Preloved Music

We were recently invited to an event for POP Montreal International Music Festival held at the Preloved shop on St.Laurent Street. The event was to support up and coming indie bands like Rakam, Vertual Vertigo and Silly Kissers.

POP Montreal was founded in 2002 by Daniel Seligman, Noelle Sorbara, and Peter Rowan. It is a festival created and supported by people, who have a true and genuine love for music and live performance. It is a 5 day event showcasing more than 400 artists. This festival doesn’t only show off musical talents, it delivers all kinds of different art forms and events; for example artisan and visual art exhibitions, fashion shows, film screenings, and a couple of fab all-night parties. POP Montreal gives a huge boost to the next generation of musicians and artists and allows fans, curators, critics and record labels to see a whole new breed of talent.

“Pop Montréal has retained an integrity, ingenuity and playfulness that is truly rare – if not utterly unique.” - Montréal Gazette

The event was really fun. We jammed out to some beats while we enjoyed some cold (free) beers. Can’t get any better then that on a Thursday night!

First up we saw Vertual Vertigo, a trio of rappers accompanied by their DJ. Their sound is reminiscent of the classic 90's golden era hip hop , combined with eclectic new production.

Where others tend to rap about jewels, cars and violence, Verual Vertigo's lyrics are true stories about love, life, travel and the quest for better living. Their interesting style and energetic stage presence definitely had everyone in the store bobbing their heads to the beat.

Between performances, we took a look around the Preloved store to check out all their amazing, one of a kind pieces.

Preloved is a small clothing store located in the Plateau area of Montreal. It was founded by Julia Grieve and Creative Director Peter Friesen. And what you ask makes them better then the rest? They create one-of-a-kind clothing from reclaimed vintage fabrics. Their motto: Our passion is design and our philosophy is sustainability. Can’t go wrong with that!

They have made quite the name for themselves and have a very impressive fan base of models, actors and musicians such as Hillary Duff, Maria Menounos, Anne Hathaway, Christine Horne, Kate Hudson and Daria Werbowy. Their next step is to create an accessories line, and home collection as well as working on their recently launched children’s line ‘me*me’.

After our peak at all the fabulous clothes, it was time for the Silly Kissers, a local, Montreal-based ‘80s synth-pop group, who also had the place jamming. They opened with their song “Love Tsunami”, a hit that had all their fans singing along. Their fun, funky tunes continued through the night and provided everyone with a feel good vibe.

After leaving Preloved, we spotted this awesome 70's style hippie van! We decided we had to take photos...

... and then the hippie showed up and wanted a photo with his van too! LOL!

PS. Mr Hippie... if you're reading this, email us... we missed the nacho party and should chill another day! :D

All in all, it was a good night for Montreal Fashion Minds. We enjoyed some indie music, cold beers and made a new friend!

Aldo Continues to Fight Aids...

As we've previously mentioned on Montreal Fashion Minds at the beginning of September....to launch its 2009 ALDO Fights AIDS (AFA) campaign, ALDO's amazing designers have created a series of tote bags to benefit YouthAIDS.There are three collectible, limited-run reusable AFA Tote Bags that sell for only $10 each, and 100% of the net proceeds support AIDS education and prevention programs in South Africa. By purchasing these limited edition tote-bags, you can help raise money in support of YouthAIDS and become apart of a global fight against this pandemic.

Just to remind you... The first of the 3 bags, "Getting Lost" was launched on the 1st of September, and is currently available in Aldo stores, as well as online.

This month, the fight against Aids continues, and the latest tote-bag, "In the City" will be available tomorrow, October 1st, at all ALDO, ALDO ACCESSORIES and ALDO Outlet stores, as well as online atwww.aldoshoes.com/afa .

Be sure to check back in November for the final version of this super fab tote collection!

As we always say, Montreal Fashion Minds is a big supporter of fashion for a cause campaigns, and we hope you are too! There's no better feeling then shopping and giving back all at the same time! So please head to your local Aldo store and pick up a bag today!

Open Letter to Joanna…. Happy Birthday you fabulous human being!!

You and I are have just entered our third year of friendship (officially today) and I was naturally feeling just a bit on the sentimental side. I know it's a bit unlike me.... NOT! Why is it when I get to thinking about how long our friendship has been going on I get so mushy feeling and all warm and fuzzy feeling? I guess a lot of it is because some of my best memories in my life are with you. I read a quote the other day and it said, "Best Friends are Sisters that God forgot to give you." I thought about you right away... I thought about how much more intense our lives would have been if you and I had been real sisters (twins??? LOL)... born in the same family. Can you even imagine how that would be?! LMAO!


A birthday is a special time that comes only once a year. It gives you an opportunity to look back on your accomplishments to date. It gives you an opportunity to reflect on your present projects. It gives you the opportunity to look ahead and plan on a future that will fulfill all your hopes and dreams. With that said… it’s crazy how much we’ve accomplished this year, how much we are working on together right now and what we will achieve in the future. We’ve been each other’s rock and motivation for everything in our budding business and I’m proud to call you my fabulous best friend and partner.


For your birthday, as side from my awesome gift, I wish you much success in the future, along with health, love, peace and prosperity. I wish you the best in everything you do, with or without me (LOL). You are, truly, one fabulous human being and it is an honor to know you and to be apart of your life. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you… and us.


I hope that as we enter this 3rd year as friends, it marks the beginning of many more years together... and I pray that sometime soon (after all this hecticness) we are able to set aside some time for just us to get together and celebrate this awesomeness!


I love this saying and feel it fits us so well… ‘A good friend will always bail you out of jail, but a best friend will be sitting next to you saying, 'damn, that was fun!’ That's the kind of friends you and I always have been and will continue to be until nothing is left of us but this blog.

I love you my fabulous friend! Always and forever!
Happy Birthday… 24 on the 24th ; )!!

With All my love,
Yussie
xoxo

Here is a little dose of your fabulous fashion style…

Supastarz!

DIY: Fab Summer Dresses for Cheap!

This summer I was invited to two weddings, and all I could think of was ugh... more money to be spent. I had some dresses but nothing I thought would be really appropriate outfits for the weddings. So I decided to go out on a mission to find some cute, affordable dresses.


I went into Sirens and headed straight to the sale rack... and lo and behold, it was jam packed with all kinds of fun, summery dresses. I picked out a couple of them, and made my way to the dressing room with my mom and sister. The first few were a straight up 'hell no' and then I tried on this black strapless dress with a peek-a-boo underskirt of pink satin and a scalloped hem. The size was perfect and the fit was stunning... the only problem was the large black eyelet pattern on the chest with pink satin beaming its way through... gross. I looked at the price tag and saw $15 and for that prince, I decided to go for it, and use my Montreal Fashion Mind to redesign it myself into the perfect dress.


The next dress I found was this gorgeous 50s inspired ultra colorful, floral patterned strapless dress. I fell in love right away. It fit, almost just right, I just felt it was a little flimsy in the boob area and needed some more support. So again... I looked at the price tag and saw $15 and decided for that price I could take it home and adjust it to my liking. It was two great purchases that cost me 30$ flat (I have a discount card as well that covers tax :D)


I went home and sat and stared at the dresses for a while, trying to come up with an ingenious plan to make them fabulous. I started with the black one, as that wedding was only 2 days away. I knew I had to start by covering the big pink flower in order for this dress to be a success. I cut out a piece of black satin fabric I had, in a circle a little larger then the eyelet part of the dress. I took a pencil and stuffed the black fabric through one of the little holes and smoothed it out to cover the entire pink underlay. I then sewed all around the edges of the circle and voila! In 15 minutes, I had transformed my 15$ dress into a fabulous one of a kind party dress!



After that dress was a hit, it was on to number 2. For this one, I decided to hit up my local seamstress, who has helped me in the past. I told her it was a little large on the sides my chest and flimsy with lack of proper support. She measured the dress to fit like a glove and then we both talked about a solution for the support I needed. Strapless dresses can always be iffy, especially if you're planning on dancing all night and have a larger chest. So, we decided to add some wire piping on the seams of the bustier part of the dress to have it hold my girls up (LOL). Four days and 8$ later, I went back to check out the scene and was pleasantly surprised to see that the dress was perfect! In the end I paid 23$ for this dress and have no complaints!

I outfitted both dresses with my 6 inch Michael Kors patent heels, pashmina (2 for 15$ @ Ardene) and my black and gold clutch I thrifted at Salvation Army. Both dresses were a hit and I felt fabulous in my chic but cheap outfits! Never underestimate the sale rack, your creative mind and motivation to be fab on a dime!

Cheers!

A Little Gift For You... Our Wonderful Readers!

Great news!!

The Little Burgundy team was so appreciative of our blog post on their fabulous launch party with StyleXchange that they decided to show their gratitude by giving you, our readers, a special treat for your fall shopping. Little Burgundy has created a special discount code that will give you 15% off all online orders from now until Sunday, September 20 inclusively. Amazing… no?!

Little Burgundy calls itself, and rightfully so, the "ultimate destination for branded footwear, handbags and accessories, offering customers the latest styles from over 80 world-class brands." With brands like Miss Sixty, Reebok, Juicy Couture, Ugg and more.... why not take advantage of this great deal? All you need to do is enter the promo code LBSHOESF09 when shopping at www.littleburgundyshoes.com, and just like that you’re walking down the street in your fresh new kicks and a little extra pocket change.

Enjoy!

In case you missed it, click here to check out our post on the Launch Party & details on all the great new brands sold at Little Burgundy.

ALDO Fights AIDS... one fab bag at a time

Listen up all you fabulous do gooders… ALDO has done it once again.

To launch its 2009 ALDO Fights AIDS (AFA) campaign, ALDO’s awesome designers have created a series of tote bags to benefit YouthAIDS. You have a choice of three collectible, super cute, limited-run reusable AFA Tote Bags. For a mere $10 you will help raise money in support of YouthAIDS’ and become a part of a global fight against this pandemic. Oh… and did I mention 100% of the net proceeds support AIDS education and prevention programs in South Africa. How could you resist?


“For every tote bag sold, ALDO and YouthAIDS will be able to provide one young person with the information and tools they need to protect themselves from HIV for up to 1 year,” affirms YouthAIDS Founder Kate Roberts. “This is the fourth consecutive year that we have teamed up with ALDO and we are incredibly proud and grateful for their ongoing commitment to this cause.”

The tote bag designs will be released one at a time over the next three months, so you'll have to be patient… but I’ve seen them… and trust me when I say… they are mos def worth the wait! Even their names are irresitable.

September 1st - “Getting Lost”
October 1st - “In the City”
November 1st - “Jukebox”

“Getting Lost” will be available September 1. It’s super cute for back to school in royal blue, featuring a swirling sketch of people holding hands in the sun. These tote bags will be available at all ALDO, ALDO ACCESSORIES and ALDO Outlet stores, as well as online at www.aldoshoes.com/afa. Check back in October and November for the other two super fab totes!

This isn’t the first, and I’m sure not the last time ALDO has stepped in to make a change. ALDO has generated millions of dollars with their public awareness campaigns and helped educate and protect young lives from infection in more than 60 countries; the influence of the ALDO Fights AIDS campaign has been immense. Since it launched in fall 2005, ALDO has raised over $3.2 million for YouthAIDS, impacting the lives of millions of young people around the world. ALDO hopes to build on this success by continuing to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS as well as raise funds for the fight against this pandemic.

In 2005 ALDO launched the “Hear No Evil? See No Evil? Speak No Evil?" campaign that featured black and white images of stars like Christina Aguilera, Salma Hayek, LL Cool J and many more as they either covered their ears or have their mouth or eyes covered by duct tape, with the intent to get people to stop and notice. The campaign was also supported by empowerment tags, which were a three dog-tag set that, were individually engraved with the words, "Hear," "See" and "Speak." I remember wearing mine… how about you?

In December 2008, for World AIDS Day, they gave life to their limited edition Love for Life bracelets which were inscribed with drawings created by the children of The Rebero Orphanage Center in Rwanda, many who have lost either one or both of their parents in the genocide or to HIV/AIDS.

“At ALDO, we regard ourselves as part of a larger global community. In other words, we believe that it is everyone’s ethical responsibility to get involved and make a difference,” affirms Aldo Bensadoun, Founder and CEO of ALDO. “Since 1985 we have been committed to the fight against AIDS – an initiative that reflects the principles upon which our company was founded: love, integrity, and respect.”

You have to put your hands together and give props when needed, and I applaud big time. It’s not everyday you hear about a company of this enormity doing so much good. It makes you proud to know a Montreal based company (which I also happen to work for), is trying so hard to make a difference and succeeding at it. This is great campaign and I am most confident it will do just as successfully as the others while its rewards go to those that really need it.

Montreal Fashion Minds is a big supporter of Fashion for a cause campaigns. There is no better feeling then buying a cute new item to add to your closet while giving back all at the same time. As if the first part isn't fun enough, knowing that you're actually helping someone in need while you shop just makes the experience that much more meaningful. So go ahead and give, because we have to look out for each other!

Bravo Aldo & YouthAIDS!

Check out the ALDO Fights AIDS site to find out more about the initiative, the story behind this campagin and more about what you can do to help.

YouthAIDS is an education and prevention program of PSI, uses media, pop culture, music, theatre and sports to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and reach 600 million young people in more than 60 countries with life-saving messages, products, services and care. Please visit YouthAIDS website to learn more.

Images courtesy of: Aldo PR Dept, blog.aldoshoes.com, http://www.youthaids.org/