FASHION Magazine

See the J.Crew Collection store party pics »

Toronto Fashion Week may be more than a month away, but street style trends were top of mind for the city’s fashion lovers last week. And with good reason: J. Crew held a sleek party to celebrate the opening of its first Collection store on Bloor Street, making it the brand’s fifth Toronto location and first standalone store. Unlike other locations, the J.Crew Collection store features a curated selection of limited edition women’s and menswear pieces, including accessories (hello, statement jewellery!) cashmere and more.

Despite its 6,000+ square foot size, the store was tightly packed with eager party guests, many of whom were likely hoping to catch a glimpse of the woman who makes print mixing look as natural as wearing neutrals. Alas, it was not to be: a blizzard in New York meant Jenna Lyons was stranded and we had to settle for an Instagram stand-in—which did indeed complemented the party’s Canadian-ified photo booth. (Complete with stuffed moose and a Pharrell-meets-Mountie hat.)

See all the photos from The Libertine launch party »

In the grand tradition of secret bars and speakeasies, The Libertine may have one of the best locations out there. Hidden behind a tarot card reader’s business, the basement entrance to Toronto’s newest restaurant is sure to prompt many double takes. However, thanks to the crowd that gathered for last night’s launch party, the secretive snack bar is destined to become quite well known in the months to come.

A mix of fashion and foodie guests mingled while hand-crafted cocktails and bites of fried chicken made the rounds. Anita Clarke, wearing a custom plaid Philip Sparks jacket, looked just as dapped as her well-suited table mates, including the designer himself and NOW’s Andrew Sardone. Holt Renfew’s Blaire Borins matched the mysterious mood of the decor in a slate-grey Greta Constantine dress while ornamental necklaces and bright lipsticks were accessory of choice for other guests.

View FASHION’s 35th anniversary party photos »
Check out our archive of every FASHION cover since 1977 »

What’s better than a birthday party? Your own birthday party! On Wednesday night, the FASHION team (well, that’d be us) celebrated the magazine’s 35^th anniversary, and as you might expect, Toronto’s most stylish guys and gals were out in full force. 700 of our closest friends packed into the Distillery’s Fermenting Cellar to toast us with Skyy Vodka cocktails, mini burgers and musical performances by Divine Brown and The Parallels.

See all the pictures from Jian Ghomeshi’s book launch! »

If you’ve ever been late for work because Jian Ghomeshi’s soothing voice lured you into an episode of CBC Radio’s Q, you would have been in good company at last night’s party to celebrate the launch of his debut non-fiction book 1982. Otherwise rowdy partygoers perked up when Jian Ghomeshi took to the stage at The Opera House to say a few words about 1982 and the room basically erupted in cheer when he started singing “Psycho Killer” with Arkells. And such was the overall mood of the event: various Canadian musicians—like Jason Collett, Shad and Lights—took turns on stage, turning an already high-energy book launch into an A-list karaoke dance party of New Wave ’80s hits. (And who other than Jian Ghomeshi could get Olivia Chow and Justin Trudeau out and dancing on a Tuesday night?)

Y’all better take note, because what’s inside today’s bag speaks volumes on how to make things happen. Karen Cleveland, FASHION’s senior manager of marketing and communications, is our resident wheeler and dealer, who makes sponsorships, partnerships and all other ships happen with a smile (and a sincere one at that) perma-planted. To boot, she’s also an etiquette expert, sharing advice (and trust us, she’s always right) on Twitter via @SchoolFinishing. So without further ado, what does this power babe tote along all day long?

Go inside her bag »