Unless you’ve been cloistered away on an intergalactic space shuttle, you’ve probably noticed that since the series began in 2007, Mad Men has successfully reintroduced the grace and glamour of the early 1960s style. We see the show’s influence almost everywhere: in beauty (boujour rouge!), fashion and even furniture.  The full skirt is more at home on a push-pin settee anyway.  Yet, what intrigues me most about the Mad Men phenomenon is that it has successfully transformed both men and women’s fashion. Not surprisingly, since every Betty needs her Don.  I can’t help but admire how stylish men’s clothing can be, and I welcome back the attention to detail, from the tailored lapels to the French cuff.

There is no sign of the Mad Men craze slowing down either. Case in point, the many Fall 2010 collections from fashion’s top designers. The runways welcomed the female silhouette for a change, where the typical boyish figure has been replaced with the contoured Maidenform frame, replete with bounding cleavage and va-va-voom hips.  Take a look at the recent Vogue photo shoot with Ewen McGregor and model Natalia Vododianova playing the typical late 1950s married suburban couple.  The elegance of the era and restrained passion are both superbly captured in this layout.  Ultimately, the modern interpretation of the mid twentieth-century clothing proves that class is indeed timeless.

Participants can purchase a limited edition Fashion Targets Breast Cancer (FTBC) polo shirt, designed by Ralph Lauren and available exclusively at NET-A-PORTER.COM to wear on “Summer Fridays” from now until Friday, September 25, 2009.

This philanthropic campaign reminds me that amidst the fickle trends and unforgiving attitudes of the fashion realm, its members do rally at times of need.  The Style adjudicators are far from heartless after all, and for that I give them due praise.

In Canada, we too join the fight.  On September 12-13, thousands of men and women unite to walk 30km in one day or 60km in two days in an effort to raise the funds needed to end breast cancer and other women’s cancers. My team has pledged to raise over $11,000 for this worthy cause. To contribute, please visit my site or my team member’s site.  We may not be a brigade of supermodels, but we can carry the torch with as much conviction and with as much panache as they can! Thank you and remember that there is a divine strength in numbers and together, as a global community, we can achieve anything.

Starting May 2009, Sheena Matheiken pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion and as a means to fundraise for the Akanksha Foundation.  Here’s how it works: “There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day she will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accoutrements, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies.” Matheiken explains her credo thus: “Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade’s boudoir”.

The Uniform Project is a year-long exercise in fashion fortitude. For those of us who wore uniforms during our school days, we know how creative one must be to sport the same dark tunic, but with fresh fierceness daily.  I still remember being awestruck at how my boarding school roommate, Zoe, could effortlessly piece together glitter hairclips, bauble bracelets and navy knee socks.  In short, you have to be fearless when it comes to uniform fashion! Matheiken explains her charity goal: “At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for children living in Indian slums.” To date she has raised over $8,000.
We applaud this effort, for her tenacity in supporting a worthy cause and for her grand example of how frugality and fashion can at last be friends. It is also a fantastic networking opportunity for independent designers, who can donate their accessories to the project.  Matheiken then gives full exposure to the designer on her site. Take this wonderfully crocheted ‘Brunch Necklace’ made and donated by Sarah Peters and the vintage ‘chapeau’ donated by Brooklyn’s Treehouse. If you would like to learn more about this fantastic project or would like to donate, visit her site and log in daily to see her uniform change style. (should I send her my old school tie? Nah, even with her élan, it would take a lot to look chic)

Harper’s Bazaar: What’s the chicest age to be?

Coco Chanel: It took me 100 years to come back. I’m 40 again!

HB: What are your thoughts on how women dress today?

CC: They say old elegance is apparently dead, so I have to invent a new one.

HB: Your clothing liberated women in the 1920s. Are you still a feminist?

CC: I was never a feminist because I was never ugly enough for that.

HB: What would you change about your looks? Would you consider Botox?

CC: When I look at myself in the mirror, I think I’m pretty modern — whatever that means. But maybe I should change my makeup. In my day, the products were dreadful.

HB: Whom do you most admire in Hollywood?

CC: If in life I had been like the women I see in the movies, I would never have made it.

HB: What inspires you — architecture, an actress…?

CC: An actress. Why not? I was inspired by actresses in the past. However, my biggest inspiration is myself.

HB: Which artists would you surround yourself with?

CC: Jeff Koons to start with.

HB: What’s on your iPod?

CC: The Kills. They suit my character.

HB: Do you watch TV?

CC: TV seems as vulgar as a music hall in my mouth.

HB: You were famous for your paramours. Whom would you have an affair with today?

CC: I like handsome men, so there would be many possibilities, but dukes and princes are not the right escort for a woman like me today. I like to charm younger men. This has not changed.

HB: Where do you holiday?

CC: If not my apartment, La Pausa. I have to look for a place in the South of France.

HB: Do you still smoke and tan?

CC: I am afraid yes, because the attitude of smoking looked great on me, as did a tan.

HB: What are you wearing now, classics or trendier fare like neon and animal prints?

CC: My own designs. If neons and animal prints are in my collection, I’ll wear them.

HB: What’s the new Chanel classic?

CC: As apparently my old jacket is still around, done by this idiot Karl, I have to help him find a new idea.

HB: Would you do any high-street collaborations? With whom?

CC: Adidas or Moncler. I love sport! Or Diesel for jeans. Jeans are chic now and not horrible like in my day.

HB: Who is your fashion nemesis, your modern-day Schiaparelli?

CC: I suppose nearly everybody in the business.

The 120-Zipper dress from designer Sebastian Errazuriz is the latest questionable fashion piece to hit the scene. Can you imagine what this novelty dress would feel like? I give the man props for creating an unusual and original design, but after Gianni’s brilliant interpretation of the ‘fastened’ piece on Liz Hurley in 1994, this just looks silly. What do you think?

With only three standing, the show’s video editors and sound technicians worked their hardest to keep us all guessing. The producers must have loved Nikita’s melodrama and Mean Girl confessions, which caused many reviews and discussion about the series. Yet Nikita’s notoriety wasn’t enough to convince the judges that she was the nation’s next top model.  Linsay’s expert walk and Meaghan’s Cover Girl looks ultimately secured their places in the final two.

The tie breaker, in my opinion, was when Susie Sheffman, fashion director of FASHION, remarked that she really wanted the yellow dress on the cover of her magazine and Meaghan was the only model who could fit in it. The winner of the show is expected to make a career after the cameras stop rolling, so no matter how brilliantly Lindsay worked the runway or Nikita’s photos translated to print, the next top model had to be the ideal blank canvas for fashion shows and magazines alike, and those canvases usually come in size 0 or less. Hence, petite 5’9.5” Meaghan taking the crown.  I do believe Meaghan is the most commercial and that her doe eyed nymph look is very ‘now’, but being able to wear the dresses your clients give you for the cover of magazines is a requisite, and that is what I think tipped the scale. Maybe in Cycle 18 CNTM can have the novelty size 8 contestant like America’s Next Top Model, but for now the Canadian series wants to highlight the traditional looks for the runway. Don’t get me wrong, I was very pleased that Meaghan won, as she was a favorite of mine since the brace face days. I do look forward to seeing if she lands some headline shows or editorial spreads. To catch the moment of victory click on the video below and to read her interview after the win go here.

Maybe she was destined to win? On the cover of Fashion magazine that featured all 12 contestants, she just happened to be majestically perched above the entire pack. As they say, cream always rises to the top, and Meaghan, after a rocky start, continued to rise week after week. She certainly was the cream of the Canadian crop in Cycle 3 and deserves to be proud of how far she has come. After this grueling stint in TO, I bet she’s singing ‘Na na na na na na! all the way home.