to two Chanel-clad young women or, as Kwan calls them, “CRAs.” After a little banter about the cruise collection’s chic pencil skirts, high-waisted wide-legged pants and the adorable—and highly covetable—No. 5 “fragrance” clutch, I asked them what they did for a living.

The Chanel No5 clutch. One word: adorable.

Read on to find out just how these two stylish women fund their fashionable—and enviable—wardrobes.

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A promotional feature from ©

Throughout May, I’ve been pushing myself to move harder and harder. I don’t know what it is, but even though I hate cardio, I always feel better after a good session!

With the announcement of Oakley’s new ambassadors for 2013, I am feeling even more inspired to keep up my active lifestyle. The women who have been selected to rep the brand for this year are inspiring and completely motivating! Here are the Ontario winners:

I had a feeling Heather Gardner would end up winning! She’s got a great look and is really passionate about motivating other women to move their bodies to the MAX!

Keep reading to see the rest of our Ontario Ambassadors! Read the rest of this entry

Photography by Barbora Simkova

Elizabeth Paez, snapped in Toronto

Style: Schoolgirl Gothic

Wearing: Urban Outfitters dress and shoes, socks from American American Apparel and Topshop sunglasses

Style inspiration: “I love scented candles, there is so much variety in the names, colours and scents that I often find they inspire me to put together interesting outfits.”

Click through to see our Montreal street style pic of the day!

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