The bright and beautiful apartment-style suite 808 at Hotel Le Germain in Maple Leaf Square was filled with female energy on Sunday afternoon for a Blogger Brunch hosted by Marta Tryshak of With Love Gabrielle. She invited an assortment of influential fashion bloggers for a much-needed break from the craziness of World MasterCard Fashion Week, which included a delicious four-course brunch, conversation and no shortage of laughs. These lady bloggers included Danielle from the Broken Heel Diaries, Kimberly of The Souls of My Shoes, Sharon of The Backseat Stylers, Lisa of LKisstyle, Natashka of Stylegination.com and Nelia of Style Blog.
It is always interesting to get a group of young professionals from the same industry and with similar passions and goals together around a table. Despite it being St. Patrick’s Day the day before, the women were bright-eyed, impeccably dressed (white blouses seemed to be a theme in terms of Sunday dress) and the delicious pink “Morning After” cocktails (pink cactus pear lychee vodka, and champagne in a champagne glass topped with a fresh blackberry) were well received.
As expected from Le Germain, the group agreed that the meal was one best brunches they had in quite some time. The first course included stacked mini banana pancakes, topped with caramelized bananas, mini smoothies and a soft poached egg with smoked salmon pastrami on a chive rosti. The second course was a delicious B.C. shrimp ceviche with pico de gall, corn tortilla chips and spicy piqué. The main course was a choice between mini short ribs, shepherd’s pie or the rare pan-seared diver scallops with soba noodles scallion. Finally, the dessert was a house-made vanilla bread pudding with Grand Marnier sauce and pistachio pieces. Delicious.
Among the conversation topics was, of course, World MasterCard Fashion Week, with highlights including the more convenient scheduling of shows and unanimous approval that the shows ran on time, regrets of the shows missed (especially Friday’s Rad Hourani show), certain too-skinny models and how “seat stealing” is an unfortunate but inevitable aspect of Fashion Week. The Lucien Matis show, with his lace dresses and sexy feminine cuts, was a favourite among the ladies, but there seemed to be a mutual consensus that the pasties used on the young models were distracting through their see-through dresses. As expected, other favourites included Joe Fresh, Pink Tartan and Greta Constantine.
What was shared among the women in attendance was a passion for what they did, and the fact that many fell into their respective writing positions unexpectedly. The backgrounds among the women included everything from marketing and public relations, to accounting and law. In terms of shop talk, topics covered were whether blogging was viewed as a profession or hobby, making the switch from secure but rigid corporate jobs to the blogging world, and the relationship between public relations people and agencies. The number one gripe: when PR people don’t do their research properly before pitching, getting names wrong and not understanding the media outlet’s target demographic. Also discussed was the good, bad and ugly of the social media world. It was agreed that one person or outlet should not go overboard in terms of social media overload through an assortment of channels, especially now with new social media sites like Pinterest and Instagram.
Insight and advice was shared on how the women balanced their blogging with day jobs (in some cases), relationships, motherhood and hectic schedules, especially during Fashion Week. Also touched upon included suitcase packing techniques (how to fit the most into the smallest suitcase and essential pieces to pack), thoughts on Kanye West’s clothing line showing in Paris Fashion Week earlier this month, and him putting Kim Kardashian in the front row nonetheless. And yes, the conversation did briefly venture to the Kardashians.
For all you fashionistas out there, check out these essential blogs:
LKisStyle:
LKisStyle is a style and fashion blog as well as a consultancy that incorporates social media and traditional content development with brand marketing and style by Lisa, a former attorney. Also a contributing fashion writer for Maxim Canada, Lisa’s content is effortlessly readable, with Fashion Week coverage broken down simply, to the point and not too cluttered with text. One of our favourite features of the blog is an assortment of well-captured pictures.
Backseat Stylers:
Created by Sharon and her fellow fashion-obsessed sister, Backseat Stylers covers both Canadian and international travel news. It features a celebrity style section as well as information on designer sales and a shopping guide that lists the latest must-have accessories. The blog includes no shortage of style shots of Sharon and her to-die-for outfits and the event photos offer an inside peek into some of Toronto’s most stylish parties and fashion shows.
Broken Heel Diaries:
The Broken Heel Diaries is every girl’s go-to, offering advice on fashion, beauty, lifestyle, home décor, finance, fitness and the Diaries, which include things like sex and relationship editorial content. There is even a section for the BHD Man and BHD Mommy.
Souls of My Shoes:
This blog is readable, to the point, and full of fun finds, with a distinct focus on footwear. For Fashion Week, Kimberly breaks down her content into categories like Design Inspiration, her likes and dislikes from the shows, and collections and the vitals on shoes that graced the runways. Kimberly features her Shoe of the Moment, which includes a detailed description of why she likes them and what makes them a must-have.
Style Blog:
This blog covers anything and everything fashion from a Holt Renfrew “Holt’s Muse” herself. It takes on a casual, fun and conversational dialogue that is truly relatable to females. Nelia features pictures of herself in her perfectly created outfits, products and cool finds. It is filled with cute anecdotes that are relatable to any fashion-conscious YP female.
Stylegination:
This is another great blog for anything style-related, including fashion, style, food, dining, interior and street. We especially love the apartment profiles, which includes intriguing pictures and articles of unique, stylish and character-rich apartments in North America.
With Love Gabrielle:
This blog encompasses everything style and lifestyle related. Marta features a beauty and skin section, and a dense lifestyle section that highlights things like events, culture, parties and restaurants. The blog features style shots of the model-esque and perfectly polished Marta herself and includes a travel section that documents her fashion-related excursions to amazing events throughout North America, including Oscar events in Los Angeles.