Fashion Monday with JJ Lee

As I mentioned, I had a backroom pass to view preparations for the upcoming show on Vancouver's master of shoemaking, John Fluevog . The shoes were being arranged in the vault/dungeon/archive at the Museum of Vancouver in readiness for installation. Spanning from the 70s to today, featuring John Fluevog and early associates Peter Fox and Ken Rice, the show, I hope, will be the fashion event of the year. It opens in May.

I am super hyped about a show opening in May at the Museum of Vancouver . It will be a retrospective of the work of John Fluevog and include wide array of work from collaborators like Peter Fox. Fluevog is a real style giant and this city needs to give him his due. Yesterday, I visited the museum and given a tour of the show (the shoes and drawings were on metal shelves deep in the bowels of the museum). It confirmed Fluevog is a serious designer with a thumb of a certain vibe that relates to William Gibson's science fiction, indy comic books and a feminine Goth. Together, they really project a very specific vision of what it means to be a woman and I can't wait to sink my teeth into the topic. Now, I've been scouring the internet and calling every clothes horse I know who may own a pair. Anything to make this great show even better! And you can help to. Spread the word, WANTED FOX & FLUEVOGS .

Sometimes you just have to love their taste .

A Timex Automatic, square, gold-plate, Viscount, 1974 Catalog # 47860 Movement # 033 It's true. I get excited about things. I've always fallen in love hard and fast with certain vintage items like cameras. They need to be complicated but I have to understand them. For example, I can't get into solid-state radios or computers because I don't understand transistors or silicon chips. But give me a thing with gears, cogs, springs and levers, I'm in heaven. So, I never had a chance. How could I resist this golden beauty? Bold, chunky even, but with depth and lives lived, I found this old gold-plated Timex Automatic watch at a local antique store and I had to have it. The scratches give it depth - I have no problem with them. Plus, my boys love it. They're fascinated by the colour and the weight. I remember feeling a similar way to my dad's watches. He gave me plastic banded diving watch. It had a sharp crenulated rotating dial, the way a castle wall has teeth. ...

Ravi Bansal, beauty queen, local plumbing magnate (really, not a joke), and Olympic standard bearer for Moldava (found between Russia and Romania but after Mexico during the march of nations) gives us the inside skinny on the opening ceremony. What were you wearing? I was wearing the outfit from Joe Fresh. It was a white skirt out of cotton. On top, a nice comfortable t-shirt. Like a two-piece slip, together. What you saw on television was a wrap-around dress jacket. A ski style with quilting on the inside. It had a nice white leather belt to make a more hourglass shape. A very clean look. Any favourites? The shoes were cutest. They looked like little white ice skates. Just a small block with a little bit of fur on the top. I’ll never wear them again but they were cute. They were the icing on the cake. I assumed all the athletes and bearer must have been sweating during the athletes’ march... No. It was quite cool while were waiting. It was such a great adrenaline rush you didn’t notic...

Originally airing on CBC Radio One's On The Coast with Stephen Quinn, my main man. Few designers have their own Olympic moment, but for Yumi Eto and the design team at Aritzia it has arrived. Tonight, the gold medal for Canadian freestyle mogulist Alexandre Bilodeau will be presented at BC Place. And while he will be decked out in gear by HBC , the sophisticated clothes worn by the athlete escorts and the medal and flower bearers will be wearing Eto et al. The Heritage Sweater is the standard look for presentations in Vancouver, while a black ski coat with a faint plaid and a flaring skirt is the choice for Whistler's outdoor Victory Ceremonies. There was much excitement at the office during the interview. The Aritzia squad had marching orders to be backstage at BC Place for Bilodeau's big moment. Their job will be to make the ceremony garb looks picture perfect when thousands across the nation tune in to sing the national anthem. Oh Canada never looked so good.

At 5:45 PM on CBC Radio One, JJ Lee brings in an interview with the Fashion Designer whose work will be in the middle of a Golden Moment for Canada tonight. JJ Lee and Aritzia's Yumi Eto talking about Olympics and fashion. Live streamed here , On The Coast.

Walking down Robson Street, an Olympic visitor may see the same boutiques and clothes they find at home. So, you can't blame them if they find it hard to uncover truly unique Vancouver fashion items. But we can help. For those in search of a stylish memento of West Coast style, consider a trio that is simply solid gold: Cowichan sweaters. They're already the hottest fashion items of the Olympics. HBC started offering REAL Cowichan sweaters after a snafu with its Cowichan-like take for its Olympic collection. However, finding one at The Bay Downtown might be pretty hard. But don't give up. Authentic Cowichan Knits (424 West 3rd Street, North Vancouver) has been selling them for years. Give Suzanne Nahanee a call and find out what they have in stock, 604-988-4735. Grab onto Erin Templeton's medium sized leather tote. Made at her shop at 511 Carrall Street in Vancouver, her bags give a woman the same saucy swagger of its charming maker. Be warned, and this is from experie...

I am not the official fashion guy of the 2010 Olympics. But I did get to broadcast from the GE Plaza's rink at Robson Square this Monday. I had a chance to skate with a pair of lovely young figure skaters, Haley Adams and Samantha Wong of the Grandview Figure Skating Club. Plus I had a chance to interview Julie Rithaler. Rithaler, a go-to skate costume designer in the Victor Kraatz circle, has had her work hit World Championship ice. Click here to hear my conversation with her.

MEC's Uplink insulating layer with elasticized thread quilting for a ruched loo k Consider me the Steve Yzerman of Vancouver fashion. My job: to select a fashion dream team that best represents West Coast style. This time I was looking for a rock solid, stay-at-home defencemen. My selection was Mountain Equipment Co-op . I spoke with Spring Harrison, senior designer. Listen to interview

Got this from the best FB'er I know, Joan Chang. Love her links. Ahem. Women do want pants that stretch. Elastic waste bands, etc. They don't want the stigma. With this ad, there is no subtext.

Hmmmmmmm.... leather tote : LL Bean signed Alex Carleton of Rogues Gallery to create this mini-collection which promises to freshen up the venerable catalogue retailer. $189 US.

Where fashion, sports and race collide: a Russian skating duo has had a shot fired over their bow. Reported in The Province , BC First Nations don't want the pair of Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin to wear costumes they donned for the European championship. Problem is the routine, and I suppose their "let's dress like Australian aboriginals" outfits, garnered them the gold. Apparently, they intend to wear the body-painted-loin-cloth look for the Vancouver games. Look out for Domnina's and Shabalin's routine in black face for the short program.