The new Balisi location on Yonge St. north of Eglinton independently stands out in its new neighbourhood amongst area favorites Lululemon, Aritizia and Sporting Life – but the residents of midtown Toronto should be very thankful for the injection of uber-cool, exclusive brands and yet another excuse to stray from the ‘North Toronto’ look.

Recently opened, this is the fourth Balisi boutique in Toronto (others on Queen, College and Danforth). Proprieters and partners Rehlee Balisi and Cory Kierstead have been successfully doing their thing for the past four years which is buying and bringing mainly edgy European labels to Toronto, focusing on fearless footwear while growing their retail business in a time of retail uncertainty. Each shop carries slightly different items to match area shoppers, and is staffed by highly experienced stylists.

On Yonge Street, stylist Dale Hodder explained what shoes had memory foam insoles, how to wear what (in ways you wouldn’t figure out for yourself) and what psuedo-celeb clients are going for.

For this article, I tried to distinguish the most contemporary and exclusive labels – and realized it’s all exclusive. The selection of Brazilian, plastic Melissa shoes is off the chizzy, the Vivien Westwood’s for Melissa are plentiful, there are Fly London sandals ; avant garde United Nude, handcrafted Miz Mooz, and my favorite the expensive Neosens. For men, plenty of sneakers and denim. Also, a wall of handbags, mens fashions from Japan, affordable accessories and an interesting little book collection thrown in to the whimsy.

If you’re in the hood, definitely go see Dale:

Balisi
2507 Yonge Street (north of Eglinton), Toronto
416.487-7111
+ http://www.facebook.com/balisifashionsinc
+ http://twitter.com/balisi

Dr. Martens Iconic 8-Hole Boot Turns 50 this Year

by Daniel Wilson

From Curt and Courtney, to That Gaga woman, to Madonna, PJ Harvey, and pretty much everyone in between, every rock star we idolize has worn Doc Martens on stage at some point during the highs and lows of their careers. They cross boundaries from a Bruce La Bruce art porn about gay neo Nazis to a Yohji Yamamoto runway show and have managed for fifty years to say, ‘I’m cool, I’m edgy, I’m practical or I don’t care’.

Even setting aside their fabulous, (and fabulously hard to find in Toronto) designer collaborations with the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier and Mr. Yamamoto, the Doc Marten brand has offerings for spring and next fall sure to set the chicest or grungiest of hearts aflutter.

Be sure to keep an eye open as they push the iconic 8 hole boot shape into all sorts of new forms. I loved the white boot with flocked black polka dots and a heel (yes, a Doc Marten heel – see below), in glossy black patent leather embossed with a tiny floral print.

And if you happen to be one of the handful of people in the world watching The Oscars this weekend, check out Jack Nicholson’s feet to see the customized silver metallic Docs he will be strutting.

The Dr. Martens Spring/Summer 2010 Collection includes the 8-Eyelet boot in both metallics and in canvas-like TecTuff Express leather, both durable and water-resistant – a more summer-like feel.

In Toronto, find Dr. Martens at:

http://www.getoutsideshoes.com

http://www.neonclothing.ca

http://www.softmoc.com

http://www.docsleathers.com

‘Go Canada’ necklace and earrings by Foxy Originals.

Supporting Canadian Athletes

Fifty percent of the net proceeds from the online sales of the collection will go to the Canadian Association for Advancement of Women and Sport. www.caaws.ca

I was so excited to have received an ‘Airplus Shoe Comfort Kit’ in the mail today (thanks to Ashworth Associates) – a definite must-have accessory that truly makes a difference in high heel comfort.

Airplus has added two ‘Airplus Sure Steps’ to the kit. Just stick each one to the bottom of your shoes for instant traction. Because you won’t feel like you might slip, these help to walk more confidently in heels!

And I’ve already blogged about how great the gel pads and heel huggers also help to walk in heels >>

The Airplus Shoe Comfort Kit retails for $12.99 and is available at Shoppers Drug Mart, Zellers and other leading drug stores.

The tights/legging trend is continuing its full-on popularity this fall as the masses have finally lost their fear of having fabulously coloured, decorative stems.

Most people CAN’T get away with all this color – stilinberlin.blogspot.com

More monotone – www.oslostil.com

On the runways for Fall 2009 (and in the nearest forever 21 near you), embellished tights are all the rage in tartan, lace, stripes and dots; stylized with legwarmers and chunky socks; and comfortably worn with shoes or boots.

A staple for any updated wardrobe though is solid color tights – for Fall 2009 try red and purple.

(I am so lucky to have received a box of Secret tights in the newest fall colors – including diamond weave, grey, brown, purple, magenta and red!)

Secret Fall 2009 tights cost under $10 and are so soft and durable – you can find them at department stores throughout Canada.

On my last trip to Vegas, although it was sweltering in the desert – I almost froze my butt off on the plane since the airline stopped distributing blankets due to the Swine Flu outbreak.
Fortunately, I actually brought my own blanket/pillow duo (and really only because I recently received the package in the mail!) – a warm, convenient MyTagalongs ‘Undercover Traveler’ blankie/pillow/mask combo. A great idea if you don’t want to share pillow germs with the previous guests! I even bought one for a friend and she was happy simply for the ‘I wake for food’ velcro mask signage!

I also brought along with me the Sunhat to Go. I love this concept – it’s a sunhat in black or beige that conveniently rolls up when not in use and easily unrolls into a well formed sunhat! Perfect for travel! ($18us)

My Tagalongs is a new line of 30 lifestyle accessories that are specifically designed to save time and make life a little easier. They sell in Toronto at various shops and ONLINE >> go here for list.

Speech by Michael Mercanti, a Toronto-based handmade line of rugged “pirate chic” jewellery has found its way onto the pages of Teen Vogue, refinery29’s pipeline and is well endorsed throughout the blogsphere.

Nails and screws that look like they’ve been pulled out of a wall; swords and daggers and even mini Manolos and Louboutins adorn leather and chains – rock ‘n roll embellishments, if you will mainly for men but equally striking on babes (although apparently a line for women is in the works).

Speech also has t-shirts available >> check the website for more info.

In Toronto,
Carte Blanche, 758 Queen Street West
george C, 21 Hazelton Avenue

Converse for women at Get Outside – downtown 437 Queen Street West and uptown 3456 Yonge Street or even shop online!