Jimmy's Show Re-Nu is without a doubt one of my favourite shops in the city. It's just so darn USEFUL. Maybe this hole in the wall cobbler-shop is old news to you, but just in case it's not, I had to pass on the details.

Because my man Jimmy is a shoe genius.

I admit I have a THING for shoes. And no, it's not a Carrie Bradshaw thing. (Hello. That show was cancelled three years ago. We need to get over it.) It's more like an obsessive comfort thing. I like pretty shoes, but I also like comfy shoes. It's hard to find a pair that marries those two things. So when I do, I like to keep 'em around for awhile. But sometimes that's' hard because walking around on our city streets has a nasty way of destroying even the best footwear.

And I hate, hate, hate when that happens.

Most people in Vancouver were probably entirely in the dark about what a hair show even was before boobalicious Tyra Banks, orange-tinted Jay Manuel and America's Next Top Model. busted out the concept in one of their photo shoots in the currently airing cycle 7.

Let's face it. This city doesn't really have a lot of (how to put this lightly?) soul.

What we are going to have, however, is a hair show!

I love Cam Reed and I love those 'man on the street' fashion file snapshots a la Vice's Dos and Don'ts. Cam posted on the Only website about a local street fashion blog called The Commodified. So now after you check Kathy Is Your Friend to see why you took 2 hours to get ready, you can check The Commodified.

Thanks Cam.

I had high hopes coming into Vancouver Fashion Week, showcased at the beautiful Stanley Park Pavilion from November 2nd to 5th. Although the predominant fashion taste of many Vancouverites still runs along the lines of yoga wear and Gore-Tex, I see creative and well-dressed people on a daily basis in this city. Lets just say I was a little bit disappointed. With the exception of seeing George Michael...

I have good news, and I have bad news.

Good news first...

Thursday night, which I missed, apparently showcased the VFW's best designers. My friends at Goon Pack, who kindly let me in on their VIP seats, were very impressed with new designer Chantal Nicole of Nico Clothing (see photo), as well as the established Montreal designer Valerie Dumaine. Goon Pack's co-owner Natalie told me that she was surprised by Chantal Nicole's sophisticated grasp of runway fashion at the tender age of 21. I peeked at Nico Clothing's website, and I agree. She uses luxurious fabrics that somehow hang casually, and being a woman with hips, I love the high waists on her skirts! Hopefully we'll be seeing her in local stores soon...

Every year, I hear people complaining about Christmas, and how the season seems to arrive earlier and earlier every year. I have no idea if this is true or if we're all just fooling ourselves. Maybe the shopping season was never really just a December thing. Maybe we're remembering things wrong.

That said, I was disturbed to see that Restoration Hardware at Granville and 10th Ave. had their All-Things-Christmas stuff up one full week before Halloween this year. It seemed odd somehow. Like Martha Stewart gone mental.

So awhile back I wrote about the closing of the South Granville Caban (in fact, all the Canada Cabans). Since I live in the neighbourhood, I was interested to see what would open up in the closest vacated space. At the time, I'd heard a Joe Fresh might be forthcoming, but it turns out I was wrong. An Urban Planet has opened up instead.

The Adidas Originals store on Granville Street held an invite only party on Thursday night for the Vancouver debut of the Materials of the World line. This ultra exclusive line merges fabric and art from around the globe with traditional Adidas styles. Most of the shoes are limited to just 500 pairs in the world. Some of the countries providing inspiration for the clothes are Mexico, Vietnam, Japan, China,Turkey, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Modern Kid is a super, yuppie kids clothing store on Water Street in Gastown. They have the most outrageous prices I have ever seen. When you have a kid you know how stupid that is. Kids grow up like that. Besides they look cute in everything.

This happy Rogers telephone dude or chick makes me wonder. How much does this person get paid? I hope more than minimum wage.

One benifit I guess, is that whom ever they are, they won't need a Halloween costume.

Gsus Sindustries has recently opened a Heaven's Playground store in Vancouver, located at 850 Granville Street. There's no doubt that the Granville shopping district is quickly becoming home to great designer stores with labels that could at one time only be searched out at local boutiques. Vancouver is one of only three cities in Canada to have a Pre-Loved store, and the only city in Canada to have an Adidas Originals store. Now we are the first and only North American city to have a Gsus concept store...things are looking up for this area! The grand opening took place on September 26th with a party held during BC Fashion Week.

As promised, the final show of BC Fashion Week was by Asluxe, and I was sooo happy to see the week end on a high note. This line was by far my favourite collection of the week. Asluxe is a Vancouver based label started by longtime friends Ashley Guidi and Sarah Wigman. This was the debut collection for the duo, and I'm glad they scored the coveted last spot on the week's roster. The title of the collection is The Gray Area, and according to their bio, signifies "an in between stage....not only resurfacing as a team, but also entering a new chapter of their own lives." I'm pretty sure Guidi and Wigman are in their mid-twenties, which is a gray area in most people's lives. It is usually the time when we decide our direction while figuring out our own goals. It is also a time where we battle with our youth while growing into our adulthood. I think Asluxe expressed this in-between stage in their clothes but found a distinct look that was mature, edgy, modern, and confident. I loved it!

The Vancouver Home & Interior Design Show is coming back to the city shortly and if you fancy the excessive and unnecessary, head on over. Fortunately, the show is putting a bit of an emphasis on sustainable design trends. On the other hand, they're also having a dog fashion show.

I give two thumbs up to the show's initiative in taking a green slant on things. Not only are environmentally conscious organizations exhibiting at the event (like the David Suzuki Foundation and the City of Vancouver's Sustainability Group), but the organizers themselves are attempting to pull off a "greener show" - including using recycled paper for their advertising and minimizing paper communication, extensive on-site recycling and BC Hydro is sponsoring Green Power Certificates for all the electricity used at the event. Not bad.