A vintage shop that used to be found in the depths of Ping Pong in Bloordale Village has re-surfaced on Dundas West. Stocking finds such as leopard-print shorts, white leather tanks, skinny belts and man-purses this new destination adds to the collection of excellent boutiques bolstering the neighbourhood's fashion scene.

Read my profile of Dalston Grey in the fashion section.

Name: Pasquale
Occupation: Fiction writer
My Style: Professor
Favourite Item: Bowtie

Name: Jennifer
Occupation: Senior digital editor, FLARE
My Style: Erratic
Favourite Item: Jonathan Saunders dress

Blog years are more like dog years. Every dog year or blog year equals a whole bunch of regular years, since most don't stick around for long. Popular local fashion site Textstyles celebrated its third anniversary last weekend with a well-deserved bash. After all, in blog years, it's nearly ancient.

Stefania Yarhi wasn't content with just throwing your standard Hipster Fashion Party (even if it was held at awesome up-and-coming Hipster HQ Neubacher Shor space in Parkdale). Instead, she used her big night to pay tribute to the Canadian designers that inspire her work every day in an all-star fashion round-up entitled "Favourites."

More than a dozen designers featured one of their muses as models, with each model styling their outfit themselves. Participants included Philip Sparks, Mark Fast, Evan Biddell, LABEL, Heidi Ackerman, Sid Neigum, Klaxon Howl, Rita Liefhebber, Diepo, Jessica Mary Clayton, Krane, Pink Cobra, DUY, Sarah Stevenson, Emily Woudenberg, C Michelon, and Baby Steinberg. Many of the muses were real people, lending a nice variety of shapes, sizes, and walking styles to the upbeat show, underscored by jolly selections from LCD Soundsystem, Blur, and Gwen Stefani.

Stand-outs included the breezy opening number from Ackerman (gotta admire the massive wooden neckpiece worn with it) and the ethereal fairy-esque maxi-dress from Sarah Stevenson, followed by Jessica Mary Clayton's navy pleated floor-sweeping skirt and Emily Woudenberg's blush draped frock.

On the naughtier side of the sartorial divide, I dug the Mark Fast slitted-up tank dress, Diepo's lingerie-inspired ensemble, Pink Cobra's leather shorts, and Biddell's tiger-print jacket. Local bombshell Pastel Supernova gave the crowd two outfits for the price of one as she stripped off her Cherry Dewar mini-dress to reveal a matching maillot underneath.

Many of the "real people" models were met with cheers, and there was a touching sense of community to the party. Each designer wanted to be there. Fashionistas were smiling. People kicked off their shoes and danced until past last call. That's Textstyles for you — old in blog years, perhaps, but always young at heart.

PHOTOS

Photos by Dennis Marciniak

The Bay has been killing it lately. After throwing the much-ballyhooed party for Vogue Japan editor-at-large Anna Dello Russo in April, they welcomed American dreamboat designer duo Proenza Schouler last week to The Room for a showcase of their latest collection and the chance to meet their adoring public.

Canada has virtually no shoe designers. Making footwear is just too expensive, leaving only a handful here and there. So I was intrigued to hear about the launch of a new shoe line at last in our fair city.

The Girl from Ipanema comes from aesthetician Perla Porto, who has her colourful heels and flats manufactured back in Brazil. I was dubious that the shoes were actually designed here, rather than being imported wholesale from elsewhere (a growing trend in fashion). The brand plans to start selling online at first, I heard, but the website has yet to establish an e-commerce set-up.

A simple trunk show morphed into a mini-fashion show event last week as UPC Boutique saw the launch of Brethren, Evan Biddell's new fall 2011 capsule line.

Biddell--who has moved back west for the time being--made a triumphant return to the big city to show off his new baby. Sick of fast fashion, Biddell says he wants to encourage a return to Canadian design and sourcing your style at independent boutiques instead of high-street stores with his new accessible, budget-friendly line.