Photo by Henry Roxas. Already? Seems like just last week we watched the great white tents fall in Nathan Phillips Square, but today, a new L'Oreal Fashion Week is upon us. Our outfits are planned and clutches packed (black lipgloss, band-aids). Media passes, the price of three pairs of platforms at Forever 21, are at the ready. Umbrellas in gift bags are a must: for the third season in a row, Toronto's grey-on-grey sky......

Photos by Hannah Sider. "This is the best frosh party I've ever been to!" The twenty-something friend-of-a-friend was one of the surprising majority of "normal"-looking guests at what was not, in fact, a frosh party. He was wearing jeans and a v-neck, which is to say that we don't actually remember what he was wearing, besides a highly bemused expression.......

Miss Rowe Fall/Winter 2008. Photos courtesy of Miss Rowe. Ashley Rowe had nothing to wear. Then 24, she was a big city girl with the big interview at the big Bloor Street store every clothes-lover dreams of calling home: Holt Renfrew. Well, their clothes were just too expensive, and H&M? She loves it. Who doesn’t? But... it’s H&M. So, Miss Rowe designed her own collection and called it just that. "I wanted to make......

Snow globes, ice sculptures, and an ice bar...sound like an arctic paradise? Even if you're sick of slipping on the white (and sometimes yellow) stuff, you're still invited to Bloor-Yorkville's IceFest Festival this weekend—and you don't even have to get your feet wet! IceFest ent-ice-s with enough of the cold stuff to carve out a ship—and that's 25,000 pounds! By donating five bucks to the Heart & Stroke Foundation, you buy yourself a pose......

The Spice Girls are done––Geri Halliwell stuck the final nail in their room-for-five coffin last week when she told reporters that a tour like the one they're on now "probably won't happen ever again." Which means that the concert on February 26 in Toronto will be the band's last ever, maybe! While Baby and Sporty and Scary and Ginger will probably all continue on with their half-successful solo careers, Victoria Beckham––Posh––will continue doing what......

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and sunset. Slip into Boutique LeTrou (940 Queen Street West) on any given afternoon and odds are, you'll be hello darling'ed......

Two big name/big chain clothing lines landed in Toronto this week—one at Holt Renfrew on Tuesday, the other at H&M this morning. To determine which "limited edition" collection is for you, dear fast-fashionista, here's a little quiz: 1. Who's your personal style icon? A) Kate Moss B) Jennifer Lopez 2. Favourite fashion model? A) Kate Moss B) Jessica Stam 3. Most influential figure in pop culture this decade? A) Kate Moss B) Beyoncé Results......

The late 1960s were a time of throwing off the shackles of traditional societal gender norms, including the rules surrounding who could wear lace pants. Unisex clothing popped up on runways mid-decade, reaching suburban malls by the time today's ad appeared. Opened in the winter of 1964, Yorkdale's original anchors included Eaton's (recently converted into the H&M/Old Navy wing), Simpson's (now The Bay), Dominion (now Holt Renfrew) and Kresge's (the five-and-dime progenitor of K-Mart;......

Quick–name the first department store chain to locate in suburban Toronto. Eaton's? No, they waited until 1961 to open shop in Don Mills. Simpson's? No, they followed Eaton's a year later, landing in Scarborough at Cedarbrae Plaza. Try a chain that only lasted in Toronto for a decade, but whose locations served those moving into areas like North York and Etobicoke. Morgan's roots were in Montreal, where Henry Morgan opened a dry goods store......

Ok, so the city is in the grip of full-blown festival mania. Red carpets, Gala screenings, and celebrity sightings are all great, but so are poetry readings, right? Right? Anyone??? Tonight at 8pm, head north to Zemra Lounge – 778 St. Clair W. – for this month’s installment of the Diamond Cherry reading series. Stephen Humphries and former director of the Art Bar, Allan Briesmster (The Other Seasons), will be reading. It’s free, and you......

If you find yourself attracted to well-dressed and wealthy individuals but never know where to meet them Holt Renfrew has the solution for you. Starting at 7pm tonight the Bloor Street store is joining up with Lavalife to host MiXture, a "singles only shopping event catering to men and women in the market for more than just merchandise." Torontoist approves this type of event, because it means catching the eye (and wallet) of a hot......

Don't go on a Saturday! This is our only caution, dear readers. But if you somehow find yourself in that subterranean weirdscape known as the Holt's Netherworld, and your blood sugar level is precariously low, and it's not a Saturday or Sunday, well, then, by all means, do try a mildly overpriced biscuit at the Holt Renfrew cafe. We didn't expect such goodness, such shortbreaded splendour. Indeed, despite the lack of seating, and the presence......