It’s all because of those citadels of fashion on West Queen West that I’m kept beautiful. It seems as though every time I shop in the area, I’ve entered the emporium of fashion avatars.

First I walked into Chasse Gardee. A long, gothic black dress with a thick braided scarf along the neckline, sat draped in the storefront. It looked more like an installation than something one would wear. But then – as I looked up – I was transfixed on the sea of shoes. They were positioned  as if marching upwards, perhaps to the pearly gates of a shoe paradise. There were biker boots, shoes embellished with gold-pleated rivets, and hard-edged “bitch boots.” It was all – as they say – a sight for sore eyes. But what got  me was a piece of architecture with black pony hair and a varnished, diffuse-porous wood heel. But, it wasn’t just any heel; I perceived the illusion of a shoe without a heel. I brought the shoe within closer circumference to get a better look. When I looked at the insole, the label spelt “Finsk.” I was bewitched.

Julia Lundsten, a Finnish-born graduate from the London College of Fashion, and Royal College of Art, launched her shoe line – Finsk, in 2004. “I approached shoe design like architecture or furniture for the feet rather than conventional footwear when studying for my MA at the RCA,” said Lundsten about her concept in an interview with Design Forum. “There is no need for a heel to have a ”heel-like curved shape”. It is not functional, and can therefore be changed. But a shoe should be flattering to the foot and the body.” Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik are cobblers who have both mastered the finery of foot fetish. But who better to design a woman’s shoe, and understand her feelings towards her shoes than a woman?

Next I paid my family at Carte Blanche a visit. As my eyes scanned the room, I became entranced by a bright object on a rack cloaked between a caboodle of clothes. I walked over to the rack and examined the object further. It was an elongated button-up blouse with caped-sleeves encompassed in colorways of candy pink, clementine, and metallic silver, and outlined with black lines that resembled a stained glass window. It was truly – a work of art.  (There is also one with green and blue colourways, pictured.)“That’s Horace,” the Sales Assistant, Nyssa, had advised me. I walked to the second section of the store and looked at some pieces by Gareth Pugh (my favorite designer), and Jeremy Scott. But then I saw another long, complex, black-knit shirt with two almost floor-length drapings. “That’s also Horace,” Nyssa advised me (I officially consider her to be my personal shopper). Horace had outdone Gareth for me with these items, and as I left I advised her “I’ll be coming back for Horace.” Then I rushed to a computer to find out more.

Horace is a British line created by Adam Entwisle and Emma Hales in 2002. According to Fashion UK, the brand made it’s fashion week debut in 2007 despite it’s tenure in the business.

Working out of designs studios in Bali and London, the design duo has gained worldly inspiration resulting in a collection that’s androgynous, yet primitive. The line has gained accolades from top fashion editors globally, and celebrities including super models Kate Moss and Agyness Deyn covet the line.

I’ve learned more about fashion now that I’m back in Canada then when I lived in London. Though I’ve always craved fashion, now, thanks to walking down the promenade of curiosity, I feel myself delving deeper into the depths of fashion as an art form.

Chasse Gardee

1084 Queen St West, Toronto, ON M6J 1H8

ph. 416-901-9613

Carte Blanche

758 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5A 1S2

ph. 416-532-0347