And The Winner Is...

PD! Congratulations, we'll be pre-shopping the Dakota Group's super sample sale together. Here's what she'd love to score a bargain on:

"What a fun prize! I'd love to find Soia & Kyo coats at a bargain price; I have always loved their styles but couldn't justify the high price tag."

Having spent a pretty penny on a Soia & Kyo coat for this winter, I know exactly what she's talking about.

Now, I know that not all of my readers are Vancouverites. For those who are based in New York looking for a deal on a great winter coat, check out the Mackage sample sale. Their tailored wool coats combine interesting structural and design details with Mackage's signature leather trim--always eyecatching and unique. Details are below.

MACKAGE SAMPLE SALE
Women’s and Men’s Collections, 30-50% off

November 23, 2010
12:00 – 7:00 PM

November 24, 2010
12:00 – 6:00 PM

275 W 39th Street, 7th Floor
NYC

*CASH ONLY

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Vlog: Favourite NYC Buys

In today's vlog, I'm highlighting my favourite purchases from my recent trip to New York Just a couple of notes:

• My enthusiasm about the "Holy Grail of denim leggings" and "the perfect Thanksgiving pants" may have eclipsed my attempts at being articulate. The "bulge" I talk about is that annoying bulge that a zip fly creates over your abdomen when you wear longer tops that cover your skinny jeans.
• As much as I love how the drawstring waist on the Uniqlo denim leggings feels, I hate the way it looks. These leggings can be worn as pants, but only with longer tops or tunics that cover the waist.
• The video compression may have obscured the leggings and made them look a lot darker. For a better look, here they are on the Uniqlo website. They're $19.90 US.
• I have a pet theory based on the Pythagorean theorem that the heel height (a^2) a woman can tolerate is based on the length of her foot (c^2, or the hypotenuse). Since I have small size 6 feet, in my experience I can't do heels more than 3" high, and even then the sole needs to have some sort of platform. Hence my remarks about the Prada heels being an engineering miracle.

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A Bite Of The Big Apple (Part 2)

1. The amazing banana tart at Union Square Cafe
2. View from 86th floor of the Empire State Building
3. Together and on top of the world!
4. Times Square at 1:30 in the morning
5. Exploring the Arms and Armor room at the Met
6. Giant tortoise fossil at the American Museum of Natural History
7. Tapas lunch at Despana
8. The amazing Prada building in SoHo
9. Having a drink with Oh Lady E and Wendy Brandes on the Upper West Side after a, uh, interesting walk through East Harlem
10. Colourful handmade magnets in Little Italy
11. Mukmuk (a gift for my friend Andre) at the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park
12. After a five-course meal at L'Ecole, drinks with Mark, the boy and Andre (as well as Quatchi and Mukmuk) at the Spotted Owl in the East Village

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A Bite Of The Big Apple (Part 1)

Greetings! I'm back after a wonderful week in New York with the boy celebrating our one-year anniversary and my birthday. It's back to the daily grind and my everyday routine, but not before sharing snippets of my trip with you and reliving favourite vacation memories. I couldn't narrow down my photos any further so this will be a two-part post. Enjoy!

1. Early start to the day at the airport
2. Salchipapa (sausage and French fries) at Peruvian chicken chain Pio Pio
3. The ceiling of the manually operated elevator in our hotel, Hotel Deauville, a refurbished turn-of-the-century brownhouse
4. Giant Hello Kitty statue!
5. Inside MoMA
6. Modern furniture design
7. Mid-century building blocks
8. Taking a ride in the Apple store's glass elevator
9. Goofing off at FAO Schwarz
10. Outside the Plaza Hotel
11. Chanel haute couture wedding gown in the window of Bergdorf Goodman

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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!

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Lisa's Most Coveted List

Holy smokes, almost 2 months have gone by since the last installment of my Most Coveted List! Here are the 5 things I love for the month of May.

1. AA sweetheart two-toned mini dress ($63). Compared to other stretchy form-fitting mini-dresses made out of a spandex blend, this number does something pretty miraculous: It manages to fit snugly without clinging to lumps and bumps. And although it's not completely backless, the sheer mesh panel in the back is enough flesh exposure for me. I think this dress counts as the "sexy low-back dress" on my spring shopping list.



2. Daniel Henney. MizzJ and I both salivated over the hottie who plays Agent Zero in the new X-Men movie.



3. The British Office of Government Commerce logo. Click the link and tilt your head to the left. Burst out laughing.

4. Great friends, fun times, and soul-searching conversations with inspirational folks.

5. 'Nightview' by Bernice Abbott. Flipping past The Knowledge Network one night, I caught an ad for the Pioneers of Photography documentary series and was absolutely captivated by this photo showing illuminated offices at night in New York. Abbott took this picture in 1932, but the themes it hints at--humanity, metropolis, hope in an urban landscape--still resonate today.

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One Last Night in the Big Apple, and Home Again

On my last night of vacation in the Big Apple, Mark (you may remember him as Obama) took me to dinner at a Williamsburg restaurant called Marlow and Sons. The place looked a bit like a turn-of-the-century dry goods store from the front, but once you get to the back you see candlelight, trestle tables and benches, and bottles of wine and liquor lining the walls--cozy and atmospheric but not at all pretentious. The menu features an ever-rotating selection of delicatessen meats and cheeses, and the entrees and salads are all made from seasonal organic ingredients. Delicious.

This place, as well as the bars in Paris, made me wish that there were more grown-up lounges in Vancouver where you could order wine, bread, cheese, and meat, and just have an intimate get-together with friends. The only place in Vancity I can think of for this sort of thing is Salt Tasting Lounge in Gastown, and the one time I went there I wasn't all that impressed.

Afterward, Mark had some work stuff he had to take care of and I had to pack, so we went back to his place and did both while glued to the CNN news coverage of the election results. It was so inspiring and moving to see Democratic supporters celebrating Obama's victory in the streets. I was thoroughly affected by his speech and how he acknowledged his victory, yet also recognized that much work had to be done and the road wasn't going to be easy. I can't wait to see what's to come. Pierre Trudeau once characterized Canada's relationship with the United States as akin to that of someone next to a sleeping elephant; I hope that Obama's victory means that the movements of said sleeping elephant won't crush us.

My flight home was uneventful except for the fact that I was exceptionally sleepy and I had exceptionally painful stomach cramps--so painful, in fact, that my legs felt weak, I was writhing in my seat, and the flight attendants on duty offered to page a medical professional to advise me while we were in the air. Thankfully, the cramps went away, but the night before and the events of today have left me in bad shape for attending the opening gala of Vancouver Fashion Week tonight. I think my energy would be better spent recuperating and getting a full night's rest so that I can attend and cover tomorrow's shows for Stylefinds.

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This Is For You, WendyB

When Wendy and I met up at Pio Pio, Halloween came up in the conversation and I described for her one of my favourite couples costumes from the GOTO Halloween Bash. She exclaimed, "You HAVE to post pictures of it on your blog!!"

So, without further ado, may I present Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise with little Suri.

Her shirt says: "I <3 Tom." His says: "I <3 Scientology."

The aforementioned phrases continue on the backs of the shirts. His shirt: "...And men." Her shirt: "...Help me!"

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NYC Cheap Thrills

Off the top of my head, I can name a host of exclusively American stores that inspire consumer's envy among us Canadian chicas: Victoria's Secret, Bath & Body Works, Forever 21, Target, Abercrombie & Fitch, Anthropologie, etc. I got my first taste of Anthropologie on Thursday when I ventured into Soho. Today I got to relieve some more of that consumer's envy while satisfying my desire for cheap chic: I went to the Target at Atlantic Junction in Brooklyn and the Forever 21 in Union Square.

The "buy for quality and longevity" attitude that I now have has spoiled these stores for me. I poked and prodded, examined tags for fabrication details, pulled at seams and buttons with the utmost dubiousness. There were racks of things I didn't even want to touch or look at. And of the cheapie wool coats I would consider for a fleeting moment, none of them felt as nice or looked as good on the hanger as my new Anthropologie coat.

Despite my misgivings, I wound up with tons of stuff I tried on in multiple fitting room sessions. A pile of a dozen plus items narrowed down to 3 from each store. Here's my haul for today.

Target

This Mossimo jacket with a high collar, blossom-embellished silver buttons, and silver-and-white fabric was one of the first items I reached for, and one of the only ones I kept after my fitting room sessions. It'd look great with a black tee, jeans, and flats.

I like how this top looks very demure from the front, but from the back you can see an exposed zipper--just a slight touch to toughen up the sweetness.

This Mossimo skirt looks best with a top tucked in so that the pleats and gathers around the waist are visible. It looked great with the black top I bought!

Forever 21

I LOVE these high-waisted shorts with the sailor-inspired button details. When I tried them on, I was wearing tights and knee-high black leather boots; the combination looked amazing. But these shorts would look equally amazing with a white tee, a statement necklace, and black patent peep-toe heels and clutch at night, don't you think?

The navy top had some neat trim detail along the edge and a hood in the back. I bought the necklace to use as a statement necklace or as a belt on skirts, dresses, and jeans. If I ever get sick of using the necklace as a necklace/belt, I'm pretty sure I can take the chains off and glue the art deco-inspired pearl piece to a pin and turn it into a brooch.

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Seeing Double

WendyB and I got together with my New York coworkers for drinks last night at Pio Pio, a Peruvian chicken joint on E. 34th Street. It was the perfect occasion to show off our matching black-and-white plaid coats.

By the way, if you haven't had a chance to check it out already, you can read Wendy's recap of the wonderful day we had together here.

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Halloween in NYC

For Halloween, my coworker, host, and friend Mark bought us tickets for the GOTO Group's Halloween Bash. GOTO is a charity that provides arts scholarships to deserving students for fine arts summer programs, and the party is supposed to be great in terms of creative costumes. Mark was undecided about what he would dress up as when we toured the Lower East Side during the sunny afternoon and finally settled on dressing up as Obama because he could wear his work gear. I smugly thought of the soda pop girl costume I'd remembered to pack.

However, when I tried on the soda pop girl dress an hour before leaving, I discovered to my dismay that it had shrunk in the wash. The already short skirt was downright scandalous. I was afraid to sit down! It was totally a Don't Show-cha Your Chocha moment. With the clock ticking, I pulled out the CiCi dress I'd packed, the two-toned T-strap heels I'd bought in London, and some black tights. I made a button for myself that said "Obama 2008 Campaign Staff" in 15 minutes and went to the party as a Washington publicist. How's that for creative improvisation?

Me rocking my homemade button and my new Anthropologie coat

Mark as Obama. I made him a button too.

Mark's costume was a huge hit. Girls wanted their pictures taken with him. Drunken revelers stumbled up to him and slurred, "I'm voting for you!" He got all sorts of weird electoral confessions from complete strangers as well as a GOTO Best Costume of the Night prize. He attributes the costume's success to me making paper pins for him that said "Vote for me!" and "Obama for yo' momma," and the mole I painted on the side of his nose using liquid eyeliner.

The high point of the evening was when we met a couple dressed as Palin and McCain. The photos from that moment are priceless.

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Dear NYC

Dear NYC,

This is only my second day here and already I'm having far too much fun. Yesterday, lovely blogger WendyB took me around town and showed me sights I otherwise wouldn't have seen, me being a slightly ditzy tourist who never researches her travel destinations sufficiently. She introduced me to Allan of the upscale vintage store Allan & Suzi. It was there that I found these two skirts.




Oh, the shopping! Your Soho is fabulous. I never had a chance to drop by the first time around and instead (rather stupidly) expected Fifth Ave and Madison Ave to satisfy my shopping cravings. But the stores in Soho are much more relevant to me in terms of price range and lifestyle requirements. At the top of my wishlist were a pair of boots that could accommodate my muscular calves and that I could tuck jeans into, as well as a new winter coat to replace the pink peacoat I thought some alterations would resuscitate but never did. I found both within a 4-block radius. I was in paradise.





In a way, I blame the coat (and the credit card damage it inflicted) on Wendy. She looked so darn cute in her black and white plaid coat that when I saw a different version hanging in Anthropologie I had to try it on. The both of us had so much fun; I definitely want to get together with her again before I leave. Perhaps some Halloween shenanigans are in order?

But if we do go out, I'll be sure to avoid your Long Island iced teas. At home they carefully measure ounce shots into the glass, but here I think the bartenders just free-pour. My Long Island iced tea last night was stronger than what I'm used to--pretty much all tequila and very little Coke. By the time I went home I was drunkity drunk drunk drunk.

Besos,
Lisa

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Leaving On A Jet Plane

Photo from ANTM

Well, folks, it's time to say goodbye.

In case you just got a horrible flash of what procrastination would look like without your near-daily dose of Solo Lisa y Nada Mas, rest assured that this blog isn't going anywhere. Rather, I am--to London, Paris, and NYC. This will be my first time in Europe and I'm super-excited. I can't wait to see the sights and indulge in touristy goodness. Museums and galleries? I'm there. Baguettes and French pastries? Sign me up for seconds, please.

The good news is that I've already taken care of your need for a means of procrastination. I've been working feverishly to write up posts ahead of time and schedule them so that this blog will update itself. This lets me enjoy my trip with peace of mind and still gives you something new to read. However, the bad news is that I won't be able to comment on any of the blogs I follow regularly. I'll try my best to catch up on all of my blogging obligations after November 5th--respond to comments, read blogs, check my email, etc.

Here's an inkling of what you can expect in the next 3 weeks:

• I finally got my act together and started writing about how I think Latin pop culture influences fashion. The ideas have been sitting in my head for a while; hopefully they're coherent when they hatch because they've had a long time to incubate.
• I found cute things here, there, and everywhere.
• If you're in the mood for browsing my archives, I'll be publishing some retrospectives listing my all-time favourite posts. Think of them as a concise reading guide.

What's more, I'll be posting photos and stories from my lovely trip once I return. Just don't expect me to look super-stylish in all of my pictures; I'm a bit of a slob when I travel. My wardrobe for the European leg of my trip consists of wool sweaters, tanks and tees, jeans, and flats. For dressier occasions, I'm packing my new CiCi sweater dress and my O by Oscar de la Renta black satin slingbacks. My motto is "Pack light, bring money"; I want to have enough space so that I can lug my purchases home.

My day handbag--if you can call it that--will be this somewhat hideous and very utilitarian travel bag from Mountain Equipment Co-op. I know, I know--I'm losing style points left and right, and who knows, by the time I get back I may not have any readers to entertain anymore. But I've been warned enough times about petty theft and pickpocketing to pack a bag that won't be easy to rifle through or be torn off my body. Plus, a hands-free bag makes double-fisting French pastries so much easier.

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Highlights of NYC 2008

Best croissant and non-fat latte breakfast: The Hot and Crusty Bakery near the hostel I stayed at gave me motivation to get out of bed early.



Favourite museum: The Met, hands down. Room after room of the most amazing artwork. Its collection made me wonder what the exact mandate of the Met is (every museum has a mission statement or a mandate that guides their collections). Most of what I saw there struck me as historical artifacts rather than as pieces of art, leaving me to contemplate the exact divide between history and art as I traipsed through the exhibits on my increasingly sore feet.



Shopping nirvana moment: My Chanel sunglasses! I've been dreaming of sunglasses since I started wearing contacts in December, and I was finally able to indulge. I was so psyched to find a pair that was classic-looking, flattering, and, most importantly, fit my flat Asian nose. I'm so stoked about this purchase, I even kept the Chanel shopping bag, package box, and embossed tissue paper that the sales lady wrapped the sunglasses in.



What I learned right after I bought my sunglasses: The sales clerks in the subsequent Fifth Avenue stores I browsed through were a lot nicer after they noticed the black Chanel bag dangling on my arm.

Best lifesaver: Dr. Scholl's gel inserts for my leather boots! Yup, I was gellin' as I strolled the streets of NYC.

Favourite one-liner uttered by me: "The Museum of Natural History is like a taxidermist's wet dream."



How many times I giggled during the Robert Redford-narrated space show at the Museum of Natural History: Countless, especially when the potato-shaped asteroids whizzed over my head.



What passed through my head as I got sick of Fifth Avenue's overpriced stores right after five hours at the Met: "I'm sick of looking at things in glass cases that I can't touch."



What passed through my head when I hit FAO Schwarz: "SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"



Most serendipitous New York nighttime adventure ever: Moving my stuff from the Upper West Side to Chelsea and taking my first ride ever in a town car while repeating the destination address to the thickly accented driver umpteen times, then meeting up with coworkers based in NYC for drinks, Asian food, and karaoke.



Most serendipitous New York daytime adventure ever: Waking up hungover and exhausted from the karoake night that ended at 5 in the morning and having a sandwich and huge coffee. Deciding to walk in a random direction and accidentally stumbling upon Times Square 17 blocks later. Exploring Times Square as I'm increasingly overwhelmed by the crowds of tourists and the huge billboards and feeling more and more shellshocked.



Highlights of the Circle Line cruise around the lower edge of Manhattan: Tall buildings, indistinguishable bridges, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, seagulls, and how freaking cold it was sitting on the deck. Brrr...



Best part of being a lone tourist in NYC: Meeting random people (cab drivers, fellow tourists, people based in a distant office), making friends, and having great conversations.

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