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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This season of GIRLS has been an emotional roller coaster for all involved, and over the last few episodes it seemed that the dark moments were overtaking the light. The final episode didn’t shy away from the darkness- all of these characters are still struggling, but there was a silver lining for each that once again leaves us eager to find out what happens next, this time when the girls (and Adam, Ray and Charlie) are back for season 3!

Hannah

Hannah is very, very alone. We find her in her bed, still in the ugly brown t-shirt she wore to the hospital, being driven crazy by a terrible ringing noise from the damaged ear. It is a terrible idea to Google your symptoms, so it is no surprise that when she does, she goes down the web-md query rabbit hole and ends up even more depressed than when she started. To make matters worse, she receives an alarming call from her editor, demanding her new book pages today or she’ll have to return her advance. What happens if she’s spent the cheque? Oh, they may just have to sue her. Gulp.

Hannah being Hannah, she dials up her emergency contact – her dad – to help her out of the bind. Unfortunately she has used up all the sympathy her parents could muster for her, and has become the girl who cried wolf. Even though in this case she really is in deep trouble, and not only needs medical and financial help, but emotional help as well, her father feels that he is being manipulated and tells her she’s on her own.

After hiding from Marnie, knowing that she will not be able to offer any help Hannah needs at this point, she continues her cool whip eating procrastination. Depression breeds bad ideas and the unfortunate self haircut is one Hannah has flirted with before and finally succumbed to. Carey Mulligan likely got hers cut in a salon, and it is clear right away that Hannah’s version is a disaster. Another sign of her flawed thinking process? Hannah invites downstairs neighbor and erstwhile stalker Laird to help her finish it.

She explains to Laird how she is feeling:

“You know when you are young and you drop a glass, and your Dad says ‘Get out of the way’ so you can be safe while he cleans it up? Well, now no one really cares if I clean it up myself. No one really cares if I get cut with glass. If I break something no one says ‘Let me take care of that.’ You know?”

Even though she understands it, she has not come to terms with being out in the world on her own. Like she did when she was a child, she pretends to be sick, hoping that Laird will do something for her, even try and have sex with her again so that this can be one of her strange experiences rather than just a sad girl falling apart. He refuses to be put in that position though, calling her self involved and presumptuous, and tells her she is rotten on the inside. Hannah apologizes for her behavior to him, and he accepts, but it really doesn’t change anything – she is still alone.

After calling Jessa and leaving her a voice mail about how shitty it feels to be abandoned, Hannah makes one more call for help, and this time it is answered. The only person left who could possibly help her is Adam, and she calls him, accidentally making the call over “facetime” which means he can see her in all her hacked off hair, OCD twitching glory. As soon as he realizes what state she is in he is off and running, shirtless, all the way to her house, keeping her on the phone so she won’t feel alone. It is the grand gesture of her ideal white knight, and the expression of panic and joy on her face throughout says it all.

After breaking her door down to get in (she is under the covers and can’t get out to open the door) Adam is there, in her bedroom, and finally we think that things might just be all right after all. He scoops her up, they kiss, and something that has been off all season finally feels like it is put to rights. He may not be a gentleman in the conventional sense, but Adam really does know what it takes to help Hannah. In fact, it seems like they will help each other.

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Covering Paris Fashion Week requires a few key essentials: 1. Stamina fuelled by a diet of pain au chocolat and espresso. 2. Stylish shoes that you can actually run in as you frantically dash from one show to the next. 3. A retreat from the fashion madness—preferably one near the metro because hailing a Parisian cab is a Sisyphean endeavour.

For the spring/summer 2013 collections, I found the perfect hotel. As soon as my jet lagged body entered the stylishly discreet Le Pavillon des Lettres reception area I knew I had found my sanctuary. The 26-room boutique hotel is located in the tony 8th arrondissement—on a charming quiet street just a five-minute walk from the Grand Palais, where Karl Lagerfeld always presents his latest creations for Chanel.

The charming Le Pavillon des Lettres is located on a quiet street but within walking distance of rue Saint-Honoré. (Tip: Up your credit limit!)

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“Is that a box from Tiffany on your desk?” asked a colleague. “Well, no—but it’s just as divine,” I sheepishly admitted. Talk about just-in-time delivery! Shortbread cookies, in a Tiffany-like blue box, had arrived from Eat My Words just as I was about to have my afternoon java hit. The cookies, which are from recipes created by pastry chef Anna Olson, come with sinfully irresistible names, like Toblerone Shortbread and Mocha Meltaway. I don’t feel a bit guilty reaching for my third cookie (okay, a little bit) because the proceeds go to the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

Eat My Words, Sweet Heart Project, 12 cookies  for $19.

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I’m Alberta-bound—finally. It’s been way too many years since I set foot in my home province. Tuesday night, I fly off to “Cal-Gree,” or, as I used to say when I lived there for one year, “Cal-Gary.” (At least I think that’s the linguistic distinction between a born-and-raised Cowtown gal and an interloper.) Perhaps a more timely analogy is that I was more of a Marty than a Quick Six. (I know that Grey Cup fans—especially Stampeders—will get that reference.)

So what brings me home? I’ve been invited to attend the annual ‘TWas the Night holiday bash at the CORE Shopping Centre on Wednesday, November 28, from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. I’m normally a last-minute deadline shopper, so I’m intrigued to be surrounded by thousands of people who plan on getting their holiday shopping done in one night. (Note to self: Check WestJet’s luggage limit for my return flight.)

I’ll be joined by red-carpet host Jessi Cruickshank (MTV, eTalk, E! Network) as well as dancers from the Alberta Ballet, who will perform excerpts from The Nutcracker. Proceeds from the sale of  tickets ($15) for the event will go to United Way of Calgary and the National Music Centre Project.

P.S. If Toronto wins the Grey Cup on Sunday, please don’t hold it against me!

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Let’s be clear: I’m not a person who needs an HD video camera that you can mount to your, say, mountain bike to capture all your sick tricks

But just for a day, wouldn’t you totally like to be?

The answer is yes. Now all I need is a mountain bike…

GoPro HD HERO2 Outdoor Helmet Camcorder available at bestbuy.ca ($349.99)

We had these pumps on set at a recent cover shoot and at first, I was like, “What? No. No lucite heels.”

Then I looked at them again and was literally struck down with love.

Seriously, guys. Just when you think that pumps will never be cool again, these boys change the game by making Guggenheim-worthy heels.

So I guess my secret is out: I like lucite.

Nicholas Kirkwood for Erdem pumps at netaporter.com

Dear female Olympian gymnasts,

You are all so bendy and strong and dedicated! Congratulations on that.

However, as a collective, you’ve been demonstrating a huge lack of judgment when it comes to glitter.

There is so much glitter in your hair, ladies.

Based on my calculations, the appropriate amount of sparkle one should apply to a fresh hairdo is zero grams (or zero ounces for the Americans). Your high bar skills are all the eye-catching-jazziness required to wow us.

But perhaps you all have a good reason for these very blinding buns?

Maybe the sport was sponsored by Elton John?

No?

David Bowie?

Still no?

Ok then. I’m out of excuses.

Well, good luck at the games—and good luck washing all that glitter out!

Kat