Fashion Monday with JJ Lee

In June of 2006, I encountered the chicest woman I have ever met. I can’t say for sure if she was tall, but I remember distinctly that her heels were. She wore sharply pointed slingbacks—no cutesy peep toes for her—that easily could have been used to gouge out the eyes of anyone who looked at her the wrong way. She walked in with a big snakeskin purse and an even bigger reputation for being indomitable and sharp-tongued. She was a national broadcaster from Toronto—and still is—so let’s call her Isabella. Read more of JJ's story,  "Do you have to be cruel to be chic,"  in the latest issue of ELLE Canada .

"...spotting a man on the street wearing a bloom on his lapel outside of prom or a wedding is akin to a unicorn sighting. (A very stylish unicorn.) I rarely see them and that’s a pity, because a well-chosen flower can unleash the sexual energy of the suit. It’s been argued before but here’s an abbreviation of the symbolic concept: the suit jacket blooms out like a flower and exposes the man’s chest; the lapels are the flower petals and the tie is the, ahem, stamen. A good boutonnière unlocks this hidden sensuality." Get JJ's tips on how to wear the boutonniere at  National Post Style .