By: Hannah Willetts

Shopping, Shoes, Cosmopolitans, beautiful confident women. These things come to mind when we think about Sex and the City and its long awaited second installment, that has rushed into theaters on May 26th. On Thursday, the Opus Hotel and Bar was transformed into a boutique style New York club, complete with a special mini bar serving only the night’s Sex and the City themed drinks, brought to us by SKYY Vodka. I chose to imbibe a few of them, myself favoring the “Glamour Girl”, a cosmo-inspired concoction of simple syrup, fresh lime juice, SKYY vodka and a dash of luxuriously sweat Chambourg, surrounded by a sugared rim. The building was abuzz with people discussing the fashion of the movie, the fashion we were about to see, plot lines and…our love lives I’m sure. With the guests all dressing our parts, we watched the model’s walk the catwalk at eye level, which is always a blessing and a curse, (so close, so much detail, yet so many around it is impossible to take pictures or see their feet, and what woman doesn’t want to know about the SHOES!).

The models were a wonderful quartet, (each introduced as Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte), showcasing styles of dress that each of those women would wear, which was refreshing to see the items walking down represent a large variety of women’s tastes. There was everything from a demure LBD, to an amazing 1970’s inspired jumpsuit, paired with peacock feather earrings. What was also lovely about the broad array of styles, is that there was a variety of silhouettes to chose from, so that if your confidence level does not allow you to indulge in sexy clingy jersey minidresses, it may be tempted by royal blue glittery belted 1970’s style toga dress, paired with a tiny chained clutch, (and a Mr.big of your own), The true ambiance of the evening was the idea that all invitees, whatever reason we were there for, were made to feel very welcome and were also waited upon by lovely and courteous staff. The night was finished off with prizes from the hotel and sponsors, and samples of SJP’s newly released fragrance, which left all the attendees to mingle and have a few more cocktails with their ladies….an evening Carrie herself would call a success!

By Contributing Writer, Megan Hui

The Rio Theatre is not just a regular theatre. Located at 1660 East Broadway you can obtain, along with your popcorn, alcoholic beverages and other “ID required” snacks. This was the location of the Main Street Swagger Fashion Show which comprised of several local boutiques and clothing stores including Hotbox Accessories, Scout Boutique, Thriller Shop, Lace Embrace, and Pesky Peacocks.

It was a fashion show like none other. The host, Crystal Precious, wore a pinup style corset made by Lace Embrace, one of the stores featured in the show. Even the audience members were dressed as if they were a part of the show; many donning retro vintage outfits paired with bright red lipstick. Moving to hit “oldies” tunes played by DJ K-Tel each store showcased their clothing and accessories in a series of scenes as if from a play.

The first models to appear were featuring articles from Scout Boutique, which specializes in women’s wear, especially dresses. It is known as the destination “to buy the dress that no one else will have”. The dresses were made from all different types of fabrics and each had a different pattern, from polka dots to cherries. The company displayed both day and evening dresses with articles ranging from “cute” to “sexy vixen”. The store also displayed bubble and full skirts as well as beautiful summer trenches.

Next to display their items was Hotbox Accessories, which sells both men’s and women’s undergarments including stunning lace and sequined bras, panties, and brightly coloured briefs and speedo style men’s underwear.

Third was a store called Thriller Shop which presented a variety of men’s and women’s clothing as well as accessories including funky hats, glasses, sunglasses, and messenger bags. The models wore an array of all sorts of everyday wear such as bright coloured hoodies, jeans, shoes and t-shirts, each of which had a unique design.

Known for its state of the art corsets, Lace Embrace, the fourth and final shop to have its models come on stage, showcased several amazing costumes from princess outfits to “sexy maid” attire. They even showed Japanese inspired kimonos. A corset was incorporated into each outfit with extremely detailed and intricate designs, one of which was a full dress corset that was made of hundreds of strips of fabric weaved together. There were corsets for every shape and size and designed to flatter every figure. In addition, the store sells shoes and accessories which you can match with your desired corset. This classic boudoir style makes one feel as if from another era.

The fashion ended with a Turkish band known as “Something About Reptiles” which consisted of an electric guitarist, accordion player, upright base player, and a lead singer. Their music had the audience members up and dancing in no time and made one feel as if in a foreign country on a warm summer evening.

The show was an absolute success, full of energy and beautiful clothes. You would never get bored shopping at any of the stores featured so head over quickly before the unique items get snatched up!

Photos by Trevor Jansen

Most of us, I’m sure, have had some good and bad experiences with having our pictures taken. As serendipity would have its way, I threw caution to the wind and decided to do a shoot with the lovely people of Dark Stars Photo. Let’s just say that my experiences in the past with professional photo-shoots have never been as enjoyable as this one. While working our of a humble basement studio in Delta, I walked into, literally, a boy’s room. You know when you are in a boy’s room, there’s candy, clothes on the floor, maybe an arrant pizza box, and of course, posters of beautiful women on the walls?

Guess what, our photographer took those pictures and created those posters. Impressive, no? Neither artist talked that much about their work (do they have to? It speaks for itself), they let the model lead them in theme, attire choices and general direction of the shoot. They just take your idea and bring it to life.

The evening began with makeup, applied by the lovely Joanna Bylo, a trained make-up artist. We proceeded to the other room, their studio, filled with costumes provided which have been either purchased or made by Joanna herself. Lighting set up, with Chris the photographer behind the camera, the photos themselves kind of just roll out, as talking to them is both easy and re-assuring. Joanna is there when you need help to do up your top, or to wheedle you in and out of you Latex, if that’s the direction you choose to take.

Overall, the pictures are both well done and artistic, which gives anyone with a penchant for comic books, sci-fi, goth , burlesque or otherwise something to wish for. Packages start out at $160, which includes makeup, and elaborate from there depending on your theme and difficulty level. Who wouldn’t like the picture on your boyfriend’s wall, as opposed to being of Giselle Bunchen, to be of you? If you’re looking to surprise your significant other for V-Day, or to create a piece of art you will be proud of, I would defiantly check these guys out! See www.darkstarsphoto.com for more details!

By Guest-writer Joanna Lee

Main Street has evolved. Having lived in Southeast Vancouver almost my entire life, I have certainly noticed the changes and rapid developments to Main Street. It has transformed from a majority of antiques-stores-thrift-shops neighbourhood to a bustling upscale locale with trendy restaurants and hip bars, independent coffeehouses and local designers/retailers.

Take, for example, The Cascade Room, located just off Broadway. I celebrated my 22nd birthday there and what appealed to me about this resto-bar/lounge was its comfortable booth seatings, long spacious bar, and most importantly, the drinks menu. Bar-managed by Nick Devine, the cocktails list is truly impressive in its extensiveness and creativity (egg whites in a drink?!). And with its standing-out neon blue signage, The Cascade Room radiates an unpretentious glow and is almost always filled with a young and urban crowd.

Adjacent to it is sister restaurant, Habit Lounge, serving small plates and tapas dishes to the electic Main Street crowd. Just down the block is the recently-opened Caffe Barney (of South Granville) and Bean Around the World coffeehouse. (Click here to read a Modern Mix Monday perspective on Bean Around the World.) North of Broadway is Soma Restaurant (formerly Soma Cafe), a small yet classy restaurant with interesting food and an extensive wine list that even wine connoisseurs can appreciate. And even further north is an even smaller bar called Narrow Lounge. Narrow is “dark and moody” and is indeed narrow, with only a few handful of tables. While the menu is unoriginal, Narrow is unique in that it is also an art gallery upstairs

What I like about many of these gathering places is that they open onto the street or include patio areas perfect for people-watching on a sunny day. From the aforementioned Cascade, Caffe Barney, and Soma, to the very recently-opened Burgoo, The Five Point, The Reef Restaurant, Public Lounge and Crave, which even has a heated patio. Even the coffeehouses including J.J. Bean and Salt Spring Coffee Co. stand out from Starbucks.

See what I mean? And these are only a few places I’m talking about. If you haven’t been to Main Street lately, you don’t know what you’re missing out on.

Yaletown is most definitely gaining a foothold in the Vancouver lifestyle. Here’s another restaurant for you to check out in the area!

By Guest-writer Joanna Lee

R.TL (short for Regional Tasting Lounge) opened its sliding doors on Wednesday night to industry members, friends and family. Located on Mainland Street in trendy Yaletown, this 50-seat capacity restaurant will focus on serving small plates from three regions, with B.C. as a constant feature while the other two regions will rotate on the menu every two months, beginning with Spain and Iran.

While the final menu was not available at the opening, I was told that dishes will vary from $10 to $15 per plate, with about 15 in total. Canapes sampled last night included lamb meatballs and paella cakes, complemented by cocktails sponsored by Maker’s Mark bourbon. While the hostess was taking our jackets at the entrance, and we walked up to the bar, we were already smoothly informed by the bartender that “we’ve got two drinks for you on the way”.

The drinks menu will include 36 cocktails and martinis, all designed in-house, along with an extensive wine list. The team at R.TL includes Operations Manager Alain Canuel (ex-Figmint), Executive Chef Erik Smith (ex-Le Gavroche, The Hermitage and Senova), Head Barman Ryan Simpson, and Pastry Chef Themis Velgis.

With its sleek and stylish space, R.TL will be in full swing by this weekend.