Solo Lisa Reads: Good Enough by Paula Yoo

In high school, a Chinese-Canadian girl I knew proudly brought home a term report card with 98% in French, the highest mark out of anyone in her class. Far from impressed, her father said, "What happened to the other 2 percent?" While my own parents wouldn't have said something so gauche, neither would they have acknowledged my report card full of A's with anything more than a nod and a grimace, implying that this wasn't an extraordinary accomplishment but rather an expected one.

Thus I could definitely relate to the protagonist in Paula Yoo's semi-autobiographical novel, Good Enough. Patti Yoon is an SAT vocabulary-memorizing, homework-doing, violin-playing, standardized test-taking machine enduring the stress of senior year and the incredible pressure put on her by her Korean parents. As if worrying about getting into an Ivy League college and upping her SAT scores weren't enough, Patti finds herself increasingly attracted to a cute trumpet player in the all-state orchestra and questioning the path her parents have laid out for her. Should she pursue what makes her happy or what pleases her family, and can those two options ever intersect? Will she ever be "good enough"?

Yoo breathes life into the story with sharp observations and laugh-out-loud humour. Overachievers and survivors of Asian Parent Syndrome alike will be all too familiar with the minute details of Patti's life, including:

• the hyper-competitive frenemies who are gunning for or envious of your top grade/band chair/college acceptance letter
• the pressure to be a lawyer or doctor
• the pressure to marry a lawyer or doctor
• the no-partying, no-dating, all-studying lifestyle
• the mixture of yearning and disdain directed at the pretty popular cheerleader type in high school

Overall, Good Enough is an enjoyable read and, for me at least, a reminder of the ups and downs of my own senior year.

P.S. For more on author Paula Yoo, check out this great interview I stumbled across.

Wear Else Clearance Sale

Stop by Wear Else for terrific deals on brands such as Paige, Rich & Skinny, JBrand, William Rast, Hudson, Taverniti, Juicy Couture, Frye, Stewart Weitzman, Michael Kors, Milly, Trina Turk, Elie Tahari, Free People, and James Perse!

Sephora On My Mind

Sephora may be old news for my American readers, but for myself and other Vancouverites getting one of these huge beauty emporiums has been long overdue. Tomorrow marks the grand opening of the Pacific Centre location in downtown Vancouver; dare I brave the madness and the hordes and venture there for a quick look after work?! To celebrate and to, ahem, focus my shopping when I eventually venture through its black-and-white striped street entrance, I've already picked out the product I'm most interested in. This MAKE UP FOR EVER Glossy Full Couleur Collection is a value pack of three "ultra pigmented" coral, red, and fuchsia glosses. Now, normally I try to refrain from buying lip gloss as no matter what shade of lip gloss I use, it doesn't look like the shade in the container once it's on; it just looks like my lips' natural dark rose colour with some shiny stuff on top. However, I do like the ease of a gloss and the "ultra pigmented" part sounds quite promising. This will warrant some investigation...

New Article In Vancouver Fashion eZine

Yesterday's schedule didn't allow me to put together a brilliant post for today, so while we wait until I get my act together, I suggest you visit Vancouver Fashion eZine and check out the article I wrote on one of the newest models in the local fashion scene, Jenna Findlay. She was such a sweet girl to interview. Enjoy!

F As In Frank Grand Opening

F As In Frank celebrated the grand opening of its Vancouver flagship store on Main and Broadway last Friday. Champagne and beer flowed all night long as shoppers, guests, and well-wishers browsed the store. Clothing racks filled with one-of-a-kind vintage finds hung from the ceiling: the racks, made out of metal tubes suspended by cables, had been pulled up to make room for revels.



The modular racks and colourful clothes overhead weren't the only eye-catching distractions inside, though. Offbeat decor details graced the spacious store wherever I looked: birch log pillars (a signature touch carried over from F As In Frank's first store in Whistler); colourful murals and antler door handles decorating the dressing rooms; old school boom boxes stacked in the storefront window; and a fully functional Mortal Kombat arcade game. Remembering the kitschy sunglasses from our '80s photo shoot, I was pleased to see a whole wall of fun shades for around $20 a pop.

Owners Jesse and Drew Heifetz

F As In Frank is surely a labour of love for owners and Ontario natives Drew and Jesse Heifetz. The brothers have been collecting vintage clothing since they were kids and were inspired by their father's love of '60s clothing. Their pursuit of all things vintage takes them around the globe and yields pieces from the 1900s to the 1990s. Particularly impressive is F As In Frank's collection of outerwear, which ranges from utilitarian denim jackets worn by workers to embroidered silk bombers from Japan, hippie jackets, and 1950s motorcycle jackets (think James Dean).

The day before F As In Frank opened its doors, news about Michael Jackson's death broke. Drew and Jesse put together this display as a tribute to the King of Pop.

Most pieces in-store are less than $50 and unlike anything else you'll find in Vancouver, so hop to it and venture down to Main and Broadway to browse this veritable treasure trove of vintage goodness!

This post also appears on Stylefinds.

Seeking New Reads, New Blog Buddies

Do you stop by Solo Lisa often? If you blog, have I visited your blog before and commented? Have we exchanged links yet? Check out my blogroll, and if you don't see yourself listed, I apologize--I'm woefully inept at updating the darn thing.

I'd like to change that now.

I'd be up for a link exchange if you are! Leave me a comment on this post with the name and URL of your blog. Alternatively, you can tweet your blog name/URL to @sololisa on Twitter. I'll only add blogs that 1) update at least once a month and 2) aren't designed to be solely spam/advertisement/obscene content websites. I'll leave you a comment on your blog letting you know you've been blogrolled, and I'll add you to my Google Reader as well.

Do it soon...I'm looking forward to some new interesting reads. :-)

And One More Sale...

This is for those of you lucky enough to be in NYC! Like me, you've probably seen the Francis sample sale advertised on the Francis New York blog or WendyB's Facebook updates and tweets about it. Wendy also tipped me off about some items not available in department stores which will be part of the sale.

"The sailor girl dress is SO CUTE and it is $140."

"The white Bermuda short is $90, and the striped shirt underneath is only $62."

And yes, the dress in the poster is the same one-shoulder zigzag dress I wore for the String Magazine party.

If you're not in NYC and you want to order something: Shoot Wendy an email at wbjewelry at hotmail dot com. She and the fine folks at Christian Francis Roth will take care of you like they did me. I suggest you email her now for a list of what's available if you're even mildly interested. The wholesale prices for pieces are ridiculously good and there are limited quantities available in different sizes, so items sell out quickly. Happy shopping!