Category: fashion

Earlier this year, I bought a cane. It’s a cool cane; black with a silver handle. It’s not a walking stick, mind you. It’s not meant for someone who has trouble walking. It is purely for style.

It was expensive. The handle is silver, and has already yellowed and been substantially banged up from numerous accidental lettings-go as I, or a friend who has decided to snatch it from me for a while, walk down the street.

I can’t take it everywhere with me. A lot of my destinations are impractical for such an accessory; people would either look at me funny, or I have to carry too many other things with me, or I’m going to a location where I would most likely lose the cane rather than have a safe place to deposit it.

However, it does add a certain je ne sais quois to a few outfits, and is especially fitting for outings to restaurants or house parties.

Imported from I have no idea where, through CanesCanada.com and then on to me, it’s expensive to obtain. Certainly I haven’t heard of any stores in Toronto that sell decorative canes such as this. Its very rarity, however, increases its appeal to me. I like these unique adornments on a person; on myself, in particular.

I wonder if anyone will now be prompted to pick one up for themselves because of this post?

Thinking the slightly higher than normal price must mean I would get quality, I bought some Elizabeth Arden nail polish from Shoppers Drug Mart. It’s a lovely deep metallic pink in colour, and looks great on my toes.

I seem to have trouble applying it to my fingers, however.

Because I use my hands a lot and am not particularly careful with, well, anything when using them, nail polish on my fingernails always chips the day I apply it. Without fail. I was hoping to avoid that this time with the expensive, Elizabeth Arden nail polish. But alas, no. It still happened.

It’s not that I just applied the nail polish and just expected it to stay on, either. No – I used OPI (a brand I know is known for its quality) products around it: base coat, cuticle oil and a top coat. I also applied three layers of the pink nail polish, expecting a the more, the better scenario. Hey, the thicker it is, the less likely it is to chip off, right?

Wrong again. I seem to have applied it so thickly that, not having waited long enough between coats, the entire combination (that is, two layers of base coat, three layers of pink nail polish, and two layers of top coat) couldn’t dry thoroughly. Not only that, but in my usual lack of fine-motor skills fashion (the combination of carpal tunnel syndrome, RSS and lack of patience for these things only exacerbates the situation – you’d think I was an old woman), I ended up with a lovely border of pink around the outside of my nails as well. Which only caused more problems when, realizing how strongly it was attached to the polish on my nails, I attempted to rip it off and ended up pulling up half the polish off my nails as well.

Finally, as I went to my horseback riding lesson last night (yes! I’m becoming an equestrian! more on that later), the polish – deceptively dry on top but apparently not underneath – decided to bunch up in various places, to peel back and tear off the tips and then harden.

Today, I quite literally have a beautifully coloured mess on my hands.

I think, from now on, I’ll pay twice what I paid for the nail polish and get a manicure once a month. It’ll probably last longer than the bottle of polish anyway, the way I would have to go through it if I kept this up.

Every day I ride the Spadina streetcar from Spadina subway station down to where I work, south of Queen St. For the past few months, I’ve been noticing a particular store window that always has colourful, interesting umbrellas in its window.

The displays change twice weekly at least, and I curiously watched almost every day to see what new umbrellas might be featured in the shop window.

Having seen a few that captured my interest above the others, I finally saw one that got me itching to visit the store and pick it up: it’s bright green, with fancy edging and features banana leaves.

I didn’t know the name of the store, but I knew the shop window and so I took a walk up Spadina Ave. until I found the store: Marilyn’s. I went in, purchased my expensive, high-quality umbrella, and noted that the place offers wardrobe services. While perhaps geared for an age range a little older than myself. the prices on the clothing were quite decent and the styles were what I would define as classic or timeless.

I’m happy with my umbrella: in Monday’s hard rain, it proved more than adequate at keeping my head and shoulders dry, while being light and sturdy in my hand (not like cheap umbrellas which shake, wobble and feel substantially heavier). Perhaps in future I’ll go back to the store for a wardrobe consultation.

I found a pair of Rock & Republic jeans that:

• fit me comfortably
• were the style, colour and shape I was looking for
• actually made my butt look good (for once – this is key and I haven’t been able to find any lately that do this, for some reason!!)

They cost $345. Apparently the brand is big in Hollywood.

I didn’t get them. 🙁