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Magazine. Third time’s the charm, and this issue is brimming with it!
This fall will be our most exciting yet. How can I say that? After almost 50 years of searching through fashion houses worldwide, I don’t ever recall such a wonderful selection of styles for our stores. The details, the textures, and the silhouettes are masterfully created. The colour theme this season highlights soft shades, particularly pink and pale blue pastels. New for fall 2011 is the addition of winter white, which brightens up the palette and invigorates the look. These are supported with rich tones inspired by nature — deep greens, oranges, and reds. Silhouettes are narrow on the bottom and accented by full sweaters. Touches of fur trim provide luxury and great style. We are excited to introduce Akris punto for fall. Akris is a complete collection designed in Switzerland that offers superb tailoring and high style. I was particularly attracted to their plaid group, which shows that structure and femininity are not opposing forces. The dresses accentuate and flatter a woman’s figure. I’m sure you will agree with me once you see the collection! From Giorgio Armani to Lida Baday, our variety and selection are outstanding. We know you will agree. Come visit soon. Our team is waiting to share our excitement with you. Sincerely,
Milli Gould
TORONTO Critchley Lane • 100 Bloor Street West Toronto, Ontario • M5S 3L3 416 944 2233
HAMILTON 310 Main St. West Hamilton, Ontario • L8P 1J8 905 527 1531
www.milli.ca
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M I L L I
ON THE COVER: AKRIS PUNTO
M A G A Z I N E
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Welcome
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Milli Services
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Milli on the Web
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Milli Apparel Selections
10 Quatrefoil Restaurant 12 A Woman Like Paris 18 Interview with Jessica Chastain 24 Harry Rosen 30 Costa Brava, Spain 34 Investment Dressing 36 Akris punto 38 The Tasty Truth 44 Paule Ka 50 How Many Seasons Are There?
p36 Todd Tufts • Editor in Chief, Publisher Leslie C. Smith • Editorial Director Vence Vida • Production Manager Milli Magazine is published by Tufts Communications, 1201 E. 5th Street, Suite 1009 • Anderson, IN 46012 T: 765-608-3081 • E: todd@tuftscom.com © 2011, Tufts Communications. All rights reserved.
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Photo Courtesy of AKRIS PUNTO
at your ser vice
STORE LOCATIONS Hamilton: 310 Main Street West Hamilton, ON L8P 1J8 905-527-1531 web: www.milli.ca
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Toronto: Critchley Lane 100 Bloor Street West Toronto, ON M5S 3L3 416-944-2233
email: info@milli.ca
STORE HOURS Hamilton: Mon.-Sat. 9:30-5:30, Closed Sundays
Toronto: Mon.-Sat. 10-6pm, Closed Sundays
OUR STYLE Milli is the premier destination for women’s clothing and accessories in Southern Ontario. Our first fashion boutique opened in 1964, and for the last 47 years, we have remained committed to offering the latest designs from the world’s top designers. Customer service is the hallmark of our business and we are the main destination for the well-dressed woman. We look forward to sharing with you the Milli experience.
WARDROBE CONSULTATION
EXPERIENCE
GIFT CARDS
Our highly trained team has the experience and expertise to help you in designing the ideal wardrobe for your tastes and lifestyle. We provide a tailored personal experience that suits your needs.
The perfect present is the Milli shopping experience! Gift cards can be made for any amount and never expire.
Let us bring Milli to you in the comfort of your home. We will take an inventory of your closet, suggesting new ways to incorporate pieces from our collection in-store, as well as working to mix and match with your existing wardrobe. We also are available for personal consultation at your office, or wherever works best for you! We strive to make looking good comfortable and convenient.
GIFT WRAP STAY IN TOUCH We value our clients and want to stay in touch. Let us keep you in the loop about special events, exclusive offers, sales and store happenings! Sign up online or update your personal contact information next time you’re in shopping. SHOPPING BY APPOINTMENT Contact us and set up a time to come in and be outfitted in the season’s hottest styles. We are available during store hours, before and after closing, or by appointment. At your request, we will personally pre-select garments we feel are just right for you and notify you of their arrival.
We offer complimentary gift-wrapping for all purchases and special gifts in our signature Milli packaging. HOME DELIVERY & SHIPPING We ship anywhere in the world! Arrange to have the newest collection of your favourite designer sent to your vacation home, or getaway hotspot. If you’re in town, we will personally drop off your purchases at your convenience. RETURN POLICY If one of your purchases fails to live up to our highest standards, we would be happy to repair the garment, or issue a credit on your account. Your satisfaction is our guarantee.
ATELIER SERVICES Our professional team of atelier are ready to help you create your perfect fitted garment. A service rare in modern shopping, we understand the importance of custom-fit clothing. Our atelier bring years of couture tailoring experience to Milli Ltd., offering the highest level of quality and attention to detail.
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INTERNET SAVVY? Visit us online at www.milli.ca.
Photo Courtesy of AIRFIELD
Welcome to
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Watch runway videos
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collections
R E A D Y- T O - W E A R
DESIGNER
AIRFIELD
AKRIS PUNTO
AU T U M N CAS H M E R E
ALGO OF SWITZERLAND
BAS L E R
BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
CAMBIO JEANS
E T R O S PA
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GEORGES CHAKRA
COOKIE JOHNSON
GIORGIO ARMANI
E L I E TA H A R I
L I D A B A D AY
EQUIPMENT
MISSONI
GEMY
MOSCHINO
HALSTON
MOSCHINO CHEAP & CHIC
HELMUT LANG
PA U L E K A
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L A F AY E T T E 1 4 8
SONIA RYKIEL
LILLA P
STRENESSE
LINE
VA L E N T I N O
LUISA CERANO M AG AS C H O N I MARC CAIN
SHOES
MARC CAIN SPORT MAX VOLMARY MCQ M I L L I P R I VAT E C O L L E C T I O N MONCLER N E L L I E PA R T O W NICE COLLECTION
A Q U ATA L I A CAS AD E I COLE HAAN GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI S T UAR T W E IT Z MAN VA L E N T I N O
PIAZZA SEMPIONE P I N K TA R TA N R E P E AT
ACCESSORIES
ROBERT RODRIGUEZ
CHARLOTTE HOSTEN
R O B E R T O Q UAG L I A
GIORGIO ARMANI
S H AMAS K
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SONIA BY SONIA RYKIEL
MOSCHINO CHEAP & CHIC
STIZZOLI
NANCY GONZALEZ
STRENESSE BLUE
PA U L E K A
S Y LV I E S C H I M M E L
SONIA BY SONIA RYKIEL
THEORY
SONIA RYKIEL
VA L E N T I N O R E D
STRENESSE
VINCE
SUZY ROHER VA L E N T I N O WOLFORD
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Photo Courtesy of BASLER
delicious dining
Quatrefoil Restaurant Quaint community of Dundas draws diners west of the city
“Am I in Dundas?” asks a guest, genuinely amazed. He takes another bite of the venison striploin. It’s smothered in a rich foie gras sauce and cooked to medium-rare perfection — carrot marmalade and house-made spätzle garnish the carefully composed dish. “Because I swear I could be in Toronto, or even New York,” he adds, elated with the dish that sits before him. The statement is fair. While Dundas, Ontario has been a longtime hub for foodies, one of its latest additions, Quatrefoil Restaurant, has helped raise the profile of the valley community as both a national and regional dining destination. The restaurant offers contemporary French cuisine in a heritage home turned modern eatery. In 2010, just months after the restaurant opened its doors, enRoute, Air Canada’s in-flight magazine, named Quatrefoil Restaurant among the top 10 best new restaurants in Canada. Despite its location – about 60 kms outside of the city – Toronto Life echoed the accolade in 2011, declaring Quatrefoil Restaurant the fourth best new restaurant in Toronto. “We do get a lot of phone calls from people asking where we are located on Dundas Street, or how to get here from Dundas station,” the restaurant’s co-owner Georgina Mitropoulos laughs, referring to the well-known street and subway stop in Toronto. “When I explain that we’re located in the community of Dundas, just outside of Hamilton, those who make the trek are pleasantly surprised, not only by the quality of their dining experience, but also by the neighbourhood shops and surrounding trails and waterfalls.” Mitropoulos is quick to tout the town she grew up in. The quaint village, after all, sits stunningly in a valley, with the Niagara Escarpment as a backdrop. Small, family businesses dot the downtown core, and are housed in magnificent, 19th century buildings. Community spirit is also high in the Valley Town, lending itself to the arts, sports and other cultural events. So when it came time for Mitropoulos and her husband, Fraser Macfarlane, to open their own restaurant, the longtime chefs did not think twice about a location.
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“Georgina and I have worked in restaurants in Toronto and Europe,” says Macfarlane. “We have a wealth of experience and we wanted to share that with the community we live in. I guess you could say we wanted to give back.” The husband-and-wife team met in the kitchen of Toronto’s Scaramouche restaurant, under the watchful eye of Chef Keith Froggett. The pair then went to Europe in search of new food styles and experiences. Together, they cooked in some of the best Michelin-starred restaurants, and trained under notable chefs such as Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay and Gary Hollihead. Macfarlane insists that the pair owes much to the community that supports their restaurant. “I would say a good percentage of our guests come from the GTA, but most of them live in Dundas, or nearby in Hamilton,” he says. But the relationship with the community, he adds, goes well beyond patronage. “We look to local producers, like Harvest 365, for heirloom vegetables, and Dundas businesses like Mickey McGuire’s and Cumbrae’s for cheese and meat. All of them feature widely on our menus, and we’re proud of that.”
Contemporary French cuisine in the heart of Old Dundas
Open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner. Reservations are recommended.
Rated top 10 best new restaurants in Toronto by Toronto Life magazine.
Rated top 10 best new restaurants in Canada by enRoute magazine.
16 Sydenham Street Dundas, Ontario 905.628.7800 www.quatrefoilrestaurant.com
spotlight
Akris is a fashion house synonymous with refinement, minimalism and impeccable Haute Couture craftsmanship, with readyto-wear and accessory collections designed by Albert Kriemler. Akris stands for wearable clothes, sharp feminine tailoring and a balance between the essentials – finest material, precise proportion, and effortless functionality. With an architectural approach, Albert Kriemler’s process of creation begins with material.
akris pu modern
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Photos Courtesy of Akris punto
Founded in 1922, Akris is based in St. Gallen, Switzerland, a city renowned for the world’s finest embroidery. In reverence to the craft of embroidery, Albert Kriemler inventively incorporates the material into each collection. Since 2002, the Akris collection is shown during Paris fashion week — the only Swiss house in the Federation Francaise de la Couture du Prêta — Porter des Couturiers et des Createurs de Mode. In 2009, Akris expanded its Prêta-Porter offering with the introduction of handbags featuring Horsehair textile, a rare woven fabric made from the tail-hair. Congruent in philosophy, the handbags possess Albert Kriemler’s understated design aesthetic in an uncompromised quality - another expression of his passion for material. The Ai bag is the collection’s signature shape, a subtle trapezoid relating the A of Akris — a complement to the ethos of Akris dressing.
Designing with the experience of the woman in mind, Kriemler’s ability to understand the place where fashion and comfort co-exist is what has made Akris coveted by women around the globe. “A women dressed in Akris is noticed first for herself,” he says. “Isn’t the highest appreciation a woman can get for how she’s dressed is that she looks interesting and smart, while feeling beautiful and comfortable?” Achieving harmony between Haute Couture handicraft and the necessity for chic, understated clothes is the constant pursuit for Albert Kriemler. The Akris jacket in double-face cashmere or wool, for example, is a feat in Haute Couture workmanship and in its many reinterpretations always maintains timelessness — right for the mobility of everyday life.
Albert Kriemler Akris Designer and Creative Director M I L L I
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spotlight
In addition to Akris clothing and accessories, Albert Kriemler creates the Akris punto collection. It was created to provide women with a modern wardrobe of dynamic everyday looks and statement separates. Akris punto possesses all the signature qualities of designer Albert Kriemler. Exceptional fabrics, skillful, yet soft tailoring, innovative detailing and playful prints and colour. With the day-to-night and work-to-play versatility, Akris punto looks are a wardrobe’s most indemand.
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Photos Courtesy of Akris punto
spotlight
akris pu Akris is a third generation family owned and operated company and has a worldwide network of over 500 points of distribution, including directly operated stores and select retailers, Bergdorf Goodman, where Akris debuted in 1988, Harrods, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, as well as Holt Renfrew. This fall, Milli Ltd. will feature Akris punto in their Hamilton location.
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spotlight
Paris
Strenesse Collection fall/winter Strenesse by Gabriele Strehle
Elegance, conveyed with lightness of touch. Joie de vivre that's enticingly infectious. Eternally youthful charisma with seductive flair. This is Paris. And within every woman is the essence of this irresistible fashion mecca. Gabriele Strehle fell in love with Paris as a young designer in the 1970s, and now returns to this great love, to the original fount of her creative inspiration. Paris is freedom. This collection takes every liberty. Flirting with lengths, combining slim blazers with long pleated skirts. Flirting with fabrics, teaming boiled wool with delicate crĂŞpe de chine. Flirting with function, replacing T-shirts with shirts and two-pieces with faux suits. Paris is glamourous. The centre where everything meets. Rich chic from St. Moritz in furs and knits, sophisticated chic from London in English fabrics and patterns, legendary chic from Paris itself, in brand-new takes on black and white, Miami chic in art dĂŠco forms and colours. Paris is pleasure. Delicate, delicious shades of blackcurrant and blueberry, cream and vanilla, honey and biscuit, chili and Dijon mustard, khaki, banana and mango, and bordeaux with caramel like the Golden Seventies. Paris is avant-garde. Bold with the courage to embrace new beginnings and contrasts. Colourful satin pants with severe blazers, casual polo-necks plus cropped jackets with 60sstyle elegance; rich fabrics in minimalist forms, opulent ornamentation for clean, purist lines. Paris is erotic. Its eroticism is electrically tangible in the sensuous fabrics of this collection: painted velvet and delicate cord velvet, fur lining for knits and fur collars on flowing jersey dresses, supple velour leather and shimmering silks. Paris is luxury. Modern luxury is the hallmark of the craftsmanship. Each item in the collection is a gem. Each is crafted to perfection. As the details reveal: elaborate piping, collars, hems, satin inserts, fur trims, belt buckles, handpainted and hand-dyed pieces, sheer uniqueness. Paris is an emotion. Like this collection.
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Photo Courtesy of STRENESSE
www.strenesse.com
MILLI LTD., HAMILTON, 310 MAIN STREE T WEST, 905 527 1531, TORONTO, 10 0 BLOOR STREE T WEST, 416 94 4 2233
spotlight
Gabriele Strehle was born in the Bavarian countryside. After training as a tailor and achieving the best examination marks in the state of Bavaria, she received a grant for the Munich Fashion Design School. She began to develop her distinctive hallmark style at the Nördlingen-based STRENESSE company 35 years ago – pared-down lines with sophisticated details, sensuous yet sporty – and presented her first collection under her own name in Milan in 1996. From the outset Gabriele Strehle focused on subtlety, to enhance, not overshadow the wearer's personality. She believes the sense of touch is as important as the sense of vision. Her aim is to express not the spirit of the times, but a universal sense of time.
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As designer-in-chief at Strenesse, Gabriele Strehle holds responsibility not only for the line which bears her name, but also for the company's other collections and accessories. She designed the uniforms for the German Lufthansa airline, outfits the German national football team with all their off-pitch wardrobes, and designed the uniforms for the South Tyrolean luxury hotel Vigilius Mountain Resort, a futuristic architectural masterpiece by Matteo Thun. Her work takes her from Berlin, Paris and Milan to New York and Tokyo. Gabriele Strehle's passions in addition to her career are cooking, contemporary art and architecture, and classical music, particularly opera; Jonas Kaufmann is a fan of her menswear. Gabriele Strehle has received an array of awards and distinctions, including the Federal Cross of Merit in 1998.
Photos Courtesy of STRENESSE
W W W.STRENESSE.COM
MILLI LTD., HAMILTON, 310 MAIN STREE T WEST, 905 527 1531, TORONTO, 10 0 BLOOR STREE T WEST, 416 94 4 2233
spotlight
Strenesse Collection fall/winter In the office on a Monday morning, on the boulevard in the rain, at a chance meeting in the bistro: Parisian women have an effortless elegance. But how do they do it? Parisian women walk through life with dynamism — and they need shoes to match. Heels are slim, perhaps rounded but always stable; craftsmanship of the shoes is subtle but extremely durable, and courts are cut for comfort as well as for sleek slimness. Parisian chic is based on quality — the very finest. Parisian women are practical. Handbags must be big enough for essentials and intelligently designed to keep everything in its place. But they must not hinder or burden the wearer, or slow down her pace. Parisian women have distinction — in the best possible way. Parisian women have the courage of their convictions. They know that they will not compromise their femininity by choosing shoes or boots with a masculine touch. They know how far they can go with accessories without looking garish or overdone. And they accentuate outfits with bags of painted, aged or shimmering goldfinish leather. Parisian elegance has no place for boredom. Parisian women are economical, never spending more time than necessary on their styling. For this reason all shoes in this collection — whether patent or velour leather, metallic or painted leather — have accompanying bags in the same material and colour. Parisian women are as ingenious as their accessories. Parisian women are skilled in practical psychology. A sophisticated detail, like the hand-braided handle of a bag — says more than a thousand words about their supreme taste. And the craftsmanship of buckles, closures and zippers reveals everything about their quality-consciousness. Parisian style is fantastically functional. Gabriele Strehle has discovered the secret of Parisian elegance: it is rooted in practical intelligence.
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b y
J O S E P H
H O O P E R
we love
Unless you’re a casting agent, 29-year-old Jessica Chastain is, right now, almost certainly the most in-demand actress you have never heard of. That will change over the next year or so as the nine movies she’s shot in the past four years — collaborations with a Who’s Who of film — hit the screen. In director Terrence Malick’s family drama The Tree of Life, she plays Brad Pitt’s wife (and, thanks to the miracle of flashback, Sean Penn’s mother). In the film adaptation of the mega-best-selling novel The Help, she’s a newly minted up-from-white-trash southern belle. She’s also the lead in Al Pacino’s cinematic translation of Oscar Wilde’s Salome, the wife of Ralph Fiennes’ Coriolanus in the Fiennes-directed film version of Shakespeare’s bloody tragedy, and, in what may prove to be her most memorable performance, a fledgling Israeli intelligence operative assigned to abduct an infamous Nazi war criminal in mid-'60s East Berlin in The Debt this December.
We love this actress on the rise O u r
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“All my friends are going, ‘What is going on right now?’” says
she chose Juliet’s soliloquy about pining for Romeo to take her
Chastain, who shares their amazement. She still remembers the
virginity (“...come, loving, black-browed night...”) and gave it the
moment when Malick called to tell her he’d cast Pitt as her husband
full hormonal treatment. “I’m on the floor writhing about,
in The Tree of Life. ‘I’m trying to act all cool — ‘That’d be great!’
completely crazy,” she says, laughing. “It probably made them go,
Meanwhile, a friend of mine is with me, and I have this big notepad
‘Ah, this chick, she’s brave.’” (In The Debt, the visible intensity of
and a pink highlighter, so I just write, ‘BRAD PITT.’”
her feelings for her Mossad coconspirator, played by Sam Worthington, gives the taut political thriller its own star-crossed
Who would have predicted? Chastain grew up in small-town
romantic grandeur.)
Northern California — her mother runs a vegan restaurant, her
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stepfather’s a firefighter — but by the time she was 10, she was
After four conservatory years, Chastain moved to LA to make it in
channeling what she calls her obsessive personality into the fine arts:
the movies, and the fish-out-of-water feeling returned: “I’d be sitting
first, dance for six hours a day, and then, after she decided she wasn’t
in the audition waiting room thinking, ‘Everyone looks like a model,
tall enough to make it as a ballerina, theater. “I was the girl who cut
really tall and really blond.’” She is gorgeous, of course, and petite,
school to go to the park, and the other kids would be smoking and
with strawberry blond hair and translucent skin. However, once Al
drinking and I’d be reading Shakespeare,” she says.
Pacino discovered what a finely tuned instrument she was, the other
The Bard brought Chastain to New York. For her Juilliard audition,
A-list directors and actors fell into line. “Al taught me, once you
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accept the camera and love it, it can see into you,” Chastain says. Ralph Fiennes, for one, has admired the view: “Her emotions are on her skin,” he says about Chastain. “She doesn’t do any acting. It all moves through her, seemingly without effort.” The rest of us will learn what all the fuss is about when her movies begin to roll out. “My poor mother is telling everyone she knows, ‘Jessica is doing a movie with Brad Pitt, with Al Pacino,’” she says, “and everyone is looking at her two years later, going, ‘Sure, sure.’”
“Her emotions are on her skin. She doesn’t do any acting. It all moves through her, seemingly without effort.” —Ralph Fiennes But anonymity has its privileges. Still preserved after four years of making movies, untroubled by the impediments of celebrityhood, is Chastain’s girlish sense that anything is possible. “The Debt made me realize I love making action movies,” she says. And when her cover is blown? “People ask me, ‘Is it going to be weird when people start to see your films?’” she says. “I must be in denial, because I don’t think so.” When it’s suggested that a steady stream of Jessica Chastain movies over the next few years is going to play out like the Revenge of the Drama Nerd, she counters, “Yeah, but now I feel like the cool drama nerd.”
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fit & finish
They say you can never go back. Step into Harry Rosen’s bespoke department and the way you think about clothing will be forever changed. Once you discover how a bespoke suit feels and looks, nothing else will do. It’s a risk I’m prepared to accept. Don’t get me wrong — off the rack is perfectly dandy. And madeto-measure is wonderful — factory-made but beautifully adapted to an individual’s fit and requirements. A bespoke suit, however, is the ultimate tailored garment, handmade from scratch to the customer’s most precise specifications and physical characteristics, as comfortable as a second skin but far more flattering. There are very few places left in the world where such tailoring can still be found. Around Naples, yes, and on Savile Row in London, in New York and also in Toronto, on the fourth floor of Harry Rosen’s Bloor Street store, the domain of designer and master tailor Nello Sansone. At 70, Nello Sansone is a charming dynamo of cheerful vitality. He was born in Scigliano, in the province of Consenza in Calabria, where his cousin had a tailoring shop. “When I was seven, my mother started sending me there to keep me out of trouble,” he remembers. “By the time I was ten, I knew how to handle a needle. At 16, I opened my first shop and I did well, but in Italy in those days everyone knew you had to emigrate if you wanted to become rich.” With another cousin, a sewing machine and a trunk full of cloth, Nello set off to Venezuela where he opened a store in a hotel lobby. He spoke no Spanish, but the local men loved his workmanship and he prospered. Four years later, the country was swept by revolution — foreigners stabbed in the streets — and Nello was forced to move on. By 1959, he had reached Toronto. “I got a job as a tailor with a firm called British Brand that handled some of Harry Rosen’s made-
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to-measure orders and I guess he liked the work I was doing. He wanted me to go to work for him but I wasn’t sure. He basically offered me anything I wanted. Who could refuse? That was 48 years ago.” Harry and Nello created the bespoke department in 1996 as a labour of love, a way of honouring tailoring’s highest expression. It was also sound business strategy. A store with a true bespoke department positions itself on the topmost rung of the menswear ladder. The light is bright at that exalted altitude and it reflects down onto the whole company. In a world of mass production, bespoke is a hand-stitched countermeasure, an affirmation of the unique which discerning customers appreciate. Demand always outstrips the eight or nine garments that Nello and his carefully chosen team of expert tailors can produce in a week. So why not have a bespoke department in every Harry Rosen store? Because tailors like Nello are not so easy to find. Nello is an artist who brings a lifetime’s experience to the fitting room. Where bespoke is concerned, the tape measure merely confirms what his eye has already seen. No man likes to be measured, to stand for inspection while the merciless tape draws attention to a figure that’s long past its prime. Nello moves swiftly and deftly, observing, in passing, that my right shoulder is three-eighths of an inch lower than my left (very few men are perfectly symmetrical) and that my right hip is half an inch higher to compensate. The cut of the suit, of course, will rectify both discrepancies. The measurements will be used to make my personal pattern – a cut-out of my shape on stiff yellow paper. The bespoke department’s cutter will use the pattern when he outlines the many pieces of cloth that go into a suit, chalking their shape directly onto the chosen fabric. He makes the snipping seem effortless, even casual, but the skill set is extraordinary, especially with a patterned fabric. The pinstripes or checks on a bespoke suit meet perfectly across every seam. No checks for me — not this time. I am sitting on the comfortable sofa with Nello, going through the small rectangular books that contain hundreds of samples from the best fabric mills in the world. So many colours and patterns – so many weights and textures. And prices. My suit requires three and three-quarter yards of a basic Super 130 fabric, made from Australian merino wool milled in Italy – “a good year-round fabric,” says Nello. There are also other details to discuss – the breadth of the lapel, the style of pockets and vents, the number of buttons and how high or low I might wish them to be. Some men have precise views on such matters; I prefer to leave the decisions to Nello, though I do choose the lining myself. One hallmark of the bespoke suit is a flamboyant lining and Nello shows me a book of dazzlingly colourful, whimsically patterned silks from the English firm of Smith and Co. I choose a rose pink with black and navy dots. No one will ever see it unless I remove my jacket. It will be my secret.
perfect fit & finish
Two weeks later, I return to the store for my first fitting. The trousers are almost finished. The pieces of the jacket are loosely stitched together and part of the canvas is in place — the soft inner shell of wool and horsehair that gives the jacket its shape. On mass-produced jackets, the canvas is glued to the fabric; at this level of tailoring, it floats between fabric and lining. There are no buttons or buttonholes yet. The lapels still await the thousands of hand-sewn stitches that will give them their permanent three-dimensional roll. The only finished moment on the jacket — like a promise of what is to come – is the side pocket flap with its pink silk lining. This is the crucial fitting. Everything about my suit is still fluid – can still be changed. It does not take long but the minutes are filled with drama as Nello gently tugs off each sleeve to check the armholes are at the perfect height. More than ever, his eye is controlling the moment, his instinct, his taste and experience making certain the balance of the garment is impeccable. The average suit takes 28 hours of work to complete, the labour divided amongst Nello’s team of nine. Surrounded by the traditional tools of their trade, they share a brightly lit room behind the fitting room, intent on their particular areas of expertise. One of the bespoke tailors only handstitches buttonholes. The mood is one of serene concentration and people pick up on it. “Dustin Hoffman came by for a fitting,” recalls Nello, “and spent the whole afternoon sitting in here chatting to
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everyone in Italian.” Italian (with a marked southern accent) is the lingua franca of the bespoke shop and there are no youthful apprentices to be seen. “This,” Nello reminds me, “is a dying art.” Ten days later, I go in for my second fitting — ten minutes of final adjustments. A week after that, my new suit is ready. Nello fusses with it a little as we stand before the angled mirrors. I can’t tell which one of us is more satisfied with the outcome. The suit is undeniably flattering and also supremely comfortable — as if someone had laid a silk scarf across my shoulders. The handstitching around the armholes (looser than a machine would allow) gives a delightful freedom of movement. I find the small details curiously gratifying – the tiny loop beneath the lapel to holster the stalk of a boutonniere, the surgeon’s cuffs with buttons that actually unbutton, to let me roll up my sleeves. The price of a bespoke suit starts at $3,450, not a great deal more than one might pay for a made-to-measure garment from a leading Italian label. But value is only one reason why the thousands of men who have found their way to the bespoke department in the last eight years have become customers for life. That suit becomes the first of many, to be followed, perhaps, by a tuxedo, by sports jackets and an overcoat, by bespoke shirts and ties. These are men who enjoy handmade things, who take pleasure in an understated individuality, who love to sit down on the other side of the doorway where menswear aspires to art.
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to spain
Costa Brava Steep, winding drives are not usually my idea of fun, particularly
My partner Henry and I had spent the morning at Calella de
when I’m doing the driving, but the views on this one are so
Palafrugell, a laid-back fishing village turned seaside town with
spectacular I’m beginning to change my mind. I’m motoring along
genteel, pastel-coloured 19th-century town-houses backing up
a mountainous coastal road, and every few seconds, through the tall,
against the seafront (think a Mediterranean Brighton). In summer,
pine-filled woodlands to my right, I catch a glimpse of the
the beach gets busy, but in the fresh glow of early spring or late
Mediterranean shimmering in the sunlight hundreds of feet down
autumn, it’s a more leisurely affair with toddlers building
below. You could easily be forgiven for thinking this was the French
sandcastles, honeymooning couples admiring the view, and the odd
Cóte d’Azur, because that’s very much what it looks like, but it isn’t.
lone surfer waiting on a breeze. We could happily have whiled away
I am, in fact, on the road between Llafranc and Tamari on Spain’s
the morning there, but feeling energetic, we decided to explore the
Costa Brava. But it’s an easy mistake to make as this is effectively the
Cam de Ronda the winding coastal path which hugs the cliffs, taking
same Mediterranean coastline — just further south. It’s also one of
in coves and bays.
Europe’s best-kept secrets. After a stunningly scenic walk with the Costa’s whitewashed villages For some, the words Costa and Brava may still conjure up visions of
dotting the snaking coast and the hazy blue Pyrenees majestic in
package-holiday hell, but this is the other Costa Brava, a land of
the distance, we were ready for lunch and so made our way by car
idyllic, unspoilt sandy beaches framed by romantic woodlands and
to Tamari — a delightfully compact, horse-shoe shaped bay with
mountains, water so blue and clear you can see right down to the
only a handful of low-rise seafood restaurants, each with its own
ocean floor, lush countryside and exceptional food. It’s also
terrace on the slightly raised seawall just a few yards from the
considerably less painful on the wallet than its more historically chi-
coarse-sand beach.
chi South of France neighbour. My favourite is Es Dofi a small, traditional eaterie at the far western
This is where chic Barcelonans and well-heeled Catalans keep their holiday homes and where in-theknow French come for their vacations.
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end of the promenade with an extensive list of fish chalked up on the blackboard outside, white paper table cloths, and elderly, avuncular waiters.
travel to spain
Looking out to the calm sea beyond, we tucked into a small plate of deliciously crispy fried sonsos — tiny, whitebait-like, sand-eels. Then, after some of the fattest, freshest, battered squid rings I’ve ever seen, we set back out on the road, this time inland to the medieval hilltop town of Begur. Begur’s crowning glory is the 11th-century ruined castle and viewing point which sits atop the village. It’s a leisurely climb, but the stunning, panoramic views of the coast and surrounding countryside are more than worth the walk. Following a siesta at our hotel, the Vintage Lounge at nearby Cap Sa Sal, we headed back on the Cam de Ronda, torch in hand, for the short but unlit walk along the cliffs to the neighbouring cove of Aiguafreda and the Sa Rascassa Restaurant. When we arrived, the proprietor Oscar, a gregarious former ad man from Barcelona, was expecting us and seated us in the restaurant’s wonderfully romantic walled, gravel garden. We started off with exquisitely grilled mixed vegetables, and after some plump, buttery soft, grilled sardines, I opted for hand-made, “chocolate stones,” which arrived looking like a mini-Stonehenge on a plate. Intensely rich without being too sweet — we’re talking pure indulgence.
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The next day after breakfast al fresco on the hotel terrace a wooded precipice with stunning sea views, we set off north along the coast to our next stop Cadaqués, the small harbour town which for decades Salvador Dal called home. Like much of the Costa Brava, Cadaqués has long been a favourite with painters and artists entranced by the intensity of the light and the beauty of the landscape. After a tortuous drive along an epic series of narrow, hairpin bends, with tourist coaches hurtling towards us on one side and a scarily sheer drop down to the coast on the other, I was more than ready to see Cadaqués on foot. Happily this wonderfully scenic whitewashed village is very much that kind of place with winding, narrow cobbled streets and a small harbour filled with white fishing boats. It’s a picture-postcard view and it’s not hard to see why Picasso and Dali were so smitten with the place.
Dali’s home at Port Lligat is just a ten-minute drive away or a leisurely walk along the bay, and almost every room makes a feature of the sea view and the extraordinary intense, golden white light. This being Dali’s home, it was never going to be your average house though, and there’s no shortage of surprises, from the seven-foothigh stuffed white bear which serves as an umbrella stand to the full-size replica of Michelangelo’s David wearing a fencing mask, a den kitted out like a Moroccan tent, and a pop art-style swimming pool.
In Cadaqués itself, virtually every other bar claims to have been a favourite of the surrealist maestro — and many probably were — but after a superb Catalan dinner at Els Balconet, an intimate little bistro tucked away behind the harbour, we decided to stop off at L’Hostal, the most famous of his haunts. Dimly lit by candlelight, L’Hostal is like stepping back in time, with its labyrinthine cosy dens and wooden benches, ceiling-skimming pillars of dripped wax, and walls crammed to the gills with paintings and photos. L’Hostal and indeed Cadaqués are the kinds of places that people discover and return to again and again, myself included. I’d even consider braving yet another of those, steep, winding drives. THE FACTS Double rooms at the Hotel Vintage Lounge, Begur, start at (www.vintagecapsasal.com), and Hotel Playa Sol, Cadaqués from $240 for a garden-view room (www.playasol.com).
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Invest for success If you have never slipped into that perfect dress, pant, or jacket it’s never too late to start! The sense of well being that envelops you when you feel good about what you are wearing, communicates self-confidence to the outside world. Women can achieve this by making educated decisions, and investing in themselves and their appearance. Investment dressing can have different meanings. One is the purchasing of quality clothing, which provides the superior fabric and fit only available at the designer or couture level of fashion. The price point for these luxurious items may seem steep at first, but if you analyze the expense you might be surprised at the sound economics of your decision. If you purchase a designer garment, its style, quality, and workmanship will ensure its long life, affording many opportunities for its use. As with any asset, you can amortize its use over a period of time. Suddenly, by considering the cost per wear, what might have seemed extravagant, becomes practical. Consider the amount of money you have spent on “disposable” clothing — trendy bargains that seemed like a good idea but were only worn once or twice before they were passé, seams began to unravel, or they did not wash well. These purchases, ultimately, were not a wise financial decision.
Formula for Personal Success
investment dressing
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Photo Courtesy of BRAX
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Originally featured in the Bay Observer August 2011 edition
Invest for success
Compare those purchases to your best pieces — the jacket that can create many different looks, the pant that fits you beautifully, or the dress that is perfect for every occasion — special clothing that need only a change of accessories or layering pieces to take you from day to evening for many seasons of enjoyment. An added benefit is the shopping experience itself. At Milli, you are personally welcomed and can enjoy the pampering treatment. Lunch may be served, coffee, tea, or a glass of wine is always offered. A knowledgeable salesperson can guide and advise you in making informed fashion choices that suit your body and your lifestyle. A gifted seamstress will tailor the garment properly, leading to a good fit — the key to your desire for wearing anything frequently. Another aspect of investment dressing is its value as a measure of success to others, either in a business or social environment. The image you project is important. Consider the difference appearance can make in a job interview or negotiation. An illustration of this is Dress for Success [dressforsuccesstoronto.org], a charitable organization that accepts donations of female business attire. This clothing is given to women under economic stress attempting to enter the work force. These are people who understand the importance of looking good and how that can translate into securing a job with a higher salary and responsibilities. Although fashion can be frivolous, these buying decisions are anything but, and wise choices can enhance your ability to look and feel your best.
When you come to enjoy the Milli shopping experience, bring your gently worn “successful” clothing. Milli will take care of passing your success on to this organization on your behalf.
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habits
Millions of us go on a diet every year. Fast forward 12 months of totting up calories and forgoing of our favourite foods and most of us will have piled the weight back on. Deprivation diets are doomed to fail, and interestingly, an increasing amount of research shows that it’s actually environmental triggers rather than physical hunger that determines how much we eat. So make your surroundings work for you with our steps for munching success:
1. Identify the triggers PROBLEM: You mindlessly munch on food. SOLUTION: Most of us forget about the little bits of food we pick at through the day, whether it’s a handful of gummy bears after lunch or a chocolate bar on the commute home from work. This means we can eat hundreds of extra calories without even noticing! But fear not: growing evidence suggests that simply putting pen to paper and recording your snacking patterns can help to double weight loss results. Try keeping a food diary for a week, rating your hunger on a scale of 10 before eating, as well as jotting down every morsel and your emotions as you do so. This will help you pinpoint specific triggers that may be causing cravings or overeating. “You’ll surprise yourself when you look at your diary,” promises Samantha Prior, nutritionist at Totally Nourish (www.totallynourish.com). “When 42
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you write down everything you have consumed, including drinks and extra calories that you forgot about, you start to see why you are finding weight management difficult. You may even find that you don’t want to eat a chocolate or decide to swap coffee for herbal tea, as you want your food diary to look positive.”
2. Eat with your eyes PROBLEM: Visual cues control how you eat. SOLUTION: We tend to choose our food according to visual cues, such as colour, texture, and variety, instead of eating based on hunger or satiation. Renowned U.S. behavioural eating expert Dr. James Painter, who carried out a study comparing the consumption of shelled and non-shelled pistachio nuts, discovered that participants ate 50% more when the nuts were shelled compared with when the shells were left on. This shows just how much food presentation can affect eating habits. The colour and texture of foods also play a large role in food choices. Think about it: if you were faced with two bowls of sweets, one of which was filled with a variety of choice and colours and another bowl filled with a single kind, which would you eat from? “Bright food is naturally more appealing to the eye,” explains Samantha. “Liven up food by adding lots of colourful fruit and vegetables. It will make it look more appetising and will be packed full of nutrients too.”
healthy habits
3. Don’t get distracted PROBLEM: You’re preoccupied when eating. SOLUTION: There’s nothing better than a gossip with the girls over dinner, but, according to Dr. Painter, eating with friends is a fat trap waiting to happen. Being distracted by other influences, such as talking while eating or having dinner in front of the TV or computer, can actually impair digestion. “When you don’t take time over eating, it can affect your production of digestive juices, meaning you don’t break down food properly,” explains Samantha. “When you next eat, take time to look at your food and smell the dish to help stimulate the digestive juices. Put your knife and fork down between each bite and chew your food properly. Quite often people perceive how full they are based on time, so by eating slowly you may find you are much fuller than when you speed through your meal.”
4. Downsize dishes PROBLEM: You overeat at mealtimes. SOLUTION: The average dinner plate in the 1950s was nine inches wide; and now our plates measure approximately 13 inches, so it’s no wonder our waistlines are rapidly growing as a result. A bigger plate usually equals larger portions, so downsizing your dishes can help you lose weight as you’ll naturally eat less. “If you think of your stomach as being the size of your two fists put together, you have an idea of appropriate portion size,” says Samantha. “By sticking to correct serving sizes you are less likely to upset your body’s natural metabolism, which is the ideal way to keep fuller for longer.”
5. Say no to bulk buying PROBLEM: You can’t resist money-saving food offers. SOLUTION: From buy-one-get-one-free stickers to special half-price offers, supermarkets are marketing masterminds and know how to push the right cash-spending buttons. A study carried out in 2008 revealed that, on average, more than 60% of supermarket promotions are run on sugary and fatty foods rather than fresh fruit and vegetables, a trend that has taken its toll on our waistlines. “Refined foods, such as chocolate, crisps, cakes, and pizza upset the body’s biochemical behavior, making them become addictive,” says Samantha. Try and shop in local grocery stores or at a local farmer’s market for fresh organic produce. If your only option is the supermarket, sidestep the convenience aisles and opt for fresh food instead.
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European Car Specialists All Major Tire Brands 7 Highly Trained Mechanics
260 Locke St. South 905-305-7664 87 Locke St. South 905-522-8679
spotlight
The dress is “the first” that Serge Cajfinger imagined back in 1988 , at the beginning of his label. Paule Ka rings like a dance on rhythmic beats, inspired from the coulous of Serge Cajfinger’s Brazilian childhood. Settled in France in 1968, Lille to be precise, this passionate of art, fashion and architecture did not intend to wait for success...he wanted to live his era to its fullest. At the young age of fifteen, Serge Cajfinger spent his days merchandising YSL’s shop windows as well as those of the neighbouring stores. In 1974 he decides to open a multi-label boutique called Paule Ka with both his mother and aunte Paule. This shop carries all the future, fashion “greats such as Alaia, Montana, Mugler and Kenzo. The influence of these Parisian labels and his relationship with various clients sharpened his knowledge of the female body and educated him on women’s wants and desires.
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Photo Courtesy of PAULE KA
spotlight b y
As much as designers love looking forward, they love to look backwards as well, pouring over old magazines and mining late-night movies for inspiration. This seasonal search for reference points may uncover a silhouette, an accessory, even an attitude that a designer feels has perennial appeal. Often they are right, and right on the money as far as their clientele’s collective mood is concerned.
In 1987, Serge Cajfinger left Lille to launch himself into another adventure, his own. He establishes the Paule Ka label in the Marais area of Paris. A style code rapidly emerges: there is the use of black and white, which evolves through the seasons from monochromatic flashes to pastel tones. The skirt suit, the bow, the organza and the famous black dresses have remained the signature of Paule Ka for the past twenty years.
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Photo Courtesy of PAULE KA
C .
S M I T H
Catering to Your Occasion Denninger’s catering promotes a celebration of food boasting full flavours and European flair. Bringing the best that we offer to your table, from elegant box lunches and buffets to small private affairs or large corporate events, we will be happy to customize a menu tailored to your specific requests. At your service,
1-800-520-3868 denningers.com
Serving Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville and surrounding areas.
spotlight
The fashion landscape this fall offers a myriad of eras all churned into one giant trend. Amongst all the retro-inspired jackets and handled handbags, grunge plaid shirts, solitaire choker necklaces and tunic dresses, Cyndie Lauper plaid mini kilts and Mary Tyler Moore highwaisted, wide-legged pants runs a cool but steady stream of 1950s-worthy styles that, more than anything else, just might be pointing the way ahead as well. You see it in the sharp tailoring so necessary to this fall and so particularly apparent in the season’s signature tweed suit. Take a look at the firm set of the tailored jacket’s shoulders, the shaped sleeves, the significant waist suppression and hip flare, the just-below-the-knee skirt hem. This is Womanly with a capital W — smart and businesslike, utterly feminine without ceding an inch of adult status. All reminiscent of an era when women did not have to pretend to be something other than what they were, before this brief freedom became smothered by conformity and the worship of youth. The tailored overcoat, another integral component this season, is longer and leaner than it would have been in the ’40s and ’50s, but check out its wide lapels which frequently come vamped with fur trim, just as they would have in the period. Other timely objects include fur stoles, little fascinators and big wide-brimmed felt hats, large silvered brooches and slim platform shoes. Perhaps even more telling: Popular then as now are elbow-length leather gloves, which happen to be perfect for pairing with threequarter-length sleeves. This stylistic duo of sleeve and glove seemed to be featured on nearly every fashion runway, meaning this is one trend you can buy into with confidence. Indeed, confidence could be the operative word when speaking about today’s silhouettes, accessories, and overall attitude. A mixed bag of fashionable decades, resolutely jumbled together, yet none of them maybe more influential – nor more Womanly — than those modes inspired by what is now known as the greatest generation.
Photo Courtesy of PAULE KA
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the season
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How Many Seasons Are There?
Growing up in the fashion business there were two seasons, Spring and Fall. My parents would make their semi-annual trip to Europe to do the buying, and travel to New York twice a year as well. Today in our business there are 12 seasons! There is a struggle between fashion and Mother Nature, and it seems that fashion is winning! Living in Canada, weather is a large part of our lives and the clothing we wear reflects this. It began when travel became more affordable, and people would head for warmer climates to take a break from our Canadian winters. A woman would not be able to buy anything new for her trip because the merchandise in stores was for winter. Instead, she would have to pack clothes from the summer before, and shop at her destination. Rather than have our customers spend their money outside of the country, retailers found manufacturer’s and designers with small collections that would be delivered mid December through January. The first launch of a smaller collection was called Cruise and it was the first non-traditional season to appear in store, its success changing the perception for retailers and consumers. ‘Buy Now, Wear Now’ blossomed, and women could begin to buy clothing to wear immediately. Next was holiday wear. This addressed the need for dressy outfits to wear for Christmas parties and special occasions. These goods began appearing in store at the end of October and had a very short selling period. This means that there were new styles available in November, enabling the sale at full price, for clothing the customer would not have seen on previous visits to the store. The retailer was becoming able to divide their purchasing dollars, to spend this money over a longer period of time and to have fresh goods in their shops. In the early 1980’s The Gap brought in a new President, Mickey Drexler, who changed the entire look of their stores and altered the pattern of retailing
in North America. The Gap turned their inventory every six weeks, changing colour schemes and fabrics, narrowing the selling season, and motivating customers to return to their stores more often. This brought a sea of change to the industry. Other retailers saw the success of this new structure, and it enticed the appetite of women who wanted to shop, and got tired of seeing the same goods hanging for weeks until the mark downs began. This fast production turn around was facilitated by the surge in offshore manufacturing. Factories in Asia were able to respond to the change in the markets more quickly than the Europeans, or the North Americans, and at lesser prices. The fine luxury fabrics from Italy, which are ordered months and years in advance, were still taking too long, and the invention of new fabrications flourished. These fabrics, using man made fibers; viscose, rayon, and polyester were suitable to wear many months of the year. These factories were capable of producing goods and shipping them quicker than ever before. Just as the women enjoyed the constantly changing merchandise, the retailers saw the value in being able to make sales consistently throughout the year; constant deliveries meant the customer would see styles and choices ever changing, a great reason to visit and purchase often, not just in August and September, or April and May. In today’s economic climate, retailers are more selective in their buying, inventories are much leaner, and the consumer can no longer count on waiting until sales start. More often the size and style selection has been whittled down, particularly at higher price points. The concept of season-less dressing has become prevalent; most often we live in controlled environments, heat in the winter when it’s cold, and airconditioning when it gets hot, which blurs the line of dressing for the weather. In the summer women take sweaters or jackets when they go out, as it is usually very cold in public spaces, and although they need the warmth, they want to be dressed appropriately for the season.
Photo Courtesy of White & Warren
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Originally featured in the Bay Observer September 2011 edition
the season
When the temperatures in Autumn are hot, no one wants to
When you know there are always new styles arriving in your
put on a heavy wool suit or dress — it is uncomfortable and
favorite stores you are motivated to visit often and shop. The
looks out of place. By using accessories, such as scarves and
store owners are happy for the continuous traffic; their buyers
layering pieces you can continue to wear spring and summer
are in the market monthly, which boosts both the travel and
clothing while remaining in fashion. It is true for spring as well.
hospitality industries as well.
Although women are tired of their winter wardrobes, quite often
The lesson to be learned here is universal - give your
the start of the season does not bring warm dry weather. Again
customers what they want and the benefits are numerous, and
altering the pieces you put together can bring freshness to your
not just within a particular business sector - the ripple effects
look, while keeping you warm.
are very profitable.
This year colour is very big, and we are seeing vibrancy for fall and winter, which is recognition that our winters are long and women get tired of dark colours for months on end. Transition fabrics have become popular and give the wearer more wardrobe options. I am not discussing the “No white before Victoria Day or after Labour Day rule”, which
Now instead of only two seasons a year I live with twelve, and although I still live in the
no longer holds true — consider winter
future, which is how we do our buying, it is
white as an example, but rather the need
nice not to feel out of time sync when I walk
for fabric weights and colours appropriate for
the
temperature
and
weather
through our store. Since we are constantly striving to accommodate the nature of this ever
conditions. The fashion industry generates over
changing and fasted paced industry, this
two billion dollars a year in North
mode of thinking leaves me with only one
America. The introduction of a twelve
looming question: What’s next?
month a year shipping schedule is an example of how this industry has listened
to
its
consumers,
and
responded to their needs. This in turn has been an enormous boon to both retailers and their customers alike.
Photo Courtesy of LAFAYETTE 148
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