Our fav..La Roitfeld

Here is an amazing article from the New York Times,On The Runway, by Eric Wilson.
A Q&A with fashion editor extraodinaire: Carine Roitfeld

 Carine Roitfeld continues to be the most "french" of fashion editors and has been at the helm of French Vogue since 2001.

We have always loved "La Roitfeld",not only because she so idealises,in our minds, the fashionable french woman,but because of her true sense of what "french" fashion is,and promotes it!

Some say,(and has had her hands slapped for it,)at the cost of European fashion.

Though we highly reguard and admire Voque editor, Anna Wintour but can't help think who we would have a much better time out with on a Saturday night.
Here are a few thought from this Parisian icon, on being a fashion editor in this "new" age.
 http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/q-a-with-carine-roitfeld/

As well, an excerpt from Masquerade Magazine describing what one might expect of French Voque's 90th birthday issue.
Ah to be fly on the wall at the celebrations in Paris last night....

Wouldn’t it be nice to go to the Vogue Paris 90th Anniversary ball? If you haven’t received your invite from Carine just yet the latest issue of Vogue Paris might be enough to raise your spirits. The festive theme runs throughout the issue culminating in a stunning editorial by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. VP regulars like Lara Stone, Freja Beha Erichsen, Crystal Renn and Mariacarla Boscono join newcomer Daphne Groeneveld and dance star Roberto Bollé for a visual feast styled by Mme. Roitfeld herself. The graphic black and white images show off some of fall’s most innovative pieces and perfectly capture the vitality we’ve come to expect from Vogue Paris.

Though we hate buying books and magazines while on holiday....(we already had "weight issues" leaving home and we haven't even started shopping yet !) we may just need to pick this 90th anniversary issue up.

How could we not.

UPDATE:
We got it!!

Huelga General...aka General Strike

Before we left for Spain, we had heard 

that on our first Wednesday here

we were going to experience a country wide strike.

Having had the opportunity of seeing some "strikes" up close in France, we made plans to stay close to home, no venturing out since the subways would surely be closed (they were not). Perhaps write a few postcards, getting them ready to mail on Thursday since surely the post office would be closed on Wednesday as well. (it wasn't).

Much to our surprise it was a non event here in Madrid.

Other that the planned demonstrations and the usual vandalism that these sort of events breed, all was normal.

(have we become de-sensitized after certain events this summer?)

Add to this the fact that in this part of the country siesta is still very much in practice so one didn't know if the shops were indeed closed for siesta or if they had sympathized with the workers unions.

In general though we came to the conclusion, after reading a bit and listening a bit, that most people in the capital realize the need for austerity in these difficult economic times. Most sympathized, but when push came to shove, they were not about to lose a day's pay to go and attend a demo.

Madrid..Still Life

'nuf said

Calle Prim after the Theatre

We're staying above a small (and thankfully, quiet) theatre. A few shots from above just before and just after the show let out last evening.The blue hue on the building opposite is from the marquis lights.

Forecast for Madrid: Scattered Clouds...

Looking Up: Madrid

 A few random shots from Day One in Madrid, looking up at the bluest skies we've ever seen!

...And They're Off...

These days, when one puts together the arrangements for an overseas vacation it's done so far in advance that it seems like departure day will never roll around. And then all of a sudden  it's upon us!

When we travel to Europe it's always in the fall. After many years of repeating this pattern, come the end of summer our gaze tends to drift eastward. The coolness of a morning bike ride to the office, or the smell of a damp evening- these are the things that suddenly cause vivid memories of past experiences on the continent to well up. This year has been especially cruel. With the overnight arrival of autumn weather- those magnificent sunny days of September with their brilliant blue skys and merciful cool nights (aahhh....sleep at last!!)- our minds have been frolicking in the Tuscan countryside or cat-napping under a mellow sun on a chaise in the Jardin du Luxembourg for close to two weeks now. It has been a slow countdown to lift off this year.

 But the time has finally come. We depart this evening for Madrid! 

Once there on Saturday we will be settled into an apartment in the heart of the city for the next two weeks. We are so happy to only have to unpack once on this trip. We are thrilled at the prospect of being able to get to know our neighbourhood and of discovering some of the hidden treasure's of Spain's capital. And if we have the energy and mother nature cooperates we hope to take a couple of day excursions to Toledo and Segovia.

above photo: Antonio Garcia via Wikimedia Commons 

 While we're away, you can expect the frequency of our postings to slow down a bit. But we will try to pop by from time to time with some of the fabulous Bobo things we've encountered. And we're sure we'll find an inspiring Texture shot or two to send your way. 

¡hasta pronto!

Seen: Peekaboo Guerilla Art

Clarence Square is one of our favourite downtown green spaces. 

 

Imagine our delight the other day to have caught sight of a little something out of the corner of our eye...

...and to have discovered this little cutie looking back at us!

Update on an old post- a "Shop We Love" has closed its doors

Back in February we posted about a great little shop we stumbled upon called Pantry. We haven't been back to that part of town since, but according to City Bites magazine, Pantry has closed its doors:

"Greg & Liz Bolton have closed their popular gourmet grocery and take-out spot, Pantry, in order to spend more time with their young kids, and the location has been taken over by Black Skirt...a Sicilian & Calabrese restaurant that was previously found at 3 Charles St. E. for the few months between the first and second incarnations of Wish."

 You can find our original post here

Shops We Love: Novelty Shoe Rebuilders

A good pair of shoes is like an old friend. They'll see you through rain or shine with no questions asked.
And together you both tend to develop a lovely patina.
Sometimes, like to an old friend,we can be a bit neglectful and to make up for it we always send our fave footware to shoe spa at Novelty Shoe Rebuilders.

We recently had need to pamper a pair of special Oxfords. (Actually we're getting them in tip top shape for 2 weeks of striding the unforgiving pavement of Madrid) So, naturally we left them for a few days with the kind hands at Novelty.
 
 Novelty has been here since 1932!
That's a long time for a tiny one-off shop to be in business.
And it's testament to their craft.

 
And the tiny shop still looks pretty much the way it must have when it was brand new.
Of course, it too has some patina.
(And it was probably a little tidier in its original day!)
But, hey, who's gonna be critical when you're getting
super-professional, fast, and very affordable service!

According to this article in the Toronto Star from last year the original owner retired a few years back and the business is now operated by the small group who were once the his employees.
 
above, courtesy The Toronto Star



The affable Robert Perry is the enterprise's front man
and boy does he know how to keep the customers smiling!

More that just a pretty face and a born comedian though, he's one of the cobblers himself.

Novelty Shoe Rebuilders has survived fire, decades of economic swings, and lived through trends that saw us disposing-of rather than repairing many of those things in our lives that simply need a little TLC. We're hoping it will be around for a long time to come, because let's face it, when you need to make it up to an old friend you have to do it right!

Seen: Cloudy, with some Sunny Breaks in the Afternoon

KPMG Tower

this afternoon

Bay & Adelaide Streets , Toronto

Pakistan: Beauty in Tragedy

A note to all our Canadian friends:

Our government will be matching your donations to Pakistani flood relief only until 

this coming Sunday, September 12th at midnight.
UPDATED: Sunday October 3rd at midnight.

If you haven't already contributed, we would urge you to do so. 

CNN Iternational

The Current Affairs.com 

National Geographic

We're aware of the reluctance many feel towards sending money to a part of the world that is notoriously corrupt, and to a country that many feel is complicit in sponsoring those who seek to vilify or attack our culture.

However, as we are able to make distinctions within our own society between those who pull the levers of power and those who go about their daily business humbly trying to keep their heads above water, so we should distinguish between the "official" Pakistan and the innocent people who have been subjected to this tragedy. They are literally unable to keep their heads above water, and they need help.

mercyrelief.org

csmonitor.com

theaustralian.com

We will not tell you who to give to, but in the past we've done some homework and we like Doctors without Borders; they are without agenda, and so far as we can tell, as little of our money as possible is spent on operating the organization.

National Geographic

courtesy US State Department

The Telegraph UK

 As in all aspects of both life and death, one can find beauty.

We find these images hauntingly beautiful. And rather than be gratuitous, we find they help us to cut through the rhetoric and expose any prejudices we may have about these people. 

What we see is a proud people with a vibrant culture who are under siege and need the world's help.

The Telegraph UK

werepair.org

A couple of places you can go to donate:

médecins sans frontières/ doctors without borders canada

Doctors Without Borders USA