Fashion illustrator and blogger, Danielle Meder created an exclusive fashion paper doll for Juan Carlos of Magnolia. The paper doll was blown up approximately 800 per cent, to life-size, and now sits in the window of the chic clothing boutique for the month of June. The clothing drawn by Danielle was inspired by the spring/summer 2010 merchandise currently being sold in store.

To celebrate their brilliant collaboration, Danielle and Juan Carlos hosted an intimate gathering this past Wednesday with a few friends, but I unfortunately couldn’t attend – I was there in spirit though. Below are several pictures from the evening.

Fashion illustrator, blogger and friend extraordinaire, Danielle Meder has recently featured me in her latest blog entry titled, Fashion Blog Karma – The Souls of My Shoes.

I have been following Danielle’s blog long before I started fashion blogging and have always (and continued to) admire and respect her talents as an illustrator, creator of all things artistic and as a blogger. As mentioned in her post, we met while covering the spring/summer 2010 runway shows at LG Fashion Week. She has this uncanny ability to write brilliantly with a distinct voice that expresses her intellect and point-of-view. It is an honour to be featured on her blog.

My new good friend, Tricia Campbell Hall gave me an absolutely sweet mention on her blog recently.  Tricia is a woman of many talents: she is a  fashion blogger, Fashion Editor of FILLERmagazine and a freelance stylist who has worked with designer labels such as VAWK.

Check out her entry titled, Red Carpet | genie awards 2010.

The following quote from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities captures the way I characterize 2009; “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness...”

Perhaps the Dickens quote is a little dramatic, but it best describes how I feel about this past year and what I went through. Here’s a brief look in order:

Lowlight of 2009:

• Being laid off – Yup, this tops the list as the lowlight of the year. I can now say the phrase, “I was laid off” to family, friends  and sometimes to complete strangers without flinching, feeling embarrassment, shame or inadequacy.

Highlights of 2009:

• Volunteering at Luminato
• Rediscovering my love for fashion
• Starting this blog
• Reconnecting with old friends
• Working at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
• Welcoming my nephew into the world and into the family (he is now three-months old)
• Attending and covering LG Fashion Week’s S/S 2010 shows and events
• Meeting and establishing a whole new network of supporters and friends

I mention these personal events in my life openly on The Souls of My Shoes (and in previous entries) not looking for sympathy, but to share with you what fuelled me to start this blog, maintain it and how it initially served as a life raft and is now a vehicle for my ideas, love of fashion and writing. Funnily enough, the good outweighs the bad exponentially in the above list. I’m very thankful for the opportunities and people I’ve met along the way, as well as the support received from my family, friends and readers which has and continues to be uplifting and heart warming.

Here’s a working list of what I look forward to in 2010:

• Finding and landing a full-time job
• Attending and covering LG Fashion Week’s fall/winter 2010 collections in March
• Continuing to create interesting and thoughtful content for The Souls of My Shoes

Like Karl Lagerfeld wrote in the pictured tweet, I look forward to setting ablaze the past and creating positive change and fresh starts for 2010. Happy New Year.

I don’t know about you but this year is going to be a frugal Christmas for me and my family. It doesn’t mean we aren’t financially secure or wise in our money decisions, it’s just a sign of the times and a realization we don’t need so much stuff to express our appreciation and love for each other.

Therefore, I decided to ask a few friends (who also happen to be bloggers) what was their favourite Christmas present and why. Their answers are varied but focus on the meaning behind the gift, not on the dollar amount.

Ashley Bartlett, freelance writer, PR professional and contributing writer to She Does the City: “My favourite Christmas gift has always been my plane ticket to Sarasota, Florida. Since the year I was born, my Nanny started a tradition by gifting my family and I, with a week with her in Longboat Key at her beach side property right along the Gulf of Mexico. These trips hold some of my most amazing and cherished childhood memories that I won't ever forget.”

Jess Bennett, Sift, Dust & Toss: “A few Christmases ago, my brother gave me a Shun chef’s knife. I had been obsessed with cooking for a while, but didn’t know what sharp really meant until I received that knife. It entirely changed the way I cooked. Tasks were made easier, cutting more professional and precise. Now that I’ve entered this land where tools fulfill their full potential, I'll never go back.”

Catherine Kustanczy, Play Anon: “I don't remember a specific gift so much as a theme: Barbie dolls. I really, really loved Barbies. Name a themed Barbie from a certain era – I probably owned it. At some point, I got sick of the homogenous beauty of all of them and decided to procure haircuts. That wasn't a popular move with my mother. But I'm pretty sure it was the first of many personal rebellions, imaginations, intellectual, feminist, humanist, personal, epic and otherwise.”

Lava Nosenkis, Ad Girl and Tech Nerd: "My favourite Christmas present was a gift card to a book store. It made me oh-so-happy because I'm a book worm and I found joy in having the freedom to pick out a book for keeps to read over the holidays.”

One of the highlights of being a blogger is meeting other like minded people. In Toronto, we have a great community of fashion bloggers, designers, stylists and writers. Our city is a small enough microcosm that the networks between people are closely connected, usually one or two degrees of separation, yet at the same time large enough to reach outside the province/country and gain serious global recognition.

I was invited by Danielle Meder of Fashion Final to attend a small festive gathering at LIV by Au Lit, a fashion and home decor store whose aesthetic focuses on luxury and European style.

Here, 20 of Danielle’s favourite fashion friends were gathered sipping wine, nibbling on mini cupcakes, browsed the shelves of LIV and of course talked about fashion.

We were all brought together through our shared experiences; we attend many of the same events in the city, love to write, take pictures, express and share our thoughts and insights about fashion. This is a group of people who absolutely love what they do and have a passion for fashion.

It was great to see some old friends and finally meet (for the first time) the faces some of Toronto's fashion bloggers, writers and stylists. Here’s the roll call of attendees as provided by Danielle:

• Afiya Francisco of The Style House
• Briony Smith and Danah Abdulla of blogTO
• Rea McNamara of EYE WEEKLY and Metro
• Emma Yardley of Canadian Living
• Johanne Durocher and Rachel of Fashion In Motion
• Jennifer Campbell of FASHION Magazine
• Gail McInnes
• Anita Clarke of I want – I got
• Jen Tse
• Linda Gaylard
• Nathalie Atkinson and Elyse of National Post
• Ashley Bartlett of She Does the City
• Afiya Francisco of The Style House
• Stefania Yarhi of Textstyles
• Tricia Campbell
• Renee Williams of Yahoo Canada Life
• Eden Spodek of Bargainista
• Kimberly Lyn of The Souls of My Shoes (that’s me)

On Tuesday night The Roosevelt Room held a cocktail reception inviting press to preview the opening of what they coined “Toronto’s first true supper club experience.”

The team at The Roosevelt Room went all out to impress everyone in attendance. A red carpet and fake paparazzi greeted all who approached the front door, yelling and taking a blinding array of pseudo pictures – they called me Lucy Liu as I step foot on the carpet.

Complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres inspired by the original menu served at the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929 was prepared by Chef Trevor Wilkinson and kept everyone happy and well fed. I tried the French onion soup (a little too salty), torchon of foie gras, mini burgers and assorted cookies.

Good music and live entertainment kept the night on its toes. A dance troupe performed two numbers, the first was a flapper routine and the second was a Las Vegas show girl piece that helped to maintain the feel of the night’s 1920s/art deco theme.

For me, what really made the evening special was that The Roosevelt Room invited the right mix of people; most were newly made friends during LG Fashion Week and it gave us the opportunity to catch up and enjoy each other’s company. It was one of the few and well thought out parties I’ve been to in a long time.

Additional reviews of the night can be read on DL Styling, Final Fashion and a foodie review from my friend Jess Bennett of Sift, Dust & Toss.

Pictures taken by Kimberly Lyn