Fashion Monday with JJ Lee

Instead of making a list of new things I want for the holidays I'm reflecting on the dozen objects that make a difference to me - kind of like counting blessings. Number 2.  I had this idea I should buy a foot treadle Singer sewing machine from 1911. And I did. I had a dream of making jeans without the use of electrical mechanical devices. Nearly hand-made kind of concept. These days I use the sewing table as my writing desk. It has six drawers in cherry wood. In one of them I found this  key chain mixed in with buttons dating between the First World War and the Seventies (there were some very groovy buttons in there). The key chain was wrapped up in tape and attached to it was a metal rod. I freed it from the rod and unwrapped the tape to find this very, simple utilitarian key chain. I like it because its not as grandiose as those wallet chains. And don't need very many keys (because I don't own any stuff). It's just right. The key chain clips nicely on a belt loo...

This week I am compiling a new pocket luxury piece for the Vancouver Sun . The idea is small gift ideas for men which are of superlative quality and yet fall under the $150 price tag. I think of them as heirlooms of the future. And considering our austere times, and by that I mean my austere times, it nice to give fine objects, which have a greater destiny than the landfill, as gifts. (I finally saw Toy Story 3 and the garbage incinerator was a vision of hell and existential despair. Thank goodness for  squeeze toy aliens , "The Claw is our master.") BUT, it got me thinking about the little things I already own that matter to me. That I use everyday. Here is the first of The 12 Little Things That Count . The 12 little things that count Number 1.  This pocket knife belonged to my great grandmother. The larger blade is broken. The smaller blade has been sharpened so often it has changed shape. It doesn't quite close. My paternal great grandmother was terribl...

(CC) Phillip Jeffrey.  www.fadetoplay.com .  Kim Cathers , I've decided, was destined NOT to win Project Runway Canada. Don't get me wrong. She is a great maker of clothes. But reviewing her latest collection of Fall Winter clothes, I now understand Kim Cathers is a fairytale teller and urban fantasist with  strong regional inflections. Her sense of fashion is very hard to digest through television and the fast hard cuts of reality television editing. Cathers' clothes are like a dusk snowfall among a stand of arbutus trees. It is poetic, frail and very West Coast. She is telling a story about a place where a city of millions and a massive rain forest sit side by side. A mountain could shrug its shoulders and what we call civilization could be flung into the sea. Cloak-ish hooded coats, bloomer- or britches-like knee pants and horn buttons combine into a tale from the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen, if Little Red Riding Hood carried an iPhone and lo...

To rent or to buy is not always the question. What really matters when it comes to wearing black tie is looking like you belong in a tuxedo. Admittedly, all men can't be James Bond or Barack Obama, but it is possible to achieve some true panache, thereby avoiding any associations with Batman's flightless adversary, the Penguin (who technically wore a tailcoat and therefore was dressed in white tie), or high school graduation. Guy Voglino, New York-based divisional merchandise manager for Brooks Brothers , offered the following advice: "Buy something that is classic, that will stand the test of time. When you stay classic, you'll never be ashamed to take it out of your closet." Look for traditional lapels. Notches, at Brooks Brothers , are the most popular and easiest to wear of the classic cuts; peaked lapels are considered more formal; shawl lapels are re-emerging as a classic option favoured by the very hip. The softer line looks good on the thinner m...

NOTE: I used my flash video as a microphone (because audio is everything to me) and the camera kind of catches odd angles but it's kind of funny, so I hope no one minds. Jeannie Beker of Fashion Television has been asking fashion designers questions for the last 25 years. Today, I had the chance to turn the tables and ask her some questions. Fashion has a lot of surface and spectacle to it. But I wanted to understand how Beker connected to fashion and clothes personally, so I asked her about her personal view of fashion and the influences in her life. So check out the RAW interview above. Note, I used my Kodak ZX1 as a microphone. Don't mind the wonky images (though I find it kind of cool). Now regarding the  EDIT collection at the Bay : Overall, it’s very smart. It hits a middle demographic. I think it would do well with woman who are older than 30, who have a bit of money but they are not millionaires, (they’re fashion conscious and don’t want to settle for middl...