my first time

i have officially lost my hermes virginity, and i wasn't alone. jenni lyle joined me for the paris mon ami party to celebrate hermes' second birthday in our humble city. there was an abundance of scarves and bangles and more scarves. things hermes makes that i didn't even knew existed. it is so wonderful to be able to bask in the luxury of it all even for one night. jennifer carter, the president of hermes canada was in attendance and the whole hermes team were just wonderful to meet and chat with. we treated ourselves to some scarves, after all they are the gateway to the world of hermes, now we just need to find ourselves some rich husbands. xoxo

to see the official unveiling and some more photos visit my facebook page

did you know?...

topshop shirt and high waisted shorts

... we have top shop now in calgary. this would mark us the 4th city in north america to get top shop (?) this fact has not been checked but i was under the distinct impression that new york might have been the only city in the us to get this store. calgary would be one of the only three cities in canada (vancouver and toronto being the other two) that now has it too (this IS a fact). we can thank the new bay owners for that feat. the official launch will not happen until october sometime, for now we can only have a little taste of things to come. last saturday, the morning of the soft opening, i was at the bay downtown excited to see the topshop brand finally on home soil. this would mean that we will have a topshop before we even have a decent h&m trend line in this city, which in a way is a complete paradox. either way i was beyond pleased with what they brought in so far and definitely anxious to see more. go check out the bay downtown on the third level for your own topshop experience.

aymeline valade by angelo pennetta, last magazine f/w 2011 via fashiongonerogue.com

fabricated september 2011

nrt/ramona salas of fabricated/ga.za.ba milano/mc vanessa lynn cuppen/accessories/nrt/nrt finale/caroline of fashion magazine with friend caroline/olivia

alexander wang s/s 2012

quite the discussion starter, alexander wang spring 2012 collection. do you love it or do you hate it? i think i have been obsessing over it enough that i actually think it will be another great season. the critics gave it rave reviews and it really seems like spring is heading in a new but kind of old direction, a lot of aztec prints and of course the inevitable color. it will be fun going to an outdoor pool in those ultra bright swimsuits though i promised myself i will avoid tanning at all costs next year, but sad to say that is a problem another 9-10 months away.

tyler: los campesinos

for whatever reason in the music world, i seem to be blessed (or cursed) that when a new album from a band i quite like is released, it’s almost always in the fall. this fall is of course no different, with albums from st.vincent, beirut, zola jesus, and the like. there is one album however that i am immensely excited for above all others, and that is los campesinos’ “hello sadness.” i have had a very soft spot in my heart for them ever since hearing their very first release, which was probably one of the best 4 or 5 song EPs i have ever listened to (no joke). from there, they may have changed, but they have failed to disappoint. with every new release they talk about how much dark material has gone into the album, and every time i prepare myself for a sleeper. this however, is never the case. every album is full of fun, intelligent music not made to be taken all-to-seriously. their latest comes out november 14th, so please, check it out. and hey, if you love them as much as i do yourself a favor a pre-order the album from their website, you get some cool swag and the album will be at your door before the 14th. below is the first track of the album, and its a lovely hand clappin’ crowd chanter. love it!

behind the scenes at lauren bagliore spring/summer 2012

this post is about three weeks behind schedule. but as you have seen i've been pretty busy in the past couple of weeks, which is kind of amazing judging it was summer (up till now), nevertheless i've worked and worked and maybe fit a little bit of play into all of that work, but i have been out of the house constantly from 8am until 11pm everyday. many interesting epiphanies and realizations occurred (and reoccurred) to me about the calgary fashion scene, some of which i don't think i am ready to share with you on this blog just yet. this shoot we did for lauren bagliore's spring/summer 2012 lookbook was amazing, i got to work with my friend jordan reimer for the very first time, which was great, i am beyond in love with all of her stuff, it's very helmut lang (at rick owen's prices, which means i can not afford it), but wearing it all for a full day, with a head full of blond hair (sigh!) somehow makes it all better. lauren herself is such a great, positive person to be around. before the shoot i did the fittings at her studio, which totally inspired me to go there after and take some interior photos of the space, everything about it was perfection and as a result i am now re-doing my apartment to match what i saw, kind of spontaneous and very unjustified, but change is always good for the soul. you can see more of lauren's beautiful work on her website, http://laurenbagliore.com/ as well as check out her facebook page for up to date info.

09.11.11

julia by laurence ellis for wonerland via fashiongonerogue.com

photo jason eng

hair kristin page

makeup alicja wilkosz

amazing new (old) photos from a shoot i did a while back with kristin page for her website/blog www.kristinpage.ca where she takes her readers through all things hair. she is am absolute pleasure to work with and always so much fun. i can't possibly say enough amazing things about her. she does my hair all the time now, ever since that shoot, which would have been our first together and never disappoints, and i always stress the importance of a good team. speaking of which it's been too long since working with jay, who has been creatively and personally missing from my life for the past few months, something i am currently working on. he is insanely important to me in so many aspects  i can't even imagine having it any other way.  i have been waiting to post about kristin's site until i got the images, and here they all are.  i posted some behind the scenes photos with the sweet kittens back in january (click here), unfortunately they did not make it to very many final picks, but overall still added a great deal to the vibe of the entire day. kristin is of course part of the stellar hedkandi family, all of whom have always been so great to us all in the calgary fashion industry (and much beyond).  i am permanently adding the hedkandi banner as well as a link to kristin's site on my side bar for those of you interested in more information on either. LOVE these guys to death. xoxo

more photos on my facebook page

aniab.net @ parksale 2011! come contribute to my alexander wang fund

i have been rather terrible with updating my shop blog (www.shopaniab.blogspot.com), it seemed like an amazing idea until i realized how much time i have to input into taking photos of the product, after all i can't expect people to buy the clothes based on my word. i would still like to continue with it, before winter ends there will be many more entires i promise. time is only on my side from now on. an opportunity presented itself, however, for me to attend the 2011 parksale, happening next weekend on the university grounds, and even though i vowed never to step my foot at that treacherous school ever again (more so haskayne) i am swallowing my pride and setting up shop for the day. technically i don't have to go inside anyway. so if you have next saturday free do stop by, help support my shopping addiction and contribute to my alexander wang fund, i will be selling most of my stuff for $10 per piece, with a few exceptions (like leathers and brand new, unworn items). here are all the details:

 PARKSALE 2011 - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011

Similarly to previous years, PARKSALE is a FREE event for both artists and the community. Vendors will be chosen on a first come, first serve basis. All artists and designers are welcome to participate. To keep this event free vendors must supply their own booths/tables and are responsible for cleaning up their booths at the end of the day. 

Saturday September 10, 2011

University of Calgary, North Campus(Green Space between Engineering and ICT) 

Time: 10 am to 5 pm
Free Admission