<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Alexandra Highcrest Magazine</title>
	<atom:link href="http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/index.php/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog</link>
	<description>I used to work in fashion, then I took an arrow to the knee.</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:03:55 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>The Making of a Fashion Whore</title>
		<link>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2012/02/10/the-making-of-a-fashion-whore/</link>
		<comments>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2012/02/10/the-making-of-a-fashion-whore/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:58:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Highcrest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The September Issue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Franck Ribéry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Karl Lagerfeld]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paris Couture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prostitution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soccer scandal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zahia Dehar]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2012/02/09/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Meet Zahia Dehar, the freshest face at January’s Paris Couture Fashion Week. Despite the fact that Miss Dehar was a fashion unknown until late last year, her lingerie collection closed the week, and none other than Karl Lagerfeld shot her first lookbook. How did Zahia rise from complete obscurity to her lofty position in the fashion world? Did she work her fingers to the bone in a couture house atelier, showing great skill and promise; does she come from a blue chip fashion background; did she win Project Runway France? No, no, and no. Zahia has likely never sketched an original fashion design or cut a pattern; I doubt she’s ever even threaded a needle. Her claim to fame, her only claim to fame up until now, has been her notoriety. Zahia was a prostitute, and titillated France in 2010 when it was revealed that the then 18-year-old had slept with at least three professional football players (soccer players here in the colonies). Footballer Franck Ribéry reportedly paid the underage Zehar £2,000 for sex, two other players faced charges as well. Prostitution is legal in France but one must be eighteen or older to legally work in the business. As [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2012/02/10/the-making-of-a-fashion-whore/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>In Celebration of the Facepalm</title>
		<link>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2012/01/12/in-celebration-of-the-facepalm/</link>
		<comments>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2012/01/12/in-celebration-of-the-facepalm/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:07:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Highcrest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Sidebar Photoblog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[facepalm]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jean-Luc Picard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Star Trek]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2012/01/11/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The facepalm is a gesture used in many cultures as a display of frustration, embarrassment, shock, or surprise but when I use it tis usually to express frustration. The gesture has been popularized as an Internet meme based on an image of Captain Jean-Luc Picard performing the gesture in a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode. Images of stockbrokers facepalming have been used in the media to convey the dismay associated with poor financial performance, film critics facepalm bad movies, bumbling politicians are facepalmed by pundits, the list of examples is long. This gesture is not unique to people. A group of mandrills at the Colchester Zoo has adopted a similar gesture to signal the desire to avoid social interaction or to be left alone. According to Oxford University Press lexicographer Susie Dent, the versatility of “facepalm” is one of the reasons why the word has been linguistically successful however whenever possible, I prefer using an image.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2012/01/12/in-celebration-of-the-facepalm/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Spirit of Occupy Toronto</title>
		<link>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2011/10/23/the-spirit-of-occupy-toronto/</link>
		<comments>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2011/10/23/the-spirit-of-occupy-toronto/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:44:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Highcrest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Occupy Toronto]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robert Gourlay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[St. James Cathedral]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[St. James Park]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/?p=2168</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last Saturday (15th Oct.) the Occupy movement that has swept the industrialized world set down in Toronto. Anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 people converged on King and Bay, in the heart of Toronto’s financial district, to protest corporate greed and its handmaiden, compliant governments. The organizers of Occupy Toronto knew the faithful couldn’t establish a staging area and campsite in the financial district, an essentially privately owned dreary asphalt and concrete canyon. Instead they pushed on and established their base in the lovely, and public, St. James Park. They could not have chosen a better site. Tis neither St. James Park’s location nor its public status that makes it so appropriate as Occupy Toronto’s campsite, tis its history. The park lies just east of St. James Cathedral, a beautiful Gothic Anglican church which has existed in some form as a church since 1807. St. James Park was a onetime cemetery of early York but even though those bodies were moved in 1850 the park is still home to the great Cholera pits of 19th century Toronto. Tis estimated that more than 5,000 bodies are still buried beneath the grassy slopes at its north end. At the centre of the park [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2011/10/23/the-spirit-of-occupy-toronto/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cycling in the City</title>
		<link>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2011/06/05/cycling-in-the-city/</link>
		<comments>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2011/06/05/cycling-in-the-city/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Jun 2011 21:00:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Highcrest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The September Issue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cycling]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mayor Rob Ford]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/?p=2100</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As long as I can remember cyclists have been a part of the traffic in Toronto and for the last couple of years there has been an ongoing dispute between cycling advocates and those who prefer to get around the city by car. This dispute flares up whenever a local politician suggests creating a new bike lane on one of Toronto’s major streets, a pedestrian is struck and injured by a cyclist, or a motorist injures or kills a cyclist. The hyperbole is ramped up and expressions such as “the war on cars,” or “the war on cyclists” are tossed around like confetti at a wedding. Bike lanes appear to be the best solution. Cyclists would hit fewer pedestrians if they rode on the road where they belong (kids could ride on sidewalks) and they might be more inclined to obey traffic rules if they were officially treated as part of the traffic flow instead of nuisances to motorists. Unfortunately for cyclists Toronto now has a car-friendly mayor so the bikers are not likely to see any new lanes created any time soon. I like bicycles and cycling but I don’t bike in Toronto, it’s too scary (call me craven, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2011/06/05/cycling-in-the-city/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Vicky and the Royals</title>
		<link>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2011/05/25/vicky-and-the-royals/</link>
		<comments>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2011/05/25/vicky-and-the-royals/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 May 2011 19:05:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Highcrest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christian LouBoutin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[David Beckham]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Philip Treacy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Royal Wedding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Victoria Beckham]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/?p=2070</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[High profile events attract pop culture fashionistas like moths to a flame and when the celebs gather you can count on seeing clothes ranging from the fabulous to the foolish, at times even the frightening. Last month gave us two fine examples of fashion faux pas trotted out by the rich and famous. The marriage of Kate Middleton to Prince William was the high pro event of the year and kudos to Kate and Bill for not peppering their guest list with pop celebrities. Two guests who stood out by virtue of their names and appearance were Victoria and David Beckham. Many bloggers and self-styled web-based journos gushed over Victoria’s boat-necked navy dress of her own design. We say, “Hey Vickie, it’s little more than a fuckin’ poncho! And who wears navy to a wedding?” Whether you consider Mrs. Beckham a chic, stylish woman there’s no denying she is known for wearing outrageous heels. The clodhoppers Vicky chose for the Royal Wedding were custom made by Christian Louboutin and cost well over £1,000 (1,569 CAD). Some Royal Wedding watchers speculated whether her sour look was caused by foot pain brought on by wearing the overly-clunky 6-inch platforms. The world’s most [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2011/05/25/vicky-and-the-royals/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Model, the Murderer, and Blood Diamonds</title>
		<link>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/07/22/the-model-the-murderer-and-blood-diamonds/</link>
		<comments>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/07/22/the-model-the-murderer-and-blood-diamonds/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Jul 2010 04:55:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Highcrest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blood diamonds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[celebrities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[models]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/?p=2026</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[British-born model and courtroom regular Naomi Campbell has again managed to piss off a bench full of judges and prosecutors. Campbell was recently ordered to give evidence at the war crimes trial of Liberia&#8217;s ex-president, Charles Taylor. The UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, based in The Hague, issued a subpoena forcing Campbell to appear after allegations surfaced that she was given a so-called “blood diamond” by Taylor at a dinner party held by Nelson Mandela in South Africa in 1997. The former dictator Taylor is accused of selling diamonds to fund a war that cost thousands of lives, and it was one of these uncut diamonds that he is alleged to have given Campbell. Actress Mia Farrow, who was a guest at the same dinner party, has claimed that Campbell told her she was interrupted in the middle of the night by men saying they were representatives of Taylor before handing over a “huge diamond.” Prosecutors say Campbell&#8217;s testimony would provide “direct evidence of the accused&#8217;s possession of rough diamonds from a witness unrelated to the Liberian or Sierra Leone conflicts”. Taylor, once one of West Africa&#8217;s most powerful men, is charged with 11 counts of murder, torture, rape, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/07/22/the-model-the-murderer-and-blood-diamonds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Damn Heels Looks Like a Damn Knockoff</title>
		<link>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/04/29/damn-heels-looks-like-a-damn-knockoff/</link>
		<comments>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/04/29/damn-heels-looks-like-a-damn-knockoff/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:06:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Highcrest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[The September Issue]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[knockoffs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shoes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/?p=1997</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hailey Coleman is a rising star in Toronto’s galaxy of young entrepreneurs. Her company Damn Heels is “dedicated to saving women from their (beloved) damn heels.” The idea is simple; she sells bagged fold-up ballet slippers that women can slip on when their stilettos become too painful to wear, thus saving them from limping home from the club or party barefoot. The killer shoes are carried home in another bag that is included in the Damn Heels package, which retails for $20 CDN. The idea so impressed the judges of the Slaight Communications Business Plan Competition (BPC) that on 31st March they awarded Coleman the top prize in its eighth annual competition, a $25,000 grant for her company that launched in December 2009. The BPC is put together jointly by the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) and Start Me Up Ryerson. Students from any Ryerson University faculty can enter. Coleman says she got the idea after one painful, hour-long post-party walk home in London, England (this point is important). Dr. Dave Valliere, chair of Ryerson’s entrepreneurship and strategy department, said her plan was “exceptional, the amount of thinking she put into it. Making a sustainable business takes more than just [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/04/29/damn-heels-looks-like-a-damn-knockoff/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Paddy Plays Fast and Loose with Lenzr</title>
		<link>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/04/06/paddy-plays-fast-and-loose-with-lenzr/</link>
		<comments>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/04/06/paddy-plays-fast-and-loose-with-lenzr/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Apr 2010 05:50:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Highcrest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lenzr]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[photo contest]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/?p=1974</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This morning I found Paddy rooting through my makeup portfolio photos. When I asked him what he was doing he said he was looking for photos to submit to the latest lenzr photo contests. “There are four running right now,” he said. “We should be able to win at least one or two.” “Take the contest ‘How Green Are You’ for instance. Contestants photograph symbols of environmental protection—objects like recycling bins, tied bundles of newspapers and cardboard, composters, rain collectors, windmills, hybrid cars, solar power, and rooftop gardens and explain which they’ve adopted. We can send in the photo of the girl in the dress made of juice boxes, or the girl in the hat because I think the hat’s made of paper.” “Yeah, it might be; I’ve a couple of designer sun hats like that, but…” “If we win The Grass Cutters will reward us with a rechargeable battery powered lawn mower. Cool huh? The company is competing in the 2010 Green Innovation Awards.  Every year the Toronto Community Foundation donates up to $50,000 to help green businesses get established in Toronto.” “That&#8217;s nice, but our lawn’s too big for one mower.” “And look, here’s the ‘Backyard Party Events’ [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/04/06/paddy-plays-fast-and-loose-with-lenzr/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Judy Sgro’s Fear of a Pro City</title>
		<link>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/03/31/judy-sgro%e2%80%99s-fear-of-a-pro-city/</link>
		<comments>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/03/31/judy-sgro%e2%80%99s-fear-of-a-pro-city/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:09:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Highcrest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[archives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[prostitution]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toronto]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/?p=1938</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It is time to scrap Metro&#8217;s prostitution task force, or, at the very least, fire its chair, Metro Councillor Judy Sgro. The task force was supposed to bring interested parties together to work toward finding reasonable solutions to Metro&#8217;s prostitution problems. Instead Sgro has turned the task force into a one-woman show to promote fear of Toronto&#8217;s street prostitutes. The task force is made up of Sgro, Metro Councillor Brian Ashton, a rep from the Metro Toronto Housing Authority, two advisors from the Police Services Board and two cops – all like-minded people when it comes to prostitution, but make no mistake about it, Sgro is the bell ringer. Less than a week after the shooting deaths of prostitutes Brenda Ludgate, Shawn Keegan and Deanna Wilkinson, Sgro opportunistically launched an all-out attack on prostitution in Toronto. Sgro stated there may be as many as 100 HIV-positive prostitutes working in the city. She claims to know 11 HIV-positive pros personally. Her comments sent shock waves through Toronto&#8217;s Board of Health and agencies that are combating the disease on the street. In fact, HIV infection rates in Metro are not climbing. The Board of Health&#8217;s Works program sees 60-75 people a night [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/03/31/judy-sgro%e2%80%99s-fear-of-a-pro-city/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Gown by Poiret</title>
		<link>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/03/15/gown-by-poiret/</link>
		<comments>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/03/15/gown-by-poiret/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:17:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alexandra Highcrest</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fashion History]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sidebar Photoblog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fashion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paul Poiret]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/?p=1877</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A printed silk gown ca. 1912 attributed to French designer Paul Poiret (1879-1944). Measurements: Bust approx 92cm (36 in), Waist 72 cm (28 in). The current estimated value of this dress is between 9,200 CAD to 12,300 CAD. The pencil sketch depicts a similar Poiret model, ca 1912. Paul Poiret was born in Paris in 1879. He worked for Jacques Doucet from 1896 then moved to the House of Worth in 1900. In 1904 he established his own house with the help of Doucet and the patronage of the actress Gabrielle Réjane. Poiret is widely credited with releasing women from the corseted, hourglass-shaped designs of the period, creating elegant, gently fitted dresses with fewer underclothes. He was influenced by the Ballets Russes, incorporating turbans and harem pants into his collections. In 1908 and 1909 he commissioned Paul Iribe and Georges Lepage to illustrate his clothes in brochures. Poiret&#8217;s 1911 design for a hobble skirt, drawn in at the ankles, caused a huge furor and brought him a certain notoriety. His house closed during World War I and, though it reopened after the war and made some effort to attract a younger clientele, Poiret found himself in the late 1920s facing financial [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://alexandrahighcrest.com/blog/2010/03/15/gown-by-poiret/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

