What stood out: mainly the shoes. Darling Miu Miu Maryjanes at Nordstrom, Erdem at The Bay, Dries Van Noten at Specchio, Ron White and Thierry Rabotin at Ron White, and almost everything at Gravity Pope.

Also the cutest little bowed T-shirt at Nordstrom from a Japanese line called Tu es mon Trésor.

What also stood out: the food. I dined at Momofuko – finally – and had possibly the best ramen ever and cauliflower to make you a convert to that maligned veggie. No, I did not try the crack pie.

Also, up somewhere in the hinterland, unbelievable pizza and porchetta at Speducci, an Italian resto-market specializing in cured and skewered meats. Good thing I don’t live anywhere near there.

Toronto is now like a U.S. shopping city, with luxury department stores stuffed to the rafters with contemporary and designer wear. And sale season had begun – it was actually “pre-sale” season, so you often had to ask or get a card to get the discount. Very American.

Here’s a picture diary of my shopping weekend in Toronto.

The shoes

Miu Miu Maryjanes at Nordstrom.

Miu Mius at Nordstrom.

Shoe sale at Saks, Toronto.

Shoe sale at Saks Eaton Centre, Toronto.

Erdem courtly mule at The Bay.

Shoes by Toga at Specchio.

Dries Van Noten boot and bag at Specchio.

The shops and malls

Luxury row at Yorkdale, Toronto.

Louis Vuitton, Yorkdale mall.

Holt Renfrew, Toronto

Holt Renfrew, Bloor St., Toronto.

Toronto vs. Everybody T by Peace Collective at Yorkdale Concept 2.0 popup.

Girl with a yellow balloon, Yorkdale mall.

The Room at The Bay, Toronto.

Homage to Comme des Garçons at The Bay.

The rest

Momofuko cauliflower heaven.

Speducci Mercatto, Toronto.

Salami at Speducci.

Tiles at Bar Isabel.

Bye bye, Toronto.

The post Shopping Toronto: a picture diary. Captivating shoes, department store blur, plus salami appeared first on Eva Friede.

Last week, browsing Instagram, I saw a photo of fetching red shoes with an oversize bow, from Zara. The post was a regram – which I can’t find again – but those red shoes are on the official Zara feed: 96,874 likes at last count, on an account with 11.8 million followers and just 1,068 posts at noonish Thursday.

The red shoes from Zara. PHOTOS ZARA

I immediately went to the site, determined that there might be nine pairs at Place Montreal Trust – and took myself to the store in the middle of the Carifesta parade Saturday.

I could have ordered online, with free shipping, but it’s hard to fit shoes, and besides, there might be a postal strike. Also, there is the thrill of the immediate.

Ste-Catherine St. was packed, the store looked like a hurricane had passed through, and of course, the cash lines were epic. I found the shoes, sat myself down on a fixture and determined that they probably fit. So I headed to the men’s cash downstairs and waited a fair amount of time to pay up, only to discover after paying that the leather on one side of a bow was rather crushed.

I flagged down a sales clerk and had him find me another pair from the back store, and put them aside for the next day. I simply could not do the cash line again.  

Tried at home, I found the bows were so big that it was awkward to walk. At least, that’s my excuse.

I returned the shoes, with some regret.

But think of it, almost 100,000 likes for one pair of shoes. And that’s not counting the regram likes.

Let me know if you are about to run over to Zara or order online.

Apparently, there are some still at the downtown Montreal store.

By the way, they cost $89.90, pretty pricey for Zara.

The post The red shoes appeared first on Eva Friede.

In his young life, the Colombian-born, Florence-based shoe designer has built a remarkable brand with remarkable shoes – sexy, fierce, beautiful – and, he says, comfortable. He may even be right on the comfort quotient – they seemed uncannily comfy in a try at Holt Renfrew Montreal, where Osorio dropped in recently for lunch with media and an appearance and sketch session with clients.

Osorio, raised in Miami and London, attended Central Saint Martins and the London College of Fashion before landing a job at Ferragamo, which is this month issuing a capsule collection designed by Osorio.

At lunch, Osorio waxed on about his philosophy of fashion, and how so many shoes are extreme and extremely ugly. And he attributes his success to the comfort – and beauty – of his shoes, saying fit, the pitch of the shoes, and the soft materials are key to comfort.

He’s easy to believe, what with his charm and passion.

“I like making beautiful things. I like making women beautiful. That’s one of my goals with the brand. It’s not about creating things that are strange or fashion-forward,” he told me.

He loves the Italian notion of “la bella figura,” –  showing the world the best of yourself, having a beautiful table. dressing your best, having beautiful manners, he said.

“You need beauty in the world to dream.”

Me, I’m dreaming of the Chrissy or Belgravia ghillies.

https://vimeo.com/146698902

Edgardo Osorio of Aquazurra drops in on Holt Renfrew Montreal

The post Aquazurra’s philosophy: beauty in fashion, shoes and life appeared first on Eva Friede.